English 1020 7

English 1020

Research Process Step 1 and Step 2 : This short assignment will allow you to demonstrate that you fully understand the objective and criteria for the important research-supported essay on Fences (Step 1) and give you an opportunity to initially brainstorm on a selected thesis of interest (Step 2).

Please create only ONE Word document which contains Step 1 and Step 2. An easy way to do this is to enable editing of this document, type your responses to Step 1 and Step 2 directly on this document, save the file to your computer, and then submit by the due date.

STEP 1:

After carefully reading the file, “Final Research Paper on Fences” (accessed in Module 7 and in Assignment in our course menu), please respond to the following ten questions.

1. After reading the first short paragraph, “Objective”, explain briefly what the purpose is for the final paper on Fences. You do not need to share a proposed thesis statement at this point---just paraphrase what the general objective of the paper is.

2. Who is your audience and how does this affect your writing/choice of diction?

3. How long does this essay need to be? Can you go beyond the maximum page length if needed?

4. What is the due date? What is the percentage of this assignment that counts toward your final grade?

5. Are topic ideas offered for students? Should your subsequent thesis statement be in your own words? Can students come up with their own topic/thesis rather than choosing from the list? If so, do they need instructor approval?

6. What should your thesis statement accomplish? How long can the thesis be? Should you use first person? Should you use the “announcement” tone?

7. What will the body paragraphs of your essay accomplish?

8. How many research sources are you required to use? How many of these should come from PGCC’s library databases? Name a few websites that you are not allowed to use.

9. Ideally, what should your research articles focus on?

10. Are the two components of MLA documentation---parenthetical citations after any paraphrases or direct quotes from research sources and a Works Cited page---required? Should any quoted lines from the play be documented as well? How many entries should you have on your Works Cited page?

STEP 2:

At this point, everyone has read Act I and more. At this stage, do you have an interest in one of the thesis topics presented? In a short paragraph, briefly discuss what your initial interest might be for topic/thesis selection and why. Be assured that this topic can change according to your ambitions, but at this point it is good to brainstorm on an initial analytical idea for your final paper.