Write a 5-6 page research / term paper.

Mission: This paper will require you choosing a topic, doing research, formulating a thesis, and writing a formal essay. You will be composing more than one draft, while using documented research, or quotes. This essay ultimately serves as your final exam.

In addition, you are required to complete an annotated bibliography.

See annotated bibliography handout (coming soon).

Your formal essay should have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

The body paragraphs should develop points that you plan to present.

You must use at least 4 of your sources.

The key here is to choose a strong topic and develop a strong thesis. A strong topic should be a topic you’re interested in, and a topic that readily has a lot of information.

A strong thesis should have three distinct original points to develop, as well as a stance.

Example of a strong thesis: Steroids in baseball is wrong because it creates an unfair playing field, harms the health of users, and taints the integrity of the game.

Audience: Academic. This is a formal essay. No first person. No colloquialisms.

Use the 5-editing techniques after you’ve written the first draft

a. eliminate redundancies

b. avoid wordy expressions

c. cut awkward sentence openings

d. vary your sentence structure

e. use strong verbs

All papers must be typed, double spaced, using a 12pt Times New Roman font.

TERM PAPER ADDITIONAL

Annotated Bibliography— REQUIREMENT DUE: T.B.A.

The purpose of a bibliographic annotation is to summarize a source’s content and then analyze the text for its strengths and weaknesses in terms of your research. You will create this bibliography as you research your chosen issue for the documented arguments. You will not need to have a thesis in mind as you begin this research—in fact, it is best you don’t try to form a thesis for your argument until you’ve explored some sources; I say this because you need to become familiar with a variety of perspectives about the issue to see its dimensions and to avoid oversimplifying it or leaving out really important points. Once you have a good grasp of the issue through your exploration of its sources, you will be ready to offer your own argument about it. This annotated bibliography will help you to get that grasp of the issue and begin to formulate your own argument.

***********************************************************************Create this document by listing your sources in MLA format, arranged in alphabetical order according to author’s last name. Each entry will consist of the following:

1. The bibliographic documentation (citation) of the source.

2. A section summarizing the source’s thesis and main points.

3. A section analyzing the source’s strengths and weaknesses in terms of your research.

The key here is to summarize the article and describe how you will use it in your term paper. Describe in detail. You may find the article useless. If so, explain why.

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You need to include a minimum of 5 separate sources in the annotated bibliography.

Example:

1. Johnson, Fenton. Notes of a Native New Yorker. NY: Birch Lane Publishers, 1989

Johnson’s narrative describes his experience growing up in an urban New York community, and eventually leaving home to go to Stanford University in California. Johnson’s piece reveals how connected we are to the experiences and values we learned as children, despite our geographic locations later in life, most particularly in issues related to gender, race, and class distinctions. This essay is an effective model to discuss alternative methods of argumentation. Recognize. I will use this article to support my claim that one’s roots determine the type of person they are.

2. Mook, Jimmy. The Underground. NY: Dope Headz Press. 2006

Mook’s book describes the countercultural scene in urban centers around the country. He goes onto explain that the streets of South American countries are influencing the art coming out in the United States. I will use this source to illustrate my point that real art comes from the ghetto.