Write a research essay of at least 12 complete pages, not counting the Works Cited, on the topic you have chosen in week 1 and refined through research and the writing of exercises weeks 2-6. You will need at least 10 sources, five of which should be found through the Shorter Library and three of which should be based on primary research. In addition, at least three of these sources should disagree with your position. (Some of these categories may overlap).
In addition to the introduction and the conclusion, the research essay should include these parts: description of the problem, causes of the problem, evaluation of the problem, a specific solution, and evidence supporting the solution. A more formal diction than the class exercises is expected, and the Writing Rubric will be used to grade this paper. You should be particularly diligent to avoid plagiarism because failing to do so can result in failing the paper and possibly the class.
Formatting: the assignment should be typed in double-spaced, 12-point, Times New Roman font on 8 x 11 pages with margins of 1 inch top and bottom and 1 inch left and right. All other variables that affect length (character spacing, etc.) should be set to the default. Please remember that we are following the conventions of printed pages for English: indenting the first line of each paragraph and not spacing an extra line. The instructor can read these documents best if they are composed or saved in Word 2010 format (it has the docx suffix). If you are using another software, please save in the Word format.
