Description

English 302 – Advanced Composition – Research Project

Professor:  Dr. S. Patrick

Writing Assignment 3: Critical Issue in Your Major Field of Study (5-6 pages; 1250-1500 words) plus Annotated Bibliography with 4-5 Sources

Choose a current, critical topic related to your declared major area of study to explore in greater depth.  Your goal is to write an essay that explores a current topic according to ‘what others’ have said about it and that begins to illuminate the state of the field at this time. Therefore, this is not an opinion piece.  It is instead an opportunity for you to learn what others have said about your topic (such as pros/cons; challenges/rewards; next steps) based on their research and experiences that can inform your knowledge and understanding.  Your paper will reflect your research findings/evidence with appropriate citations to provide a brief but thoughtful academic overview of your topic.  Your essay should have an introduction and a ‘summary’ conclusion to help your readers see its overall point and structure, and should be organized so that readers can easily follow your thinking. Your Introduction should include a Thesis/Purpose statement.

Your paper should use 4-5 credible sources related to your current topic.  Most of your sources will probably come from scholarly, peer-reviewed journals since they address the most current issues facing your field at any given time.  Your search timeframe should be approximately 2005 – 2019.  In addition, your paper should include an Annotated Bibliography containing the 4-5 sources used in your essay with a brief notation about each source. We will discuss Annotated Bibliographies soon.

Essay Organization/Subheads

1.  Introduction – Introduction should engage the reader, provide appropriate background information to frame the topic, and assert your main purpose (include thesis/purpose statement and underline it). 

2.  Body (Determine 2-3 Subheads as Appropriate for Context and Purpose Statement) - Each paragraph should relate to the point(s) you are making, connect to the paragraphs around it, and connect to the overall purpose of your essay.  Use subheads for organization.

3.  Conclusion/Summary - Concluding paragraph(s) should summarize main points and link to your Thesis/Purpose statement in Introduction.

4.  Reference Page/Annotated Bibliography – Citations for sources used in your paper plus annotation for each source (Annotated Bibliography (Bibliographic citations with 2-3 sentence descriptive notation) using your field’s preferred Style [MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.] 

Essay Evaluation:  Your essay will be graded on the following points:

1.  Grammatical correctness – Please pay close attention to grammar, conciseness, word choice

2.  Citation Accuracy; Annotated Bibliography - Accuracy/Depth

4.  Clear Thesis/Purpose statement in Introduction

5.  Clear and logical sentence and paragraph construction that supports purpose

6.  Thoroughness of research and analysis

7.  Overall essay organization using subheads to guide reader and author

7.  Effective summary of main points in Conclusion with link to Thesis/Purpose statement in Introduction

8.  Audience Readability – can paper be easily understood by readers/audience?