Research Project Assignment Overview
ENC 1102
Current Issues Research Project—Assignment Overview
Due Date: Monday, NOV 28 by 11:59pm
Carefully check both this guide and the checklist to ensure that you include each item required for submission of this project. It is imperative for students to note that research projects that do not conform to these guidelines will not be evaluated and will receive no credit. Research projects must include:
use of required resources
parenthetical citations that correctly cite your use of your sources
a Works Cited page that corresponds exactly to the parenthetical citations within the paper
NOTE WELL:
Only students who have submitted a research paper that meets the criteria for instructor evaluation will be allowed to advance to take their exams. Students who do not submit a research paper that meets the criteria for instructor evaluation will not be eligible to sit for their exams for this course.
Points Associated with Final Project
Working Outline 25 pts
Proposal 100 pts
Annotated Bibliography 100 pts
Finished research project 200 pts
As you can see from the figures above, this project is very important. 425 of your points for the course are earned while working on this project.
Success in Comp 2 is largely determined by your ability to:
Formulate a position
Organize your writing
Provide your reader with interesting & relevant details
AND
Conduct, Present & Document Research
This assignment requires that you successfully interweave all of these skills.
What To Do
Your assignment is to learn about an issue that is of current national or global importance. You will do this by reading a variety of sources that discuss the various points associated with your issue.
Choose a topic discussed in CQ Researcher, an excellent source available both in print in the library and through the library’s website under “remote access databases.”
You may choose from any issue of CQ Researcher appearing between 2017 and now except you may not choose: abortion, capital punishment, gun control, hazing, serial killers, cosmetic surgery, eating disorders, or teen pregnancy.
Use the CQ Researcher article to gather a strong foundation in the topic. Then, formulate a question to help you narrow the focus of your research. You may decide that you want to learn more about the controversy surrounding “big box stores” like Wal-Mart and Best Buy.
Your question might be:
“Why would anyone criticize stores that offer one-stop shopping and discount prices?”
Use the insight and knowledge that you have gained from your CQ Researcher Article to help you begin to develop a plan to answer your research question.
Your ideas about the answer will allow you to formulate a strong thesis statement. Your thesis statement must state a position. Your research will allow you to organize and develop your discussion of your thesis.
An example of a thesis statement which states a position is:
In spite of the fact that big box stores such as Wal Mart have an adverse effect on local small businesses, shoppers should be aware of the immense advantages that these stores create within a community.
6. Type your thesis into a Word document. Type bold headings for each major point of discussion for your paper. This is the beginning of your working outline.
7. Conduct additional research to begin to answer your question. Focus on using your other required resources to fill in the gaps in your knowledge that remain in spite of your work with CQ Researcher.
8. Prepare your Annotated Bibliography from your sources to help you gain true insight into your topic
9. Use your annotated bibliography, which you have used to record your additional research and insight, to begin to fill in the discussion needed in each section of your outline. Paste relevant material from your annotations into the appropriate parts of your outline.
As you continue to do this, your Working Outline starts to turn into your paper.
Continue to flesh out your outline to write a 6-8 page research paper in which you discuss, analyze, and evaluate at least 3 key ideas related to your subject. Make sure that you include correct documentation of your research. A cover page is NOT numbered in MLA, nor does it count as a page in your paper.
Each paragraph of your paper, with the exception of your introduction and conclusion, must contain at least 2 citations to your research.
Required Length
Papers MUST be 6-8 pages of TEXT. A paper that ends on page 6 is “5 pages and a fraction” long. A paper that ends on page 7 is 6 pages and a fraction long. Cover pages DO NOT COUNT in fulfilling the page length. Cover pages are NOT NUMBERED in MLA style.
Required Resources
Each student must include references to the following resources within the project:
1 CQ Researcher article (2019 or later)
2 sources from periodicals–magazines, journals, or newspapers, obtained from print, an online version of a source, or through PCC library’s electronic databases
1 source that originally came from a book—Opposing Viewpoints database is great for these
1 relevant web site
Each project must include in-text citation of at least 2 recent (2019 or later) statistics that establish the relevance of the topic. Please note that these statistics may be obtained through any reliable source. These are not required to be additional sources—you simply must make use of recent statistics at least 2 times within your paper.
OTHER Resources. You may choose to include additional resources, such as video tapes or personal interviews. Regardless of the use of these additional resources, the project’s required resources must be met.
Plagiarism is unethical and will not be tolerated. Work that is plagiarized, either intentionally or unintentionally, will be assigned a zero. See your course syllabus for our full plagiarism policy.
Students are held accountable for learning to work with and benefit from the research of professionals. Students who are unsure about how to properly cite another person’s unique work and ideas have many resources to guide them. These include:
Modern Language Association Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
The library website links to online citation help
Your classmates
Librarians
The TLCC tutors
Smarthinking tutors
Writing Studio instructors
Your instructor
So, you shouldn’t have any worries about unintentional plagiarism with all of those resources available to help you figure out how to remain a responsible researcher.
Working Outline—25 pts
Due MON, NOV 7
At the minimum, your outline needs to include a working thesis and an indication of the major points of discussion of the paper.
Remember, the more you work with your annotated bibliography and utilize your working outline, the more your paper will simply “write itself!”
Research Proposal—100 pts
Due MON, NOV 14
Annotated Bibliography—100 pts
Due MON, NOV 21
TLCC and Writing Studio Help
You will be allowed up to four total sets of TLCC or Writing Studio tutor extra credit for working on project revision. Remember, that is 3 points per session. If you use the TLCC, ask the tutor to sign your tutoring form indicating what you were working on: