Prompt:
Our first two units have introduced and guided you through effective research and analytical components with the goal of helping you develop successful research and argumentative habits. For this third unit, you will put your research and argumentation skills to use by composing a research paper that effectively synthesizes your argument and perspectives with outside sources. Additionally, you will address a relevant ethical issue that demonstrates your personal responsibility as a writer and researcher to your community.
A successful Research Paper is more than just sounding intelligent about a subject and incorporating the conversation around the topic. A successful Research Paper establishes claims, adds stakes to an issue, and considers factors that affect a single issue in order to make the best claims about that issue and its solution. Furthermore, successful research papers interact with a variety of perspectives and consider some of the assumptions that inform and affect people, groups of people, perspectives, etc. surrounding the issue.
For this assignment, you will engage with the research you conducted in the Annotated Bibliography (including 2-4 more sources for a total of 6-8) and compose a 1200-1500 word essay in MLA format in which you argue a position on your chosen topic. You will also provide a feasible solution to the issue, or an aspect of the issue. Your solution should not be generalized, it should be specific and structured as though you will carry out the solution yourself. We will talk more about this in the coming weeks, but focus on the feasibility of the solution. Can it actually be done? If so, how? And how can you, and others with you, carry out or pioneer the solution? You also want to think about what other factors are involved that can affect the issue and your solution to it.
Important Features:
An explicit position: what is your stance on this issue?
A precise description of the problem: if your argument is a proposal, what specific problem are you proposing a solution to?
A clear and compelling solution: if your are proposing a solution, is it clear and effective?
A response to what others have said or done: how can you situate yourself in the ongoing conversation about this issue?
Appropriate background information: what knowledge do your readers need to best understand your argument?
A Clear indication of why the topic matters: why is it important that we have a discussion about this topic?
Good reasons and evidence: how do you support your position on this argument? Are you drawing your support from multiple sources?
Evidence that your solution will address the problem: if you are proposing a solution, how are you sure your solution will be an effective one?
Attention to more than one point of view: do you acknowledge different perspectives than your own? Do you draw from different sources?
An authoritative tone: do you sound like you know what you are talking about?
An appeal to readers’ values: what values can you appeal to in order to persuade your readers to your position?
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