Assignment essay

4406 Research Paper

As women and men in America today, we think that we are all equal and that we all have choices we are free to make.  We have the right to vote; we have access to education; we make choices about our sexuality, marriage, work, and whether or not to have children.  These rights and freedoms have taken a lot of work on part of a variety of Americans for us to enjoy today. But, are we there yet?  In other words, have we arrived at a point where we are free to make choices about our lives without pressures to conform to socially constructed notions about what it means to be male or female in America?

For this research essay, I want you to explore the question of equality in the context of an issue that you find of interest. It can be related to your specific field of study, or it can be something important to you personally. You may want to address marriage as an institution or choose to address debates over sexuality. You might be interested in exploring women in the military, or in the corporate world. Perhaps you are interested in women in the professions, or the issue of women/men as homemakers.  Or, you may find women in politics of interest to you.

Proposal (check course schedule for due date):

In this proposal, you need to identify the topic you plan to research and discuss in some detail why you chose the topic and why it matters to us as American women and men today (significance). The proposal also needs to include a skeletal work plan of completion (what you intend to do and when) and, finally, it needs to include a preliminary, annotated bibliography. An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents where each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph. The purpose of this annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources.

Once you decide on a topic of interest, you need to find source materials that address the topic. You can start with the textbook and the primary source materials included there. In addition, you need to find scholarly articles that give you some historical background to the issue (JStor database on the Library website is a great source for finding articles by historians); then find sources that address the issue in today’s America.  Newspaper and magazine articles might be the best option.  It is important also to try to find sources that give you different perspectives.  So, let’s say you are writing about reproductive rights: you need to include a source from both sides of the debate (‘pro-life’ v. ‘pro-choice’).  When looking for sources, it is important to consider their credibility and point of view. One final thing you need to keep in mind is that whether male or female, we are all affected by societal expectations, for better or for worse.

Proposal should be double spaced and appr. 2 pages in length, plus workplan and annotated bibliography.

Paper (check course schedule for due date):

Whatever issue you choose to discuss, it will be important for you to provide a brief historical context (in other words, a historical overview of the topic) and then explore the question of equality today. The historical overview should be sufficient to provide context for a casual reader, not just a one-paragraph cursory list of dates and events. The discussion of the contemporary situation should explore not just where we are on this issue today but what remains to be done. In other words, explore the question “are we there yet”?

You need to keep in mind that you are writing an argumentative essay. You need to include an introduction with a clear thesis statement (statement of your main point in the essay); body paragraphs that each clearly addresses an element of your argument, with specific examples to illustrate your points (evidence in support of your argument); and conclusion with discussion of implications. And do not forget to reference the paper = include source citations whenever you are using information from a source, even if it is paraphrased. You can use a documentation style that you are most familiar with but always include a full bibliography of the sources consulted in writing the paper.

The paper should be 6-8 pages in length, double spaced and checked for grammar and spelling, PLUS bibliography.