Sun Feb 12 - Research Paper draft due; upload to your forum folder by 11:59pm and bring two print outs to class.

W Feb 15 - Peer Review

M March 6 - Option A: Final revision of Research Paper due; upload to your forum folder by class and bring one print out to class. Upload and print out cover memo as well. Option B: Revised version of research paper due for further peer review. Upload to forum folder.

M March 13 - Option B: Final revision of research paper due; upload to your forum folder by class and bring one print out to class. Upload and print out cover memo as well.

Your research paper should be between 8-10 pages (2800-3200 words) in length. Be sure to use parenthetical documentation in MLA format for any sources you use, including visual rhetoric. You should include a works cited or bibliography page in correct MLA format, containing at least 10 sources (most likely you will have many more sources than 10).

The cover memo should be at least 300 words in length and should be printed out and uploaded to the forum either as an attachment or in the message portion of your post.

All PWR 2 students are required to complete a extended piece of academically rigorous research writing, designed to reinforce the skills learned in PWR: research strategies; deliberate and use of rhetoric; clear and forceful argumentation.

Your research paper should include an argumentative thesis that is supported by evidence derived from both primary and secondary research. You should utilize at least 10 sources and, as applicable, fieldwork (interviews, surveys, etc.) -- in many cases, you will find it necessary to utilize more than 10 sources to make a persuasive argument. Source material should be cited appropriately, using MLA style for parenthetical documentation and your works cited.

The draft of your researched argument needs to be as complete and polished as you can make it at this time -- at the very least, the argument should be fully developed (including your introduction, supporting paragraphs, and conclusion), and at best it should be formatted in its final form. Yes, you'll probably be adding in more material in the next few weeks (research is an ongoing process), but what you turn in for your draft should be able to stand on its own as a solid, persuasive argument, even without that material.

The draft is not graded. However, turning in an incomplete draft (without a developed argument, with placeholders instead of paragraphs, with an obvious lack of attention to writing style) will result in the overall grade for the research paper as a whole being reduced by 1/2 a grade.

For the revision of your researched argument, you should include a cover memo of at least 300 words that prefaces your document by giving the reader insight into the rhetorical strategies you employed and the decisions you made in writing your document. You may use an informal voice in this document, but your writing should be clear and your development linear. You may use subheads if you want to structure your letter. Here's what should be included in your cover memo (not necessarily in this order):

• A reflection on the process of writing this paper, from discovering the idea, through research, through drafting and peer review, to revision. Think of this as the story of your project.
• Reference to your trials and triumphs in writing this paper, including any unique or interesting research you did that you think I should be aware of (important interviews, archival work, etc.). Think of this as a part where you establish your ethos as a researcher.
• Discussion of how rhetoric factored into the writing of the paper. Describe how you used rhetoric in your writing: depending on your project, you might discuss rhetorical appeals (pathos, logos, ethos), kairos, the five canons of rhetoric, and/or the rhetorical situtation.

Some of these sections may be more developed than others, depending on your project. Your goal here is to give me an overview of your paper as a piece of research, writing, and rhetoric; however don't forget to use specific and concrete language and example in writing your memo.

In brief, research papers are graded according to

• the appropriateness, sophistication, and clarity of their arguments;
• their use of evidence, integration and documentation of sources;
• their organization, development of ideas, transitions, and cohesion;
• their use of appropriate strategies and appeals;
• their execution of a form, style, and argument appropriate to their rhetorical situation;
• their use of language, including sentence structures, word choice, diction, punctuation and grammar;
• their establishment of appropriate ethos for the author as a writer/researcher;
• the way in which they situation their discussion within the framework of a larger context;
• the way in which they define and accomplish their purpose and the objectives of the assignment

For a more comprehensive description of the grading criteria, please re-visit the PWR Policies link and scroll down to "Evaluation Criteria".