Instructions
Task:Write an essay using evidence to supporta thesis that addresses your research question examining a current issue orevent in the news from the perspective of your field of study. The audience ispeople who are generally educated but do not have extensive knowledge of yourfield.
Length:At least 2000 words
Sources:Minimum of 6. At least 3 of these must be from scholarly journals, and allsources should be selected based on reliability, currency, and level ofinformation/analysis. The UMUC library will be very useful in helping you findappropriate sources. You can, but do not have to, include all of the sourcesfrom your annotated bibliography.
Due date andrevision: The first draft of the research essay is due by the end of Week 5.Submit your draft as an attachment (Microsoft Word is preferred) to this assignmentfolder. This should be as complete a draft as possible, in order to receive themost helpful feedback. In working on your draft, you may want to look at therubric that will ultimately be used to grade your final essay. You can see itwhen viewing these instructions through the Assignments area of the classroom.
During Week6, you will receive feedback on your draft.
You will thenrevise your essay and submit it by the end of Week 7 to the folder”Assignment 3: Research Essay, revised draft.” This version will begraded using the rubric and will count for 30% of your course grade.
Yourinstructor may or may not complete the rubric for your first draft, but onlythe grade on your revised essay will count toward your course grade.
Outcomes youshould achieve by completing this assignment
The outcomesfor this assignment are listed below, with the associated course outcomes inparentheses:
Use researchto write an essay that will inform or persuade an audience (Course outcome 1)
Form unified,coherent, and well-supported paragraphs in support of the thesis statement(Course outcome 2)
Selectsources, use them to inform and support your writing, and document them in APAstyle (Course outcome 4)
Demonstrateaccurate grammar and mechanics in writing (Course outcome 3)
Participatein the process of receiving feedback and revising your writing (Course outcome1)
Topic
This essay isthe culmination of your research project, in which you are examining a currentissue or event in the news from the perspective of your field of study. Beforedrafting your essay, you will have chosen a topic, developed a researchquestion, and identified several potential sources in an annotatedbibliography. You should write on the same topic for this essay, unless yourprofessor has asked you to make changes to your topic.
Organizingand supporting your essay
As you writeyour essay, be sure to include the following:
an engagingintroductory paragraph that includes an effective and clear thesis statement
anydefinition of terms or background information that your reader is likely toneed to understand your paper
unified,supported, and coherent body paragraphs that defend the thesis
an effectiveconclusion
Research is akey element of this paper. Take care to support your claims with researchthroughout the paper. Include APA in-text citations whenever you use sources,whether through quote, paraphrase, or summary. An APA reference list at the endof the paper should list all of the sources cited in the text of the paper.
Point of view
This essaywill be written in an academic style. Use third person point of view. Do notuse “I” or “you.”
Formattingyour assignment
Incorporatethese elements of APA style:
Use one-inchmargins.
Double space.
Use aneasy-to-read font between 10-point and 12-point.
Include atitle page with the title of your paper, your name, and the name of yourschool.
