“Speaking While Female”
THE ASSIGNMENT
Identify and properly narrow a topic, or main idea for your paper, examine what others have written or said about your topic , and use those sources to help you make your point.
That means you will be quoting them, paraphrasing them (their ideas in your own words) or summarizing their ideas, and citing all of your sources in correct LMA format.
Understanding the research process and how to write a paper based on your research will stand you in good stead throughout your academic career. If you will be taking English 1302, these skills will prove critical. You have done In Quizitive exercises and chapter readings in EAA that should help you understand how to do all
of this.
DESCRIPTION
This is a research paper, meaning that once you have decided on your topic and thesis (main point about the topic), you research that topic using academically reliable sources such as articles from professional journals, trustworthy periodicals, books by trustworthy authors, etc. You will likely find all or most of your sources online. A source can even be opposed to your thesis if you are planning to refute its argument.
Select one article from Everyone’s an Author – any article you choose. Determine what its topic is, and write an essay on that same topic with any thesis (your message/point of view) you like. To be clear, your essay does not have to be about the article in Everyone’s an Author or even mention it.
Example: “Clean Sweep” by Ryan Kohls (EAA, pp 947–952). The article is about the people who clean up after large sporting events, particularly those at Toronto’s Rogers Center, where the Blue Jays play. The point of Kohls’ article is to show readers what life is like for these unseen workers, their struggles – to paint a portrait of people most of us simply don’t think about. If you were to choose this article, you might research and write about other “invisible” workers. Maybe you’d be inspired to write about the rise of unions in the janitorial industry
(https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas–janitors–mop–the–floor–with–a–
bullying–union–1473461213) or about coal miners, truck drivers, oil rig
workers, etc. That’s what’s meant by being inspired by an article in EAA.
And that’s just one of the many, many articles in EAA, each offering you its
own possibilities.
Length: 4–5 double–spaced pages or 1000 to 1250 words, plus the works cited page, which is separate.
What’s a reliable source? Reliable sources include sources from our library’s online research databases or credible books, magazines or newspapers. Make sure each source has an author or credible institution; if not, do not use that source. Wikipedia is not a permitted source, EXCEPT that most Wikipedia articles have footnotes at the end that may lead you to reliable sources.
The Turnitin plagiarism checker will check for inappropriate use of sources, and you will be able to see its results yourself in D2L. Don’t plagiarize any source!
There are numerous resources listed below.
Note: A topic upload and two drafts are required: five points are deducted
from the final draft if you don’t upload your topic by the deadline, and 10
points are deducted if you don’t upload a first draft or if the first draft is
completely inadequate.
SUGGESTIONS
A. Remember Introduction strategies (See Everyone’s an Author pp. 704–707).
1. Recalling an experience
2. Ask a provocative question.
3. Present an interesting quotation.
4. Present an interesting statistic.
5. Present an interesting fact.
6. Make a striking assertion.
7. Provide background information if that would be helpful.
B. Use Effective Conclusion Strategies: (See Everyone’s an Author pp 707–709).
1. Recall an experience.
2. End with a rhetorical question.
3. End with an interesting quotation.
4. End with a brief emphatic sentence.
5. Sound a call to action.
C. Implement Effective Developmental Strategies: (See Little Seagull, pp 17–29).
1. Description (See Everyone’s an Author, pp. 462–64, also 236–37, 194–96)
2. Compare and Contrast (See Everyone’s an Author, pp. 457–59)
3. Analogy (See Everyone’s an Author, pp. 451–53)
4. Causal Analysis (See Everyone’s an Author, pp. 246–47, 266–67, 453–55)
5. Provide Examples (See Everyone’s an Author, pp. 464–65)
6. Definition (See Everyone’s an Author, pp. 46–61)
7. Analysis (See Everyone’s an Author, pp. 229–81)
8. Problem/Solution (See Everyone’s an Author, pp. 469–70)
9. 1Reiteration (Everyone’s an Author, pp. 471–73)
Dividing and Classifying (See Everyone’s an Author, pp. 455–56)
D. Remember to Support Your Points by. . . (See Everyone’s an Author, Chapter 26).
1. Quoting when using an expert opinion or a definition that cannot be rewritten any other way.
2. Paraphrasing others’ ideas and research in your own words and sentence structure.
3. Summarizing.
4. In a research paper, you should do all three above.
STAGES OF THE RESEARCH/WRITING PROCESS
A. Find Your Subject
1. Find an article that especially interests you in Everyone’s an Author.
2. Identify the topic of that article, for example: social media, immigration, free speech, weight loss, etc.
3. Decide if you want to use this article as a resource or just as a source of inspiration.
B. Write down a research question. This is the question your research will help you answer. The answer you ultimately come up with is your thesis statement.
C. Refine your thesis (your main point). You may not have a clear thesis statement until after you do your research and that’s fine. Your thesis is your topic plus your slant on it.
B. Do Your Research on Your Topic, Starting with the Library’s Online Databases
NOTE: We will have a class session in the library with a librarian who will address research methods. The librarian has a copy of this assignment sheet.
1. Go here: https://www.lonestar.edu/library/article–databases.htm.
2. Click on: Current Issues & News (as a start . . . you can also check the others that seem to apply).
3. Click on: Articles.
4. Click on: Academic Search Complete.
5. Enter your Library barcode. You should have a library card by now. If not, go here
immediately: https://www.lonestar.edu/library/card.htm.
6. See what you can find by Googling your topic. Be as specific as possible with your search words.
7. Gather your research into a working bibliography. That’s a list of each source you think you might use with a few sentences for each one about how that source might help you write the paper. You may not end up using all of these sources.
8. Narrow down your research to only the best sources:
a. Make sure they fit your working thesis.
b. Match them up to your points as support.
c. Don’t forget to evaluate their validity.
d. If you are making an argument, make sure you consider the opposing viewpoint’s
sources as well. Note: You can do your work cited page here to get it out of the way.
9. Create a working bibliography of the sources you decide to use. You will have to turn this in.
We will discuss this topic in class after our library session.
C. Stage 3: Planning your Paper:
1. Write down your thesis your thesis statement.
2. What order will you put your points in?
3. What evidence will you quote/paraphrase/summarize?
4. What developmental strategies will you use?
5. What introduction strategy?
6. What conclusion strategy?
7. Put your paper in outline form. Remember, this is your “blueprint” for constructing the research essay. If you’ve created a good one, and you follow it, the structure will work. Include as much detail as you like. Include source info for each item.
8. Come up with your topic sentences.
9. Match your evidence to your topic sentences.
D. Write your First Draft
1. Follow your outline.
2. Also write your work cited page, if you haven’t already.
E. Writing your Final Draft
1. Rewrite, revise, edit, proofread.
2. Upload it to the D2L dropbox by the deadline.
RESOURCES
Everyone’s an Author: Select one essay, the topic of which particularly interests you.
Lone Star library’s online databases of articles: https://www.lonestar.edu/library/article–databases.htm
EAA, Part VI, chapters 20–28 (pages 475–617).
Especially note the sample annotated research paper on pages 601–617.
Little Seagull chapters R1–R4 (pages 90–118) and MLA Style (pages 119–169).
Especially note the sample annotated research paper on pages 161–169.
Items in the “Research & MLA” folder in the Content section of our D2L main page. These include sample research essays as well as other useful info.
