Module 1 Project: I-search Essay
Your mission:
This semester, you are charged with choosing a topic (technology) to explore in depth and formulating research questions about that topic. Then you will conduct the research to answer those questions, draw your own conclusions, and share your findings with a scholarly audience. Because this is a semester-long process, you will begin by mapping out a plan for your research. This plan is called an “I-search” because it focuses on you, your research process, and what you learn as a result; therefore, it is perfectly acceptable to use the first person (I, me, we, etc.) in your writing. That said, this is a structured essay that observes the conventions of academic writing. This is also an essay that incorporates outside sources (your research), cites them in the text, and provides a works cited page, giving the full bibliographic information for each source mentioned in the essay.
Requirements:
This essay should be 3-4 pages (750-1000 words) long, should cite at least five sources in MLA-style format, and should be typed, double-spaced (with no extra spaces between the parts of the essay), in 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font, and should adhere to MLA manuscript format.
Your heading should be in the left-hand margin (not typed into the header) and double spaced. It should be four lines long and should include your name, your instructor’s last name, the course name and number, and the date.
The running header should be inserted into Word’s header feature. The header should contain your last name and the page number. Use the auto-numbering feature in Word.
Indent your paragraphs. Do not insert extra spaces between paragraphs.
The essay itself should have a creative, descriptive title that has the important words capitalized and is centered on the line following the header. Do not title the paper the name of the assignment. Do not put your heading in bold, do not underline or italicize it, do not put it in a different size, color, or type of font from the rest of the paper.
Outline:
Introduction (.25-.5 page)
Identify your topic
Discuss how and why you chose this topic
Thesis statement (the point you want to make in this paper and a brief preview of how you will do that)
What you already know (.5-1 page)
Discuss your existing knowledge and/or experiences regarding this topic.
What you want to know (.5-1 page)
Pose a minimum of three research questions and explain why you want to explore these questions.
Theorize about your findings. What do you expect to learn?
Your research process (.5-1 page)
Describe how you will approach your research. What resources will you draw upon to help you learn about your topic? Will you use the CCBC libraries and databases, schedule a Research Assistance Program session with one of our librarians, use Google, watch YouTube videos, read journals or trade publications related to the subject, conduct interviews with experts on your topic, etc.?
Discuss how you plan to keep track of the information you find. Will you keep a research notebook, use a particular application like Microsoft OneNote, make notecards, keep a running Google Doc, etc.?
Your preliminary findings (.5-1 page)
Present the five sources you were required to share in your Module 1 Research Journal discussion post. You should use an MLA-style in-text citation for each source whenever it is mentioned.
How did you find these sources?
What have you learned from these sources? Quote directly from at least two of your sources and make sure to have in-text citations for these quotes.
How have they helped to answer your research questions so far?
Conclusion (.25-.5 page)
What research questions remain unanswered?
How has your perspective on your topic already begun to change?
What research strategies are working? What strategies aren’t working?
What help/resources do you need to help you complete your research?
Close with a “clincher” statement that leaves your reader wanting to know more about your topic and your quest for knowledge.
Works cited page (separate page at the end of the essay)
This page should contain all sources referenced in the body of your paper, whether quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. Do not include sources not mentioned in the paper. There should be a minimum of five sources cited. Follow MLA-style documentation format.
Module 1 Project: I-search Essay
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