Smith ~ Comprehensive English Research Paper

THE RESEARCHED ARGUMENT PROJECT                                                        MR. SMITH

This assignment is intended to be a culmination of the skills you’ve developed throughout the year in this course.

The researched argument is an academic piece of writing that requires analytical thinking, synthesis of information, and intellectual inquiry. The result of your study will be a well-developed essay that argues a position using collected data and facts. Your paper should possess what Gerald Graff refers to as an “intellectualism” worthy of a student about to enter their senior year in high school.

You will spend the next four weeks making very important decisions that will greatly affect your 4^th quarter grade. Please take these assignments seriously. The following are tasks to aid in this process. You are required to keep all portions of this assignment including hard copies of source materials, annotations, and completed tasks. Each task is meant to provide a foundation for the next step in the process towards completion of the essay.

*****All tasks must be typed (Times New Roman, 12 pt., double-spaced, MLA format).

Task #2 (suggested time: 1 week)                                            END PRODUCT: Flawless MLA Works Cited Page

Make a decision about a topic that will generate a suitable argument. Do some reading about your chosen topic to familiarize yourself with the issues that will allow for intellectual inquiry. It’s through your reading that you’ll begin to consider an arguable thesis or claim that you will want to pursue. As you amass information, you should KEEP HARD COPIES of every source (make photocopies of pages in books, print internet articles). You will need a total of 4 sources; 1 primary and 3 secondary.

Please familiarize yourself with MLA citation style. Use Owl@Purdue or Diana Hacker sites for samples pages, examples of sources and format assistance. DO NOT USE NOODLE TOOLS!

Create a typed Works Cited page with at least 4 relevant and varied sources that you have accessed.  

Task #3 (suggested time: 2 hours)                            END PRODUCT: Statement of the argument and outline

What’s expected in this portion of the assignment is a thesis statement that reflects a well-considered argument that the paper will address. Remember, it should be one that can be adequately supported by a document that appears on your Works Cited page.

Your outline that follows should lay out the supporting paragraphs necessary in the support of your thesis. Provide a topic sentence as an indication of your intent in the specific paragraph.

 As with any argument, you must include a paragraph that presents counterarguments. Start this paragraph making a concession.

 Suggested Information Resources: 

You can access credible resources of information using the DESTINY Library Services page. (Username/Password) information available in Computer Labs or ask at Library Front Desk.

• VRC Databases (E.g. Opposing Viewpoints in Context; SIRS Knowledge Source;Academic Onefile)
• Owl@Purdue link available on Destiny