Description
You can choose any Researched Argumental Essay and work on it and also need the proposal and annotated bibliography. All information is given in the link attached below.
Unformatted Attachment Preview
Researched Argument Essay + Proposal + Annotated Bibliography
For this assignment, write an essay (1250+ words) that examines an issue of importance within your
academic discipline (or a related scholarly topic of interest). You will be graded on your ability to
present an informed, effective argument that demonstrates your understanding of the subject, displays
your research into its issues, effectively uses source material (in summary, paraphrase, and relevant
quotations), and reaches logical conclusions based on well-organized claims. At least four sources (two
scholarly and two popular) must be cited in the final draft of this essay.
Because the topic is open to you, the first component of this assignment will involve a proposal in which
you describe your topic or research question, along with your plans to research this topic. This
assignment will also include an annotated bibliography, in which you evaluate four or more secondary
sources to be used in your final essay.
This assignment has 3 parts:
Writing the Proposal & Annotated Bibliography
Proposal
Length: 50-100 words
This is an important moment in the research process. How well you’ve crafted your research questions
will significantly influence the success of your project. You can change your mind later, but for now,
write a brief proposal that outlines your research plan. In writing this plan, please consider the following
questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is your tentative thesis/claim (overall argument, or position)?
What are additional questions that most interest you and might help you develop your claim?
What might be some additional ideas that back up/support your claim (reasons)?
What personal experiences may have shaped the way you feel?
The Annotated Bibliography
Length: Four (4) entries minimum, MLA format for annotated bibliographies, 100-125 words per entry
(for a total of 400+ words)
You will write an annotated bibliography of at least four (4) scholarly (ex. Journal of the American
Medical Association) and popular sources (ex. Popular Science). These four sources must be credible and
reasonable.
Your entries (annotations) should provide both a brief summary of the source and also an evaluation of
its effectiveness. The annotations should identify the author’s thesis or claim. In evaluating the source
ask yourself different questions to determine its effectiveness. For example, does the author seem
qualified? Biased? Does the author prove his or her claim? Does he or she overlook any important
issues? What sort of audience is the author writing to? (Is it focused on a particular education level,
occupation, etc.?) Will this source prove useful in your research effort?
Recommended Resources:
•
•
Purdue OWL pages on Annotated Bibliographies
IRSC Library page on Annotated Bibliography format (with included template)
Example Annotations
Summary of source—What does the author say about your topic? (You don’t need to cover every point the
author makes, just the main topic and the topics relevant to your own paper.)
Analysis of source/author’s biases, intended audience, purpose. What are some shortcomings and problems
with this source? How is it written? How useful is this source for researchers?
Allison, Jonathan. “War, Passive Suffering, and the Poet.” Sewanee Review, vol. 114, no. 2, Spring
2006, pp. 207-219. Academic Search Complete.
Allison deals with Yeats’s denunciation of the World War I poets, particularly his criticism that “passive
suffering is not a theme for poetry” (207). Allison attributes Yeats’s attitude to his anti-modernist beliefs,
which elevated the active, more traditional warrior-hero above the passive and often traumatized soldier
caught in forces beyond his control. Allison supports his claim with evidence from specific poems, among
them “Easter 1916,” “The Lake Isle of Innisfree,” and “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death.” While Allison’s
essay is biased in favor of a modernist reading, this article is useful because it places Yeats within the context
of two converging literary epochs: twentieth-century modernism and a more traditional approach stemming
from the nineteenth-century Romantics and Pre-Raphaelites.
Cowlishaw, Brian. “The Narrowing Experience of ‘Experience’ in Video Role-Playing Games.” Intelligent
Agent, vol. 4, no. 4, n.d. www.intelligentagent.com/archive/Vol4_No4_gaming_cowlishaw.htm.
In this article, Cowlishaw deals with a narrow yet fascinating subject: the rhetorical function of “experience”
in role-playing video games. Gaining experience is described by Cowlishaw as “unbelievably rewarding”
because behaviorist notions of reinforcement make the process “incredibly addictive.” This repetitive process
of leveling up as the only way to progress through the game reinforces the notion of a world constantly in
progress, as time spent on the game almost always results in advancement in some way. Because experience
is often collected through killing enemies or competing, Cowlishaw notes that this encourages the player to
develop a ruthless mindset over the many hours of playing time. However, to make his argument, Cowlishaw
ignores the various alternative means of gaining experience that are especially prevalent in games of the last
decade, such as using diplomacy or solving puzzles. In fact, some games include quests that penalize the
player for violent actions—a concept ignored by Cowlishaw for the sake of his claim.
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. Henry Holt and Company, 2001.
In this book of nonfiction based on the journalist’s experiences and research, Ehrenreich attempts to
ascertain whether it is currently possible for an individual to live on a minimum-wage in America. Taking jobs
as a waitress, a maid in a cleaning service, and a Walmart sales employee, the author summarizes and
reflects on her work, her relationships with fellow workers, and her financial struggles in each situation. As an
experienced journalist, Ehrenreich is aware of the limitations of her experiment and the ethical implications
of her research tactics and reflects on these issues in the text. The author is forthcoming about her methods
and supplements her experiences with scholarly research on her places of employment, the economy, and
the rising cost of living in America. Ehrenreich’s project is timely, descriptive, and well-researched.
Ferguson, Adam. When Money Dies: The Nightmare of Deficit Spending, Devaluation, and Hyperinflation
in Weimar Germany. Perseus Books, 2010.
This is a book on the Weimar Germany hyperinflation that focuses more on history than economic theory.
Originally written in 1975, this reprinting contains a forward from 2010 encouraging scholars to apply the
lessons of Weimar Germany to the Great Recession, especially modern practices of quantitative easing and
deficit financing. Writing in a straightforward manner, Ferguson is no conspiracy theorist but rather someone
taking a nuanced historical approach to the many causes of the Weimar hyperinflation.
Gee, James P. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. 2nd ed. Palgrave
MacMillan, 2007.
Gee is one of the foremost scholars of the relationship between video games and learning. In this work, he
speaks on the various ways video games encourage learning by inviting players to take risks to expand their
knowledge within the context of a structured game world. He argues that such principles can be adapted for
use in schools, asserting that if students are encouraged to imagine themselves as mathematicians or
scientists, math and science grades will correspondingly increase. He is excited about the potential for video
games, arguing that they constitute “a new form of art,” one that is for now mainly entertainment but that
will grow “deeper and richer” with time. In addition to many anecdotal examples, he provides a thorough list
of thirty-six “learning principles” video games exemplify. In this list, he explains that video games encourage
active and evaluative learning, metacognition, and taking risks in a context where the real-world
consequences are lowered. What this piece lacks in information about the rhetorical properties of specific
game mechanics, it makes up for in the care and attention it gives to games’ ability to encourage certain
types of learning.
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
