Current Issues Research - Professor Siler 

Required Resources

Each student must include references to the following resources within the project:

1 CQ Researcher article (2003 or later)

2 sources from periodicals--magazines, journals, or newspapers, obtained from print, an online version of a source, or through PSC library’s electronic databases

 1 source that originally came from a book—Opposing Viewpoints database is great for these 

 1 relevant web site

Current Issues Research Project
Assignment Overview
Instructor, Sherry Siler

Research paper must be submitted in physical form to my office on the Winter Haven Campus, WLR 237 by the due date.

*Please note that research papers may NOT be submitted late *

Carefully check both this guide and the checklist to ensure that you include each item required for submission of project.  It is imperative for students to note that research projects that do not conform to these guidelines will not be evaluated and will receive no credit.  Research projects must include:

• use of required resources
• correct parenthetical citations
• a Works Cited page that corresponds exactly to the  parenthetical citations within  the paper
• a copy of each source that is cited within the paper

Final Project

·         Working Outline                                          25 pts

·         2 Electronic Notecards @                              25 pts each - 50 pts

·         Works Cited page(s)—Documentation Test      50 pts

·         Finished research project                              200 pts

As you can see from the figures above, this project is very important.  325 of your one thousand points for the course are earned while working on this project.  There will also be exercises and writing assignments that will help you build your project.

Success in Comp I is largely determined by your ability to:

• Control the independent clause
• Organize your writing
• Provide your reader with interesting & relevant details

AND…

• Conduct, Present & Document Research

This assignment requires that you successfully incorporate all of these skills.

What to do:

1. Your assignment is to conduct research on an issue that is of current national or global importance. Choose a topic discussed in CQ Researcher, an excellent source available both in print in the library and through the library’s databases.

2. You may choose from any issue of CQ Researcher appearing between 2003 and now except you may not choose: abortion, capital punishment, gun control, hazing, serial killers, cosmetic surgery, eating disorders, or the search for extra-terrestrials.

3. Use the CQ Researcher article to gather a strong foundation in the topic. Then, formulate a question to help you narrow the focus of your research. You may decide that you want to learn more about the controversy surrounding “big box stores” like Wal-Mart and Best Buy.

Your question might be:

“Why would anyone criticize stores that offer one-stop shopping and discount prices?”

4. Use the insight and knowledge that you have gained from your CQ Researcher Article to help you begin to develop a plan to answer your research question.

Your ideas about the answer will allow you to formulate a strong thesis statement. Your research will allow you to organize and develop your discussion of your thesis.

5. Type your thesis into a Word document. Type bold headings for each major point of discussion for your paper. This is the beginning of your working outline.

6. Conduct additional research to begin to answer your question. Focus on using your other required resources to fill in the gaps in your knowledge that remain in spite of your work with CQ Researcher.

7. Prepare Electronic Notecards on your most important sources to help you gain true insight into your topic.

8. Use your electronic notecards, which you have used to record your additional research and insight, to begin to fill in the discussion needed in each section of your outline. Paste relevant material from your Electronic Notecards into the appropriate parts of your outline.

As you continue to do this, your Working Outline starts to turn into your paper.

9. Continue to flesh out your outline to write a 6-8 page research paper in which you discuss, analyze, and evaluate at least 3 key ideas related to your subject. Make sure that you include correct documentation of your research.

10. Each paragraph of your paper, with the exception of your conclusion, must contain at least 1 citation of research.

Required resources.

Each student must include references to the following resources within the project:

·         1 CQ Researcher article (2003 or later)

·         2 sources from periodicals--magazines, journals, or newspapers, obtained from print, an online version of a source, or through PSC library’s electronic databases

·         1 source that originally came from a book—Opposing Viewpoints database is great for these

·         1 relevant web site

Each project must include in-text citation of at least 2 recent (2003 or later) statistics that establish the relevance of the topic. Please note that these statistics may be obtained through any reliable source. These are not required to be additional sources—you simply must make use of recent statistics at least 2 times within your paper.

You may choose to include additional resources, such as video tapes or personal interviews. Regardless of the use of these additional resources, the project’s required resources must be met.

Plagiarism is unethical and will not be tolerated.  Work that is plagiarized, either intentionally or unintentionally, will be assigned a zero, and the offender will be reported to the Division Dean. 

Students are held accountable for learning to work with and benefit from the research of professionals. Students who are unsure about how to properly cite another person’s unique work and ideas have many resources to guide them. These include:

·         Your textbook

·         Your writing handbook

·         Modern Language Association Handbook for Writers of Research Papers

·         The library website links to online citation help

·         The library’s tip sheets

·         Your classmates

·         Librarians

·         The TLCC tutors

·         Your instructor

So, you shouldn’t have any worries about unintentional plagiarism with all of those resources available to help you figure out how to remain a responsible researcher.

Working Outline—25 pts

At the minimum, your outline needs to include a working thesis and an indication of the major points of discussion of the paper.

Remember, the more you work with your electronic notecards and utilize your electronic outline, the more your paper will simply “write itself!”

Electronic Notecards—25 pts each

Do NOT attempt to prepare a notecard from your CQ Researcher article—it is too long.   Do NOT attempt to prepare a notecard on any source that is longer than 7 pages; again, they are too long.  I will NOT evaluate notecards that are written on CQ Researcher articles, books, chapters of books, or articles that are longer than 7 pages; they are not appropriate for this notetaking format.

Each student is required to submit 2 Electronic notecards prepared from sources that you have found while conducting your research. A model of a notecard is included. The Electronic Notecard includes a correctly constructed bibliographic, Works Cited, entry; a summary of the key points of the source—the Content section; your evaluation of the source—the Reaction section; and at least 3 quotations of information that you intend to use directly from the source. The quotations will need to include the proper parenthetical documentation. For those of you who have used index cards to keep track of work for a research paper, you should be beginning to see that these summaries will act as your “electronic” notecards.

Documentation Test—50 pts

I will determine your documentation test score by evaluating the Works Cited page(s) of your research paper as it stands before you submit your paper.  Be sure that you fully update your Works Cited page to reflect the content of your paper when you submit it.  

TLCC and Smarthinking Help

You will allow you up to four total sets of TLCC or Smarthinking tutor extra credit for working on project revision. Remember, that is 3 points per session. If you use the TLCC, ask the tutor to sign your tutoring form indicating what you were working on:

·         Organization

·         Use of resources / Documentation

·         Strength of Material

·         Control of grammar and mechanics

Wait to submit these with your final project.

If you use Smarthinking, simply submit the first page of your session notes.

Full Project - 200 pts

Complete, edited version of research project prepared according to MLA guidelines, including a cover sheet and a fully updated Works Cited page. Place full project in a cheap, 2 pocket folder.

In one pocket include copies of all sources cited in paper, indicating through highlighting the sections that have been cited. In the other pocket, include your unstapled research paper.  If you have worked with the tutor throughout your writing process, include your tutor verification form(s) on top of your research paper in your final submission packet.

Consult the checklist to prepare your submission.