Choose a topic for research. Choose from the list below:
• Artificial Intelligence
• Drone Warfare
• Human Identity
• The Media
• Technology & Medicine
2. Pose questions worth exploring. The goal is to come up with questions of your own that will help you narrow your focus, challenge your knowledge, and lead to a paper that is grounded in factual information. Ask questions that open with Why?, How?, and Should? It's helpful to begin your research with several questions in mind. As you review various sources, you may decide to pursue one question over the others, or a new question may develop that leads you to the purpose of your research paper. Ultimately, your paper should present an argument. Whether it's an argument of definition, ethics or an analytical or interpretive argument, the purpose must extend beyond being purely informative. Thus, consider developing questions that will lead you toward an argument. Finally, keep in mind that the research is a process of discovery. Do not pose questions with obvious answers or questions that you already have answers to; seek to learn something new.
3. Make a research plan. This is The Research Proposal, due June 28. Once you have chosen your topic and posed several questions to guide your research process, submit your questions for research as well as a plan for how and when you will conduct your research. Sample proposals will be made available on Canvas.
4.Begin your search. You must locate your sources through the DCC Library or another collegiate library database. You may conduct a survey and/or an interview if it is relevant to your topic, but please send me an email if you think you would like to do this. You should be able to find plenty of sources (including video and audio texts) through the DCC Library's database, so please refrain from using Google as your main search engine for this assignment. You may also use up to two sources from our class. Guidelines for using the DCC Library database will be available on Canvas, and I encourage you to contact me if you encounter any trouble finding sources.
English 102 Mankin
Evaluating Sources
5. Read critically. Choose sources worth your time. Assess the writer's argument, and be aware of bias as you collect information. Guidelines for evaluating sources will be made available and Canvas.
6. Keep a working bibliography. As you find sources that you would like to use, keep track of their complete publication information so that it's easy to find the sources again. You may also wish to take notes as you read each source, so to AVOID PLAGIARISM be sure to put exact language in quotation marks and keep track of page and paragraph numbers for any ideas that come from the text. This will make your life much easier when it comes time to incorporate all of the source information into your paper. Evaluative summaries of at least four potential sources will be due to our Canvas Discussion forum on July 5. Specific instructions for this assignment will be provided closer to the due date.
7. Finalize your annotated bibliography. Once you have concluded the research process, arrange the sources in alphabetical order, provide complete MLA-style entries for each source, write or revise evaluative summaries of each source to clarify the purpose of the source in your paper, and write the introduction for your annotated bibliography, making sure to include a tentative thesis for your research paper's argument. Closer to the due date, I will post an additional handout that explains the complete requirements for the Annotated Bibliography. Additionally, I will provide samples to illustrate. The complete Annotated Bibliography is due July 12.
Drafting Your Research Paper
8. Compose a draft. This draft should have an introduction that grabs readers' attention and holds on to it. Necessary background information should be provided so that readers understand the purpose of the paper, and by the end of the second page a clear thesis should stated. Your purpose must be to analyze or persuade. No matter the purpose, readers should be able to discern the value of that purpose.
While composing the draft, concentrate on development and correctly incorporating sources. There will be time to edit for grammar and rhetorical style during the revision and editing stage of the writing process.
9. Review & revise the draft. You are expected to post a complete draft of this paper to the Workshop Discussion forum prior to its final due date. This will give your classmates and me the time to review your work and make suggestions for improvement before you submit the paper for a grade. The draft is due to our Canvas Discussion forum no later than July 19.
English 102 Mankin
Finalizing Your Research Paper
10. Edit your paper carefully. Rhetorical style, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and MLA correctness will all be considered along with the content and development of this paper. The earlier you can produce a draft, the more time you will have to perfect it before you submit it for a grade. The final, polished paper is due July 26. Late papers will earn a zero.
As you can see, this is a HUGE assignment, and it is worth a lot toward your final grade.
But, if you get started now, you'll find (I hope) that it will not be a painful experience.