Posted: December 4th, 2013
texting while driving
Essay 4 – Investigation
In the investigation essay you will have to teach yourself about a subject before teaching it to us. This is a research essay. You may bring your own interest and observations about the topic, but the majority of the information you present should be taken from outside sources: specifically databases. You should gather 4-6 sources that you will actually use and cite. Please attach these to the essay when you turn it in.
You should work for a balance among your sources, so that the majority of your essay is not drawn from just one source. Also, you need to work to direct and present the material by looking for sources that help to make your point. Do not merely report on what a number of different sources you happened to find had to say. The point of this essay is to give you practice in using synthesis, where you show relationships among the ideas in a series of texts and engage the materials in a new way to support and explain your thesis. The material in Chapter 15 discusses the art of synthesis.
Avoid telling us how to perform a complicated process. As a learner yourself, you do not have the knowledge to advise us. Describing how a relatively cut-and-dried process is done (such as how a letter goes through the postal system, how Jelly Belly candy is made, etc.) is all right, but describing how to prepare for a marathon, perform a complicated play in fencing, and other such things requiring an expert’s touch should be avoided
Chapter 5, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, and Ch. 15 are the references for this essay. Unlike the position essay, you do not need to present an opinion for this essay – the thesis should reflect your narrowed-down subject and what aspects of it you plan to discuss. It should give us an overview of the topic you will cover, clarifying the narrow scope you will investigate. Saying, for example, Alzheimer’s disease is a terrible ordeal for a family to endure gives you much too much to cover. Instead, say, Alzheimer’s symptoms progress in a predictable way in most patients. The essay structure is very much determined by your topic and the thesis you devise.
You will need to cite sources for the essay. In the text, give us enough information to get us to the full citation on your Works Cited page. Usually, this will be the author’s last name or a short title if the author is not available. Make sure that this same wording appears on the works cited page; that is, if your citation is (Woodworth 29) make sure you have a line for “Woodworth” on the Works Cited page; if it’s (“Finding Trouble” 36), have a citation for that wording.
I will want to see a plan for your essay on October 21/October 22 (at least a thesis idea and some preliminary ideas for organization). An outline that shows evidence of research and how you will use this will be due on October 23/24 and a draft on October 28/29
Remember to include all your reference materials with the final draft.
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