Problem: Prepare for the assignment:
Choose your topic
You are required to find your own "niche" within the assigned research theme--the one that we voted on in the first week of class. Please check the relevant Canvas announcement for more information.
Your argument/thesis should be based on the research that you conducted in preparation for the Annotated Bibliography Assignment.
You will receive a grade of zero on the assignment if this happens.
Please revisit your essay outline assignment before writing your essay: your essay should closely resemble your essay outline in structure. You may choose to alter some details during the writing process, but you must not make any drastic changes (e.g. changing your thesis and/or topic completely).
Conduct your research
You will cite a minimum of four peer-reviewed articles, but you will be awarded 5 bonus points if you cite all 8 of your AB sources. Please note that you are allowed to copy-paste parts of your other assignments --your summary, AB, and essay outline-- into your final essay.
Gather sources and sift through them. Once you have finalized your sources, move on to the formal planning phase.
Formally plan your essay
Devise an expanded thesis statement and detailed outline.
Without a strong expanded thesis statement, your essay will likely lack focus.
Does your thesis statement strictly adhere to the topic?
Are you making a unified argument?
Write your essay
Draw interest, contextualize, offer your refutation strategy, and put forth your thesis. Your thesis may comprise multiple sentences.
Each body section should be devoted to explaining and supporting a specific subtopic.
Each body section should contain a topic sentence, and each (excluding the first) should have a smooth transition connecting it to the previous.
Support your claims throughout your essay via research and logical analysis.
Conclude your essay. Maintain interest, summarize your sub-topics and offer a conclusion that sounds familiar yet fresh.
Research strategies:
You must use the online database (periodicals) searches to conduct your research. These are treated the same as print sources, so they are not classified as general internet sources.
There are instances where websites are appropriate (government documents etc.), but if you wish to use sources from the web, they must be approved by your instructor. You can either email the link or talk to your instructor outside of class. If you fail to seek this approval, your sources will automatically be deemed invalid.
This rule is for your own protection as you can end up with a low grade due to invalid research.
Please make sure that your paper follows APA conventions. A reference list should be appended to your eight-page paper.
Length: 1700 to 2000 words; roughly 8 pages (double-spaced), excluding "references"