En 103, Paper # 3: Research Essay about the Millennial Generation

Drafts Due: 04/18, 04/20, 04/25, 04/29, & 05/02 (Please recall the participation grade deductions for coming in
without a sufficient draft, missing a peer-revision session, and/or missing a drafting session as indicated on the
syllabus.)

Final Draft Due: 05/06 (Do not forget about the turnitin.com requirement and deadline: 11:59pm on 05/02.)

Other Due Dates: 04/27, Source Evaluation Sheets Due (for at least five of the sources [to be] cited in the
essay); 05/04. Turnitin.com Originality Reports

Research Paper Presentations: 05/06, 05/09, & 05/11; 05/13, only if necessary (directions are to come).
Remember, if a student does not give a presentation, I will not evaluate the paper, which means the student
automatically fails the course!!!

This research paper affords students the opportunity to develop, in a scholarly manner, a paper dealing with some
aspect of the “Millennial Generation.” The specific directions are quite simple, but the process is involved. So here
it goes:
1. The first goal is to narrow down a topic to forge a five-six page paper about anything related to the course
topic: Millennial Generation. Then students will conduct research and find credible and relevant sources in
order to develop an informative and/or persuasive essay about this topic. This is where the information
provided during the time spent in with Mike Daly in the Information Literacy Room and found in Chapters
20 & 21 come into play.

2. Next students will integrate and appropriately format at least five-six of the sources within the essay as
support for the thesis and main points. This involves parenthetical in-text citation style according to
M.L.A. criteria (see chapter 22). No less than three of these sources must come from recognized experts on
the topic. This is where the time spent at the Library is vital for success.

3. The essay must be formatted according to M.L.A. conventions. This means that the paper will offer a
proper heading (no cover page), a header (last name and page number inserted on the top right hand side of
each page, not within the space given for body-text), and will be typed, double-spaced, formatted with 1”
margins on all sides, and use 11 or 12 point font (either Times New Roman or Calibri, the latter being the
MS Word 2007 default font) that is no less than five pages long and chocked-full of purposeful words, not
including the works cited page.

4. Then students will need to create a works cited page to properly document the information about the
sources used. Both in-text citations and the works cited page, in addition to the overall formatting of the
paper, must conform to M.L.A. style (see chapter 22).

5. Additionally, there are the grammatical/mechanical skills that on which the class had worked earlier in the
semester that students will need to effectively execute, including: a) avoiding fragments; b) avoiding run-
ons/comma splices; c) fostering subject-verb agreement; d) manifesting proper verb forms; e) using
pronouns properly; avoiding shifted/mixed constructions (see sections 3-8 in the handbook for review).

6. Finally, students will need to demonstrate progress regarding all of the rhetorical skills about which the
class has toiled thus far, including effective introductions, conclusions, transitions, well formed and placed
thesis statements and previews, and a clear and appropriate organizational pattern.

The above represent a majority of the criteria by which paper is evaluated, but remember it is the individual
student’s job to make sure it is well proofread and edited.

Also, do not forget about the four-point “bump” for spending a half hour or so working with a tutor at the Writing or
TRIO Lab during the drafting process (students do not need to go back for a follow-up tutorial to receive the points,
as there will be no time left for it). Toward this end, do not forget to bring the Writing/TRIO Lab Session Report to
the tutorial and turned in with the final draft completely filled out.