ENG 112 (Dr. Logan) Writing Assignment: Research Paper Assignment: Write a resea

ENG 112 (Dr. Logan)
Writing Assignment: Research Paper
Assignment:
Write a research essay about a topic of interest to you. Your paper may be informative or argumentative. You may pick most any topic, with these exceptions: abortion, gun control, capital punishment, legalization of marijuana, lowering the drinking age, and medical conditions (e.g. ADHD, obesity, etc.). While these are useful topics, there is little room for a truly unique discussion. While each person is very unique, I will note general topics that I would personally choose if I were writing this paper: baseball, travel, movies, TV shows, etc. While the format is academic, you can be creative with the topic and have a bit of fun!
Things to Think About
1. What are your personal interests?
2. What things would you like to explore more?
3. Will your essay be informative or argumentative?
4. How does this topic resonate with others?
5. Is my topic specific enough?
Form Guidelines:
All papers must conform to the following guidelines:
➢ All papers must be typed and use normal margins and font no larger than 12. MLA format.
➢ Papers are due on the dates noted below. Late papers will be penalized 10 points per calendar day.
➢ Papers must be a minimum of 7 full pages in length, plus a title page and a Works Cited page.
➢ Papers must have a minimum of 5 sources, no more than 3 web pages. Do not list wikipedia.com as a source (although you may use it as a starting point).
➢ Papers generally will have around 3 in-text citations per page of text (i.e. 21 or more citations). This is extremely important to remember! If you do not have sufficient citations, you will lose significant points due to plagiarism.
➢ Papers must contain the student’s name and class information.
Process Guidelines:
➢ Topics are due Sunday Sept. 12 via discussion board.
➢ Optional rough drafts are accepted via e-mail through Sunday Oct. 3.
➢ Final Drafts are DUE Wednesday Oct. 13.
➢ A Power Point summary of your final paper is also DUE Wednesday Oct. 13.