Order Description
Research Project Spring 2016 English 4
Please read the directions—you are responsible for knowing project expectations. This project makes up the majority of your summative score of your semester grade (350 points total).
Subject: “I’ve Always Wanted to Investigate This” or “What is in My Own Backyard?”
As a researcher, detective, and writer, you are to select a subject that fascinates or interests you—BUT you have to have access to primary research in Arizona; in other words, you have to be able to go to a place / space / group / organization in Arizona so that you can participate or investigate or experience the subject. 1. This subject needs to be focused (narrowed) but is multifaceted and complex in its own right. 2. This subject is one on which you can do primary research. 3. This subject is one on which you can access primary sources as well as secondary sources. 4. This subject is one on which you have an enthusiasm for doing serious research. You are willing to look at traditional and, perhaps, nontraditional sources; you are willing to investigate in person and read as
much as possible to learn as much as possible 5. You need to be willing to be open to where the research leads you—if you already have arrived at a judgment or think you know everything, stop now and choose a different subject6. Read that last line again: PICK ANOTHER SUBJECT if you already know your opinion before you’ve done any research. And NO—you cannot repeat a research essay from the past. It is your
senior year; you need to pick a new subject.
Focal Point Process Research Paper & Annotated Works Cited
Basic Aspects on Inquiry-based Research
1. You are responsible for researching a focal point—a very focused subject. If you wanted to research The subject “angels,” your focal point would be much more specific question, such as—“Are Precious
Moments Angels representations of Biblical angels?” or “Are vampires post-modern angels?”2. Once you have that question, you have a focal point to research. You will research both primary and
secondary sources; you will do some primary research as well. 3. VERY IMPORTANT: You have to make certain that you can do primary research within your own back yard—you might if you have a question on visual portrayals of angels, you might go to various studios like the one in Tubac, Arizona, in which artists paints angels; or you might find Sedona filled with all sorts of concepts of angels. Or you discover a local museum is conducting a lecture on angels in art. 4. As you research you WILL ANNOTATE / TAKE NOTES about what you find (information, data, opinions, claims, evidence, arguments). You will also JOURNAL about what you think regarding this information, data, opinions, claims, evidence, and arguments. Your journal is a reflective work—so you must “reflect.” You will also think about the Charisms and reflect upon them within your journaling. 5. You need to ask questions—that is what “inquiry” means. If you do not have questions, then you are not doing real research. And if you do not ask questions about what you find or the “answers” you get, then
you are not doing real research. It is not enough to be happy with the first answer or response. Ask
questions: Is this source reliable? How do I know? Does everyone agree with this individual? Let’s take the angel subject again: Richard Wilbur’s poem “Love Calls Us to the Things of This World” is his
response to a fellow poet’s challenge that 20th century poets can no longer write about angels because we no longer believe in the supernatural. Does Wilbur’s poem reflect postmodern notions? Does his
poem show the supernatural? How does Wilbur define “angel” from his poem? How are his angels
unlike the Precious Moment angels—is this significant?
Annotated Works Cited—Final Draft Requires 15 Sources
? You must type up an annotated Works Cited that briefly summarizes and evaluates the sources used in your focal point. This annotated Works Cited contains:
o 15 original sources (~5 primary sources and 10 secondary sources)
? MLA Format must be perfect ? Bibliographic/Works Cited information is followed by a brief and original summary of work followed by an evaluation on work’s reliability. (This is the annotation.) It must be well-written stylistically and grammatically. ? Required types of sources:
o Must have One booko Must have One academic sourceo Must have One reliable reference work OTHER than a dictionaryo Must have articles from reputable newspapers and / or magazines o Must have 5 primary sources that may be found in following forms of discourse: pamphlets, transcripts, artwork, maps, surveys, and interviews. ? Of these primary sources at least two must come from primary research, which may come from your own interview, experiment, survey, video log / diary of experience, photographs
? Sources cannot all be online sources
? Online sources are varied: online journals, official / company web pages, online newspapers; blogs; etc.
? Only one entry from Wikipedia can be used as a source.
Focal Point Process Research Paper Parts 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 combined are worth 100 points; Part 4 is worth 100 points
? You will create an original Focal Point Process Research Paper (~3000 words), which follows the following format.
1. How & Why I Chose This Focal Point (100 Words)
? Part 1—Discusses reasons why you chose the topic 2. What I Did & Did Not Know Prior To Research (150 Words)
? Part 2—Evaluates your prior knowledge, and includes your questions (inquiry-based)
3. The Research Process (175-200 Words)
? Part 3—Summarizes the “research journey”—what did you do, where did you go, what sources were helpful / not helpful, who assisted or hindered your research, how did you cope with the various views, what was most interesting in your primary research, etc. You will have in-text citations here.
4. What I Learned (2,000-2,500 Words) WORTH 100 POINTS
? Part 4—Presents the information you learned in an in-depth and academic voice. THIS IS THE ESSAY. You need a purpose (inform, persuade, both) and must demonstrate good organizational skills, ability to synthesize various sources (effective use “They Say / I Say” strategies). Your use of in-text citations must be accurate. Your stylistic choices must fit the purpose and academic style demanded of this section.
5. What I Would Change If I Could Do This Again (150 Words)
? Part 5—Evaluates (honestly) how successful or unsuccessful you were as a researcher as well as explaining what you would change if you could and why
6. Charism (150 Words)
? Part 6—Examines a Charism that you feel has been challenged or encouraged during your investigation OR it might be a Charism to which you are appealing to call others to action. This is reflective BUT it is also thoughtful. No bologna here—I want and expect you to really think about
this section. You may use sources to support you (such as Bible, Catholic Church’s teaching,
philosopher or theologian). FYI—this is the section a lot of students LOSE POINTS because they treat it like a fluff section. I don’t like fluff.
? Writing style will also be evaluated—ideas, organization, sentence fluency, voice, word choice, GUM. Show me you are ready for college by writing with sophistication. ? MLA format must be perfect—Annotated Works Cited serves as your Works Cited Page
MODEL OF PROCESS RESEARCH PAPER
To give you an idea, here is a model of Process Research Paper; this model is not MLA formatted since I wanted to save space. All italicized and underlined information are directions. Yours WILL BE DOUBLE SPACED AND FOLLOW ALL MLA FORMATTING GUIDELINES. Also this model is incomplete; its purpose is to provide a general pattern to follow.
Some information and all references with exception of “Call to the Faithful” are fictitious.
How & Why I Chose This Focal Point
Standing in line at Starbucks on a cold January day, I decided coffee was interesting subject. I have always loved the smell of coffee, but do not like its taste. And yet I find myself in coffee bistros like Starbucks all the time because I love the energy of these places. And so I decided that I would focus on the coffee house—its history and impact on culture….
What I Did & Did Not Know Prior To Research
I know that Starbucks is extremely popular; I think there are approximately five that I pass on my commute to NDP. I am familiar with other coffee houses like Press Coffee and Arizona Coffee Roasters, but I had not visited them. I did know that certain houses just “sell” the coffee and others “roast and sell” their coffees. Prior to doing the research, however, I never had thought much about this. I know that coffee boosts energy, but I didn’t know how important the inception of the coffee house has been to our culture.
The Research Process
I first went to the NDP library and spoke with Mrs. Vancel, asking her for good books on the history of coffee. She told me that she had several. I looked through them and decided to spend more time reading Coffee and Culture since it had an entire chapter dedicated to the history of the coffee house. One of the honors students told me they were reading a book about 17th century England and that the selling and buying of stock took place in coffee shops, which I thought was weird—I looked at the book, but it was too long. Continue to discuss your process—include primary research
experience… Later I decided to survey everyone in a coffee shop. I had to meet with manager—she told me it had to be
voluntary and not intrusive, so I sat at a table with a sign “Will You Take A Survey to Help Me Pass English?” I got quite
a few people to fill out my survey Continue and include what did not go well… My interview with George the coffee
roaster was lousy because I hadn’t done enough background research on coffee roasters, so all he told me was information
I could have found on the Internet.
What I Learned—This section needs to read like an academic article; it is also worth 100 points.
The first coffee shop, Kiva Han, was opened in the late 1400s in the Constantinople, Turkey In his book, A History of Coffee, Jayden Paajenen states Kiva Han was, in spite of its lack Wi-Fi access, a place in which conversations and
business took place. Adding to Paajanen’s general history, Susan Almond focuses on the history of the stock market within the coffee shop. According to her article “Coffee and Trade,” Almond asserts that “from its inception, the coffee
shop has been associated with trade and stock markets—even today, popular coffee shops are used to conduct all types of business deals” (45). From its inception, the coffee shop has been associated with trade and stock markets—even today, popular coffee shops are used to conduct all types of business deals. Continue discussing and developing your insights.
Include primary research In a survey I conducted at Starbucks on Thompson Peak Parkway, 30 percent of those who responded indicated that they did business in the location; however, 60 percent indicated that they used Starbucks for their business; in other words, they purchased drinks or cards for their customers and to encourage those customers to continue to do business with them (“Why Come to Starbucks?—Survey). Managers complain that many individuals sit in their coffee houses for hours and only purchase one cup of coffee. I do this; I nurse a drink and maybe eat a snack, but I sit there for hours talking to my friends. If I’m alone and reading a book, I’m careful and leave quickly if the coffee house becomes busy; however, if I’m with friends I don’t notice. In his article, “Costs of Running a Coffee Shop,” John Smith agrees with my own observation, arguing that this complaint by owners and managers is not without merit—patrons who sit all day in their shops costs them money. According to Smith, if patrons aren’t buying and buying approximately $2,000 worth of coffee a day, that shop is losing money. Even at $2.50 for an espresso, that is still a lot of coffee to sell.
This model is more of an informational one—the focus is on coffee and business, but in the completed draft this would be more developed. If I were arguing something, my essay would be organized differently. If I wanted to persuade reader to act, I would use strategies that encouraged reader to do something.
What I Would Change If I Could Do This Again If I could start at the beginning again, I would still focus on my focal point; however, I would have spent more time reading on the history of the stock market—I found that very interesting. I could not find sources as to why coffee and stock market are so closely associated. I would like to read more on physical / neurological impact of caffeine and compare it to stimulants like risk and stress. Charism Many coffee houses and roasters are known to be very concerned about the environment, which is why some of them
claim to cost more than a cheaper cup of coffee at McDonald’s (“Reasons Why”). In “Call to the Faithful,” Pope John
Paul argued for supporting ecological conservatism since such a cause not only safeguards the habitats of all living beings,
it encourages a “human ecology,” which protects the creation for future generations and in conformity with God’s plan. But saying, “I’m going to Starbucks because I support the environment,” is an easy out. The app “Instead” allows me to
choose between buying a cup of coffee and donating money to a charity of my choice; this choice is a practice in humility for me because I tend to choose my cup of coffee over a lot of things. By thinking that I might not “deserve” this frothy latte, I might be open viewing another’s need as more important than my own…and continue.
