Research Essay

The research paper is a kind of capstone assignment in English 1, a chance to combine your interests and ideas with the skills of writing and research you have strengthened week after week this semester. Before you embark on your research journey, you need to choose one of the prompts below– Prompt A or Prompt B. Each prompt calls for an 8-10 page research paper with a minimum of six sources, but the questions asked are different. While Prompt A is open-ended and calls upon you to define your own research question and approach to answering it, Prompt B sets forth a clear structure to your inquiry and may offer a more predictable strategy for developing and organizing your paper.

Prompt A

Choose a current specific issue that sincerely interests you and write an insightful argumentative paper on that topic. I highly recommend that you choose an issue that is specific, detailed, and multi-faceted. Whatever you choose, you will use your own insight as well as scholarly research to establish the critical and creative terms of your inquiry. Ideally, your approach will problematize, or challenge established views of the topic you have chosen. While this is a research paper, it is still a thesis-driven, argumentative essay. I want to read your thoughts about the issue(s), and I want you to convince me of your opinions. The topic you choose and the position you take should invite debate and differences of opinion. Your paper should not merely report facts; rather, it should show that you can use facts and critical thinking to persuasively support your position on the issue. It may help for you to write your own prompt in order to keep your essay focused and argumentative. If you do this, please make sure that it is open-ended and invites ideas, not just facts.

For Both Prompts

What Ill Be Thinking When Evaluating Your Researched Argument:

Is your thesis clear, complex, but unified, and strong?

Does your thesis statement offer an insightful, dynamic point of view (one that does not merely echo one of your sources)?

Does the rest of your essay follow the map outlined in your thesis paragraph?

Is your research relevant and strong? Are you using it accurately to support your argument?

How well do you use quotations?

Are your introduction and conclusion effective? Memorable? Distinctive?

Do you stay on topic? Is the writing organized and not repetitive?

Are you using the elements of counter-argument or refutation to deepen the thinking about the topic?

Are there too many grammar/usage/structure errors that distort or confuse meaning?

Do you properly cite and document your sources using MLA in-text citations and a works cited page?

Have you used at least three scholarly/professional sources and three popular sources?

Sources

This assignment requires that you incorporate a total of six sources, minimum, into your paper, including one scholarly source. Of course, you are welcome to have more than six sources! But what is a scholarly source? A scholarly or academic source could be an article from a scholarly journal, a chapter from an academic book (i.e., a book published by an academic press), or statistical data from a government database. A non-academic source would be an article from a magazine, newspaper, or website; an editorial from a newspaper, a film, a popular book, a music album, etc.

Question: Does TikTok culture shorten attention spans in a way that affects education and professional readiness?

Notes: Include direct quotes and in-text citations in MLA format.