Research essays
| Invention essay | Annotated Bibliography |
| Biography essay | Trace Source essay |
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Activity
The selection of a topic for the argument essay is the single most important activity of the entire writing process; thus, it should be approached carefully and with academic rigor. A hasty decision at the beginning can lead to severe limitations and problems later on. Remember that you must choose an issue, one for which there are pros and cons to the issue. In addition, decide between two issues and, through your research, narrow your topic to the one with the most promising wealth of information available to apply toward your argument essay. For this activity, then, you will need to adhere to these steps:
 | Begin an initial search of possible topics that seem interesting and useful to the public. This can be achieved by reviewing the prepared list as well as listing all of the topics you like according to your preference. |
| Narrow the list to two or three possibilities, each with a short justification for shared interest (public usefulness). |
| Visit the library to determine which of the topics have adequate materials for research. |
Specifically, look up the subjects in
1) The Library of Congress subject headings. Ref. Z695.L695 1997
2) ICC electronic indexes: Searchbank, Firstsearch, SIRS, Proquest, Wilsondisc or WilsonWeb
3) The Public Access Catalog (PAC) within ICC's library and available via inter-library loan.
4) The current periodicals that ICC owns (located on the second floor of the library).
5) The CQ Researcher, which has hundreds of different issues to select from (at magazine desk on the second floor of the library).
6) Issues and Controversies on File. Ref. D410.I88 1997
7) Sears List of Subject Headings. Ed. Joseph Miller Ref. Z695.S43 1994
Guidelines
Write up a report of about two or three pages, recording the path of your research. The report should be typed and accompanied by two sample printouts you take away from the library (print-outs, photocopies, notes, etc.). Be sure to include a record of what you find from each search:
| A sampling of Library of Congress category headings for each subject. |
| The wealth of information from electronic indexes. |
| The number of book sources ICC actually owns, along with recent, significant titles. |
| A list of pertinent periodicals currently in circulation at ICC (minimum of two). Check the ICC Periodical Holdings List in the back section under "Subject." |
| The number of sources available from the internet, including one or two web site addresses. |
Complete this documentation for each of the subjects narrowed from your original list.
Suggestions
Good research is reflected in its successful documentation, which means that you should take thorough notes while seaching ICC's library for materials to include in the potential research topic. Take good notes. These notes will help a great deal during the write up of your report. Avoid excessive printing of materials that you have not read or sorted; often such printing results in a waste of library resources. Read everything before you print. Finally, as your report functions also as an argument in favor of each topic, present your best case for which topic you plan on pursuing for the remaining research activities and argument essay.
Activity
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, to annotate means to "furnish a text with critical commentary whereas one definition of bibliography means "a list of writings related to a single subject." Thus, an annotated bibliography is a list of writings related to a single subject furnished with critical commentary. Now that you have successfully completed the invention research activity, it is time to navigate a new territory: research gathered in the library and accessed electronically. To complete this activity, find five sources from magazines or books which relate to your argument essay. I suggest you locate somewhat lengthy articles that come from various sources such as professional journals, mainstream magazines, chapters from books, etc. Read and annotate each article, integrating textual quotes from each article into your annotated bibliography.
Guidelines
After reading and annotating 5 articles, write a 3-4 page annotated bibliography. Below is one sample annotated bibliography. Follow the example form closely for your own work.
Cairns, Ed. "Impact of Television News Exposure on Children's Perceptions of Violence in Northern Ireland." The Journal of
***
Include endnotes and Works Cited using MLA style. Next, write a summary of the article. After the summary, how would you use this source in your major research paper?
Suggestions
The key to this assignment is choosing your sources carefully. You may find it alluring to select the first articles you find, but don't be too hasty. Be selective. Ask yourself:
| Is this article of adequate length? |
| Does it have an author's name attached to the article? (It is required.) |
| Is the article from a reliable source? |
| Does the article explore various aspects of the issue in an interesting way? |
| Does the article match the focus of the issue you are exploring? These questions should help you to choose carefully the articles you find. Take your time, explore all library avenues you learned in your library tour. |
Activity
The object of this assignment is for you to follow the connections among sources used in articles, digging deeper and deeper into an issue by reading the original sources used by authors in their articles.
| Find one article in a current periodical that you plan to use in your research project. Copy the article entirely, including all notes and list of sources used (e. g. the reference or works cited page). |
| Read the article critically, annotating parts that are of interest or aspects that are questionable. |
| Look for citations to sources within the article that are central to the issue, and identify one source that you can trace or find in the library. |
| Repeat the process for the trace source. |
Guidelines
After finding and reading at least three articles that are connected through citations, write a brief report of your activity. Include in that report the following elements:
| Complete bibliographic documentation for each source |
| Brief summary (3-5 sentences) of each source |
| Report on how the sources are interrelated |
| Reflections on the process of collecting and reading the articles for the research project. What did you learn about how sources are connected, from comparing each source? |
Your report should be no more than three pages and a minimum of two; it should also be typed and formatted according to MLA style.
Suggestions
You are likely to run into some difficulty tracking down sources used in any article because of their rarity or scarcity. To increase your changes of successfully acquiring trace sources, begin with several possibilities in each article, begin early, and use a variety of research databases. If you are having difficulty tracing sources, please inquire at the reference desk or see me.
Activity
With the growing amount of information available via the internet, it is essential that you practice using this valuable database and searching technology. This assignment provides you with the opportunity to find, collect, and share information that may be helpful for your research project.
| Begin by logging onto the World Wide Web either at home or at ICC. Rooms 308B and L-120 are two open computer labs at the East Peoria campus. |
| Click on Search For Topics or type in the following: http://www.icc.cc.il.us/faculty/resnick/ss1.htm and click "search engines" or use your own searching browser to find information about your topic. |
| Type in the subject heading for your project (e. g. "violence and television," "women in combat," etc.). |
| Select from the list provided and begin linking to other WWW pages through the blue-colored words. (These are "hot" points that link you to other information when selected with the computer mouse.) |
| Make a list of the locations you visit by either writing them down and/or using the bookmark feature provided by the WWW program. |
| If you are interested in an article, review the LENGTH of it if you decide to print it out. Be sure to record all bibliographic and copyright information. |
Guidelines
For this activity, you should visit at least 10 locations and discuss 5 locations you would consider including in your argument paper. Show evidence of those locations by address (URL) and title. Any electronic or paper texts you copy can be kept with your research portfolio. Write a typed, two or three page report that includes the following:
| Summary of the five locations |
| Complete bibliographic record |
| Correct internet addresses (URL) |
| Series of reflections on the process of using the WWW to do research. |
Suggestions
Some of you may be new to computers and the WWW, but don't worry. The program is easy to learn and works best when you experiment. Ask the ICC lab person for help if you run into difficulties. Also note that it is easy to get lost in the vast number of links and documents on the WWW. Work slowly and carefully, remembering that bookmarks and printing capabilities can be found in the menu bar at the top of the WWW screen.
Activity
The verb "refute" means to disprove of an argument with evidence. To some degree, you are always reacting to other opinions and seldom have the first word on an issue. Refutation, like the presentation of a viewpoint, examines the thesis and reasons of the opposed view. Knowing this, your next step is to read and study Elizabeth Richards' argument essay titled "Preparing Girls for Math and Science Careers: Fighting The Nerdy, Beardless, White Male Myth" from our course website. To access this essay via the internet, click on this word, ESSAY, and it will take you to the Richards' essay OR you can type the following: http://www.icc.cc.il.us/faculty/resnick/111h.htm OR you can simply go to my English 111 web pages and click on the words "Sample Argument Essay."
Guidelines
After reading the essay, write a one paragraph response to her essay using the DIALOGUE program at our website. You may either click on the word DIALOGUE or you can type in this address:
http://www.icc.cc.il.us/scripts/dialogue/dialogue.dll?english+C3+1000%
Your response should be opinionated with some evidence to back up your viewpoint. Next, read the other student responses about her essay and refute one of those responses in a 2 page opinion paper to be handed in to me. In your refutation, include the following:
| the student paragraph you plan to refute |
| your refutation of the other student's paragraph |
| your pointing out any fallacies you see in the other student's paragraph |
| your views about Richards' essay |
Suggestions
Click on this link titled Logical Fallacies OR type in this address: http://www.assiniboinec.mb.ca/user/downes/fallacy/index.htm
Study some of the major fallacies and see if you can pick out fallacies in the student's response. In addition, in our English 111 website under "Sample Student Essays" is a sample refutation essay by Michael Johnston titled "Put an End to the Deaths." Read through this essay to give you some idea about how to write a refutation essay.
| ICC Homepage | Resnick Homepage | English 111 Homepage |