Academic Research Paper

Instructor is very strict, only very experienced writers please.

ENGL 101 Section 16

Final Project: Academic Research Paper

“Aristotle taught that ‘rhetoric is so inextricably moral that it should never be divorced from subject matter of real significance’”

– Sharon Crowley. “Composition is not Rhetoric”

The Task:

Your final paper will be an academic research paper. The paper will be an argumentative composition, with a thesis asserting some matter of significance to you and your generation. The nature of this thesis, the overall topic of the paper, and your audience will be your choice. You may use any or all of the patterns of development we have discussed this semester. Your stance will be one which actively supports and defends your thesis, while considering all sides. You will assume an academic voice and use MLA standards for composition and citation. You must be persuasive in your argument and utilize all three appeals. Through the manner in which you present yourself and your paper, you will appeal to ethos; through the manner in which you address your supposed audience and appeal to them you will appeal to pathos; and finally through the manner in which you provide reason and evidence for your argument you will appeal to logos.

This paper will require research and outside reading on your part. To be successful, you must go beyond simply researching answers to questions — you must read on and study about your topic. The evidence you cite must come from a variety of sources, all of which must be credible and appropriate for your subject and audience. Sources must also meet academic criteria for credibility.

Your assignment will be completed in stages, and you will have due dates for each stage, so you must plan your work accordingly from now until the end of the semester. The specific due dates are shown below. First, you must submit, on a single page, your topic and research question. This should lead you to some preliminary research and a proposed bibliography. You must identify in this proposed bibliography a minimum of ten sources, of which your final paper must cite five. This preliminary research will in turn lead you to a draft thesis statement, which will be presented in class, using a PowerPoint template (to be provided). Following this presentation you will submit a draft of your paper and an updated bibliography. This bibliography will be presented with annotations to the class. Finally, you will prepare an oral presentation of your paper, identifying your thesis, your reasons, and summarizing your evidence. This will be presented to your class, along with your final paper. The entire assignment, to include the three presentations, your draft submissions, your peer reviews, your annotated bibliography, and your final paper will be worth a quarter of the overall course grade. This is a significant effort, and is the focus of our work from now until the end of the course.

Use all the resources and reference materials you have read this semester. In particular however, be sure to refer to those highlighted below:

References

Fowler, H. Ramsey, and Jane E. Aaron. The Little, Brown Handbook. 12th Ed. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.

“How to Write an Academic Essay: Outlining with a Specific, Arguable Thesis.” Handout. FTCC Eng 111. Modified from newsouthvoices.uncc.edu/files/nsv/…/WritingThesisStatement . 2012.

Jones, Rebecca. “Finding the Good Argument OR Why Bother With Logic?” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Vol 1. Ed. Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. Writing Spaces Open Text Book Online. 2010. Web.

Nadell, Judith, John Langan, and Eliza A. Comodromos. The Longman Writer. 8th ed. Brief ed. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.

“Writing a Research Paper.” Handout. The OWL at Purdue. Purdue U Online Writing Lab, 2010. Web.

Deadlines:

· Thursday 1 Nov. Bring to class, on a single sheet of paper, your proposed topic and three research questions.

· 1 Nov – 6 Nov: Establish your research territory.

· Tuesday, 6 Nov. You will submit a proposed bibliography, with a minimum of 10 potential sources, of varying types. These sources must be credible and appropriate.

· 6 Nov – 13 Nov: Establish your claim and your reason (warrant).

· Tuesday 13 Nov. Thesis statement and introduction due (1 page), including warrant (no citations or evidence is required yet).

· Week of 13 – 15 Nov. Thesis presentations in class. You will have 2 minutes to present your topic, purpose, audience, and thesis to the class, using a PowerPoint template to be provided.

· 13 Nov – 20 Nov: Draft your argument.

· Tuesday 20 Nov. 1st draft (minimum thesis, intro, outline, and working bibliography) due. Face to face peer review session in class.

· Tue 27 Nov. 2nd draft of your paper is due, along with an updated bibliography of at least 10 sources.

· Week of 27 – 29 Nov. You will present your annotated bibliography in class (5 sources). Turn in a hard copy at the time of presentation.

· Tuesday, 4 Dec. You will submit a single PowerPoint slide summarizing your topic, thesis, research and conclusion. Slide will accompany presentation on the 6th.

· Thursday 6 Dec 1200. Final paper is due on Blackboard, with peer reviews hard copy.

· Thursday, 6 Dec 1200 – 1450. You will present your final paper to the class during exam period.

Specifications:

Your paper must…

· be 1500 – 2000 words in length, not including the works cited.

· have a descriptive title

· contain a clear thesis statement that summarizes your main point and that is specific, significant, and arguable.

· present a reason, or reasons, for your position which will link your evidence with your thesis.

· explain and support your thesis using a variety of evidence.

· contain unified, coherent, well-developed paragraphs with strong topic sentences.

· use proper MLA documentation and manuscript format.

· You must cite at least five varied sources for information or opinion on your topic. At least one source must be from a book and one from an academic journal. You will be graded on the appropriateness of your sources to your claim. If in doubt about the appropriateness of a source, ask.

· Your citations must be formatted without the aid of citation generators, such as Easybib or Knight Cite. The documentation portion of the rubric, which is worth 20% of the overall essay grade will receive a zero if evidence of the use of a citation generator is noted.

· You must use at least two quotations, employing them properly and citing the authors correctly using MLA-style in-text citation.

· Your overall manuscript must adhere to MLA style be in accordance with the class standard as posted on Blackboard. Failure to follow this standard in terms of font, pitch, margin, header, page numbering, and word count will result in the return of the essay ungraded.

See the syllabus for both Grading Standards and Grading Rubric for an overview of how your paper will be evaluated.