Questions for Consideration

1. Does the writer narrow his/her topic to a single, specific and clear focus?
2. Does the writer provide an in-depth look at his/her topic?
3. Does the writer incorporate sources that are credible, timely, and relevant?
4. Does the writer define terms for the lay person audience?
5. Does the writer properly cite sources?
6. Does the writer rely too heavily on any one source?
7. Does the writer paraphrase in a clear and accurate way?
8. Does the writer remain objective?
9. Does the introduction hook the reader?
10. Does the essay have a logical organization?
11. Does the writer vary sentence length/structure?
12. Is the text free from distracting surface errors?
13. Is the text readable prose?
14. Does the conclusion trail off or end abruptly?
15. Does the writer maintain a consistent tone?

Research Paper Assignment Sheet

Assignment: Informative Research Paper
Due Date: Rough draft due Thursday, February 26th; Final Draft due Tuesday, March 17th
Page Requirements: 5-7 pages, double-spaced; MLA format; 12 point font, Times New Roman; include page numbers in the right header; 1” margins.

Assignment Description: Write an informative research paper based on the tentative thesis statement you emailed to me. This paper should incorporate 5-10 sources that work to support your thesis. I have posted on D2L and the class blog a list of questions to consider when writing, reviewing, and revising your drafts. This assignment will display your ability to research a narrowed topic, interpret the information, and present that information in the form of a formal research paper. You will be required to properly cite sources within the body of the text and compose a works cited page, as well. Examples can be found in your Rules for Writers handbook.

Rough Drafts: You will be required to write multiple drafts of this paper. The first draft is due on Thursday, February 26th and must be submitted to the appropriate dropbox on D2L. We will conduct one-on-one conferences the week before Spring Break, and the second drafts will be due the Tuesday after break. The rough draft must be complete with a clear intro, body, and conclusion; you will not need to turn in a hard copy of this draft. I will email you a commented version of your rough draft and go over it with you in our conference.

Late Papers: If you turn in your final draft late, you will receive a penalty of 10% reduced from the paper’s final grade. Whether it’s late one day or seven, your grade for this assignment will be lowered 10% if it’s not turned in on time. You will be required to turn in a final draft via the D2L dropbox marked, Research Paper—Final Draft, and you will be required to turn in a hardcopy in class on the due date. This assignment counts for 25% of your overall grade, so it would be to your benefit to turn it in on time.

Plagiarism: If you do not give credit where credit is due, if you fail to cite sources or blatantly steal someone else’s work, you will receive an automatic zero for both the assignment and the class. MSU has a zero tolerance policy on plagiarism. If you feel unsure about citing and paraphrasing from your sources, feel free to ask for some assistance.

If you have any questions regarding the assignment requirements, grading criteria (provided as a supplement to this sheet), or policies, please contact me via email, my office phone, or stop by during office hours. Please refer to your syllabus for contact information.

Homework for Tuesday, February 17th

Please have five sources that you wish to use for your research paper. Bring in the information needed to create a works cited sheet (i.e., author, title, publisher, year, page numbers, date of publication, etc.). You will need to bring in notes from each source, as well. We will be working on annotated bibliographies in class, so you will need to have summaries of the sources--IN YOUR OWN WORDS--available to complete this assignment.

Also, remember to sign in to D2L this Thursday for the class discussion. If you do not participate in the discussion, you will be marked absent for that day.  Under the discussion tab in D2L, click on Thursday, February 12th between 2:00pm and 3:45pm (our normal meeting time).  Make sure you do this on February 12th.  D2L keeps track of the time and date of your post.  Leave some sort of message (nothing obscene, please), stating that you are 'here'.  

Paraphrase

Direct Quote: You might say there are two kinds of writers: those who keep a journal in the hope that its contents might someday be published, and those who do not keep a journal for fear that its contents might someday be published.

Paraphrase: Sante believes that writers who keep journals either want the contents to be published or they are afraid that the contents will be published.

Direct Quote: In the end, Rieff decided that Sontag’s narrative of self-creation trumped any concern for discretion.

Paraphrase: Reif felt the development of honesty in Sontag's writings made it possible for her to avoid worrying about self-censoring.

Direct quote: Even if, later on, she was able to examine and analyze certain aspects of popular culture...she could undertake such a thing only in service to a higher goal — she was immune to subintellectual cultural pleasures.

Paraphrase: Even though Sontag examined and analyzed popular culture, she only engaged in these activities in order to write about them.