Assignment: Write a 5- to 6-page essay using Research as the method of development. Refer to support documents for information about this type of essay/paper, including assistance with incorporating quotations and paraphrasing sources, along with the appropriate citations, within your own papers. You will be required to finish and submit an MLA Worksheet that will provide comprehensive illustrations of many MLA techniques. There are also library modules, called PILOT, assigned through our library. (See handouts for details about research methods and updated MLA standards).

***NOTE: Essay must be at least 5 FULL pages to avoid an “F,” 50% of total points, and no feedback. Label in upper-left corner does not count toward pages.

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Details: For this essay you have the opportunity to conduct research on a thesis which you will propose within your field of study (or the field you intend to choose as your eventual major area of study). For this class, as you know, a thesis must be an arguable and provocative viewpoint you have about a particular subject or idea within the assignment parameters. Since this essay asks you to derive your subject matter within your specific area of academic interest, you will need to find a topic that is currently being debated or discussed or argued within that field. For example, Engineering students from past classes have written about their views on whether technological advances (e.g. computers, Internet) have helped or diminished the capability to perform certain tasks within that field.

process, including specific methods and resources used. Use any presentation format you wish (PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.). The dates for these presentations are May 5, 7 & 12. Completing this presentation is a task worth 20 points of your grade.

More details: In general, a research essay provides all the appropriate elements of composition, as well as what is usually an objective and third-person ‘voice.’ The subject of your research paper, not the writer, should command focus and emphasis for your readers. First-person voice (i.e. “I believe that…”) is not the customary technique used in college-level research papers in most fields of study. DO NOT use first-person voice for this essay. Evidence of first-person voice will result in a non-passing grade (D+, at best).

You are required to include relevant information about your subject, which has been written or produced in some manner by others, in order to support your own thesis/viewpoint. This information will be selected by you over the course of your research, covering multiple secondary sources. A secondary source refers to works relating to a primary source (e.g. a review or scholarly, peer-reviewed article written about a major book publication), or a subject area. As you will be writing about a subject area, most likely, you will be using secondary sources only.

You are required to cite a minimum five (5) sources in your paper. Try mixing your sources across a number of different mediums (Web, print, television, interview, DVD, etc.)

Finally, you will be required to construct and submit a Works Cited page to be attached at the end of your essay (not to be included in minimum page count).