English Essay DUE TOMORROW

English 112

I Search Essay

Writing Task:

The purpose of this assignment is to teach the writer and the reader something valuable about a topic and about the nature of searching and discovery. As opposed to the standard research paper where a writer usually assumes a detached and objective stance, the “I Search” paper allows you to relate your experience of hunting for facts and opinions firsthand and to provide a step-by-step record of the search process. It’s a research paper that is overtly reflective.

How this essay fits into the class/Choosing a topic:

You have already written an exploratory essay in which you were asked to explore your thinking about an issue while reading through sources. The I Search essay will allow you to either explore an entirely different issue through research or conduct further research on the same issue (or perhaps a different angle of the same issue). To put this assignment (and the exploratory essay) in perspective, I want you to treat both of these assignments as records of your thought process as you become well informed of your chosen topic before you enter into the discussion through your proposal (the final essay and culmination of the semester’s work).

In the past, you may have simply chosen a persuasive topic and found a few sources that supported your argument. This is the type of writing we are trying to avoid. This course is designed to teach you how to engage in the ongoing discussion, but before doing so you need to catch yourself up on the existing conversation, both believe and doubt multiple sides of the issue, and eventually propose your solution. At this point, I do not want you to concern yourself with a solution. You are simply thinking about what you know about the subject at this point and considering what you still need to know about your subject.

Choose a topic that truly interests you, a problem or concern about which you want to be more informed. Again, you will want to choose a problem about which you can still suspend your judgment. The topic needs to be argumentatively rich, meaning that there have to be many different viewpoints or angles to the issue.

Step 1: Decide on a topic. Again, you may choose a topic about which you have already written, return to Discussion Board II to find another topic, or look through the Opposing Viewpoints for a problem.

Step 2: Read through the format of the paper. Use one or two prewriting techniques to generate ideas for Part I: What I know, assume, or imagine.

Step 3: Draft your essay, collecting information as you need to. Please follow the format.

Format:

The paper should have three distinct sections: 1)What I Know, Assume, or Imagine; 2) The Search; and 3) What I Discovered. The three-part format of this paper should be labeled with the appropriate sections.

Part I: What I Know, Assume, or Imagine

Before conducting any formal research, write a section in which you explain to the reader what you think you know, what you assume, or what you imagine about your topic. For example, if you decide to investigate teenage alcoholism, you might want to offer some ideas about the causes of teenage alcoholism, provide an estimate of the severity of the problem, and create a portrait of a typical teenage drinker prior to conducting your search.

Part II: The Search

Test your knowledge, assumptions or conjectures by researching your topic thoroughly. Consult useful books, magazines, newspapers, films, and library databases for information. When possible, interview people who are authorities or who are familiar with your topic. If you were pursuing a search on teenage alcoholism, you might want to check out a book on the subject, read several pertinent articles in a variety of current magazines, make an appointment to visit an alcohol rehabilitation center, attend a meeting of Alanon or Alcoholics Anonymous, and consult an alcoholism counselor. You might also ask a number of teenagers from different social and/or economic backgrounds what their first exposure to alcohol has been and whether they perceive any alcohol “problem” among their peers.

Write about your search in a narrative form (chronologically with specific details) to record the steps of the discovery process. Do not feel obligated to tell everything, but highlight the happenings and facts you uncovered that were crucial to your hunt and contributed to your understanding of the topic. You will need to consult at least three sources (these can include interviews) you have not yet consulted. Document sources of information using MLA citations when appropriate and necessary.

Part III: What I Discovered

After concluding your search, compare what you thought you knew, assumed, or imagined with what you actually discovered and offer some personal commentary and/or draw some conclusions. For instance, after completing your search on teenage alcoholism, you might learn that the problem is far more severe and often begins at an earlier age than you formerly believed. You may have assumed that parental neglect was a key factor in the incidence of teenage alcoholism, but now you have found that peer pressure is the prime-contributing factor. Consequently, you might want to propose that an alcoholism awareness and prevention program including peer counseling sessions be instituted in the public school system as early as sixth grade. In this part of the essay, you need to describe all areas of the issue in which you are interested in pursuing possible solutions. In other words, where do you plan to go from here? Use this as a bridge to your proposal.

This part of the paper will also contain citations indicating the information you learned from your sources.

Works Cited page and In-text Citations:

Your essay should use a minimum of three sources, either by quotation, paraphrase, or display of information documented in MLA style. No long quotations are permitted. The essay also requires a Works Cited page that follows MLA specifications. Your essay should be no less than three pages, not including your Works Cited Page.

Audience:

Address your paper to peer-scholars who might be interested in your subject and could be interested in your analysis and/or findings.

Step 4: Review the rubric for the I Search Essay under Course Documents. Revise accordingly.

Step 5: Submit your I Search Essay to the link in this week’s folder under Course Assignments.