Ashford ENG 122 / Week 2 to 5 Assignments / Values portrayed in popular media (The Reality of Reality Television)

Ashford 3: - Week 2 - Assignment

Step One of the Final Research Paper

Conduct preliminary research on the topic you identified in the “Developing and Limiting a Research Topic” discussion this week.  Then, based on your research and the feedback in the discussion, write a paper based on the following:

1. State your topic, and provide explanation as to why you selected that topic.
2. Describe how you plan on refining or limiting your topic selection.
3. Describe a specific claim related to this topic that you plan to argue in your final paper.

Your paper should include a separate title and reference page, and should also be formatted to APA style. Be sure to submit your paper as a Microsoft Word document.

Your Teaching Assistant will provide you with feedback on your assignment to guide you in developing your academic writing skills. You will have the opportunity to revise this component before you include it in your Final Research Paper in Week Five.

Approved Topic List

• Drug trafficking in the United States
• Childhood obesity
• Values portrayed in popular media
• Individual privacy vs. national security
• Government grants for alternative energy research
• Designating an official language of the United States

Resources for this Assignment
For more information regarding:

• APA formatting: Refer to the Sample Research Paper located in the ENG122 tab of the Ashford Writing Center.
• Organizing/Formatting: Reference the Sample Research Paper located in the ENG 122 tab within the Ashford Writing Center for the organization and formatting of your paper.
• Writing an Argumentative Paper: Review 6.3 Types of Research Papers in Writing College Research Papers, specifically the section “Argumentative Research Paper,” for information on how to write an argumentative/position paper. This will give you an idea of what your final paper should look like.
• Developing a Claim: Use information in your text and the Summary of Argument Writing in the Ashford Writing Center to help you develop your claim.

The paper must be at least one page in length and formatted according to APA style. Cite your resources in text and on the reference page. For information regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar.

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Week 3 Step Two of the Final Research Paper
Create a Research Proposal and Preliminary Reference Page:

• Research Proposal – Your paper will be two to three pages in length, (excluding the title and reference pages) formatted in proper APA style, and will include the following:
• Scope and nature of the problem
• Specific claim (modified from your claim submitted in Step One, if necessary, as a result of your research).
• Justification of your claim (i.e., why it is important).
• Method of data collection (i.e., types of sources you plan to use and where you will look for them).
• Preliminary findings (i.e., results you have found so far).

Your proposal must be written from a third-person point of view, in future tense, explaining what you plan to accomplish in your research.

• Preliminary Reference Page - Your reference page should include at least four sources that you intend to use in your paper, and be formatted to proper APA style. The following steps will assist you in finding sources and writing your reference page:
• Refer to the Library Tutorial, Intro to ProQuest Searching, and the Sample Reference Page in the ENG 122 tab of the Ashford Writing Center (located in the Learning Resources tab in the left navigation of the online classroom).
• Search the databases in the Ashford Library (located in the Library link in the left navigation of the online classroom) and the Internet.
• Locate at least four scholarly sources that you believe might be useful for your Final Research Paper. These sources must be appropriate for an academic research paper (see Chapters Four and Five of your text).

Submit both tasks above as a single Word document. Your Teaching Assistant will return this paper to you with feedback. You will have the opportunity to revise the information in Step Two before you include it in your Final Research Paper in Week Five. However, changes to the topic or to your specific research question/hypothesis or claim may not be made at this point without your instructor’s approval.

The paper must be two to three pages in length and formatted according to APA style. You must use at least four scholarly resources other than the textbook to support your claims and subclaims. Cite your resources in text and on the reference page. For information regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

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Ashford 5: - Week 4 - Assignment

Step Three of the Final Research Paper

Complete the following tasks related to your Final Research Paper:

Complete a Draft Research Paper:

Review the Final Paper instructions in Week Five of the online course or in the “Components of Course Evaluation” section of this guide.

The research paper draft must contain:

• Introduction with thesis statement: Create an introduction for your paper that includes any relevant background information to your topic.  It should also state your claim and provide justification for the research. 
• At least five body paragraphs: Using your research and the feedback you received from step 2, create the body of your draft research paper.  Write your research paper in the past tense to reflect the actual research you conducted, as well as your research findings.
• Conclusion: Create a conclusion section in which you restate your hypothesis and interpret the results of your research
• Reference page.

The paper must be five to eight pages in length and formatted according to APA style. You must use at least three scholarly resources (at least two of which can be found in the Ashford Online Library) other than the textbook to support your claims and subclaims. Cite your resources in text and on the reference page. For information regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar.

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Ashford 6: - Week 5 - Research Paper

Final Research Paper

Refine and polish your Final Research Paper.  Complete any remaining research, analysis, and evaluation you identified in Step Three of the Final Research Paper’s feedback and thoroughly proofread your paper, making any final. When completed, submit the final version of your Research Paper to Waypoint.

Your Final Research Paper must include:

• An Introduction with your stated claim
• A Conclusion with your interpreted results
• Five scholarly sources
• Seven to eight pages of text (excluding your title and references pages)
• Proper APA style formatting