Project Text Part 1: The Argument Proposal

What is your research question? What is your research plan? How do you plan to find the research you need
and construct the argument in your essay? Since your audience will be an academic one, your research and
argument proposal should follow an accepted academic structure for presenting your claims and your evidence.
This assignment will be a little bit like a detailed essay outline, and you must address each of the sections below
in detail.
Requirements: You must include the following
1. Your research question. Remember, it needs to be narrow and specific. See the notes below.
2. Summarize one important claim you have discovered in the ongoing conversation on this topic (with
source/s).
3. Summarize an opposing claim you have discovered in the ongoing conversation on this topic (with
source/s).
4. What you think is questionable or problematic about some of these claims?
5. Discuss your claim is in regards to this topic. What do you want to make your audience aware of
and/or convince them of? (this can also be thought of as your tentative thesis)
6. What might other people doubt about your claim and how you might respond to them?

Other Requirements: Your response should be about 2-3 double-spaced pages (600-900 words). You should make
an attempt to cite the sources you use to discuss the claims you have found in connection to your topic. Use this
exercise as an opportunity to improve your MLA skills. If you include quotations from the original text, make sure
they are short quotations (no more than 3 lines long). You can also save the citations for this assignment and use
them in the Annotated Bibliography.

A Short Note on Research Questions:

Unacceptable Research Questions:
"Im going to write about the environment and pop culture."
"Im going to write about science fiction."
Katniss is a badass and I want to write about it.
o These are ALL too broad and need to be more specific. None of these examples are questions. Neither
example gives you a specific direction to go in.
Acceptable Research Questions:
"As a part of the current pop culture trend of going green, do so-called green products actually have a
beneficial impact on the environment, or are they just a ploy to attract ecologically conscious consumers?"
"How has the genre of science fiction changed from the 1950's to the present to reflect changing concerns about
technology and fears about the future?"
How are gender roles and assumptions challenged by the characters of Katniss and Peeta in The Hunger
Games?

DUE: Wednesday, April 12. Upload to Moodle before class AND print one copy for in-class activities.
The Research Proposal is worth 50 points.
 Project Text Part 2: The Annotated Bibliography

The Annotated Bibliography will be comprised of at least 4 sources cited MLA works
cited format. This means that you will have a correctly formatted citation for 4 sources you
have found in your research. Beneath each citation, you need to write a short paragraph
that briefly:
- Summarizes the source
- Discusses where/how you found the source
- Gives the reasons the source is credible/reputable
- Explains how it will be relevant to your topic and useful in your paper.
For Example: This is one sample entry in an annotated bibliography:

Booker, Joe. Homelessness in LA: A Growing Trend, Trends in Society Journal. 12.2.(2006): 5-6. Print.
This article discusses how homelessness has increased by 50% in the Los Angeles area over the
past 5 years, and how factors such as mental illness, economics, and racist and classist zoning of
houses and apartments has affected these numbers. I found this argument using the Lexis-Nexis
search engine, accessed through CSUN Oviatt Library. I searched for homelessness in Los Angeles
and found this article after looking through my search results. It is a peer-reviewed article from a
respected journal, so I knew it was both academic and trustworthy. This article will be useful to my
essay because it provides some useful statistics that I will cite as support when I discuss homelessness as
a persistent problem in our society that shows the growing gap between the very rich and the very poor. I
will then connect this to the huge gap between the wealthy Capitol citizens and the impoverished
workers who live in the districts, and discuss how The Hunger Games can be seen as commentary on the
wealth gap in our own society.

Due: April 17thupload to Moodle before class.

The Annotated Bibliography is worth 50 points.
 Project Text Part 3: The Pop Culture and Social Issues Research Paper
Directions:
Write a 6-7 page (1600 words minimum) persuasive research paper about an issue relating to pop culture.
Your paper should have a well-defined thesis (claim about the issue) and use various persuasive rhetorical
techniques. This essay will use what you learn in your research to decide on a thesis/claim and
defend/explain your point of view. You will be choosing a specific topic and both of your scaffolding
assignments (separate prompts) will ideally relate in some way to that topic. If you are having trouble narrowing
your topic, please come and see me.
Some Topic Options:
Option 1: Pick specific social issue and research how that social issue is portrayed in a specific area of
pop culture. You will analyze the representation of this issue in pop culture, or the influence of pop
culture media (film, music, shows, sports, popular books, or other pop culture phenomena) on the social
issue itself. Consider how pop culture products can both reflect issues in our world and bring awareness
to them, but can also influence people and change peoples attitudes or thoughts about certain issues.
Option 2: Consider a particular piece or genre of pop culture that interests you. (a genre of music, a
particular sport, a genre of film/tv, a genre of books, or a specific example of any of these.) Make a
claim about how the issues of representation and diversity relate to the genre/show/etc you have chosen.
Choose a specific kind of diversityracial, ethnic, gender, sexuality, class. How diverse is this genre of
tv/movies, sport, or type of music? What issues connect to its relative diversity or lack thereof?
How does representation (or lack thereof) in your chosen form of pop culture have an impact on
minority groups being represented (or not being represented or not being represented accurately)?
We will be discussing issues related to this option further in class.
Option 3: Create your own topic have me approve it. As long as it relates to a specific aspect of pop
culture and issues related to it, it is a possible topic! You must get your topic approved.

Format: Your paper should be written in Times New Roman font with one inch margins on all sides. The upper
left hand corner of the first page should include your name, the date, the class, the assignment, and your word
count. The upper right hand corner should have your last name and the page number. Your paper should have a
descriptive title, which should be centered above the first line of your paper. For more instructions, please
consult the format example, available on the class blog: lawson101fall15.weebly.com

Length: Your paper must be at least six pages long (double spaced, Times New Roman size 12 font) not
including your Works Cited page. This is approximately 1600 words. This is the minimum length only. Your
Research Paper can be longer than this, but it must not be shorter. Please include your word count along with
your name/class/date/etc in the upper left hand corner of the first page.

Sources: Your paper must cite as least six different reputable sources. It is up to you to convince your reader
that your sources are reputable and relevant. You may use books, articles from online databases, videos,
internet sources, and any other source you believe will increase the credibility of your paper. Your paper must
include a Works Cited page that lists your six (or more) sources in correct MLA format. See blog for MLA resources.
Some Friendly Advice:
If you have never written a research paper before, it may seem like a big task. However, if you follow the steps that we go
through in class and keep up with your research, you may find it to be an enjoyable process.
Be sure to turn in all required papers and write required drafts ON TIME. Falling behind is one of the worst things that can
happen to a paper during this process. Don't be the student who stays up all night writing his or her first draft.
Lastly, write about something you are genuinely curious about and interested in. Don't choose a topic simply because you
think it will be easy, or because you think I will like it. We will be doing this assignment for a long time, and you don't want
to be stuck writing about a topic you don't really care about.

Rough Draft Due: Print 3 copies for Peer Review on Wed April 19. Draft should be at least 3-4 pages.
Final Draft Due: Wednesday, April 26th Upload to Moodle. The Research Paper is worth 200 points.