English 215
Project Four: Researched Paper in Your Discipline

Composing Schedule
Drafts: T 11/23, Th 11/30
Polished Draft Due: 12/7 if you want it graded and commented upon by the date of our final-otherwise, it's due at the time our final exam is scheduled: 12/10

The Assignment:
In your last assignment (3) you discovered how people research and write in your discipline by interviewing a professor and conducting your own research. Now it's time to apply all that you have learned about researching and writing in your discipline. For this assignment you are going to write an extended and researched argument paper in your discipline. Topic Choice: The topic choice is quite open. If you are searching for a topic, I would urge you to look at how technology has affected some aspect of your discipline. For example, if you are in communications, you might look at how relationships have changed as a result of technology such as email and the Internet. If you are in education, you might look at on-line classes for example. If you are in justice studies, you might be interested in examining the new tools like "Carnivore" that the FBI is using to examine people's email, or electronic monitoring devices. If you already have a topic in mind, make sure that you discuss your topic choice with me.

Purpose:
This assignment has several purposes and represents the detailed application of the strategies you learned in the first two essay assignments. First, you will again investigate how professionals in your major field research and write, this time focusing on the area of ethical concerns about technology in relation to your major field of study. You will learn more about how professionals in your field go about gathering information and determining its relevance, about how they present their research to colleagues and others interested in their work, and about what the major ethical concerns in relation to technology are in your field.

Goals:

1. Demonstrate that you can conduct appropriate research in your discipline
2. Demonstrate that you can synthesize multiple sources in your discipline to write a researched argument paper in your discipline
3. Construct a well-organized argument
4. Demonstrate that you can use a strategy to organize your paper
5. Demonstrate that you understand what makes that text discipline-specific

Composition

1. You should write a persuasive argument that is appropriate for your discipline. Refer back to your interview and what your professor said he or she asks undergraduates in your major to do.
2. You will employ at least 6-8 sources in your paper.

Your response to the assignment should, at minimum:

• Have a clearly defined purpose
• Use concrete examples from your research to back up your claims
• Have a clear thesis and organizational pattern
• Follow the format for research in your field
• Have a reference page-either following MLA or APA formats depending on your field's preference.

You should envision this as an 8-10 page, fully researched and documented essay. You're free to determine what sources your will use; I do, though, want you to base your support on a variety of sources, including personal interviews, professional journals, books, newspapers, etc.

Heuristics for technology topic

(remember, you don't HAVE to focus on technology--it is simply a possible focus. You can adapt these heuristics to work with your chosen focus)

1. Devise a list of potential ethical concerns having to do with the use of technology in your field.
   
   
2. Next, begin constructing a series of research questions based on your list of potential ethical concerns having to do with the use of technology in your field.
   
   
3. Brainstorm a list of more specific questions, determine a topic for research begin selecting from your brainstormed list, and determine a focus for your individual paper.