Guides: English 1301: Assignments: Research Essay

Research Essay

The third essay for this course is a research essay, wherein you will use library resources and our course readings to make an original claim on a topic of your choice. In short, you are going to apply a concept from one of our course readings to an historical, social, or artistic topic of your choice, conducting research to deepen your understanding.

You may choose the following topics:

Social conformity or situational ethics (taken from The Lucifer Effect)
Critical thinking (taken from Plato’s Allegory)

You will use one of these topics as a lens to analyze something of your choice – you have a lot of freedom here, but you MAY NOT write a personal essay.

Other banned topics:

Abortion
Vaccines
1984
The Truman Show
Hunger Games
The Maze Runner

In short: you could analyze critical thinking, social conformity, or situational ethics in the context of history, society, or literature and the arts. There are sample essays available to clarify the assignment.

Due: 04/17/2023 at 11:59 PM. 10 points off each day it is late for up to 5 days. After 11:59 PM on 04/22/23, the essay will become a 0.

Follow these steps for a successful research essay:

Pick your concept and be able to define it in your own words; conduct additional research on the subject as needed.

Pick a topic to which to apply your concept. For instance, you might look at social conformity in, say, The Hunger Games. Conduct research on your topic to learn more about it. This research may be informational, interpretive, or both.

Write an essay on your chosen topic, explaining how analyzing it through your chosen lens gives you new perspective on the topic.

Reflect on your experience. Write a reflection of at least 300 words following the Works Cited page, addressing at least two of the following questions:
- What was your process?
- What was the most interesting thing you learned?
- What was the most challenging part of this assignment?
- What would you like to investigate more?

MLA Formatting
At least 900 words
Cite at least 2 outside sources (academic sources, culled from the library resources)
Well-developed
Well-organized
Edited for clarity and grammar

Automatic Grades

Academic Dishonesty: 0
Too short: 50 (Papers shorter than 800 words)
Major Citation Error: 65 (No Works Cited Page OR No in-text citations)

Category	Point Value	Notes
Formatting	20	MLA Double-spaced, no extra spaces between paragraphs Paragraphs indented Heading Header Works Cited Page, properly formatted In-text citations, properly formatted 12-point Times New Roman Font
Sources	20	Cite at least two academic sources Cite class reading Find a text/video/concrete example to cite and analyze as your topic Properly integrated Appropriately used
Organization and development	20	Thesis Introduction and conclusion paragraphs Transitions between ideas Quotes properly integrated Developed paragraphs
Prose	20	Academic vocabulary Variety in sentence structure Edited for typos and grammar
Reflection	20	Appropriate length Addresses required questions Evidence of thought