Submit a digital copy on Moodle by 11:59 on the due date listed on the syllabus. Failure to submit your paper will result in deductions for lateness.
Late assignments will not be accepted without a ten percent per day penalty up to four days and then your papers will get a zero. However, if you need an extension please reach out to me more than 24 hours in advance!
GRADE
Will be graded out of 30 and be worth 30% of overall grade. Submit with scanned/photographed peer-review sheet, worth an additional 5%.
DESCRIPTION
For the Research Essay, you will create an original essay that addresses a topic chosen below, and uses 1 reading from our class, 3 scholarly sources, and at least 2 other sources. You will enter the discourse of your chosen topic by researching, reading, and writing. In addition to refining your critical thinking and communication skills, this assignment is designed to develop at least two distinct skills:
- The ability to compose an effective university-level essay.
- The ability to conduct scholarly research that enables you to enter into a critical conversation with others.
The assignment builds upon the standard thesis-based analytical essay that examines a topic using the moves we have discussed in class this year. This means that your analysis involves considering what others have said about the matters you discuss (that is, the greater discourse on your topic).
The essay prompts below only suggest a direction. You will need to develop your own thesis based on your insightful reading of one of our course readings, which will be apparent by engaging in a critical conversation with other thinkers who have also written on the ideas with which you are working. If you find your research takes you in a radically different direction or you want to depart significantly from a given topic, e-mail me before proceeding. It may be possible to develop a new direction like this, but you need permission to do so and you need to still fulfill the core components listed below. Such essays must still be focused on the course readings. “Maverick” essays that deal only tangentially with course material, and those that depart from the topics without having received approval, will receive zero for the assignment.
Visit the library and ensure you are conducting research by using university-level sources. I expect you to cite scholarly materials found in our library (hardcopy or online). You may lose significant marks if your sources are not appropriate.
The goal of the research component of the Research Essay is to use the moves that we have learned in the course so far. This means conducting research in order to have an intellectual conversation that helps you to document the originality of your analysis and to establish the value of your essay as a contribution to that conversation. The goal is not simply to quote someone else. Instead, you must use what other critics say in order to assert why your argument matters, which is to say, why your argument is different and original. Remember: You can agree, but always do so with a difference!
ESSAY TOPICS
1. Greg Rosalsky’s “This 22-year-old is trying to save us from ChatGPT before it changes writing forever” explores a university student’s pursuit of tools to combat misuse of ChatGPT, as well as the history and power of the tool, and the effects of new AI technology on contemporary writing practices and society as a whole. But not everyone is convinced of the power of AI. Famous philosopher Noam Chomsky recently stated that, despite the name, AI tools like ChatGPT are not actually intelligent[1]. Take a position on the role of technology in shaping our lives, whether positively or negatively. Examine the idea that AI will either improve our lives, writing, and ability to critically think or not, and what bias or assumptions an argument like this is built on.
2. Kiese Laymon’s “My Vassar College ID Makes Everything Okay” explores their experiences on a university campus in the US as a black person, and the racism they have faced from people in power positions. These experiences are common to IBPOC peoples in both Canada and the US, though Canada is often portrayed by the media as being more ‘multicultural’ than our southern neighbors. Use Laymon’s piece, and others, as a lens through which to analyze issues of racism and power relations in Canada.
3. In recent years, BC and the Okanagan have been hit with some of the hottest, longest burning, most destructive fires in the history of our areas. Scientists maintain that these fires are the result of human caused climate crisis—however, climate crisis deniers suggest that these fires are simply the result of arson[2] (or a space laser!). Oliver Milman’s “Climate crisis made spat of Canada wildfires twice as likely, scientists find” explores the effects that climate crisis has had on Canadian wildfires. Leap into this topic and explore it by researching and citing scholarly discourse, stats, and informed opinions.
ESSAY STRUCTURE AND FORMAT
Structure
Your assignment should have an introduction, thesis, and paragraphs that reflect a clear effort to converse with what “they say.” It will develop and prove your argument with well-chosen and convincingly analyzed evidence from your sources.
Your assignment should do the following:
- Provide a thoughtful title that establishes the intellectual vigor of the paper to come.
- Have a hook, and a thesis statement that offers a distinguishing claim, and original perspective about your topic.
- Identify why your argument matters.
- Use strong topic sentences with body paragraphs that correspond to them.
- Prove its thesis by providing an evidence-based argument.
- Summarize at least one source.
- Use proper argument structure (claim, evidence, analysis).
- Quote and paraphrase from your sources with MLA in-text citations.
- Plant a naysayer.
- Have a conclusion that offers some synthesis of your argument, thinks through why the essay matters and to whom, and points forward to future work to be done.
- The assignment should also have a “Works Cited” section on its own page that follows MLA 9th edition throughout.
Format
Submit all essays in proper format or expect a lower grade. This paper must
- be approximately 1250-1500 words long
- be double-spaced
- use Times New Roman 12 pt. font
- have adequate margins (one inch all around)
- be formatted for standard white 8.5 X 11 inch paper
- .docx or .pdf format
- use consistent MLA 9th ed. documentation and format (see: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html)
Review the slides, They Say/I Say, and the General Writing and Essay Writing Guidelines on Moodle for instructions regarding our expectations for university-level writing.
For a sample of an essay formatted according to MLA style please see: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_sample_paper.html
CATEGORIES FOR EVALUATION
- Content: thesis/argument, insight, grasp of concepts, originality
- Organization: logical structure, coherent paragraphs, transitions, introduction, conclusion
- Development: relevant evidence, sufficient detail and quotation, integration of secondary sources
- Mechanics: diction, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, punctuation
- Format: MLA manuscript format, documentation, Works Cited
Letter Grade Profiles:
An A range (80-100%) Outstanding essay displays excellence in all (or almost all) five categories: a spark of individuality or originality in the argument; an interesting discussion well supported with evidence from the text; effective integration of secondary sources; a fluid, sophisticated style. Any technical errors must be minor.
A B range (68-79%) Good essay reveals strengths in all the Evaluative Categories but does not always succeed in all areas. It demonstrates an ability to develop an argument with relevant details and integrate secondary sources appropriately. It may have minor mechanical or format errors but not enough to distract the reader from the content.
A C range (55-67%) Satisfactory essay meets university standards in most Evaluative Categories. It reveals an effort to structure an argument, but its thesis may be tentative and insufficiently developed. There is a tendency towards vagueness, generalization, and repetition of class material. Support from secondary sources may be awkwardly handled. Mechanical and format problems are sometimes distracting.
A D range (50-54%) Marginal essay reveals problems in many of the Evaluative Categories. Although it attempts an argument or focus, discussion of the topic is vague, incomplete, and lacking supportive detail; it displays more summary or paraphrase than analysis; the handling of secondary sources may not adhere completely to the rules of MLA referencing; mechanical and format errors impede readability.
An F range (0-49%) Unacceptable essay lacks an argument or focus; it may fail to address the topic or draw evidence from required sources; it may reveal a serious misunderstanding of the text or be of insufficient length. Such a paper may contain too many writing errors to be acceptable at the university level, or it may receive a failing grade due to plagiarism.
A+ 90-100% B+ 76-79% C+ 64-67%
An 85-89% B 72-75% C 60-63%
A- 80-84% B- 68-71% C- 55-59%
D 50-54% F 0-49%
WRITING HELP AND SUPPORT
If you need substantial help or support with your writing, please go to the Kelowna Success Centre. They can help with writing, English, math, and science. They offer one-to-one private sessions, peer tutors, as well as a safe and welcoming space to study. They are located in The Success Centre, Room L204 (Library Main Floor). You can also visit them online to get connected with a Success Centre coordinator at okanagan.bc.ca/success-centres.
PLAGIARISM/CHEATING
Plagiarism of any kind will result in at least a zero for the assignment involved and will result in being referred immediately to the dean’s office, which will likely lead to further disciplinary action such as “suspension and/or expulsion from the college,” as stated in the College Calendar.
ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY for the use of Chat GPT, Grammarly, or any other AI tools of any kind. There is no leeway or understanding here. If you are found to have used AI, you will immediately fail the assignment and be reported to the Dean’s office. It is really easy to discover AI submissions as 1) AI writes terrible, predictable prose and 2) There are a number of tools for the detection of AI that your poems will be subjected to including Turnitin and ChatGPTZero. Don’t do it!
More info about plagiarism can be found on the syllabus.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/08/opinion/noam-chomsky-chatgpt-ai.html
[2] https://thenarwhal.ca/wildfire-canada-explainer/