MLA Research Essay: Minimum of 5 pages and Works Cited Page (minimum of 5 sources) on the controversial topic chosen

• Five double spaced written research pages (may be longer but the fifth page must be completed)
  • Recommendation: Write until you are on Page 6 as a minimum
• Works Cited page (five or more sources)
• Style: Persuasive Argumentation Essay (pro or con) or Expository Argumentation Essay (an objective analysis of history and a balance of the main pro and con aspects regarding the topic)
• Review Pages here on Canvas for process and formatting
• Introduction: Minimum of .5 to 1 page
• Body: Minimum of 3-4 pages
• Conclusion: Minimum of .5 to 1 page: Restate the thesis and explain/predict future ramifications of the topic
• Works Cited Page (five or more sources (internet, book, newspaper, magazine, video documentary, interview)
  • See Purdue Owl MLA Sample Research Paper
  • See Citation Machine or easybib online citation makers (citationmachine.net or easybib.com)
  • Note: Internet sites are not always complete–cite the information you are given (internet website name if nothing else) Pageof 4Zoom1
    ENGL B1A Expository Composition Online Class
    Research Essay on Controversial Topics that affect society
    Research Essay: A minimum of five research essay pages and a Works Cited page in MLA Format
    • Style: Persuasive Argumentation Essay (pro or con) or Expository Argumentation Essay (an objective
    analysis of history and a balance of the main pro and con aspects regarding the topic)
    o Persuasive is a minimum of three main points with one counterargument and response.
    ▪ Persuasive Argument: You are trying to convince your audience that your position is
    correct.
    o Expository Argument is a minimum of two pro main points by proponents and two con main
    points by opponents.
    ▪ Expository Argument is an objective, disinterested approach. You will not use “I” but
    remain in the third person. You will search for the main “pro” reasons that proponents
    and advocates of the Pro Side promote and balance this with the same amount of “con”
    reasons that opponents of the Con Side promote. Your goal is to be fair and balanced.
    You are not trying to convince the audience to agree with you because you do not have a
    personal position on the topic; you are simply presenting both sides (or more sides if
    there are more than two sides on the topic) and allowing the audience to choose their own
    side.
    • Five double spaced written research pages (may be longer but the fifth page must be more than .5
    completed)
    • Works Cited page (five or more sources)
    Style
    3rd person: (he/she/they or collective nouns such as “people” or “society” or “many” etc.). Always applicable
    and the most appropriate generally e.g. Research Essay, Research Paper, Literary Response, Literary
    Analysis, etc.
    Preparation: See Pages on Canvas
    • Internet: search from the Bakersfield College internet library: https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/library
    • Google respectable sites (no blogs or Wikipedia) that tend to be unbiased or at least less biased
    o http://www.pewresearch.org/
    o http://factcheck.org/
    o https://www.allsides.com/
    • YouTube: Documentaries or Podcasts of respectable experts and/or presentation given by journalists
    (news).
    • History Channel (documentaries)
    • Copy and Paste information that gives you the history of this topic on Word (or the article, but it is
    better to copy and paste key quotes to insert into your paper but remember to collect information for
    MLA Works Cited)
    • Copy and Paste pertinent evidence/information (statistics, expert quotes, case studies, real life historical
    or current examples, etc.).
    • Avoid Plagiarism! Once you copy/paste an article, put quotation marks around direct quotes or
    paraphrase the information in your own words but still give credit to the source.
    • Put your source (Last Name and Page #) in parenthesis after using specific information from a
    direct source (there will be sources where there is no page #, so just put the author’s last name.
    And at times not even an author will be provided, so if that is the case, write the title of the source.2
    o Direct Quote: “The chances are that you are not as good a reader as you should be to do well in
    college” (Author’s Last Name Page #).
    o Integrated Quote: It is important to learn literacy skills because most students would admit that
    they “are not as good a reader as [they] should be to do well in college” (Author’s Last Name
    Page #).
    o Paraphrase (Indirect) Quote: Chances are that most students will find out quickly that they are
    not as strong in academic reading as they need to be in order to be successful in college
    (Author’s Last Name Page #).
    Format
    Research essays vary from type and educational institution. Please adhere to the following format for the final
    paper for this course. See the following example for MLA format and structure, but remember to adhere to the
    criteria of OUR CLASS. Click on the following hyperlink: Purdue Owl Research Paper Website
    Introduction: Minimum of .5 to 1 page
    • Brief history of the topic (decide the breadth of this i.e. years, places, etc.) with the purpose of
    explaining why the topic is important and/or controversial
    • Clearly define the topic (use formal definitions, explain major concepts, etc.)
    • Thesis: One to two bold sentences that explain the following located in the first paragraph
    • the topic chosen
    • Persuasive Argument Essay: your opinion on the topic (right or wrong, legal or illegal, why
    response is needed, etc.)
    • Expository Argument Essay: Clearly state the main two opposing views
    Persuasive Thesis Statement (broad):
    Capital punishment leaves the government without any credibility and must be abolished.
    Persuasive Thesis Statement (detailed list that foreshadows the main points of the essay):
    There are several reasons why capital punishment should be legal: God ordains capital punishment in the
    Old Testament, capital punishment has historical acceptance, and lastly capital punishment is a proven
    and just deterrent to heinous crime.
    Expository Thesis Statement (broad)
    Whereas some people consider the death penalty to be moral and just, others view it as exactly the
    opposite
    Expository Thesis Statement (detailed list that foreshadows the main points of the essay):
    Capital punishment is highly controversial primarily due to the religious differences people possess in
    society as well as their definition of cruel and unusual punishment.3
    Body: Minimum of 3-4 pages
    • Persuasive: 3 Main Points with Counterargument and Response that are connected to your thesis (or
    counterargument and response with four main points throughout the essay).
    o The Persuasive argument essay is composed of the main reasons that explain why you are pro
    (for, in support of) the topic you have chosen or the main reasons that explain why you are con
    (against, oppose) the topic you have chosen. Each argument should be expanded and
    developed—this is the heart of the paper that composes the Argument Structure.
    ▪ Reasons should be based on moral reasoning (values and disvalues, virtues and
    vices, and ethical systems).
    ▪ Reasons should explain why the topic you have chosen will be either beneficial to
    people or harmful to people.
    o The Persuasive argument essay may hold qualified positions (positions that do allow exceptions
    or are held only under certain conditions or have limits).
    o The Persuasive argument essay must have at least one counterargument (what is the main reason
    that people disagree with you?) and a response to this counterargument (the response may be a
    full rebuttal or a compromise under certain conditions or a concession that says there are a few
    problems with your position but overall, your position is still the best). The response should
    point out the problems with the counterargument (weak or even false evidence, illogical
    interpretations of evidence, low values, vices, etc.)
    • Expository: 2 Main Points that are Pro and 2 Main Points that are Con
    o The Expository argument essay is composed of the main reasons that explain why there are
    advocates of the topic you have chosen (pro) and opponents of the topic you have chosen (con).
    Each argument should be expanded and developed—this is the heart of the paper that composes
    the Argument Structure.
    ▪ Reasons should be based on moral reasoning (values and disvalues, virtues and
    vices, and ethical systems).
    ▪ Reasons should explain why the topic you have chosen will be either beneficial to
    people or harmful to people.
    o The Expository argument essay may have more than two main pro points and two main con
    points, but it MUST BE BALANCED i.e. 3 and 3 or 4 and 4. Present the main reasons and the
    main evidence and let the reader decide.
    ▪ No counterarguments or attempts to make one side look worse than another. Be objective
    and present both sides the best you can without any bias (no bias in your tone).
    • Persuasive and Expository: Supporting Evidence
    o Each argument should have evidence: facts, events, case studies, statistics, expert quotes, and
    personal examples can be used but best not as the main form of evidence but rather to support
    outside evidence given.
    –parenthetical citations: author/page # (Jones 14) or if no page # is given (Jones) or if no author
    and page # are given Title of Source (U.S. Borders and Drugs) or if no title is given but just a
    website (Pewresearch.org)
    o Analyze/Explain the evidence: What does it prove? How does it prove? How does it support
    your thesis?
    o As a general rule, each Body Paragraph should have at least one source of supporting evidence.
    Remember, the Research Essay must have a minimum of five sources that must be present
    in the essay, so a minimum of five different sources of supporting evidence must be present
    within the essay. Some of these sources can be used in the Introduction and/or the
    Conclusion, but most will be incorporated in the Body.4
    Conclusion: Minimum of .5 to 1 page: Restate the thesis and explain/predict future ramifications of the topic
    Works Cited Page (five or more sources (internet, book, newspaper, magazine, video documentary, interview)
    • See Purdue Owl MLA Sample Research Paper
    • See Citation Machine or easybib online citation makers (citationmachine.net or easybib.com)
    • Note: Internet sites are not always complete–cite the information you are given (internet website
    name if nothing else)