ENG 112
Research Paper
You already chose a current hot topic, issue, or breakthrough idea in your field of study? The issue you choose will also be the basis for this final research paper and the Final Exam Presentation. (Use the issue you chose for your AB assignment. You decide if the sources you found are what you need for this paper, if so, use them; if not locate new required sources or additional credible sources to go along with your required sources.)
In your final major writing assignment of the semester, you will answer your research question and provide evidence to support your conclusion. Your goal is to write a well-supported thesis-driven argument in a form that will effectively communicate your claim/conclusion to your target audience.
Topic
Your topic will be the same issue you have been researching for your Annotated Bibliography. You might have shifted your focus slightly based on the research you collated in your annotated bibliography, and that’s fine.
Setting Up Your Paper
You can set up your argument in a variety of ways. For example, you might set it up as a proposal argument: during your research, you have discovered that a problem exists. In your research paper, you would then outline the problem, explain what (if anything) has been done in the past to solve it and why those attempts have not been successful, and then propose a viable solution. This is also called a claim of policy.
Another possibility, especially if you do not have a viable solution, could be to focus your paper on arguing that a certain problem exists (claims of fact). You would then in your paper shed light on the different aspects of the problem and explain who is affected and why this is a problem that should be taken seriously.
Yet another possibility here is to set up your paper as a claim of value: you could evaluate an issue, a problem, or whatever it is you have researched. Claims of value typically make a judgment and argue that something is good or bad. For example, if my research topic was reality TV shows, my claim of value might be that while some reality shows have added value to TV programming, others have been detrimental to the viewers’ experience. As you can see, a claim of value does not necessarily have to deal with huge issues—it simply argues that something is beneficial or detrimental, and then explains in depth why this is the case.
Audience
While you are writing for me and for each other, I also want you to imagine other students and faculty at RCC as your audience. In other words, write for an audience of readers who might not be familiar with your specific topic, but who are used to reading and writing papers, and who expect that you can properly document sources and work them into your argument.
Criteria
In the final draft of your Research Paper, you should:
Get to 5 full pages in length, not including the title pages, abstract, References, or Works Cited page. They are required for your discipline style, but they are not researched pages of information.
Cite 5-8 sources. At least 3 of these should be scholarly (peer-reviewed) sources. No unsigned web sources unless you have my specific permission. (Contact me if you are not sure what an unsigned web source is.)
Present a clear claim (thesis) about your issue that is a response to your research question
Present your argument in a structure that allows your target audience to follow your train of thought and that present the issue you are writing about in a logical way
Address any relevant counterarguments you have come across to strengthen your position. In other words, briefly present the opposing side of the argument. What are the opposers saying? You may need to research an additional source to find out.
Edit and proofread your argument so that it is free of errors in grammar and mechanics and consistently uses a tone appropriate for your target audience
Cite sources in your required discipline documentation style for your target audience that we agreed upon. Cite all sources used in your paper according to accepted conventions of academic writing.
You must use in-text citations with signal phrases to support what you are saying. However, your paper should not be just a bunch of quotes and paraphrases. Use them only to support major claims that you make and show where your dates and numbers come from. They should also not be long quotes and paraphrases that take up whole paragraphs or pages. Any paper that does not have quotes or paraphrases with correct in-text citations and signal phrases to support claims will fail due to a lack of researched expert statements to support claims.
Important Note-
If your discipline requires APA, see pages 505-522 in your Rules for Writers for a sample paper. You must provide a title page, 5 pages of research, and a reference page.
If your discipline requires MLA, see pages 445-457 in your Rules for Writers for a sample paper. You must have 5 pages of research followed by a Works Cited page.
If your discipline requires Chicago Style or any other style, refer to sources provided as links within our class for help or search any .edu source for the appropriate information.