English 102 - I need someone who will work with me through entire course

Project Plan

English 102

Through the course of the semester, you will be tasked with writing a large, research-based argumentative essay. All of the assignments for the semester will revolve around a deep analysis of the topic that you select in this project plan.

We’ll go into more detail about each of those assignments as we move into the different units, but briefly, you’ll complete each of the following milestone assignments to build to your large, final essay, which will serve as your final exam:

Unit 1: Project Plan – This form will be your method for selecting (and getting approval on) a topic to write about.

Unit 2: Annotated Bibliography – This will be your method of finding and analyzing sources related to your topic. You’ll also begin thinking through your large argument about your topic in this assignment.

Unit 3: Outline – This detailed overview of the structure of your essay will provide a foundation for organizing your argument before you begin writing the essay itself.

Units 4-5: First Draft - During these units you’ll complete a first draft of your essay, meeting some of the source and length requirements. You’ll also work on in-text citations in a minor assignment in Unit 4.

Unit 6: Final Draft – During this unit, you’ll expand and revise that first draft to meet all assignment obligations before you submit it as your final exam.

At the root of good argumentative writing is finding a topic that fulfills two basic criteria. First, it should be something that you feel strongly about. You should select a topic that enables you to argue honestly about your feelings on that topic. Second, it should be a topic for which you can find ample scholarly research to support that argument. If you’re missing either of those elements, you will likely struggle with the assignments. If you have clear argument about your subject, but you’re lacking research to back up that argument, then you won’t be fulfilling the obligations of a research-based essay. If you have the research but have no argument, then the research becomes meaningless in the context of your essay.

All of that means that you should try to select a topic that you have some interest in and that has plenty of research associated with it.

What that topic is can be entirely up to you. I’m not going to limit topics up front (though I do reserve the right to ask you to select a different topic if the one you choose on this project plan doesn’t work for some reason).

I’m listing some potential topics below, but you are certainly not limited to these.

· Cloning

· Stem Cell Research

· Euthanasia or Physician-Assisted Suicide

· The Death Penalty

· Legalized Gambling

· Animal Testing

· Environmental Protection

· Censorship

· Governmental Spying

· Policing Tactics

There are endless possibilities. This assignment lends itself to exploring an area that already interests you. If you like sports, you can find topics there. If you are interested in fashion, there are many issues to choose from. Most any area that interests you is going to have some topic at play that can lend itself to an argumentative essay.

Before you begin working on your next assignments, you’ll need to make sure that there is plenty of information available on your topic. To do this, you need to conduct preliminary research (see attached handout on preliminary research) and fill out this project plan form. Once I have approved your responses, you will be ready to start conducting research for your Unit 2 assignment, the annotated bibliography.

Please note that there are a few topics that I am not going to allow you to write about. The topics that I will not approve are: Gun Control and Abortion. If you are interested in these topics, there are quite a few similar topics that you could write about. Talk to me if you need help finding a topic.

To complete your Project Plan Form, answer the following questions.

1. My topics is _______________________.

2. Provide a brief (minimum 5 sentence) explanation of the topic. Give an overview of the topic’s history or of what is at stake with this topic. Provide any context that I might need to understand the topic.

3. Provide a brief (minimum 5 sentence) explanation of your approach to this topic. If you already have strong feelings about the topic and think you know what you want to argue, then you can discuss that here. If you are still undecided about your feelings on the topic, then you can discuss what you feel conflicted about here.

4. Provide some information (minimum 5 sentences) on what kinds of sources you’ve found so far. Have you found peer-reviewed journal articles relating to your topic? What about primary sources? Web sources? Books? Provide an overview of what sources you know exist for this topic to ensure it is a topic that will give you plenty of research to work with. You should be familiar with conducting research from reading the attached document about preliminary research and from looking at all of the documents and videos from the Library Instruction section.