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The major assignment for this course will be 10-12 page research paper on a topic chosen appropriate to your field of study. We will discuss topics in class.
The research project has five parts: a research proposal, an annotated bibliography, a draft with peer review, the final research essay, and a presentation.
The topic should be narrow enough to cover adequately in 10-12 pages. The research proposal and topic exercise will help narrow your topic; once you identify a research question, your topic should be fairly narrow.
The final essay must synthesize multiple sources (usually between 8 - 10 sources) into a coherent essay which expresses your ideas and findings on the subject. Most of your sources should be articles from the GMU databases. Do not rely too heavily on books (book publishing may be one of the professions becoming obsolete). Don't rely too heavily on web sources, either, as these may be of questionable reliability. All sources must be cited in an appropriate format.
The purpose can be explanatory, persuasive, or (most likely) some combination of the two. Consider your audience: what do they know about the subject? What do they need to know?
Grades on the final essay will be based primarily on the writing and organization. Unlike the other essays in this course, the final essay cannot be revised. We will, however, have a peer review session in class.
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons License.