Straightline ENG101 FINAL-Research (Required)

Objectives

In this ongoing research paper project, students will:

· Select and narrow an essay topic.

· Identify audience and purpose before beginning the process of writing an essay.

· Formulate a strong, effective thesis statement.

· Structure an essay using a strong beginning, middle, and end.

· Develop and organize the topic sentences, the supporting details and specific evidence that support the thesis and essay.

· Show appropriate development of the essay and the thesis using paragraphs that contain sentence variety and specific, coherent, relevant, and interesting details.

· Make good use of topic sentences, transitions, and concluding statements within the paragraphs, which better links paragraphs in the essay.

· Write an essay, approximately 6 double-spaced and typed pages (1,250 words), using proper research techniques and following proper standard MLA guidelines.

· Include 4 to 7 relevant, quality sources in your works cited page.

· Revise to ensure appropriate development with specific attention to cohesion, support, and organization.

· Revise to include varied, interesting, and accurate sentences and word choices.

· Identify the common grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors in an essay and apply the rules of correction to effectively edit.

Research Paper Project - Step 1: Choosing a Topic

For this lesson, you need to choose a topic for your research paper. As discussed in the lesson presentation, choose a specific topic.

Thinking about the broad topics that you're interested in is a great way to choose a specific topic, as we've seen with this example. To brainstorm specific topics, choose one or more of the pre-writing activities discussed in the lesson. For example, if you're interested in computers, start brainstorming ways that computers are used like in this cluster:

Research Paper Project - Step 1: Choosing a Topic

For this lesson, you need to choose a topic for your research paper. As discussed in the lesson presentation, choose a specific topic.

Thinking about the broad topics that you're interested in is a great way to choose a specific topic, as we've seen with this example. To brainstorm specific topics, choose one or more of the pre-writing activities discussed in the lesson. For example, if you're interested in computers, start brainstorming ways that computers are used like in this cluster:

Most likely, it is going to be one of the smaller topics that branch off from the main idea that will make a good topic for your essay. It's impossible to write just one research paper on "computers" but a student could write a very effective research paper on "online advertising techniques" or "computer-assisted teaching in K-12 Social Studies classrooms."

Choose a topic that you are interested in learning more about, as you'll be working with this topic throughout the duration of the course.

Step 7: Final Draft of the Research Paper

This assignment involves preparing the final draft of your research paper and Works Cited page.

Additional helpful resources:

Research Paper Rubric | Research Paper Sample

You SHOULD NOT submit the final draft of your research paper and the Works Cited page until you complete Topic 12.

Once you receive feedback on the first draft, use those suggestions as a starting point to write the final draft. But don’t just stop there! In addition to implementing the suggestions, you should make other revisions as well. You can use this as a start for your checklist, adding to it the steps that you were told to address in the next draft:

You've done it! You should read over your research paper one more time to ensure it is free from errors.

· Is my thesis statement strong, and does it effectively tell the main idea of the essay?

· Did I underline my thesis statement?

· Are my paragraphs arranged logically?

· Do my paragraphs have strong topic sentences?

· Did I use parenthetical citations to cite ALL borrowed information?

· Am I using enough reputable sources?

· Are there enough examples to prove my thesis statement?

· Do I use transitions effectively between ideas and paragraphs?

· Do I have a strong concluding paragraph?

· Is my grammar correct?

· Do I use the proper punctuation for my sentences?

· Is my paper the right length?

The guidelines and requirements for this assignment are:

Remember to apply the concepts you're learning in the course, including elements of grammar, punctuation, thesis development, and other skills.

Length: This assignment should be a minimum of 4 pages (800 words). You should aim for at least 6 double-spaced pages (1,250 words), excluding the Works Cited page.

Header: Include a header in the upper left-hand corner of your writing assignment with the following information:

· Your first and last name

· Course Title (Composition I)

· Assignment name (Research Paper)

· Current Date

Format:

· Double-spacing throughout

· Standard 12 point font (Arial, TimesNewRoman, Calibri)

· Title, centered after heading

· 1” margins on all sides

· Save the file using one of the following extensions: .docx, .doc, .rtf, or .txt

Underline your thesis statement in the introductory paragraph.