Essay #3

Click here to download the prompt for Essay #3.

ENG 1101 RESEARCH PROJECT

Assignment:

The objectives of most research projects are: 1) to research and analyze a topic or issue, 2) to develop an interpretation of your research findings, 3) to integrate and comment on data and/or textual evidence in a piece of analytical writing, and 4) to clearly, logically, and convincingly lay out your analysis of the topic or issue. Your third and final essay will work on strengthening all of these skills, which will be useful both as your further your studies here at City Tech, and as you pursue your chosen career after graduation.

Your project will consist of three parts: your proposal and annotated bibliography (worth 5% of your essay’s total grade), your research paper (13%), and your final presentation (2%).

 

 

Part 1: The Proposal and Annotated Bibliography

The first step in any research project is choosing a topic, developing a research question, and doing a “literature search” to establish what types of source material are available on the topic you are researching. The next step is to read through your sources and take notes.  Once you have completed this step, you will then put together a Project Proposal that has three sections:

  1. A Project Overview: A brief description of your project, why it is important, and what you plan to research.
  2. Key Questions: A list of 3-5 key questions that you will need to answer in order to write your research essay.
  3. Annotated Bibliography: List of sources in MLA format with a brief description of each. 

The annotated bibliography will prepare you to write your final paper: the argumentative research essay. In order to write a successful research paper, you will need to come up with subject specific questions that you want to answer, and, of course, a thesis. In addition, you will need to spend a considerable amount of time reading about your subject. The hours that you spend will be both exhilarating and frustrating. Research can be hard, but it is also very rewarding.

Think of the annotated bibliography as a storage place for your sources. Each time you find a new source—such as a book, website, journal, or newspaper article—you must record its vital information (or in other words, the citation). Then, underneath the citation, you will write a brief annotation so that you know what the source is about. Your annotation should include a summary of the text, the author’s thesis or argument, and an explanation on how you plan to use the source in your argument. It is very important that you remember to include how the source relates to your particular research question.

 

Format Guidelines:

  1. Your annotated bibliography must have at least 6 different, legitimate, useful sources.
  2. You must have a balance of sources: 1 scholarly article (from the library stacks or databases), 1 newspaper article, 1 primary resource (interview), and 3 of your choice (accredited web sources, magazines, etc). You may include more sources if you’d like, but you this is the minimum. Keep in mind that each of these sources must appear in your research paper.
  3. Your annotated bibliography must be alphabetized.
  4. It must be formatted correctly: MLA citation followed by a short paragraph (this includes a summary, the author’s thesis or argument, and the way in which the source may be helpful in your research).
  5. It will be approximately 1-2 pages in length. You may use single spacing for the annotations, but skip a space between entries.

 

Example of an Annotated Bibliography entry:

Graham, Barbara. “The Future of Love.” Utne Reader. Utne Reader, Nov/Dec 1996. Web. 4 Nov 2010.

In her article “The Future of Love,” Barbara Graham describes how our unrealistic expectations about passionate love can lead to a troubled marriage. She uses current research on biochemistry and psychology to suggest a new model for relationships. Ultimately, Graham claims that really understanding how a relationship works can help us to dispel harmful myths surrounding love and marriage. This article is especially helpful for my research in two ways. First, it provides science-based support for my questions. Second, Graham helps me to see how professional writers can prove their thesis and still provide balanced evidence.

 

Due Dates for Part 1:

  • The proposal (including the annotated bibliography), in its entirety, is due 4/28.
    • Make sure you have a copy of this saved before turning it in.

 

 

Part 2: The Argumentative, Research Paper

Once you have researched your topic and written your proposal, including the annotated bibliography, it is time to write the actual essay.

Rather than merely summarizing information that has been gathered, a research-based argumentative essay asks a writer to use his or her research to formulate a new insight into a topic or issue and share that fresh understanding with the reader. In a coherent, well-organized essay with a specific and precisely worded thesis statement, your essay should contain an appropriate balance between both analysis and adequate support including evidence, facts, details, and examples that are relevant and move your argument forward. Your approach to proving your thesis should be consistent with your project. What structure, tone, voice, and style should be adopted in order to best achieve your writing goals? As always, the prose should be free from mechanical errors (grammar, spelling, punctuation) and should demonstrate precise, specific language that contributes to the clarity and understanding of the sentences. All citations should be in MLA format.

 

Format Guidelines:

  1. Your final essay should be four to six pages in length (not including the annotated bibliography), typed in 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced and with 1-inch margins.
  2. Your annotated bibliography will be attached after your essay.
  3. A cover page is not necessary. Put your name, the course and the date in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. Do not forget a title.
  4. Be sure to add page numbers and staple all pages before coming to class.
  5. Use parenthetical documentation (MLA style) to cite any quotations.

Example: In Delirious New York, the architect Rem Koolhaas states that “between 1890 and 1940 a new culture (the machine Age?) selected Manhattan as laboratory: a mythical island where the invention and testing of a metropolitan lifestyle and its attendant architecture could be pursued as a collective experiment” (Koolhaas 9-10).

But why do we need in-text citations anyway? Answer: The above in-text citation tells readers that the information in the sentence can be located on pages 9 and 10 of a work by an author named Rem Koolhaas. This information is not made-up; it exists in a place where anybody can look it up. Citations make research accurate, defensible, reproducible, and also, open to interpretation by other scholars. Simply put, if readers want more information about Rem Koolhaas and his ideas, they can find it by going to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Koolhaas, they will find the following information:

Koolhaas, Rem. Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan. 1978. New York: The Monacelli P, 1994. Print.

 

Grading:
There are eight main features that I will look for when grading your essays: 

  1. A clear title and an introduction that gives an overview of the paper’s topic and includes a powerful thesis statement.
  2. A clear argument with specific, well-integrated evidence that also takes into account the potential counterevidence.
  3. A strong, well-developed conclusion.
  4. Organization and presentation of the material. Each body paragraph in the essay should be organized around topic sentences, followed by supporting details. Make sure to use transition words in your paragraphs to guide your reader from idea to idea.
  5. The insight you have into topic, and the effort you have put into both researching and thinking critically about your stance.
  6. Use of well-structured sentences, clean paragraphs, and proper grammar and spelling.
  7. Correct use of MLA citations (see pgs. 106-112 and 115-120 in GWMS).
  8. Your ability to meet format guidelines and turn in completed work on time. (Please note that all process work must be turned in with the final essay, and any inability to meet the various deadlines will affect your final grade.)

Due Dates for Part 2:

  • Your paper’s first draft is due on 4/28. You must bring two copies for peer editing.
    • At this time, you must also hand in your completed proposal and annotated bibliography.
  • Your final research paper, including your finalized proposal and annotated bibliography, will be due on 5/5.

 

 

Part 3: The In-Class Presentation

More information regarding the presentations will come at a later time.

Due Dates for Part 3:

Student Presentations will occur on May 12th and 14th.

 

 

SAMPLE PROPOSAL:

Here is a Sample Research Proposal (please note that the annotations are incomplete. See above for a description of what must be included in your annotations):

 

Joe Schmo
English 1101

 

Assessing the Success of Brown v. Board of Education
in New York State in the 21st Century

Project Overview

Segregation has returned to public education with a vengeance, as a result of years of federal policies that started in the early 1990s when the U.S. Supreme Court and the local federal courts began to rip apart the legacy of the Supreme Court’s 1954 school desegregation ruling, Brown v. Board of Education. The percentage of black children who now go to integrated schools has dropped to its lowest level since 1968. New York State is the most segregated state for black and Latino children in America: seven out of eight black and Latino kids in New York go to segregated schools. The majority of them go to schools where no more than two to four percent of the children are white. How is it possible that more than fifty years after the Brown decision, New York’s public schools are actually less integrated than they were at the end of the 1960s?  What factors have contributed to this?  What, if anything, is being done to reverse this trend?

 

Key Questions

  • What specific pieces of legislation have resulted in the increase of segregation in New York public schools?
  • In addition to legislation, what factors have contributed to the ongoing segregation of New York City Public Schools?
  • Are there any ways in which the Brown decision itself has contributed to the increase in segregation of public schools in the 21st century?
  • What is currently being done to address the issue of school integration in New York State?

 

Annotated Bibliography
Balkin, Jack M., ed. What Brown v. Board of Education Should Have Said. New York: New York University Press, 2001.

A group of constitutional scholars rewrites the Brown decision, looking back over the 50 years of American history and race relations that have passed since the decision was first announced. This article is helpful to my research project because…
Cottrol, Robert J., Raymond T. Diamond, and Leland B. Ware. Brown v. Board of Education: Case, Culture, and the Constitution. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2003.

Intended for students and general readers, this book tells the dramatic story of the road to and from Brown. Argues that “Brown not only changed the national equation of race and caste—it also changed our view of the Court’s role in American life.” I will use this article to…

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