Unit 3: Pre-Search Essay

Essay 3 in GSW 1120 is quite different from a lot of the essays you have been writing.
The foundation of Essay 3: Pre-Search Essay is to allow you as a student to explore a
topic you want to write for your Research paper; discover the conversations taking
place revolving around your topic and examine multiple professional perspectives
involving your topic; and lead you to a Research Question, Debatable Thesis, and a
Strong Understanding about your topic.

Essay 3: Pre-Search Essay

Research Essay Topic Proposal Essay 3 Due: End of class, Monday (3/2)
Pre-Search Rough Draft Essay 3 Due: Noon, Friday (3/6)
Pre-Search Final Draft Essay 3 Due: End of class, Monday (3/23)
How the Pre-Search and Research Essay Work Together
As we move into the final phase of GSW 1120, you are going to be spending the next two units focusing
on one major research topic. You will be choosing a topic that you are deeply interested inoverall
approval will be needed from meand developing skills to go beyond just scratching the surface in
regards to your topic, but really digging deeper through inquiry to research and become familiar with your
topic. The Pre-search essay will help you learn more about your topic, and join the scholarly
conversations taking place involving the topic you have chosen.
The Pre-Search essay is going to differ from the Critique, Multiple Source Essay (MSE), and finally your
Research Essay. While you will have spent ample time crafting your skills at argumentation within the
three previously mentioned essays in GSW 1120, the Pre-Search essay is designed to have you focus on
inquiry based research to develop a strong understanding of your chosen topic. Your focus for this essay
will be exploratory writing instead of argumentation. You will be exploring the different views and
arguments that are being discussed about your topic, not formulating your own argument at this point.
Through the inquiry based research you will be doing for the Pre-Search essay, you will learn to
formulate your own debatable research question you would like to answer surrounding your chosen topic;
examine multiple perspectives on your topic that are taking place in the scholarly field; and present a
strong, focused thesis that presents your own perspective on the topic you have chosen.

The knowledge and understanding you acquire about your topic through the Pre-Search essay will help
you move into the Research Essay. You will be working very closely with academic sources, developing
a strong foundation of knowledge surrounding your topic, and working towards a thesis through your
inquiry during the Pre-Search Essay. You will then take the investigation and exploratory writing you did
throughout the Pre-Search essay and move towards developing your own argument in the Research Essay.
Learning Objectives for the Pre-Search Essay
The learning outcomes you will be developing through this essay include: learning how to organize ideas
and projects; further develop research and writing processes; further practice how to effectively
incorporate sources into written arguments; continue to practice synthesize two or more sources with one
another to expand concise writing skills; practice critical thinking skills; and begin considering values and
values-based choices. Through the Pre-Search Essay, you will be able to critically read and annotate
sources, logically develop strong research questions, objectively explore major arguments within a topic,
formulate your own arguable thesis based on research, and sufficiently develop an annotated bibliography
focusing on the importance of sources to a larger research project.
Choosing a Topic
For the last two essays, you will be working with one topic/issue of your choosing. You will be working
on developing a topic proposal for the Pre-Search/Research Essay, and I will have to approve your topic.
However, this is YOUR project. I am not going to limit you on where you go with your topic/issue. There
will be a few topics of my choosing that have been beaten to the ground and will be off limits. But
everything else is open for you to explore.
With that being said, you will be working very closely with your topic/issue for close to 8 weeks. You
need to choose a topic/issue that you are very interested in, very invested in researching, and have a
strong passion for. There is no topic that is too stupid or insignificant that you cant write a solid research
paper. Do not limit yourself when choosing a topic and be brave and daring to choose something you are
passionate about.
The Assignment
For the Pre-Search Essay, there will be two major components to the essay that you will be developing
through this Unit; each of these components will be covered in more detail later in the Assignment Sheet.
The first component of the essay you will be writing a 4-5 page exploratory essay that looks more into the
topic you have chosen and begins to flush out all the major foundations, issues, and arguments
surrounding the topic of choice. The second component of the essay you will be writing an annotated
bibliography of 8 or more academic sources you use for the first part of the Pre-Search Essay, and that
you want to possibly use for the Research Essay.
Almost all Research Projects start with sources that spark an interest in a topic. Those articles can inform
a reader about a topic thats new to him/her; they could present new information about a topic the reader
is already familiar with; and/or they could ignite a response so strong in the reader that he/she must
become part of the conversation. Therefore, as mentioned, you will be investigating at least 8 academic
sources and using them for both the Essay portion and the Annotated Bibliography portion of the PreSearch Essay. It is through the critical reading and annotation of these sources that will be the foundation

of your development for the entire Pre-Search essay. You will be working intimately with your sources
throughout the not only this essay, but also your Research Essay. We will be spending a lot of time
searching and finding sources, methodically analyzing each of the sources you will be using, and
synthesizing ideas from the sources you have chosen before any writing for the Pre-Search Essay is even
started. The sources will be the groundwork for you to use in order to develop and write both components
of this essay.
The Components
Exploratory Writing Component:
Before you can truly begin to dive deep into a research project, you must have some kind of
understanding of the topic/issue, the arguments being discussed surrounding the topic, and an idea of
what you want to say about and contribute to the topic/issue. Therefore, the first component of the PreSearch assignment is meant to help you gather your thoughts and articulate them so your research and
writing processes can be more focused. Also, the Pre-Search will let me know how I can best assist with
the work ahead of you and keep you on the right track as you move into your Research Essay.
The exploratory component of the essay will be a 4-5 page essay that looks deeper into the background,
issues, arguments, and multiple perspectives within your topic that are taking place in the scholarly
conversations you are researching throughout your sources. This component of the essay WILL NOT be
argumentative, and you will not be presenting your stance on the topic you have chosen. In this
component of the essay, you will be writing more informative in style by informing the reader of the
different arguments and major points you are discovering within your sources.
Within this component of the essay, you will be spending more time developing the research question you
want to later address and develop your response to in the Research Essay; discussing how your topic is
significant and relevant to current conversations; discussing multiple arguments being discussed about
your topic; and ultimately leading your discussion to a working argument you want to address within your
Research Essay.
Introduction
-The first part of your exploratory draft will be the introduction. There are several things you will
want to address within your introduction in order to lead your reader into the essay, and also
clearly introduce your topic and focus the research question at hand. Within the introduction, you
will want to be sure to:
Clearly introduce the topic/issue you have chosen, and make it clear what the
central focus is of the topic/issue.
Why the topic/issue appeals to you and why you have chosen to focus on this
topic/issue?
How is the topic/issue significant and relevant today to you and your peers in an
academic setting?
What are the argument/current perspectives (scholarly stances) that are taking
place in the scholarly conversations surrounding the main focus of your
topic/issue?
What is the research question you want to explore in the researched essay?

Your introduction will give a strong foundation to the topic/issue at hand leading up to your
Research Question. Your WILL NOT be ending your introduction with your Thesis Statement for
the essay. Your thesis will essentially be the Research Question you want to ask for the project
and will be at the end of the introduction.

The Body
-The body of the essay will be where you spend ample time developing the differing
perspectives/stances that surround your topic/issue and relate to your research question. Within
each of the body paragraphs, you will be focusing on the following:
Addressing one specific argument/viewpoint you are researching in your sources
that relates to your research question and why that argument/viewpoint is
important/relevant to your research question.
Demonstrating that the specific argument/viewpoint you are focusing on in the
paragraph has merit and is relevant to the conversations taking place that relate to
your topic/issue and research question.
Synthesizing at minimum two sources within each paragraph demonstrating that
multiple sources are sharing the same arguments/viewpoints you are addressing
in the paragraph.
For the body of your essay, you will have at least four developed paragraphs that are focusing on
different arguments/viewpoints related to your research question. One important thing to
remember is that you WILL NOT be adding your own argument or perspective within these body
paragraphs. You are simply researching and informing your audience of the
arguments/viewpoints that are being discussed surrounding your research question. Leave your
opinions out of this essay and save your argument for the Research Essay.
Finally, within the body of your essay, you are to explore differing arguments/viewpoints related
to your research question. You ARE NOT to only focus on one stance, argument, or viewpoint of
the topic/issue. The objective of the Pre-Search Essay is to allow you to spend time learning
about and discussing the multiple arguments/viewpoints that are taking place in scholarly
conversations that are related to the topic/issue and research question you have chosen.

Conclusion
-Finally, the conclusion of the essay component of the Pre-Search Essay is where you bring all
the information you have been researching related to your research question and begin to
formulate the argument you want to address in your Research Essay. In the conclusion, you will:
Give a brief summarization of the information you have presented within your
essay.
Decide on the position/argument that you want to present on your topic/issue in
the Research Essayessentially answer your research question with a working
thesis.
Discuss why you have chosen your position/argument.
What audience you want to appeal to as you present your position/argument.
How is your argument going to be contributing to and adding new perspectives
on the scholarly conversations you have been reading about your topic through
your research?

Work Cited Page

-Even though for the second component of the Pre-Search Essay you will be developing an
Annotated Bibliography, you will still need to have a Work Cited page in MLA format for the

exploratory component of your essay. Be sure to add this just as you have for your Critique and
MSE on a separate page at the end of the essay.
Annotated Bibliography:
As mentioned before, the sources you will be exploring for the Pre-Search Essay are the foundation for all
the writing you will be doing. These sources will also be valuable as you move into your Research Essay.
Therefore, the second component of your Pre-Search Essay will be an Annotated Bibliography that you
will be putting together for the 8 or more sources you have chosen, critically read, and annotated
throughout the project. This annotated bibliography will be a strong overview of your sources and the
value they have towards your research and Research project. The Annotated Bibliography will be
formatted in MLA formatting for each source and as a whole documentmeaning all sources will be in
alphabetical order and cited properly.
For the Annotated Bibliography, you will be required to do the following for each source:
Cite the source in correct MLA format
Develop 3-4 sentences BRIEFLY summarizing the entire source
Develop a longer, more detailed paragraph explaining the significance of the source, how it is
relevant to the research question and research you are doing, how it helps work with the thesis
you are developing, any drawbacks you notice in the source, and strengths that help the source
work for your project. You can use first person as you write these paragraphs.
As a class, we will be spending time working on developing an Annotated Bibliography, so do not fear
you will have to tackle this new genre on your own.
Audience and Tone
For this essay, the audience that you will be addressing will be scholars similar to yourself. You are
writing to an audience that may know about the topic/issue you are discussing, but may want to know
more about the topic/issue; therefore, it is your responsibility to clarify the topic/issue for your audience.
This essay will also differ from your previous two essays in tone. Because this is an exploratory essay for
you to learn more about your topic/issue, and because the audience is peers similar to you, the tone of the
essay will be less formal. You will be able to use first person perspectiveIwhen writing both
components of the draft.
A Final Note
This essay is going to be a new process for a lot of you. Do not fear the unknown. We are going to spend
lots of time in class learning how to locate good sources, how to critically read and annotate sources, how
to explore a topic/issue and break it down to develop strong research questions, and how to create a strong
annotated bibliography. You will not be walking this path on your own, as we will do it as a class. I will
be here for you each step of the process through the Pre-Search Essay and Research Essay. This is going
to be a fun process and you are going to enjoy diving deeper into the topic/issue of your choosing.

Research Process=Pre-Search and RE essays

To begin your research process, you must first isolate a topic area which can then lead you to a research
question. A research question is basically an ISSUE-BASED, DEBATABLE question that youre
interested in answering. Over the course of your research process youll explore various aspects of the
issue/question and, eventually, come up with your own answer, manifested in our Researched Essay.
The Research Question
Research questions can come from anywhere. You may be challenged by a class discussion, a chat with
friends, or a random article on the internet. Regardless, the research question must be debatable.
Places to explore possible research questions:
http://libguides.bgsu.edu/gsw1120 -->red "Search strategies" tab --> links under "Need ideas for a paper
topic?"
You can also READ magazines, newspapers, and online forums for ideas. Current events often contain
issues that can be explored as research questions.
Understanding the Big Picture
Have you ever started reading for an essay and ended up confused by too many facts or too much
information? It can feel like you're overwhelmed by bits of information that don't add up to a picture you
can understand, as if you can't see the forest for the trees. Or you may find that your issue is just too
narrow to be researchable. This can happen when you read material that's too detailed, before you have an
overall big picture of the topic.
The early stages of reading in preparation for an assignment should be about getting the 'big picture' of
the topic. To get this big picture, we're going to read Wikipedia for articles and links associated with your
topic: http://www.wikipedia.org/
Reading broadly will allow you to:
-begin to understand the issues involved in your research question
-understand multiple sides of an argument
-get an overview of theories related to the topic
-see possible answers to your research question
-decide what issues/information you need to continue researching.
Remember that while you read, you must always keep the research question in mind. The purpose of
your reading is to INQUIREto gather information to answer the question, not just talk about the topic!

For example, suppose that you are interested in electric cars. Youre not really sure what your research
question might be, but youve seen stuff on TV and the internet that they are cheaper to run and are
supposed to be better for the environment . . . but, really, how can you write 8 pages on that? This
probably isnt even an arguable issue . . .now what?
To get the big picture of this topic, you decide to go to Wikipedia. Once there you do a simple search
for Electric Cars. You come across a big article which talks about many aspects of the topic including:
Energy Consumption
Environmental Benefits
Government Regulations
Cost
Convenience
Hmm . . . so there is certainly more to this electric car topic than you thought. From there you read
through the wiki article and the links it contains. Getting this big picture allows you to isolate several
argumentative angles that you hadnt even known existed before. No doubt, as you continue to explore
this topic you will find even more to talk about. The point is that Wikipedia helped you see more than
you know existed. It helped you give your idea context and gave you a good idea of where to go with
your research. While you wont cite Wikipedia as one of the sources in your essay (because, by the
nature of wikis they can be unreliable), it certainly has given you some insight about your issue.
At this point you feel confident that you can adequately research the research question: Do the benefits of
electric cars outweigh their negative aspects?
Once youve completed your research THEN you will be able to present the answer to your questions in
the form of a working thesis.

Questions to ask yourself and your librarian as you seek the big picture:
What is the general subject or topic you are interested in researching? Does there seem to be any
debate within this topic area?

What methods can you use to get the big picture about your general topic and to narrow down
the relevant argumentative points needed to answer your research question?

After youve isolated several relevant argumentative points, where might you search for good
resources to bring to YOUR argument and answer YOUR research question?

Researched Essay = Answer the Research Question

Once you have successfully completed the Pre-Search, you will be invited to write your Researched Essay
(RE) on this issue. In the RE you will answer the research question, writing an 8-10 page essay (with a
minimum of 4 synthesis paragraphs and at least 8 credible sources) which adds to the academic debate
you have chosen. As you write the RE, keep in mind all of the writing instruction you have received over
the years and apply those concepts to this culminating essay.

Pre-Search Essay
20% of final grade
Part 1: Short essay that contains explanation/analysis of your research question, synthesizing multiple
sources to show how the question is relevant, arguable, significant, etc. Essay will be 4-5 pages long,
using 8 sources in at least 3 synthesis paragraphs.
Part 2: Annotated Works Cited of 8 sources.
1. Find 8 sources that help you gain perspective and focus on the research topic you are considering.
You need to use the library databases to find sources that are meatier than Wikipedia.
2. Now, look at each of your sources, and think about the perspective/information each article
offers. Try to find ideas that overlap within your various articles since these are places where you
will be able to synthesize multiple sources as you craft your own question(s) about the topic.
3. Now you need to THINK and isolate a Research Question which you can debate and answer in
the RE.
What question(s) does this information raise for you? What connections can you make between
what you already know and the new information youre finding through your research?
After considering each of your sources, write a 3 page essay that contains explanation/analysis of
your research question, synthesizing multiple sources to show how the question is relevant,
arguable, significant, etc. Your final draft must contain at least 3 synthesis paragraphs.
4. For each source, craft an annotated Works Cited entry containing 3 specific elements:

Source citation in MLA format

2-3 sentence summary of the entire source
A brief paragraph explaining the significance of this source. (Feel free to
use first person to describe how the information in this article fits the
research focus youre working with.)

Remember that you should NOT be finding the answer to your Research Question yet. By
examining the context of the issue, this analysis (the Pre-Search essay) is going to prove that the
research question youre considering is worthy of your time and energy. The answer to the
question will come in the Researched Essay.
If, through the course of this assignment you find that your topic changesGOOD! The goal
here is to focus your questioning so you can craft an exceptional RE. If that means things change,
youll need to go back and re-work the assignment. When you finish this essay you should be
ready to tackle the RE full-on, answering your research question.

***This Assignment Sheet was developed with help from Ann Westrick, Amanda Rzicznek, and Stephen Boston***