1. “Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with purpose.” - Zora Neale Hurston

2.  (1) based upon several specified sources,  (2) presented in a standard method of procedure (in this case argumentative),  (3) limited to a relatively narrow phase of a subject,  (4) original in selection, evaluation, expression, and conclusion.

3.  This is an argumentative paper – your topic must be based on a debatable issue Gun control, constitutionality of a law, preventability of serious crimes, addictions to social media sites…(the list goes on and on and on)  Two questions that should be asked and answered: Where are we at? Where should we be?

4.  You are to become an expert on this subject in 5-7 pages.  The five (5) page and a line minimum does not include your works cited page or any graphs or illustrations you choose to include.  You must use in-text citations (MLA format)  You must use a total of at least 6 sources

5.  You should have a source information page for each source  You may use books, ebooks, journals, news articles, internet, prime sources, news broadcast transcripts NO  Absolutely NO Wikipedia, about.com (or the like) – must be valid

6.  Take notes as you read Post-it notes, on text, in a notebook  Notes should be a combination of direct quotations and paraphrasing

7.  A developed thesis needs to be debatable, interesting, and current  Your thesis must include your stance. Do not use “I think…” or “In this paper, I will...” type of statements. They are implied.

8.  When we present an argument, we are trying to get our audience (or the reader) to agree with us We want to convince our audience that we are right  A Persuasive paper tries (usually through emotion) to get the reader to do something It does not have to be reason-based

9.  An argument takes a position and appeals to reason, while persuasion tries to get people to change their attitude or actions.

10.  You must find evidence to back up your claim  Persuasive and Argumentative papers rely on fact-based conclusions  Full development of each idea is also essential

11.  Do not merely summarize your sources Use then to support your claims  Do not copy and paste This is not “creative,” it’s cheating  Do not feel overwhelmed You can do this, and I will help  Do not blow this assignment off We don’t even know if summer school is happening

12.  No title page  1” Margins  Times New Roman  12 point font  Double spaced  Last name and page number in right hand corner in header  Heading on the upper left hand corner Name Ms. Stone American Literature Day Month Year of due date (11 March 2015)

13. Here is a sample first page of an essay in MLA style:

14.  You made it to the end. P.S. If you show Ms. Stone that you’ve taken notes, you may get an extra point or two