1. Introduction to the Research Paper
Week 10
Introduction to the Research Paper

2. Project 2 Reflection
Did you learn anything while writing this essay: about your topic, about yourself, about writing in general?
What did you discover about your writing or your writing process while writing this essay?
Did you notice anything change about your writing process from Essay 1 to Essay 2?
What will you do differently in the future?

3. Introducing Project 3
Review Prompts for Scaffolding Assignments and Introduce the Research Paper

4. Reviewing Prompts for Project 3
Take notes/highlight the important things you will need to remember as we go over the prompt together.
Remember, a prompt is your guide to a successful assignment.
We will be discussing issues and readings related to the Suggested Topics in class over the next several weeks, however you are not limited to these topics and have the freedom to develop a topic on your own (as long as it is thoughtful, connected to pop culture, and approved by me.

5. Reviewing the Prompt for The Argument Proposal (due May 5)
The Argument Proposal is an assignment that will help prepare you to write the Rough Draft of your Research Paper.
The Argument Proposal is not exactly an essay.
It is a planning document.
Planning documents help you organize your research and ideas prior to starting a large project or writing a lengthy essay
They also give your professor/supervisor a chance to give you feedback on your tentative ideas before too much work has already been done.
PLEASE NOTE: This does not mean you should not start work on a rough draft until your Argument Proposal has been graded. It simply means that I will have an opportunity to check your progress before an entire essay has been written in the unlikely event that you are headed in the wrong direction entirely.

6. The Argument Proposal
Carefully review each of the numbered sections. You must include/address all of these things.
1. Research Question: This is what guides you research process. I want to know what yours is, and more importantly, I want you to know what it is.
2. Summarize an important claim related to your topic that you have discovered while researching. You can pick a specific article you have found for this, or it can be a claim shared by several authors/articles.
3. Summarize an opposing claim you have discovered while researching. It is important to know all sides of an argument. You might use an article that takes the opposite side of the first one, or you might use an article that focuses on a different aspect of the topic

7. The Argument Proposal
4. What is questionable or problematic about some of these claims? – This is where you think critically about the sources you have found. Just because its an article by a published author doesn’t mean it is perfect, or that everything it says is right. Do either of the articles claim something you think is biased or neglects some aspect of the topic?
5. Discuss your claim: What’s your angle on the topic? What are you trying to convince/persuade people of in your Research Paper? To put it another way, what do you think the THESIS of your Research Paper might be?
6. What might other people doubt about your claim and how might you respond? This is important because I want you to be thinking about how you might include a counterargument in your Research Paper.

8. How The Argument Proposal connects to the Research Paper:
One of the goals of the assignment is to show that you can do research, discuss some of the important perspectives and claims relating to your topic, and decide what your own claims/position are on the topic.
Part of the point of the Argument Proposal is to get you to do some early research and plan out your own argument/claims/perspective on the topic.
After completing the Argument Proposal, you should be well on your way to writing a well planned essay—and this should make your rough draft much easier to write.

9. How The Annotated Bibliography Connects to the Research Paper (due May 12)
The purpose of an annotated bibliography is to show that you are carefully considering and documenting your sources.
You can and should use ALL of the sources you include in your Annotated Bibliography in the final draft of your Research Paper.
HOWEVER, if you find more or better sources AFTER the annotated bibliography is due, you may include those in your Final Draft and its works cited page WITHOUT having to redo your Annotated Bibliography.
NOTE: I am reducing the number of sources you must include in your annotated bibliography from 5 to 4.
The final draft of your research paper must still include 6 sources minimum.

10. The Basic Steps for Writing a Persuasive Research Paper:
Ask a question that inspires debate and whose answer matters.
Do research on your question
Come to a conclusion (decide, based on your research, what you think the answer is)
Write your research paper.
Your THESIS is the answer to the question you originally asked, and your supporting evidence comes from the research that you have done. You are explaining to your audience why you decided the way you did about your question.

11. Brainstorming a Topic for the Research Paper
The major topic sections in Pop Perspectives—look at the Table of Contents:
Chapter 4: “Understanding Lives and Work”
Some of the text in this section relate to issues of pop culture and identity, also class issues and work/economics—corporate culture, etc.
Chapter 5: “Spaces, Rituals, and Styles”
Texts in this section relate to places and spaces in popular culture—images in popular culture of the Supermarket, the “Ghetto”, Prom, and Theme Parks.
Texts in this section also relate to issues in Fashion and Style
Chapter 6: “Playing Sports”
Texts in this section relate to a variety of issues in the wide world of sports.
Chapter 7: “Analyzing Print Ads and Commercials”
Texts in this section relate to a variety of issues in advertising and how we represent diversity and gender in advertising.

12. Brainstorming a Topic for the Research Paper
Chapter 8: “Watching Television”
Texts in this section relate to a variety of issues in television shows, and can serve as examples of how to analyze and write critically about issues in a VARIETY of different kinds of tv shows.
Chapter 9: “Seeing Movies and Listening to Music”
This chapter is split into two sections—one for movies, one for music. The section on movies probably more closely relates to the previous chapter on television, as far as the kinds of issues that can be brought up, and how to talk about them. So I would recommend that people interested in tv/movies join groups.
The section on music has a lot of fascinating texts as well, relating to a variety of issues in music genres and music culture.
Chapter 10: “Surfing in Cyberculture and Gaming”
Issues relating to “cyberculture” the internet, and video games/gaming.

13. A Word of Caution for Your Essay
Part of being specific is having a specific topic.
You can’t write this essay about ALL pop culture and the effect is has on ALL of America.
You have to narrow it down to a specific TYPE of pop culture (the more specific the better)
Example: Movies
Disney movies and society vs
The Disney Princess movies and the advertising/products connected to them and how they influence how young girls define what it means to be a girl.

14. Resources for the Research Paper: Library Workshops
You should attend at least one.
Turn in proof of attendance to receive 10 points of extra credit.

15. What should I be working on this week for Project 3?
You should do the required homework readings for next week and think about how they are examples of writing critically about Pop Culture:
2 essays: “Vote the Bitch Off!” p. 434 and “NAACP Takes a Closer Look at Television Diversity—Diversity No Laughing Matter” p.458
Also textbook reading on the craft of writing: “Rhetoric” p
You should be actively thinking about what topic you want to choose for the Research Paper and review the Requirements for the Argument Proposal carefully, with the knowledge that it is due in a few weeks.
Start researching your ideas by looking at essays that involve related topics in Pop Perspectives as well as doing some preliminary reading/research on your ideas to see which ones seem most fruitful and interesting