Please write a 10 page researched essay arguing your position on some issue of your own choosing. Consider the following as you plan, draft, research, and write:
1. have a clear, interesting, and unmistakable thesis statement;
2. provide ample support for its major claims, in the form of facts and opinions from experts and your own observations about the world;
3. quote and/or paraphrase 10 database sources;
4. adhere to proper MLA form throughout;
5. demonstrate good organization and clear transitions, with every sentence and paragraph in the essay clearly growing out of those preceding them;
6. use correct grammar;
7. be well edited, with correct spelling, punctuation, and appropriate diction throughout;
8. hand in at least 10 annotated sources created before the drafting of your paper (see syllabus for due date); and
9. hand in a formal outline on the due date;
10. hand in a thesis and topic on the due dates;
11. have an opposing view to your thesis with refute.
Please review you syllabus for dates on which various elements of the paper are due including topic, thesis, outline, annotated bib.
Please remember that of the ten (or more) sources I get with your final draft, ALL should come from our databases unless otherwise approved by me. Your other sources may include newspaper articles, pamphlets, reviews, and/or personal interviews with experts in the field you’re writing about.
Audience: You should write for non-specialists. Any specialized terms you use or knowledge you discuss must be defined well enough that people, not expert in the field, will be able to follow you.
Some Possible Topics for Your Research Paper Please note these are only suggestions! You don’t need to choose the topic for your paper from this list. Any topic about which there’s serious debate in our culture--and about which you have a strong and defensible position--will do.
Gun control and/or the National Rifle Association
Uniforms for public-school students
School safety
Gasoline prices
Music swapping on the internet
Fuel-cell technology
Israel and the Palestinians
The government=s response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster
The lack of/need for a third major U.S. political party
Security spending after 9/11
U.S. defense spending
U.S. education spending
The U.S.’s role in Afghanistan and/or Iraq