The short version: Pick a topic. Approach it from a variety of angles. Demonstrate critical thinking throughout. Qualitative over quantitative information is prioritized. The overlong version: The final assignment for EN 100 is an open-ended, exploratory essay in which you attempt tO incorporate Some of the key concepts from class. The essay should be nuanced and metacognitive. It should demonstrate some thoughtful creativity and an awareness of audience reaction. Most importantly, it should demonstrate going past the surface of a concept and exploring it deeply and thoughtfully Lateral thinking will be required to come up with a variety of interesting sources that will deepen your conversation. Two new vocabulary concepts for this unit are Quantitative Research and Qualitative Research Quantitative Research, you should already be familiar with. It’s the stats, figures, graphs and numbers research. “Hard data'” that has the feel of being concrete and fact oriented. (However, as we discussed last unit, graphs and stats can be deeply manipulative and, of course, flat wrong.)
Qualitative Research is more open ended, abstract and interpretive. Interviews, first-hand accounts, opinion surveys, etc. would all qualify as qualitative. Movies, TV shows, Mangas, religious texts and social media would all be qualitative data as well, and therefore can be used in this essay if you evaluate and justify your source.
A quantitative research question would be “How many points did each team score?” A qualitative question is “Why did the team lose so badly?”
Strive to find a topic that you feel passionate about and that you would legitimately like to learn more about. won’t feel like a research paper if you’ re actually compelled by the subject matter you’re exploring.
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Requirements: -Shoot for 4-6 outside sources that you explore in-depth. (Almost anything can be a source as long as you evaluate and justify the source in the essay itself.) Personal interviews encouraged -Title -Thesis in bold face type -Several quotes from your sources in which you clearly state where the source came from -3-6 pages in length -Some manner of sources cited page or bibliography (not counted as total number of pages -The only requirement for the heading is to include a “first person tone declaration.” First person tone declaration: Since you can write about basically anything, your tone may vary wildly, but since the paper is required to be in first person, put some thought into the emotional feel of the piece and declare it at the outset. This will go in the upper most left corner of your first page. If you are writing a serious paper about suicide and drug addiction in creative people. you might declare your tone as, cfirst-person reflective and downbeat.” If you’re writing a scorched earth essay about how men are genetically programmed to cheat, you might declare “first person hostile, jaded and furious. If you re writing light essay about how Hipsters are destroying popular music. you might declare cfirst person satirical and sarcastic. It’s totally up to you as long as the tone is consistent through the essay.
