Johnson County Community College – Composition II, Spring 1999
– Research Project
Assignment
Write an argumentative research paper of six to eight pages that incorporates a variety
of outside sources. The page count does not include the works cited page. I strongly
recommend that your paper be closer to eight pages than six pages.
This essay is an
expansion of your descriptive synthesis essay and/or argumentative synthesis essay. The following is a list of acceptable outside sources:
- World Wide Web sites
- Periodicals (magazines and newspapers – includes info found using SearchBank)
- Books
- Writing in the Disciplines
- Personal Interviews
- Electronic mail
- Pamphlets
- Film, video, or sound recording
- Lecture
- Live performance
- Television or radio program
At a minimum, your essay must include at least six outside sources and three of those
sources must be periodical sources. I encourage you to include more than six sources,
however. Though you are only required to incorporate seven sources, I want you to locate
at least twelve sources for your essay. One rule of research is to always collect more
information than you think you'll need. You must use correct MLA documentation for each
source. Finally, when you turn in the final draft of your essay, you must include
copies of the sources you incorporated into your paper.
The broad topics for the research project are the same as the ones we’ve been
using all semester. Though the length of this essay is approximately eight pages, remember
that you can and should incorporate information from your explanatory synthesis and/or
your argumentative synthesis.
Reading Assignments
- Chapter 5 in Writing in the Disciplines
- Part Seven: "Research and Documentation" in Prentice Hall Guide to Grammar
and Usage.
Research Activities
These activities are designed to help you with the development of your research paper.
They should also keep you from procrastinating. Many of the activities can be completed in
class. Most activities are worth points. No activity will be accepted late.
Monday, April 19, 1999: Discussion of
topics. Turn in the answers to the following questions:
- What is your topic and argumentative position?
- Why did you choose this topic?
- How do you plan to develop this essay? Make a list of possible organizational
strategies, argumentative reasons, examples, etc.
- If applicable, explain how your research paper ideas incorporate your descriptive
synthesis and/or argumentative synthesis and how you plan to make the research paper
different from those two essays.
- What will pose the biggest challenge to you on this paper?
Friday, April 23, 1999:
By now, you should have collected and read several
sources. I want to know your reflections on the research process. At the end of class, I
would like you to turn in one to two-sentence responses to these three questions:
- From reading your sources, what is the most interesting information you’ve learned
about your topic?
- What is the most frustrating research experience you’ve encountered with this
topic?
- What is the most enjoyable part of your research experience thus far?
Monday, April 26, 1999:
Drafting workshop. This workshop concerns itself
with improving your writing style and content. We will try various introduction and
conclusion strategies, for example. During this workshop you will mainly work with writing
down the major points of the paper. At the end of class, you will need to show me an
informal outline of your research paper.
Wednesday, April 28, 1999:
During this class we will work on creating a
bibliography of at least 12 sources you have located thus far. By the end of class, you
will turn in a bibliography of 12 sources that follows the correct MLA style. You need not
incorporate all 12 sources into your essay, but in researching your topic, you should find
at least 12 sources that relate.
Monday, May 3, 1999:
Drafting Workshop.
Wednesday, May 5, 1999:
Conference Day #1. There will be no formal class
today. Instead, I will meet with half of the class on an individual basis for 10 minutes
or so. A signup sheet will be provided. You must bring a detailed outline (see page 190 in
Writing in the Disciplines) to your meeting with me. Even if you are not
scheduled for a conference, you may come and work on the computers in class.
Friday, May 7, 1999:
Conference Day #2. You must bring a detailed outline
(see page 190 in Writing in the Disciplines) to your meeting with me. Even if you
are not scheduled for a conference, you may come and work on the computers in class.
Monday, May 10, 1999:
Peer Review Workshop and Editing Workshop.
Friday, May 14, 1999:
Final draft of research essay due. Turn in the
following:
- Final draft of the research paper.
- Rough drafts of the research paper.
- Notes and copies of sources you have used in your essay.
Requirement Reminders for the Final Draft
- Length: six - eight pages
- Your essay must incorporate a total of at least six sources as outlined on p. 1 of this
assignment.
- You must follow correct MLA style.
- You must turn in copies of sources used in your essay.
- The essay must be argumentative, and the topic must fit under one of the options
we’ve been using all semester.
- Essays should be typed, feature an intro, body, and conclusion, and contain a title.
- Follow these formatting requirements:
- Your entire paper should be double-spaced. Do not extra space between paragraphs. Do not
extra space between the title and the body.
- Place your name, the class, and date in the upper left corner. Double space between
these items.
- After the heading, double space and center the title of the essay. Do not use a title
page. Do not italicize or underline your title, or place quotations marks around your
title. Please try to be creative with titles.
- If you can figure out how to make you computer number the pages, number your pages, but
don't spend all night trying to figure this out -- concentrate upon your writing instead.
- Do not use a font that is a script or italic font -- or for that matter any kind of
funky font. It is best to use Times New Roman or Courier
New. Do not use a font smaller than 10 pt. or larger than 12 pt. Use one-inch
margins.
Grading Criteria
Sources
- At least three periodical essays or articles?
- Are there at least six sources incorporated altogether?
- Does the writer properly paraphrase and quote in the essay?
- Does the writer make use of reliable sources?
- Does the writer smoothly incorporate the sources into the essay?
MLA Style
- Is there a title?
- Does the writer use the proper heading information at the top of each page?
- Correct MLA parenthetical documentation?
- Correct Works Cited page? I will take 5% off the grade if a works cited page contains
more than two different errors.
Content
- Does the topic of the essay fit under one of the broad subjects established for the
course?
- Are the content and style of the essay appropriate for the audience that the writer has
chosen?
- Is the draft free of grammar and punctuation mistakes?
- Is the organization clear and sensible?
- Does the essay make use of smooth transitions between paragraphs and within paragraphs?
- Do the paragraphs have clear topic sentences?
- Does the introduction feature an opinionated thesis?
- On the whole, is the essay persuasive or argumentative?
- Are the argumentative points sufficiently developed?
- Has the writer made use of personal experience and/or narrative techniques in the paper?
- Does the conclusion do more than summarize, i.e. it suggests a larger context?
- Is the essay at least six typed pages (not including the works cited page)?
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