Pick an issue affecting your future career field, your major field, your community, or anything else that interests you. Whichever option you choose, your assignment is to write an Argumentative Synthesis (a.k.a. research paper) on the issue you have chosen. In other words, you will be making an argument that presents YOUR POSITION (a.k.a. thesis) on the issue. However, you will present your argument within the context of what other people have already written about it. You will also be supporting your argument with evidence that you have found by doing library research.
Here are the nitty-gritty requirements:
Must be at least six pages. (This does not include the Works Cited/References page, title page, or any other extra material.) Aim for 6-8. If you go over 8, that’s OK, but under 6 is not OK.
Must cite at least five high-quality sources, at least 3 of which must be scholarly, peer-reviewed sources.
Must be an argument. That means you are taking a position on something and providing evidence to support that position.
Your sources need to be making DIFFERENT arguments. There is no point in having five sources if they are all saying the same thing. Be sure that you include some sources that take a position with which you do NOT agree.
You must acknowledge and address counter-arguments to your position.
Keep all your sources. You must hand in your sources along with the research paper. (Electronic submissions are acceptable.) I will not accept the paper without your sources. Every time you cite a source, I will look it up in your source material to see if you cited it accurately.
and the last part of it.