For this assignment, you will conduct research on a topic of your choice. Take into consideration the use of outside sources such as the
For this assignment, you will conduct research on a topic of your choice. Take
into consideration the use of outside sources such as the internet, books,
magazines, scholarly articles, or interviews. You will need at least three different
outside sources. If you can, try to stick to three outside sources so that you can
provide a good flow to the text. This is a short classic research paper, so if you
include a bunch of sources, it will read choppy and disconnected.
Objectives:
Write a well-developed research essay. You are welcome to use
the list that I provided for you.
Use and correctly cite three different types of outside sources
according to MLA style.
Follow the MLA style of formatting, documenting, and listing sources on the
Works Cited page. Your essay should be a minimum of 700, and a maximum of
800 words long (minimum 3 different types of sources; avoid Wikipedia or any
type of encyclopedia as well as fact sheets; use professional sources written by
experts in the field and published in scholarly magazines. If your source does not
bear the author’s name, it is probably not very reliable unless it comes from a
well-known, credible organization.
Warning: avoid generalizations; narrow down your topic/issue and try to find
specific information on your topic and gather facts, details, statistics, and
evidence … for that particular topic so the reader can see all aspects of that one
topic/issue.
Once you gather your sources, start reading and highlighting the information that
makes sense to you. In order to keep up with the highlighted content, write a
keyword/the main idea of the highlighted part in the margin (you can do this in
Word or you can simply print your articles). These labels/main ideas will give you
a quick content page for each article (look for short but good articles with specific
info on your topic). Look over your labels and make an outline.
Select which paragraph will make a good opening for your paper, your
introduction.
Next, choose which paragraph will give you a good closing of the paper,
the conclusion.
Then look over the rest of the labels, and try to decide if you have
information for one, two, or a three-part thesis statement. Do not have
more than three; one or a two-part thesis for a short paper like this will be
sufficient.
If you decide to have one part thesis statement, organize your research
from the least important to the most important facts. Put numbers next to
your labels so you can keep up with the order of the facts.
If you have a two-part thesis statement, then mark your first part as 1a,
1b… and the second part as 2a, 2 b…
This way everything is organized and all you have to do is make your
working outline and start typing following your outline.
Make sure that you provide internal documentation. The reader has to
know where each piece of information came from.
Also, make sure that you provide a correct Works Cited page for your
sources. As I read your paper, I will look at your internal documentation
(Smith) and then will go to your WC page and look for Smith, Alex…
Everything that appears on the WC page has to appear in the text and
vice versa.
PS. Make sure that you use direct questions sparingly; base your paper
primarily on summaries and paraphrases. I want to hear your voice, and
how you interpret other people’s words.
Look over the Outline below and try to create your own outline for your topic.
Sample Outline
Title “The Benefits of Running”
I. Introduction
A. Running is becoming an extremely popular sport for all ages.
B. Running is a great form of exercise because it helps people control
their weight, develop muscles, and improves mental and physical
performance.
II. Body
A. Weight control
1. Aids self-control
2. Burns calories
3. Encourages a healthy diet
4. Suppresses appetite
B. Muscular Development
1. Improves tone
2. Enhances contours
3. Increases strength
4. Improves endurance
C. Psychological well-being
1. Aids sleep
2. Inhibits depression
3. Intensifies vitality
D. Cardiovascular Fitness
1. Strengthens heart
2. Lowers blood pressure
3. Changes in blood lipids
4. Improves circulation
III. Conclusion
A. Benefits of running make it an excellent exercise.
B. People who want to improve their health should consider running
Answer preview for For this assignment, you will conduct research on a topic of your choice. Take into consideration the use of outside sources such as the
MLA
800 Words