Project 2: Research Essay

DUE DATES:
Rough Draft due by 11:59 PM EST on 17 June 2012 Final Draft due by 11:59 PM EST on 24 June 2012

SUBMITTING YOUR WORK As before, we will be submitting our projects via Eli. As stated on the syllabus, if you dont submit your work properly, I will have to drop your grade. (I told you I wasnt kidding.) Name your file LastnameFirstnameProject2.doc (or ".docx") Submit your project to Eli in the appropriate folder LENGTH AND FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS: 12-point font (please use Times New Roman, Helvetica, or some other such typeface). 1750 - 2250 words. Correct MLA formatting style, correct citations, and a correct Works Cited page. The MLA conventions I expect to see in this project are: correct margin sizes; correct headings; correct spacing between paragraphs; correct format of page numbers; inclusion of source materials from 6 to 9 sources; correct in-text citations of those sources; and a correct Works Cited page listing those sources. THE PROJECT: For this assignment, you will be writing a researched essay that explores some question connected to literacy and technology in your major/academic discipline, your future career, or a career or academic field that is of interest to you. This essay may be quite different from previous research papers you have written in the past; you will be writing journalistically, in the spirit of inquiry. What this means is that, in writing this assignment, you will develop a question or a few related questions that in some way investigate literacy and technology issues in your chosen field/career/major. As you are researching, your research questions should guide your exploration of the multitude of resources that are available to you. You will then present your research in a way that provokes thought and invites discussionand not simply states facts. For example, perhaps you are an underwater basket-weaving major here at MSU, and you plan to become a certified underwater basket-weaver for your primary career. You start to brainstorm a list of questions that could help you begin this research essay: What does technology literacy mean for an underwater basket-weaver? What does good writing mean for an underwater basket-weaver? If I become an underwater basket-weaver, what kinds of writing will I be expected to do on a daily basis? How will I do them? If I become an underwater basket-weaver, what kinds of technologies will I be expected to become literate with? How will I do this?... If your research essays central question can be answered fully in one short sentence, or with a yes or no answer, its not an effective question for this assignment! CHOOSING SOURCES: YOU ARE REQUIRED TO USE 6 to 9 SOURCES. You should use a variety of sources in your research project, and a variety of media, both print and electronic. Among your 6-9 sources must be: wra 110.730: writing science & technology j.platt * msu * summer 2012 1

At least one textbook or scholarly book from your chosen discipline/career field; At least two scholarly or professional journal articles from your chosen discipline/career field; A website for a professional individual or a professional organization in your chosen discipline/career field.

You should not use reference materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, Wikipedia entries, etc. as sources; however, these tools can certainly be used as invention strategies to help kick-start your inquiry and lead you to new ideas and resources. THE AUDIENCE: Beyond getting a grade from your instructor, how else can your hard work on this essay be put to good use? Perhaps you can share your insights with your peers, who might be in the dark about writing and technology literacy in their majors and future careers. But how will they ever hear what you have to say? Youll need to think hard about your audience and ask yourself a lot of questions. Who exactly will you be writing for? What are their characteristics as people? What are their concerns? What writing strategies will be most effective in communicating with them? And how will they be able to access your writing, i.e., how will you get your writing into their hands, and where and when will they be reading what you wrote?

GRADING:
As before Ill be assessing your work according to a rubric. Here it is below. We may decide as a class to modify this rubric to better reflect how our assignment is going.

wra 110.730: writing science & technology

j.platt * msu * summer 2012

4.0 Focus Original, sophisticated research focus; takes a productive risk by attempting a complex argument/approach. Writer argues points extremely effectively. Sophisticated and nuanced arrangement. Well organized with thoughts in a compelling and logical order. No trace of the fiveparagraph essay style. Paper has many well-developed questions that lead to an epistemic experience for the writer and the reader. Writer makes excellent use of required sources to support his/her research. She/he analyzes sources in extremely effective ways and describes how they connect to the research question. Shows high level of awareness of chosen audience. Writer is clearly aware of context. Level of formality is clearly appropriate. Varied language structures engage the reader; few to no sentence-structure problems. Minimal (less than 3) errors in spelling and grammar. The document is proofread well. All citations & format are within MLA guidelines. Meets length requirements.

3.0 Clear and well maintained research focus appropriate to the assignment. Writer argues points effectively.

2.0 Maintains a clear and appropriate research focus throughout most of the paper. Writer argues points competently.

1.0 Lack of research focus; seems more like a rough draft than a final version. Writer does not argue points effectively.

Failing Project Project does not meet any of the required criteria.

Arrangement

Very well arranged and easy to read. Thoughts are organized in a logical order. Makes a significant effort to break out of the fiveparagraph essay style.

Average arrangement style. Thoughts are organized competently. Retains elements of a five-paragraph essay style.

Development

Paper has some welldeveloped questions that lead to an epistemic experience for the writer and the reader. Writer uses the required sources to effectively support his/her research. Sources are well analyzed and connected to the research question.

A few questions that may lead to a learning process for the reader and writer, but questions may be simplistic. Average amount of support for the writers research via sources. Sources are analyzed and connected to the research question more or less competently.

Organization is simplistic. Hard to follow throughout the text and shows little logical order of thoughts. Doesnt make efforts to break out of the fiveparagraph essay style. Few questions present in the paper; there is little evidence that reader and writer learn from the process. Sources do not support the research well. Few sources, not at all relevant to the topic, not analyzed effectively.

Audience Awareness

Shows awareness of chosen audience. Writer is aware of context. Level of formality is appropriate. Illustrates more than minimum facility with language; engages the reader; few sentencelevel problems. Few (less than 5) errors in spelling and grammar. With a few possible exceptions, all citations and format are within MLA guidelines. Meets length requirements.

Shows some awareness of chosen audience. Writer is somewhat aware of context. Level of formality is of average appropriateness. Illustrates a basic facility with language, but may have significant sentence-level problems. Errors are somewhat frequent in spelling and grammar. Some citations are within MLA guidelines but many have problems. May not meet length requirements.

Shows very little awareness of chosen audience. Writer is not aware of context. Level of formality is not at all appropriate. Sentence-level problems obscure meaning.

Language

Editing, MLA formatting, and other requirements

Errors are common in spelling and grammar, which makes reading the annotation difficult. MLA citations & formatting are mostly incorrect. Length requirements are not met.

wra 110.730: writing science & technology

j.platt * msu * summer 2012