Research Essay Assignment

Power & Imagination

MacCormack/Shao Winter 2015
Key due dates:
Research Journal: on 2/26 and 3/10 (instructions below for submission instructions)
Essay Topic proposal: Thurs 2/17 by 9pm, emailed to Alan (for proposal guidelines, see the last sections
of Chapter 1 in The Curious Researcher)
Conferencing: Youll sign up to conference with me about your research during weeks 6 and 7.
Annotated Bibliography (see instructions below): 2/26 in mentor session
Research feedback presentation: 2/26: 5-minute presentations of your research will take place in mentor
session
Full Draft: 3/12 Hand in main class. Discussion of findings on 3/10.

Essay Requirements
8-10 pages, double spaced, one-inch margins (Page count does not include works cited; also, do not use a
title page)
References to a minimum of six researched sources required (Sources that you have found through your
own researchso six sources beyond any course texts you reference. These should not be the first
six you discover.)
Include citations in proper form. MLA format is appropriate for topics in the humanities; APA is more
often used in the social sciences. If you know your major will be in one of these areas, it might be
wise to use and learn that system. Ill accept either, but be consistent. Ballenger provides guidance.
Include a Works Cited Page. Works cited is not part of your page count.
In Spring term you will do a peer review of your draft, and turn in your final, revised version of this
essay, along with a reflective letter in which you discuss your research and writing process and
assess the strengths and weaknesses of the essay. I will give you an assignment for this revision
and reflective letter at the beginning of spring term.
Goals for the Research Essay Assignment
This assignment provides an opportunity to explore a topic related to our course concerns that is
especially interesting to you. Its a chance for you to engage with the theme in an individual way. Also,
an aim of this course is to help you to participate effectively in academic conversationsto become a
skillful practitioner of academic discourse. Approach this assignment, then, as your contribution to an
ongoing discussion about your topic; the idea is to add something to that discussion. Do not simply repeat
what has already been written by someone else; work on finding new ways of seeing your topic and
interrogating it in new ways. (This is the purpose of a thesis.)
Research Essay Assignment Description
Youll develop your ideas for your topic in stages, and you must receive my approval for the topic you
ultimately select. (This is to help you find a fruitful topic so youre not wasting your time on a dead end or
bottomless rabbit hole) Its important to do the work to find a topic that both engages you and also
engages fully with the course content and approach. While your options for topics are quite open Ive
offered some specific options at the end of this document to help generate ideas. Think about what sort
of readings and discussions in the course have been most engaging for you, what questions have been

raised for you in the course that you would like to work on answering for yourself, and how power
manifests itself and is responded to in areas you are most interested in exploring because of your personal
or academic investments.
The final essay should have a developed introduction that engages readers and lays out what will be
argued/analyzed in the rest of the paper with a clearly articulated, specific, and thorough thesis
statement. It should also end with a thoughtful and carefully-formulated conclusion that answers the
question So What? (Why is this worth discussing? Why do I care?)
The essay is being written for this course and the subject matter should be relevant to the issues we have
addressed in the class. Ballenger teaches English Composition classes where the content is the writing,
therefore he is much more expansive in the range of topics he accepts. I am open to a wide range of issues
and want you to spend this time and effort on a subject of interest to you, but you need to establish and I
need to see the connection to the themes of the course.
The paper may be written in either the third person or first person (I). Read Ballengers sections on
voice to help you decide what is more appropriate. If you do use first person, keep in mind this is a
research essay, not a journal entry and show some restraint in informality. Keep in mind, though, that
regardless of the level of formality you use, your essay must be well researched and carefully supported,
and scholarly in approach and tone.
You may use your own experience in the essay, but keep in mind this is a relatively short paper, so adjust
accordingly the amount of personal experience you include. No one source (including your experience)
should dominate. You may use interviews, but if you do, make sure you read carefully the section in The
Curious Reader on interviewing techniques.
Write the essay for a general, well-educated audience. Keep in mind that when writing for a general
audience you need to define special terms and explain complex concepts. In other words, the paper
should be comprehensible for someone who is not in our class.
The full draft of this essay that you submit for feedback at the end of Winter term should be copy-edited
and polished, and it should include a useful and compelling title.
The essay will go through an exhaustive drafting and revision process, and you must turn in a full draft
of this essay at the end of winter term to pass the class. To receive a grade for the essay you must
also complete a thoughtful revision of your initial draft in spring term, after receiving feedback
from me and from your peers (you will receive the feedback in spring term). You will complete a
considerable amount of process work in Winter term in developing this essay, which will help you to be
conscious of the steps of the research and writing process, and will also help you to develop your ideas
and your writing gradually and with a lot of feedback and support. Some of these process assignments are
explained below.

Research Journal

Im asking for two research journal entries (2/26 & 3/10). The first should be a reflection on your research
efforts, locating and evaluating sources, and the development of a research focus and thesis. The second
should be a self-assessment of the writing process, obstacles and breakthroughs. D2L A page or so each.
Annotated Bibliography
To create your bibliography, follow Ballengers instructions for a working bibliography and use the
example of a working bibliography as a model for what you will need to produce. Your source summaries
should be a brief paragraph or two, and should demonstrate the summarizing skill discussed in The
Curious Researcher. I expect you to use good judgment in the choice of sources you include; should you
choose to include sources of questionable credibility, I would expect you to identify them and justify their
inclusion (perhaps to make a point about a biased perspective). Keep in mind the strategies Ballenger
gives you in Chapter 2.
Suggestions for Possible Essay Topics (These are not exhaustive. If you have other ideas that meet the
requirements of the assignment, by all means propose them!):
1. We completed a preliminary research exercise in the Fall Quarter of topics related to the quarters
content. You may choose to build upon that effort. This should follow a conference with me as
some of the bibliographies addressed topics that were either far too narrow or too broad for this
assignment. Our fall syllabus moved from education to perception, social myths, theories of
power, social class, social construction, metaphor, political speech and rhetoric and Kafka.
So far this winter quarter we have touched upon theories of political power (Hobbes, Locke,
Rousseau, and Machiavelli). Weve talked about colonialism, individuals who have achieved and
held political power, and the ethics of revolution. Toni Morrison introduced us not only the
possibility of a literary essay, but also the historical issues present in her novel. The film Dirty,
Petty Things raised issues of immigration, worker coercion, sexual exploitation, as well as the
international organ trade. We are moving now to the consideration of globalization and the role of
corporations in society. All fair game, if thoughtfully linked to the course themes.
2. Trace a commodity chain: Choose a commodity, product, or service available to us with an
international origin and explore the paths of power it has taken before arriving at your door.
Discuss the power relationship(s) within the production, exchange, and consumption of a
commodity and explain how the costs and benefits of trade in this commodity are distributed, and
why they are distributed in such a way.
Who is involved in the production?
Why is it produced there?
What is the historical context of this commodity, product, or service?
What are the economic, social, political, and cultural consequences of this chain from place of
origin to consumption and, where applicable, to disposal? What are the costs and benefits and
what determines where they fall?