Research Strategies:

How to Compose a Successful Argumentative Research Paper

Research Introduction

The primary idea behind the activity of research and research writing is to go out into the world and gather information on a particular topic of interest.  Research is the activity most central to higher education, particularly in the areas of advanced education (graduate work). I might go so far as to say that research is the crux of education.  One can self-educate throughout life by learning the valuable skill of research.  Even when you are forty or seventy questions continue to arise to the thinking person and she goes out into the world for answers.  She knows how to utilize the library, the Internet, magazines, journals, newspapers, books, other knowledgable beings around her and, in this way, she augments her learning and continually creates new ways of understanding.  The purpose of research is to gather information and put a new spin or twist on things, to uncover some new idea or angle with what information is available.  The thrust is to add new learning to learning the currently exists.  In the research process one learns how to make use of and interact with the wealth of information offered us in our western culture for higher learning and critical thinking. (You'll also find many jobs require good research skills.)  

The drive behind citation is that a student collects information and learns how to properly give credit for her learning to established sources.  The publications you read in the process of accumulating research are “intellectual property,” and, as such, are protected from plagiarism (claiming another’s published/written material as one’s own) by copyright. 

Research Assignment & Topic Ideas

You are to write a research paper argumentative in nature. My interpretation of "argument" is broad.  The argument does not have to be heavily confrontational. Argument may take the form of exploration, invitation, or question. Argumentative research may also examine both, or several, sides of an issue. The argument itself will work as a sort of thesis. You may explore a solution to a conflict or problem, may research what is going on in the community/world regarding a particular issue, or have a gentle/strong point of view that you advocate as you build research learning.  You may choose a topic with a philosophical, historical, social, and/or artistic bent. Begin now to create a topic, a question for exploration, and a temporary (working) thesis.  Begin to brainstorm on what topics intrigue, fascinate, or baffle you.  About what are you curious?  What do you want to find out?  You have the freedom and space now (since you’ve been given an assigned task) to look deeply into something about which you’ve been curious.  Enjoy this opportunity to deepen your knowledge and satisfy your curiosity.

You may choose any topic for your research paper.  You can find many topics in our textbook, Patterns.  You can also ask your instructor (Cheryl) for topic ideas.  In our readings we have (or will have) discussed the following topics: family relationships, language, immigration, education, race and culture, technology, non-violence, guns, gender, nature and environment, media and society, history and politics, ethics, prisons, crime, homelessness, the process of writing and reading.  Some of the essays we read may serve as sources for your paper.  You may base your paper entirely on one of the longer memoirs we will read.  For example, you might choose to use A Place to Stand as the basis for an examination of the prison riots in the 1970’s. You argument might form as: “When conditions are unlivable riots are inevitable.” Or, “Revolution is the only way to reform.” Refuge offers opportunity to explore issues of concern around the environment.  You may decide to examine President Bush’s track record on environmental issues, or look at what is being done in California to preserve our few remaining wetlands.  Terry Tempest Williams states in Refuge that California has lost 95% of its wetlands!  Elkhorn Slough, a threatened wetland area, is right here in our backyard (Moss Landing). This is a subject ripe for personal interview and field study.  You don’t have to spend all your research time in the library. Venture into the community and talk to people where you live.  People are virtual libraries of experience and wisdom! The personal interview is a rich and interactive way to create your research composition.

Assignment Details

The paper is eight to ten pages (typed, double spaced).  This page length does not include the Works Cited page, which is a separate page but it still part of the research paper.  This particular paper requires you to use3-4 outside sources.  Sources should be somewhat varied: newspaper, magazine, journal, Internet, website, personal interview, video, book, poem, song, etc. The list of kinds of potential sources is endless!  The entire paper, final draft, is due on Wednesday, May 24 by midnight.  The paper will be sent as an attachment to me.  An attachment allows me to ascertain that you've done correct MLA citations and can cite works in-text properly.  Late papers will not be accepted as I must grade immediately in order to submit final course grades as soon as the fall semester ends.  The paper is worth 20% of your grade, or 100 points.

Writing a research paper involves these activities:

1. Choosing a topic
2. Looking for sources
3. Narrowing your research
4. Doing research
5. Taking notes
6. Watching out for plagiarism (record all info on your sources for later use in citations)
7. Drafting a thesis statement
8. Brainstorming, free writing, clustering, making an outline
9. Composing the paper
10. Documenting sources
11. Revising, editing, and proofreading paper
12. Completing a Works Cited page

For additional guidance in writing your paper, and a sample student paper, refer to the Appendix (pages 707-735) in Patterns.

The area below this point is "under construction." Check back in the following weeks for continuously added material that will provide ongoing insight to you as you compose your research paper.

Key words:

argument = takes a stand on a debatable issue, using evidence to persuade readers to accept or consider a position

Rogerian argument=

position = the side of the argument you take (for/against, pro/con, agree/disagree)

evidence = facts, examples, expert opinion, and personal experience used to support your argument

opposition = the other side, the side that holds the opposing position from yours, you should acknowledge & address this side in your essay

refute = to prove wrong, to not accept

debatable = an issue that has two clear sides and can be argued effectively

• Position
Position is your viewpoint, stand, opinion in regards to an issue.  When you take a position you then use your paper to explore and support it.  Your research paper may explore two sides of an issue, but should ultimately state and arrive at a position (lean towards one side of an issue). Through your research you may discover how you feel about an issue.  However, you should state your discovered position in the introductory paragraph to the paper. It should be clear to the reader how you feel fairly soon in the paper.

• Evidence as Support
Provide facts, statistics, personal example, impersonal example (something you've read), personal interview, etc. in order to bolster and support your position. As you provide evidence you educate your reader.

• Opposition & Refutation of

• Audience

Argument is Built through Logic & Critical Thinking

How Can Argument Become Good Research?

Knowing the Opposition

Research is More than Information

MLA Citations

• In-text citations

• Works Cited

Research Proposal & Annotated Bibliography
Due Sunday, May14 (Parts 1 & 2)

Note: This assignment is part of your final research project grade and should be sent as an attachment to your instructor.  Go to Online Assignment #7 in our classroom.

Assignment:

Part 1
The annotated bibliography allows you to begin preliminary research for your final (research) paper.  You are to find three sources (books, videos, interviews, newspapers, web sites, magazines, etc.) and write up a brief review of the each one.  Explain how and if the source will be helpful in writing your research paper.  If the source is not helpful, say why.  You will be graded on: 1. summary of source and determining its useful to your research paper; and, 2. correct MLA citation of your sources. 

See pp. 717-726 in Patterns for documentation of sources.  You may also refer to a writers manual, such as A Pocket Style Manual by Diana Hacker and/or The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, for correct MLA documentation.  See also the following online addresses for writing reference manuals: dianahacker.com/pocket and dianahacker.com/writersref.  Also see citationmachine.net. Check out the sample annotated bibliography below for format as you compile your own bibliography.

Part 2
Complete a one-page research proposal.  The proposal is written in an essay format (with paragraphs, typed, double-spaced) and includes the following information:

1. chosen research topic
2. possible thesis statement/viewpoint
3. summary of approach to paper or plans for developing topic

*****************

Annotated Bibliography              (Sample) 
Note: Second line of citation should be indented.  List all sources in alphabetical order by last name or article title (if no author).                        

Cisneros, Sandra.  Woman Hollering Creek. New York: Vintage, 1993.

Mexican-American women writers have started to reach a larger audience.  In the early 1990s, Sandra Cisneros was on the cutting-edge of fiction by Hispanic women.  This collection of short stories shows her to be a strong writer, with a sassy, poetic voice.  I will quote from her stories as proof of her innovative writing style.

Garcetti, Gina. Interview with Sandra Cisneros. Dir. Bruce Simonsen. Videocassette. Harcourt, 1995.

In this hour-long interview Cisneros talks about why she wrote House on Mango Street.  In graduate school, she read a book entitled The Poetics of Space by French philosopher, Gaston Bachelard.  The book discussed people's relationships with space, rooms, and houses.  She decided there was no such book about the kind of space she grew up in and she wanted to write that book.  The result was House on Mango Street.  I will talk about how this book started her writing career.

Smith, Jeanette.  "Mexican-American Women Writers: New Voices." Poets & Writers.
Apr. 1993: 43+.

This article discusses several writers and details how Cisneros is leading a literary revolution.  I probably won't discuss other writers mentioned in this article, but the information on Cisneros' writing career, schooling, and Chicago childhood will help me write a mini-biography for her so the reader knows about her background.