For your research paper, pick a topic that is near and dear to your heart to research. Avoid issues that are controversial in nature; we don’t want any ruffled feathers over these papers. What you examine about your topic is entirely up to you, but should have a clear purpose for your audience. The best research papers come from a student’s organic curiosity that they take this opportunity to explore.
As a research paper, you will have to back up your arguments with sources. This is not, however, simply a review of literature essay. In other words, you should not just present the data you have found to the reader. The facts must support your own unique thoughts on the subject. Make sure that whichever topic you choose, you narrow it down sufficiently that there will be plenty of research material available for you to utilize, but not so much that you cannot find enough. Once you’ve picked your topic, you must find a question to answer about it. The answer to this question will be molded into your thesis. All of the research material should then help you to answer this question.
The Research Proposal: To make sure that everybody has settled on a sufficiently broad, yet narrow, topic and is capable of finding sufficient sources on the topic, you will be required to submit a research
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You must use a minimum of 5 different sources, at least 3 of which are not websites. (Note there is a difference between a website and material found on the web.) You must have a clear thesis given at the beginning (in the introduction) and a conclusion that synthesizes everything you cover in the paper. Any source must be cited correctly, whether you are quoting, summarizing, or paraphrasing. If you do not cite all sources, it will be plagiarism, which will result automatically in a failing grade for the paper. Do not use first or second