Thesis. Viewp01oints  Debates  Issues  Topics You will work together to brainstorm more specific topics within the subject areas and then narrow those topics to manageable issues for research. You do this by locating a specific issue to examine. Begin by thinking about the various topics associated with a given subject category; then consider the debatable issues within those topics; then reflect on the differing viewp01oints and perspectives; and then develop your thesis. A good way to visualize this is Subject
The essay you write is to be both informative and persuasive. This means that you are expected to fully report on the topic and to stake a position in relation to it. Your essay must proceed from a clear thesis statement (a clearly stated claim, assertion or proposition).
Your essay must also include a counterargument—a view that is different from your own. You may see words like opposing viewp01oint, opposition, objection, and naysayer; these are all terms for a counterargument. When you insert a counterargument into your argument essay, you are essentially making a preemptive strike by anticipating objections that an opposing side might bring up and exposing their weaknesses.

Successful counterarguments always include a refutation. A refutation or rebuttal is a paragraph that comes after the counterargument and disproves it. In other words, the refutation paragraph explains why the opposing view is incomplete, problematic, or simply wrong.

You will support and defend your thesis with information and evidence gathered in your research, so be sure to examine your topic from various perspectives and carefully consider the controversies or debates that might surround it. Again, you should choose a topic that you have a strong interest in or opinion about, since you will need to fully support your claims.

Research Paper Proposal

The proposal is a document that describes your project and specifically identifies for me four things: your proposed topic, your personal interest in the topic, your specific focus or thesis, and a list of specific questions that you want to answer through research. I will judge the appropriateness of your topic from this and provide you with feedback to help focus your research. Refer to the Course Calendar for the specific due date.

Annotated Bibliography:

An Annotated Bibliography is merely a standard Works Cited list that includes a brief description and/or evaluation of each source cited. Your Annotated Bibliography shows me what resources you have consulted and how useful they have been. Refer to the Course Calendar for the specific due date.

NOTE: I will be providing you with handouts on developing both an Annotated Bibliography and a Works Cited list in the MLA format.

Specific Criteria:

1. The essay will be 5-7 pages long, typed and double-spaced with appropriate margins.
2. The essay will include a minimum of 6 sources
3. Your heading will include these items: Name, Course and section, Date, Draft #
3. References to sources and quotations from them will be done with parenthetical citation using the MLA format.
4. At the end of the essay, provide a separate Works Cited page, again using the MLA format.

Sources

You are required to have a minimum of six sources for this research project. Your sources must include more than three categories of resource material. To help you achieve this, I am requiring that you have at least:

• Two newspaper articles
• Two mainstream magazine articles
• One scholarly journal article

Note that these can all be accessed through the Electronic Databases in our library.

Other categories include subject encyclopedias, specialized reference works, films/videos, and books.

NOTE: Internet websites can be a useful source of information, but they must be carefully evaluated. In general, dot-com sites (i.e., commercial websites) are not credible sources of information. Non-commercial sites (with domains such as .org, .gov, and .edu) are usually more credible, but these too must be carefully assessed.

Be sure to record the details about every source you find (authors, titles, publication places and dates, page numbers, etc.) for the Annotated Bibliography and Works Cited list.