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English 1014 Post-test Component 1: A Documented Research Essay The major post-test component for this course, an MLA documented research essay, challenges you to research, plan, draft and revise a document enlisting/citing information from three (3) or more academically valid, reliable sources in order to answer or analyze a focused, limited research question. Primarily, the formal draft of this research essay should achieve the following goals:
It should be based on a "researchable" question - Try to state or suggest the essay's topic and primary research question(s) within the introduction. Often the “5W’s and H” method to question development is a valuable first step toward developing a means of investigating a personal need, interest or problem that your research will help address. It has a central thesis or claim - Researchers begin with a question, not an answer, and although they may hypothesize, researchers are always prepared to be proved wrong. Framing the question is a crucial and often difficult part of the process. Remember, this thesis should represent your answer(s) or to the central question(s) posed--even if it's tentative and appears late in the draft. It uses at least three (3) appropriate and relevant sources - Research essays are not like encyclopedia entries or the research reports you may have written in high school. They do not merely present information gathered from source material. Instead, they actively use the information to explore or answer questions or to test the truth of an idea or thesis. All sources are cited - The consultation, use and acknowledgment of sources is both a gracious gesture and a source of authority for you--it indicates that you're party to the ongoing conversation about your topic. Using the conventions detailed and recommended in class and on our course web site, be sure to cite all contributing sources and list all those cited on a concluding Works Cited page. It addresses an audience of peers – Primarily, this draft provides a vehicle for developing and conveying working knowledge on a topic; thus, you are not writing to "experts." Instead, envision your readers as your classmates . . . and/or others who share an interest in the question/topic you’re addressing.
Potential Topics/Approaches As much as possible, make a conscious effort to follow your own motivations, needs and/or interests in selecting and narrowing a central research question for your draft. In other words, at the outset, take the time for some personal reflection, self-assessment in order to determine a problem, need, goal or curiosity that might be resolved through the collection of more information. Some of the more common basic research goals include:
Fact-finding Reports Problem-Solution Proposals Cause-Effect Analysis Market Projections Literature Reviews Background Reports Position Papers
Selecting/Evaluating Sources Research writing draws on four sources of information: memory or experience, observation, interviews and reading. It's not unusual to read a personal essay that relies solely on the writer’s memory of an
experience as a source of information. A profile might use two or three sources, including observation and interview. But a research essay may draw information from all four sources. Writers cast as wide a net as possible to discover the answers to their questions. Some basic guidelines for selecting contributing sources for this draft includes:
Scholarly journals, and journalistic publications tend to carry more authority than popular periodicals. Electronic sources acquired through academic databases are more suitable for academic writing than those typically located via general search engines. Websites and documents affiliated with academic institutions and government entities tend to prove more reliable than General reference sources like encyclopedias, dictionaries and/or electronic versions of same (like Wikipedia) should not be enlisted/cited in academic research writing. Ultimately, sources are evaluated by the accuracy, fairness, validity, reliability, relevance and timeliness of the information conveyed. Secondarily, the authority, experience, reputation and affiliations of a speaker/author should be considered.
Once complete, please submit your documented research essay via the “MyCompLab” link provided in our “Post-test Portfolio” folder.
