English 302 – Advanced Composition – WA3 Research Project
Professor: Dr. S. Patrick
Writing Assignment 3: Mining the Scholarly Conversation – Critical Issue in Your Major Field of Study (4-5 pages; 1000-1250 words) plus Annotated Bibliography with minimum 4-5 Sources
Choose a current, critical topic related to your declared major area of study to explore in greater depth. Your goal is to write an essay that explores a current topic according to ‘what others’ have said about it and that begins to illuminate the current state of the field at this time. Therefore, this is not an opinion piece. It is instead an opportunity for you to learn what others have said about your topic (such as pros/cons; challenges/rewards; next steps) based on their research and experiences that can inform your knowledge and understanding. Your paper will reflect your research findings/evidence with appropriate citations to provide a brief but thoughtful academic overview of your topic. Your essay should have an introduction and a conclusion to help your readers see its overall point and structure, and should be organized so that readers can easily follow your thinking. Your Introduction should include a Purpose Statement (See WA3 Template).
Your paper should use a minimum of 4-5 credible sources related to your current topic. Most of your sources will probably come from scholarly, peer-reviewed journals (use Mason Library Online) since they address the most current issues facing your field at any given time. Your search timeframe should be approximately 2005 – 2022 depending on discipline and topic. In addition, your paper should include an Annotated Bibliography containing at least the 4-5 sources used in your essay with a brief notation about each source. [More information about Annotated Bibliographies will be provided online.]
Essay Organization/Subheads [Use WA3 Template as a guide]
1. Introduction – Introduction should engage the reader, provide appropriate background information to frame the topic, and assert your main purpose (include purpose statement and underline it).
2. Body (Determine 2-3 Subheads as Appropriate for Context and Purpose Statement) – Each paragraph should relate to the point(s) you are making, connect to the paragraphs around it, and connect to the overall purpose of your essay. Use subheads for organization such as pros/cons, challenges/rewards, problems/next steps. Subheads based on analysis of your 4-5 sources.
3. Conclusion/Summary – Concluding paragraph(s) should summarize main points and link to your Purpose Statement in Introduction.
4. Reference Page with Annotated Bibliography – Citations for sources used in your paper plus annotation for each source. Annotated Bibliography (Bibliographic citations with 2-4 sentence descriptive notation) using your field’s preferred Style [MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.]
Essay Evaluation: Your essay will be graded on the following points:
1. Grammatical Correctness – Please pay close attention to grammar, conciseness, word choice
2. Citation Accuracy; Annotated Bibliography – Accuracy/Depth
4. Clear Purpose Statement in Introduction
5. Clear and Logical Sentence and Paragraph Construction that supports purpose
6. Thoroughness of Research and Analysis across sources
7. Overall Essay Organization using subheads to guide reader and author
7. Effective Summary of main points in Conclusion with link to Purpose Statement in Introduction
8. Audience Readability – can paper be easily understood by readers/audience?