Perform research and locate sources related to one topic. While the paper includes research, it is not a research paper in the traditional sense. This is an analysis paper. If the submitted assignment fails to present a thorough analysis, then it does not meet the basic requirements.
The point of this assignment is to use research skills to locate multiple sources, analyze them, determine a direction for the paper based on that analysis, and then write a response that explains the analysis.
Method: 1. Select a thought-provoking, polemical topic that may be presented in a variety of ways. The topic should be a current issue or one of historical importance.
2. Collect texts that address the topic. You will use primary and secondary texts. Primary texts are actual arguments written during the time of the controversy. Secondary sources are texts written or produced after the time of the controversy. Examples of texts may include: articles, essays, speeches, diaries, letters, films, political cartoons, advertisements, and other approved material. The paper must utilize a minimum of six sources. Three of the sources must be traditional sources (i.e. journal articles, newspaper articles, magazine articles, and books BUT THESE CAN BE PULLED FROM ONLINE DATABASES) and at least one Internet source. I suggest that you use the Web site from your Web site Analysis essay as your Internet source.
3. Read and annotate the texts. Conduct a rhetorical analysis using Aristotle’s ethos, logos, and pathos. Also, consider using the Toulmin Model to analyze the texts rhetorically. Analyze how the writers present the topic. Look for bias or ways in which the authors present incomplete thoughts.
4. Determine how the texts relate to each other and the topic. At this point, you will begin using 10 on 1 and The Method. You will begin searching for similar themes that appear in multiple texts so that you may analyze which argument(s) are presented the most effectively. Look for the author(s) that present the topic most thoroughly. Examine the terminology that surrounds your subject. Are there certain words which different authors assign different meanings or arguments? Do authors use similar (or the same) evidence to support vastly different claims? Keep track of the genre of each text (i.e. academic essay, interview, speech, and professional journal article). Do authors from differing fields approach the subject differently? How do their arguments answer each other? How do they NOT answer each other?
5. Write a research paper of at least 2000 words that presents a thorough analysis of the arguments presented in the texts. The paper must be written according to academic writing requirements. The paper may include a brief examination of the historical or biographical influences, but the majority of the paper must present a complete analysis of the sources and authors. The thesis will develop after a thorough examination of the source essays. It will give direction to each of the individual reviews within the paper, not only the important techniques, but also the order in which your reviews will proceed.
Basic Requirements: MLA format, Times New Roman, 12 point font, double spaced, include Works Cited page with each draft, write in third person, follow academic writing guidelines, do not use block format, focus on analyzing the sources and then synthesizing them with each other and your own voice
Remember that you need to focus on the text(s) from an analytical perspective
