English 101: Shaping Experience Through Language

          Writing, Reading, and Thinking: Theory and Reflection

Argumentative Essay #2

Final Draft Due Monday, December 9th (Final Portfolio)

"Seeing is of course very much a matter of verbalization.  Unless I call my attention to what passes before my eyes, I simply won't see it.  It is, as Ruskin says, 'not merely unnoticed, but in the full, clear sense of the word, unseen.'"

                     -- Annie Dillard, "Seeing"

A Short Definition: For many of you, Essay #4 was your first attempt at constructing a persuasive argument of some length.  Commonly known as the research paper, Essay #5 takes you a step further by asking you to construct an argument using outside sources in a variety of ways.  Due to various misconceptions about what the research paper is, I personally dislike this term.  I like to think of the research paper as an argument which joins the various existing voices of a topic by incorporating them into the essay in various ways to arrive at something new.

Focus and Purpose: Your ability to develop research papers will greatly affect your success as a student.  Because of this, what will be of most importance in this course is the incorporation and evaluation of outside sources rather than topic selection and the actual activity of gathering research, although these will be touched on.

Your topic surrounds writing and education.  In some way, your essay must answer the following question: What is the role of writing within education?  It is hoped that you use this essay to reflect upon what you have learned about writing within this course, which allows you to use your own writing as support or evidence.

Most of your research has already been done for you: "Chapter One" of Annie Dillard's The Writing Life, Sven Birkerts' "The Fate of the Book," and bell hooks' "keeping close to home."  Certainly, there are many other essays that we have read in this course that address this topic; these may be used as well.  You must find five more sources, three print and the others electronic.  All of the sources you consider for your essay, including the works listed above, will be organized into an annotated bibliography due Wednesday, November 27th.

Grading Criteria:

     1.   A research paper is not a summary of everything you can find about your topic.

     2.   A research paper does not simply repeat what others have written.

     3.   A research paper does not merely support a preconceived point of view.

     4.   A research paper does not include the ideas of others without documentation.

All true.  Your thesis should use outside sources in a variety of ways to arrive as some new perspective.  Not all sources have to be used; however, quotes and summaries from sources you do use must be introduced and interpreted, cited using MLA documentation, and included in a works cited page.  As with any essay you write, use a logical organization, and engaging introduction and conclusion, a precise thesis, effective transitions, and concrete, specific evidence as support.

Length: 6-7 Pages

Format: Typed; Double-Spaced; Times New Roman; 12-Point Font

"The research paper is, in the fullest sense, a discovery and an education that leads you beyond texts, beyond a library, and encourages you to investigate on your own."                                                             --Audrey J. Roth

 

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