How to write a proposal and annotated bibliography

The Academic Research Essay Proposal
Length & Format: At least 500 words (not including Works Cited) in MLA format, 12-point font, double-spaced. You do not need to answer in an essay format. Rather, be specific. Include the outline and the answers to the research questions.

Description: Your proposal introduces your research topic, thesis, and other preliminary ideas. This is the topic in which you will write your annotated bibliography and final argumentative research paper, so it’s a good idea to find a topic in which you are interested. You must choose a arguable topic and select a stance. Scholarly research must support the topic. Since this assignment builds up to your academic research essay, please read the Academic Research Essay assignment description. You may not write about: abortion, the death penalty, or marijuana. Otherwise, the choice is yours.

Writing Strategy: Conduct preliminary academic research first. Since this assignment organizes and explains initial ideas for you research essay, you will need to develop an outline for the ideas you wish to express in your essay. Your ideas might change later, but you still need to carefully work out some of the main points you wish to consider. You will also need to answer a series of questions. Answering these questions helps determine what you know and what you need to know. These answers may help guide you in a more informed or accurate research strategy that you will need in the writing assignments that follow.

Specifics: The proposal should consist two parts: the outline and the research answers:

Part One: Outline

A tentative thesis statement

At least three reasons to support the thesis statement

An opposing view

Part Two: Research Answers

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?

What prior beliefs, assumptions, preconceptions, ideas, or prejudices might be brought to this project?

What personal experiences may have shaped the way you feel?

The Academic Research Essay Proposal (Sample)

Part One: Outline

Tentative Thesis:

Video games should be integrated into the educational system due to their ability both to make learning fun and to help develop 21st century skills that are being demanded in today’s workforce.

Reasons:

1. Video games provide an interactive style of learning that promotes critical thinking and creativity.

1. Through technology, students learn in a way that will increase intellectual capabilities and workforce productivity in the future.

1. Certain video games produce real-world problems and encourage solutions.

Opposing View:

Opponents against using video games in education argue that students should learn through traditional means: listening to lectures and taking notes. Although these methods of learning prove useful to mostly to visual and audible learners, kinesthetic learners are often left out. With video games, kinesthetic students can also benefit through the tactile learning methods that this method provides.

Part Two: Research Question Answers

1. What are additional questions that most interest you and might help you develop your claim?

How are video games currently being used in education?

How do they develop 21st century skills?

Why aren’t they being used yet?

1. What might be some additional ideas that back up/support your claim?

Video games can help to lessen the workload of teachers by allowing students to play a game while the teacher can meet one on one with students who are struggling instead of having to keep the entire class's attention. Another way video games could help teachers is by taking metrics on the student’s abilities making grading easier on the teacher while showing them where exactly a student is or began to struggle. Another idea of how video games could be used in education would be to serve as a path into learning about coding allowing students to create and play their own games.

1. What prior beliefs, assumptions, preconceptions, ideas, or prejudices might be brought to this project?

Video games are often times known for being violent or for wasting time. Some even have the dangers of being a sinkhole for money if they were designed inhumanely.

1. What personal experiences may have shaped the way you feel?

My personal experience with videogames over the years and coding games. Also watching “Extra Credits” a Youtube series that educates about the design and development as well as the controversies of video games.

The Academic Research Essay Annotated Bibliography

Length & Format: At least 500 words (not including Works Cited) in MLA format, 12-point font, double-spaced. You will write an annotated bibliography in its traditional format. For each annotation (at least 3 total) you will provide the Works Cited of the source, a summary of the source, and an analysis of the specific information in the source that you plan to use. Make sure and alphabetize your annotations.

Description: This assignment builds from your Academic Research Essay Proposal and is designed to help you analyze and evaluate sources relevant to your chosen topic. The goal of this assignment is to also help you begin to draft portions of your Academic Research Essay.

Writing Strategy: Conduct academic research, using key words from your outline. The sources you choose should help bolster your arguments and assist you in developing ideas for body-paragraphs in your essay. When you find relevant information from a source in which you wish to use, include the source’s Works Cited. Proper MLA format required. Then write a brief 3-4 sentence summary of the source and a brief 3-4 sentence analysis of the information you chose. Make sure that you provide parenthetical (in-text) citations in your summary & analysis. In your analysis, you should explain how the information will relate to your argument(s). Be as specific as possible as you may use this information in your essay.

Important Reminders: Any time you use information from a source (either via summary, paraphrase, or analysis), you must provide a parenthetical (in-text) citation at the end of each sentence (ie. Thomas 134). Otherwise, neglecting to incorporate parenthetical citations constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, is a serious academic offense that will result in earning a zero on the assignment. Instances of plagiarism will also be reported to the Academic Dean. Remember that when you use ideas from a source in your writing assignments, you must include both parenthetical (in-text) citations in the body of your essay and a Works Cited on a separate page at the end of the essay.

The Academic Research Essay Annotated Bibliography (Sample)

Ault, Alicia. "Video Games and Learning." CQ Researcher 12 Feb. 2016: 145-68. Web. 8 Apr.

2016.

Summary(3-4 sentences): Here, the author argues that video games are widespread and are now being used to teach everything from science to history (Ault 158). This use of games helps more than an understanding of the material but also with critical thinking abilities (Ault 145). This acceptance does not apply to all parts of games as games are thought by some to discourage female participation (Ault 165).

Analysis(3-4 sentences): As I develop my reasons into paragraphs, I believe that this information can assist me on my second reason: through technology, students learn in a way that will increase intellectual capabilities and workforce productivity in the future. Ault describes how games are used now can help to show how to implement them other places as well as how to improve the problems that has currently arose with them (155). This information may help to settle the qualms of those who think that games have no place in the classroom. This information also helps to show that games can be implemented if people are willing to give it a shot.

Clemmitt, Marcia. "Teaching Critical Thinking." CQ Researcher 10 Apr. 2015: 313-36. Web. 14

Apr. 2016.

Summary(3-4 sentences): Marcia Clemmitt explains how educational specialists and corporate hiring managers are expressing a desire for students to learn problem solving and inquiry skills (313). These skills also known as 21st century skills are thought necessary for surviving in today’s workplace (Clemmitt 322). One concern is that schools will not be pushed to foster these skills and policymaker’s will remain reliant on standardized test to tell them how the schools are doing.

Analysis(3-4 sentences): This information can help support my first reason: certain video games produce real-world problems and encourage solutions. For example, schools are struggling to teach these 21st century skills despite the demand for them. Games could be used to fix this problem and allow lawmakers to measure the quality of the education using the metrics from the games (Clemmitt 316). Games already inherently teach 21st century skills so they would be easy to incorporate into games for other forms of education.

Glazer, Sarah. "Video Games." CQ Researcher 10 Nov. 2006: 937-60. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.

Summary(3-4 sentences): Sarah Glazer explains that video games are very popular as they draw in “more than three-quarters of American youths” (937). Certain games are under debate but many have seen the captivating effects. Games are known to teach 21st century skills Glazer (937).

Analysis(3-4 sentences): This source may help bolster my first reason: video games provide an interactive style of learning that promotes critical thinking and creativity. For instance, games are already enjoyable and engrossing if they can be brought into the classroom then students may find more joy in learning. Many skills can be taught at once while encouraging team building allowing games to be versatile as students learn to improve their weak points while passing through anything they have already understand. This trait comes with the unique progression systems in that will allow students to work on what they are having trouble with instead of sitting bored while the rest of the class goes over something they already understand.

The Academic Research Essay

Length & Format: At least 1,250 words (including Works Cited) in MLA format, 12-point font, double-spaced. Sources: At least five (5) scholarly sources from any of the Richland College Online Library Databases or from a book/text acquired from the Richland College Library.

You must include a “Works Cited” page and use correct MLA format for in-text (parenthetical) citations.

Description: This an an argumentative, persuasive, academic essay. In this assignment, you will build upon the ideas you constructed in your Academic Research Essay Proposal and Annotated Bibliography. You may write on any topic except abortion, gun control, or marijuana. 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 cogent quotations), and reaches logical, substantiated conclusions based on well organized and subordinated claims.

Writing Strategy: Build upon your outline, ideas in the proposal, and sources you chose for your annotated bibliography. You should incorporate clearly-defined components of an academic research essay:

1. Introduction paragraph with thesis statement. Your introduction paragraph should include an “attention grabber” or “hook.” These elements are covered in the Structural Components of Academic Essays PPT. You should also explain how your attention grabber relates to your thesis statement. Your thesis statement should be the last sentence of your introduction paragraph.

1. Background information paragraph. This paragraph is an informative—not an argumentative-- paragraph. Think of this paragraph as providing preliminary information that your audience should first know before they can understand or accept your argument (“reason” paragraphs). You need a topic sentence that asserts the overall main idea of the paragraph & analysis. If/when you acquire information from an outside source, make sure and properly provide in-text citations at the end of every sentence.

1. At least 3 paragraphs that deconstruct your thesis and include:

2. A reason to support your thesis. This is your topic sentence.

2. Evidence from academic source(s). You must provide an in-text citation at the end of EVERY sentence in which you summarize, paraphrase, or quote information from an outside source.

2. Analysis (ie. Warrants/Backing)

1. A paragraph that address an opposing view and offers a rebuttal. This paragraph should begin with an opposing view. A rebuttal, or refute, of the opposing view should follow. Provide evidence from source material (if needed) and analysis to complete this paragraph.

1. Conclusion paragraph should offer a summary of your reasons, an explanation of the significance of your reasons, and an incorporation of a conclusion technique. Conclusion techniques are covered in the Structural Components to Academic Essays PPT.