I already have 3 sources out of the 10 and an introduction
Research Project Assignment Sheet
Research Project (paper and multimodal)
Multimodal Mode: Adobe Webpage, Genial.ly, Weebly, or another mode of your choosing (no PowerPoint or Google slides)
This project will include four aspects:
Proposal (at least 1 page) – (this is where you will ‘pitch’ your project – why will this project be valuable for a reader? What is your angle of approach? What are your research questions? What is your focus? What is your purpose and significance?)
Paper (6 to 10 pages)
Annotated Bibliography (10 annotated sources in MLA or APA format)
Multimodal project (this will include all – or most – elements from the paper and bibliography re-imagined in an engaging format using multiple modes)
Broad Theme: The relaltionship between people and the non-human (more-than-human) environment
For your final research project, choose an interesting and unique topic that relates to the above theme. Make sure that your choice will have enough focus and interest to form the foundation for your project without becoming generalized or a simple re-statement of obvious facts.
To help avoid this project becoming a lit review or summary of research on your concern, shape your writing around the way your topic is represented and/or misrepresented in media and culture today OR find a unique angle or approach to your topic (you may use lens techniques for this).
DO NOT merely summarize a documentary or a selection of sources about your topic!
You will choose at least 10 sources for this paper; at least 3 of these must be scholarly, academic sources found through the UM library. All images will count toward 1 source and any images used as sources must be analyzed in the paper/project.
You can choose several texts to analyze as your primary examples in the body of your writing. Representations can include but are not limited to, news (print and other), fiction (written, TV, movies, etc.), images and photos, music, comics, social media, and documentaries. In order to function as primary examples, you need to directly analyze the way the texts represent/express or misrepresent your chosen environmental issue using close-reading techniques. You may also use interviews or surveys as primary sources.
You will also use sources in this paper that will function as secondary sources [used either as support/complication for your central claim or as a lens to “color” or add perspectives to your project]. These sources will form the academic conversation that you will enter through your writing. What are scholars already saying about your topic? What scientific evidence is available? Are there any theories in the scientific/ecocritical/scholarly conversation that connect to and/or support/complicate your claim?
What is the difference between primary and secondary sources in academic writing?
1. Primary Sources– Broadly, many define primary texts as those based on first-hand accounts and evidence gathering (interviews, data, original accounts etc.). However, in analytical writing, the definition of a primary text can shift and expand to the texts that you analyze as the primary examples for your central claim. You are responsible for the analytical “heavy lifting” when you talk about these texts. The designation primary centers on the way you use the texts in your writing. Some texts fall more fully into the primary category (images, fiction, social media posts etc.). Others (like documentaries, news, etc.) can function as either primary or secondary depending on how you use them and can also function between primary and secondary.
2. Academic Secondary Sources – Secondary sources are usually already analytic in nature and are comprised of commentary from other researchers and writers. Secondary sources may include peer-reviewed journal articles and books, theoretical texts on environment or ecocriticism, and/or scientific articles, TED talks, etc. on ecology and environmental concerns. Secondary sources are used to support and/or complicate your central claim as a part of a larger scholarly conversation on your topic; secondary sources may also be used as an analytical lens. You still use an analytical voice when talking about these sources, but they will function differently in your writing when compared to the primary examples.
When you write your project, you will weave your sources INTO the different paragraphs, creating a conversation between your own voice and your sources AND place the annotated bibliography at the end of the paper and project.
Before your topic is approved, you will need to write and get a statement of purpose signed off.
Statement of Purpose:
For your statement of purpose, you will “pitch” your project, discussing your topic, angle of approach, potential research questions, and why this project will be interesting and significant for your reader.
Steps to developing a research question:
Choose an interesting general topic. Most professional researchers focus on topics they are genuinely interested in studying. Writers should start with a broad topic about which they genuinely would like to know more. An example of a general topic might be “Slavery in the American South” or “Films of the 1930s.”
Do some preliminary research on your general topic. Do a few quick searches in current periodicals and journals on your topic to see what’s already been done and to help you narrow your focus. What issues are scholars and researchers discussing, when it comes to your topic? What questions occur to you as you read these articles?
Consider your audience. For most college papers, your audience will be academic, but always keep your audience in mind when narrowing your topic and developing your question. Would that particular audience be interested in the question you are developing?
Start asking questions. Taking into consideration all of the above, start asking yourself open-ended “how” and “why” questions about your general topic. For example, “Why were narratives of enslaved peoples effective tools in working toward the abolishment of slavery?” or “How did the films of the 1930s reflect or respond to the conditions of the Great Depression?”
Evaluate your question. After you’ve put a question or even a couple of questions down on paper, evaluate these questions to determine whether they would be effective research questions or whether they need more revising and refining.
Is your research question clear? With so much research available on any given topic, research questions must be as clear as possible in order to be effective in helping the writer direct his or her research.
Is your research question focused? Research questions must be specific enough to be well covered in the space available.
Is your research question complex? Research questions should not be answerable with a simple “yes” or “no” or by easily-found facts. They should, instead, require both research and analysis on the part of the writer. They often begin with “How” or “Why.”
Approximately 1 page, double spaced.
Paper:
Your final paper will be in MLA or APA format, 6 to 10 pages, not including the annotated bibliography.
Your research paper will consist of the following sections:
Statement of Central Argument/Claim – Thesis and Purpose (See John Swales CARS guidelines for help with this: setting up your territory, articulation of a niche and filling the niche)
Hook
Introduce topic/theme, primary text or texts, and lens or theory IF it will be an overarching aspect of the entire project.
Statement of Purpose/Problem
The So What? question – What is at stake for your project? What issue, problem, or way of thinking does your project address? This may be more implicit in the introduction.
IF you plan to use an overarching lens, at some point in the introduction you will need to explain the lens and how it will interact with your primary text(s).
Optional: Literature Review: you may include a short literature review if appropriate, this will briefly discuss current conversations surrounding your topic. See John Swales CARS introduction style for ways a brief literature review can enhance ann introduction.
Analysis
A close analysis of your primary texts (examples of representation and or misrepresentation of your environmental issue) using your lens or theory (if applicable) and supported/complicated throughout by your secondary sources and any interviews or other sources engaged.
This section will form the “body” of your paper and project. Make it as interesting and creative as you can and make sure to have topic sentences and/or headers that sign-post your reader and connect each section to your central argument. Make sure to add in the most important parts of your 10 sources- where they will best lens, support, complicate and/or refute the different points that you want to make.
4. Conclusion/Reflection
Reflect on your purpose and the broader implications of your work. Make explicit your statement of purpose. If appropriate, you can think about ways to resolve or help resolve the problem or issues that you brought up in your section or your research may generate further questions about your topic. And/or, you can talk about the way the project has impacted you or maybe helped you think differently about your topic. You can also conclude with a call to action if appropriate. Use the Harvard writing conclusions link to find further ideas for conclusions that move beyond a mere summary or re-statement of points.
5. Annotated bibliography
A review of your sources (approximately 100 to 200 words per source) – see guidelines below.