This is Part 1 of the research assignment journey
Overview
This assignment will ask you to gather and evaluate information for Essay 4. If you turn it in on time, you will receive feedback that will help you avoid major pitfalls with the research essay. In grading it, I’ll be looking for
Subject matter that corresponds with the list of approved activists and advocates.
The right types of sources.
The right number of sources.
The correct type of citation style.
Complete citations.
A reasonable explanation of why you think two of these sources will work with your essay (annotation).
Before you create a Works Cited, read the tutorials and review the slides that are also in the folder for Essay 4.
Choose the two activists you will write about for Essay 4. You must choose from my list that was designed with the course theme in mind. Any exceptions to this list must be cleared by me. Failure to do this will affect your grade.
Next, read about annotated bibliographies here:
One of the points of the tutorials and quizzes is to show you how to find information in ACC’s databases. Remember that you can ask a librarian for help, too. See ACC’s Library homepage for ways to get in touch with them: https://library.austincc.edu/
You need to find 4-8 sources on your topic.
Of these 3 must be articles or ebooks that you locate through ACC’s databases.
The rest can be any other types of reliable sources (make sure there are no content farms).
Use the Library’s MLA Documentation 9th Edition, 2021 guide for specific formatting details
Some basic rules are listed at the end of this document.
In formal alphabetizing, we do not use the first letter of a or an or the to define the order. Use the first letter of the following word.
For example, if the Works Cited entry starts with “An Evening of Muppets,” you would use E and not A to determine order.
The content you should use for annotation is included on the page I linked in the Before You Begin section of this document. In short, you will
Summarize
Assess/Evaluate
Reflect
Aim for about 150-250 words for each annotation. You are only required to annotate two of these sources.
You will submit a Works Cited entry, without annotations, at the end of your final essay, even if it hasn’t changed from this assignment.
While you are writing Essay 4, you may find out that you need more or different sources than the ones you submit for this assignment. It is OK to change sources as long as they meet the requirements.
From ACC’s Library, Works Cited Definition:
-An alphabetical list of the sources you use to write your paper.
-Works you consult during your research but do not borrow from are not included in this list.
-All sources are listed alphabetically by the first word in each citation entry and the end of each citation has a period.
-Double-space everything.
-If an entry runs more than one line, indent the subsequent line or lines half an inch from the left margin. This is sometimes called a hanging indent.
-Top of page and sides have 1" margins.
This assignment is worth 5 points. You may not revise it.
There is a separate document to explain the research essay itself.
Choose two people from the United States/indigenous America who have advocated for civil and/or human rights, and compare and/or contrast their backgrounds and their work. After presenting a brief overview who they are (or were) and what they do (or did), add a few details that you find interesting. Then write about why you chose these particular people from the list and what you find remarkable about them. Feel free to also compare them to each other and to people you know. In the conclusion, talk about the common thread that ties these people together.
The essay should be 1,000-1,500 words. The list of advocates to write about appears in the Blackboard folder, the Annotated Works Cited instructions, and within this document. Please stick to that list. You must use and document 4-6 credible sources, at least 2 of which come from ACC’s databases.
Make sure you read the slides that complement this essay. It is helpful to think of this essay’s structure in 4 parts: introduction, research, reflection, and conclusion.
Introduction
In your introductory paragraph, provide a hook, give necessary context, and end with a thesis. Your thesis will introduce the full names of the activists and allude to your interest in them. Don’t put very specific sorts of information in the introduction.
Research
In the first body paragraphs of the essay, use your research to explore the activists in a comparison and/or contrast pattern. The following questions may help you organize the information.
Summaries of the activists: make sure to cite your sources.
What were/are their backgrounds?
What were/are they advocating for?
What was/is their motivation?
What actions did they take or have they taken?
What controversies, if any, did they inspire?
Interesting details: make sure to cite your sources.
Arrange these paragraphs using the alternation of detail (see an example outline). You will be using the third-person point of view here.
Reflection
Discuss your motivations for researching these people. You should use the first-person point of view here.
Conclusion
Tie your paragraphs together. Discuss the common thread that ties these people together--is it spirit? Is it methods? Is it their cause? Is it their legacies?
Works Cited
Even if you turned in the Annotated Works Cited Assignment, you must include a Works Cited page (without annotations) at the end of your essay and in the same document.
