The Research Essay. Only for Quality!

English 1302 | Research Essay

Requirements: - MLA formatted Word document

- 5-6 pages (approx. 1600-1800 words)

- At least 5 sources

o Minimum of 3 sources must be academic (library database)

o Up to 2 sources may be news or other sources (verified and reliable)

Step 1 - Topic: Choose a topic explored in one of the literary pieces that we have read. I’d recommend that you choose a

topic you care about or are interested in.

Your essay should be centrally focused on an arguable claim related to the topic. The piece of literature

should not be the focus on the essay.

- Some ideas:

o “A Wall of Fire Rising” – income inequality, suicide, or immigration

o “Boys and Girls” – misogyny, gender roles, farming in US

o “A Good Man is Hard to Find” – any criminal justice related topic, including gun

violence or the death penalty

o “Cathedral” – topics related to art, blindness, physical disability or disability

accommodations

o “My Papa’s Waltz” – family violence, alcoholism

Step 2 - Research Question: Once you’ve chosen a general topic, you’ll need to narrow down your research. Topics like “immigration”

or “gun violence” are far too broad for an essay of this length, so figure out exactly what you want to

research and focus on.

This website can help you formulate a research question for your topic.

Step 3: Thesis Statement: A thesis statement is (a) arguable (b) supportable and (c) a preview of your essay.

- Arguable means it’s not a statement of fact. It doesn’t have to be controversial or persuasive,

but it cannot be factual or obvious.

o An example of an arguable claim is “Disability accommodations in public institutions

are not only legally required in the US, they provide opportunity and benefit

everyone.”

o Notice that the arguable claim makes a statement and takes a side, but is not

necessarily trying to evoke any action from the reader.

- Supportable means it’s not an opinion, guess, or generalization. It has to be something that

research can back up and support. It cannot be a statement about morals or values, that

something is “right” or “wrong,” or “good” or “bad.”

- A preview of your essay means that your thesis tells us your topic, your stance, and what you’ll

cover in your essay.

Click this link for a great resource for more information on thesis statements.

Click this link for another resource on thesis statements for research papers.

Sources - Your essay should have at least 5 sources.

- At least 3 of these sources should be from the academic databases.

- Up to 2 of these sources can be from reputable popular sources, like The Washington Post.

- Do not use blogs, personal webpages, or sites like Sparknotes or poemhunter.

Essay Structure Your essay should have at least 4 paragraphs: Introduction (containing thesis), 2 discussion sections where

you present supporting points, and conclusion.

Introduction

• Lead In

• Background on topic

• Thesis Statement

Discussion Sections (you should have at least 2 – each should contain the following)

• Topic Sentence

• Explanation

• Example from Research

• Significance

Conclusion

• Summarize arguments

• Project into the future, offer suggestions for further research, identify topics otherwise

unexplored, connect to introduction, or connect to current event

The literary text You may make use of how the literary text discusses the topic. For instance, if there are quotes from the

story that illustrate or support a point you are making, you can use that quote. In that case, the poem or

story would count as a source (a non-scholarly source). You can, but you are not required to, use the literary

text in your essay.