This final research essay brings together the work you’ve already completed in your annotated bibliography, literature review, observation report, and survey/interview report. You’ll use the primary and secondary research you’ve gathered to create a polished research essay (APA format, with Appendix and Works Cited).
1. Introduction: Situates the community (population of study), the research question, thesis statement, and the necessary background information about your topic. Make sure your all background information is appropriately supported with secondary research.
2. Review of Literature: Synthesize the existing conversation using the source material you’ve been working with throughout the semester. Your review of literature should be organized by theme (not by source) and your larger goal is to make connections and reveal the conversation around your topic. Your review of literature should contain at a minimum, 7-10 sources. At least 5 of those sources need to be from scholarly publications (including books or academic journals).
3. Methods: Briefly describe and provide a rationale for your primary research methods (observation and interview/survey).
4. Analysis of Primary Research: Analysis of the observation and survey/interview findings in context with the review of literature. Your analysis should detail significant findings form the observation and interview/survey and then put those findings in conversation with the sources from your review of literature.
5. Conclusion: Explanation of what can be concluded about your research question, the community of study, and how fellow researchers might move forward with their work
6. References: Cite the references you used in your paper; do not include annotations (citations only on the reference page).
7. Appendix: Includes observation field notes and interview transcript or survey responses.
Revision Letter: Along with the assignment, you will write a detailed revision letter for this assignment. Please address your letter to me and discuss your meetings with me and/ or the Comp Fellow and how you considered suggestions from those meetings and the peer review sessions in revising your assignment. The cover letter must be submitted with the assignment on the assignment’s due date; it may not be submitted independently from the assignment. Any essay that does not contain a revision letter will receive a 1/3rd of a letter grade deduction
Final Research Essay Grading Rubric
Excellent Good Needs Work Missing
Adheres to APA citation style & includes all
components of the assignment including the
Comp Fellow letter
Introduction section provides readers
sufficient information to understand the
community, research question(s), & thesis
Review of Literature section situates the
larger research conversation thematically &
effectively synthesizes sources
Methods section appropriately details the
steps the writer took in conducting their
primary research
Analysis of Primary Research is
thematically organized and puts primary
research in conversation with secondary
sources
Conclusion section addresses what the
writer learned from conducting the
observation
Conclusion section provides readers with a
response to the research question and
provides new directions for research and
study
References & Appendix
Use of secondary sources, quoting,
summary, and citation
Paragraph development & organization
Attention to grammar, spelling, and
sentence-level concerns
Overall final research essay
