Length & Source Use:
Your final essay should be approximately 1500 words in length and should incorporate research from
three to five sources
Description and Purpose:
This is a writing project of multiple stages that will allow you to develop your writing and critical skills by
presenting a well-reasoned and developed argument informed by appropriate research. The final essay will
be the product of a process in which you:
– identify a controversial topic area that is of interest to you
– formulate an argument about that topic
– research and outline an essay, complete with an annotated bibliography
– write, edit and proofread that essay
– consult with me re: revisions necessary to the essay
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I. Research Topic Meeting
I’ll ask you to talk with me during Week 7 about your ideas for your research project. This part of the project
is informal, and will not be graded, but it is important that we have a shared understanding of your research
focus and tentative argument prior to you getting started on the outline and annotated bibliography, so
please be sure to come to class this week with some ideas!
II. Research Essay Outline & Annotated Bibliography (15%)
Your research essay outline and annotated bibliography are part of the planning stages of your essay, and
should be submitted on Moodle as one document between Monday, October 29th and Friday, November
2nd
The purpose of this part of the project is dual: firstly, it requires you to really consider the argument that
you want to make in your essay, how best to support or illustrate that argument using quality sources, and
how best to organize those supporting points; secondly, it gives me the opportunity to offer you
constructive feedback on your argument, essay organization, and source use prior to assigning your essay a
grade, meaning that you can actually use this feedback in the composition of your final essay.
Your essay outline should include:
1. The topic of your essay or your research question
2. The complete working introduction to your essay. Do not underline or highlight your thesis in any
way. Your thesis should be clear based simply on the way that your introduction is phrased. I
understand that your introduction, at this point, will most likely be quite tentative; what I am
looking for is an indication that you understand what kind of information is necessary to an
effective introduction.
3. The topic sentence for each body paragraph of the essay and the examples or evidence that you
intend to use to illustrate or support the topic sentence.
Note: Please be sure to follow these instructions carefully. Do NOT provide me with full drafts of your
essay.
An annotated bibliography differs from a typical bibliography or Works Cited in that it not only provides
publication information for a source, but also a description and (sometimes) an evaluation of the source.
For examples, please see Moodle and/or the English 100 Library Guide.
This particular annotated bibliography should include:
1. A full Works Cited entry for each source (formatted according to MLA specifications) *
2. A description of what each source is (for instance, is it a peer-reviewed article? a magazine article?
a blog? a documentary? etc.)
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3. An explanation of why each source is both relevant and credible given your particular essay topic.
This means that you may need to offer some comments on the author or publishing body. For
instance, it may be entirely appropriate to use the blog or website of an individual who is widely
recognized in their field, while using a blog or website of a ranty member of the general population
may not, in fact, be all that appropriate! If you do not have any academic/scholarly sources at all,
please explain your rationale for this! **
4. An explanation of HOW you intend to use each source in your essay. Does it support your
argument? Does it provide background on an idea, person, or text? Do you intend to use it as a
counterexample? Is it an object of analysis? (etc!)
* You should provide entries/annotations for at least three (but no more than five) sources. If you have
more than five sources, then please annotate the sources that you are using more extensively, and
provide only Works Cited entries (no annotations) for those that you are using minimally (for a
definition or a small bit of information, etc).
** Because you will all be working on very different research topics, I have not set a minimum number
of required peer-reviewed or academic sources. This means that you must be judicious when assessing
potential sources, asking yourself if you are using those that are the most relevant and appropriate to
your essay topic. For example, if you are researching the use of sex and sexuality in advertising, I would
expect that at least a few of your sources might be magazines, commercials, and so forth; however, if
you are researching the ethics of genetically engineered food, then these types of popular sources are
not likely to be the most appropriate. Keep in mind that if your sources are weak, then your argument
will be likewise.
Assessment: The research essay outline and annotated bibliography are worth 30 marks in total: you will
receive a grade out of 10 based on completion; and you will receive another grade out of 20 based on
quality.
III. Research Essay (10%)
Your initial essay submission – due Friday, November 16th – should be a completed essay. You are not
submitting a draft wherein you know there are things to be fixed or altered; rather, you are submitting the
best essay possible!
Here’s how I’m defining a ‘complete’ essay:
– the essay should be around 1500 words in length
– the essay should be accompanied by a Works Cited that lists all the sources referenced in the body of
your essay according to MLA guidelines
– all the information in the body of your essay that is drawn from your sources is documented through
the use of in-text citations
– the essay includes and introduction, a conclusion, and three to five body paragraphs
I’ll ask you to sign up for a mutually available time during Week 12 for us to review your essay together.
This will give us the opportunity to chat more directly about your writing in order to find ways in which
the essay could be improved. Please bring a printed copy of your essay to this meeting. If you miss your
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essay meeting, you risk forgoing the opportunity to meet at all, as my availability tends to be limited at this
point in the semester, so PLEASE BE SURE TO WRITE YOUR ESSAY MEETING DATE/TIME/PLACE DOWN!
Assessment: The initial research essay submission is worth 20 marks in total: you will receive a grade out
of 10 based on completion; and you will receive another grade out of 10 based on quality.
IV. Revised Research Essay (25%)
Your revised research essay is due Friday, November 30th, but will be accepted until Friday, December
14th without penalty; however, essays received after November 30th will receive no feedback – only a grade
– and essays will only be accepted after December 14th in cases of documented emergency situations.
Format:
Your essay should:
– have a title page (title of essay, course name, student name, date) OR title information on the top of
the first page.
– be double-spaced in a readable font. This is not a readable font.
– include a “Works Cited” page that list all of the texts cited in the essay in proper MLA format.
* Please note that the Works Cited for your final essay should not be annotated.
– format all citations in the body of the essay according to MLA style guidelines
When you submit your essay on Moodle, please note all revisions that you’ve made to the essay in the Moodle
comment box. These can simply be in point form, as I’m just looking for some indication of how you
attempted to change or improve the essay in response to the feedback we discussed in our meeting.
Assessment:
See Moodle for the English Department Grading Policy and Research Essay Grading Criteria.
Notes:
If you have any questions about this assignment please contact me as soon as possible. As well, please feel
free to discuss topics, thesis statements, outlines, research approaches, etc. with me.