Introduction:
This assignment is the culmination of your semester-long research
project. It is the opportunity for you to present your own thoughts and
opinions about the research you have conducted and presented all semester. In
addition to summarizing, evaluating, categorizing, and synthesizing information
(which you have already done in previous assignments) this assignment asks you
to build on the writing associated with your research to develop and defend a thesis based on the
scholarship you have identified. In doing so, you will have an
opportunity to fuse your own conclusions and opinions with the established
research to persuade a reader of the validity of your established thesis.
Purpose:
Research papers will be assigned in most or all of your future coursework
throughout your academic career. The purpose of the research paper is twofold:
to gather, evaluate and synthesize existing scholarship (as was done in the annotated
bibliography and literature review) and
to use the research gathered to develop and defend a thesis.
Students will be expected to build on the foundation of the literature
review in order to complete this assignment. While additional research will be requested,
the research paper serves largely to expand the work done in the literature
review to incorporate and demonstrate the student’s own thinking about their
topic. In doing so, students will learn to clearly articulate a thesis, defend
that thesis using a variety of reputable sources as well as their own
understanding of the topic, and draw conclusions that clarify the student’s
position regarding the topic/thesis at hand. For this reason, it is appropriate
to use writing from previous assignments to help develop this paper.
Genre:
Research papers require writers to explore the existing scholarship that
has been completed relative to their research question/topic and utilize that scholarship in
designing and defending a thesis throughout the paper.
Thesis-based research papers span several pages to develop an argument
and defend the thesis. In the case of this paper, students are expected to
write no fewer than 15
pages; however, it is worth
noting that the same structure/format can and should be used for papers of both
shorter and far greater lengths. Research papers should include an introduction
(1-3 paragraphs, provides topic of the review and organizational pattern of the
body), a body (multiple pages, provides your discussion of sources and
how they prove/demonstrate the thesis, and is organized thematically), and a
two-pronged conclusion (1-2 paragraphs that incorporate reactions to the
source materials and insights about the research topic, and 1-2 paragraphs to
synthesize critical thinking threads and affirm that the thesis has been proven.)
While this paper is dependent on research, students should be cautious
that the bulk of the writing is their own ideas, which are born out of the
research conducted. For this reason, students should ensure that no more than 50%
of their paper is drawn from sourced materials.
Writing in the first-person style (use of “I”) is NOT appropriate for this essay. You will defend your
thesis using a third-person style.
itional sources that were not included in the annotated bibliography or literature
review.
· Synthesize multiple pieces of information collected
from a variety of sources by:
o quoting and/or summarizing main points from a target
of three discrete
sources per each theme (both
styles of citation should be present in this paper),
o incorporating the writer’s conclusions, ideas, and
thoughts about each theme,
o interrogating information across themes to draw
larger conclusions about the topic/research question and to defend the thesis.
· Organize your paper by using appropriate transitions
and making connections between ideas. This also means eliminating subheadings
and drafting clear topic sentences for each paragraph and providing
transitional writing between themes,
· Incorporate the student’s insights about the
research topic in an effort to further develop or defend the thesis,
· Synthesize critical thinking threads to ensure that
the thesis has been proven;
· Consider the order in which you sequence themes/topics,
subtopics, and sources within each paragraph,
· Include a detailed, multi-faceted conclusion that
addresses both of the following:
o Insights about the research topic and
o Synthesis of critical thinking threads to affirm
that the thesis has been proven.
· Address the need for additional research, if
appropriate, throughout the drafting process,
· Articulate (model) the conventions, style, writing,
and communication found in the articles you have read,
· MLA Format (double-spaced, 12-point font, 1”
margins, standard serif font,
· Be a minimum of 15 pages long (approx.. 4,000 words), not including Works Cited
pages.