Los Angeles Pierce College Literature Motherhood Grief and Nature Paper

Now that we have finished two essays and we are familiar with essay structure, it is time to apply all of that knowledge in our culminating activity: the Research Paper.

The first step involves choosing an new idea from our list of subjects and writing it up as an argument. By now you, you are very familiar with the process…

Choose a new idea to add to the previous essay work you have completed! (NO REPEATS. YOU HAVE ALREADY USED FOUR OF THESE).

1. Mothers/Motherhood
2. Addiction/Self Abuse
3. Grief/Loss-physical or metaphorical
4. The Female Body
5. Masculinity/ Men
6. Nature
7. Burdens
8. The Path(of Life)
9. Change/Growth/Redemption

PATH TO SUCCESS

a) Choose

b) Study the idea in the text and choose evidence 

c) Establish meaning and create a thesis

d) Write up the argument based on the basic organization for an argument in this class: 1-1/2 pages

I COMPLETED ESSAY 1 AND 2 THROUGH THIS SITE AND FOR THE FIRST ESSAY IT WAS DISCUSSING MOTHERHOOD AND GRIEF AND GOT A D+ AND THE SECOND ESSAY WAS ABOUT BURDENS AND CHANGE/GROWTH/REDEMPTION AND I GOT AN F. SO FAR IM VERY DISPLEASED WITH THE SERVICE PROVIDED AND NEED TO GET A GOOD GRADE ON THIS ESSAY IN ORDER TO PASS THIS CLASS. IF I DO NOT GET AN A ON THIS ESSAY I WILL REQUEST FOR A REFUND AND GIVE YOU A BAD REVIEW! FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS I POST BECAUSE THE TEACHER IS VERY ANAL ABOUT FOLLOWING HIS DIRECTIONS TO GET A GOOD GRADE. THE DIRECTIONS SAY TO SELECT THE BEST ESSAY OUT OF THE TWO WHICH IS MY FIRST ESSAY, WHICH ILL LINK BELOW, AND THEN TO SELECT ONE OF THE SUBJECTS ABOVE AND WRITE A PAGE AND A HALF ARGUMENT. I WANT YOU TO WRITE ABOUT NATURE AS THE SUBJECT!

The master essay consists of your best essay of the semester and one additional idea from our subject list. Step III of the research paper process is to put all of this work together. However, it WILL require additional work/revision. One of the biggest tasks in this step is to completely revise the introduction to include three subjects that are defined and discussed and seamlessly integrated together, with smooth transitions. The other major task is to create a new thesis with THREE specific arguments. Let’s begin!

In Steps I &II, you:

• Chose a new idea, studied and wrote up a 1 1/2 page argument
• Chose your best essay and revised it according to feedback.

In step III, please do the following:

1. Revise the introduction-Define and Discuss to include all three subjects. It is important to present each subject in an organized way that both thoroughly defines/discusses AND smoothly transitions into the next subject. You can do this by organizing the subjects according to how they intersect with each other. You will find that at least two of the subjects share some common ground and that is a good place to begin the transition between the two subjects! Please avoid abrupt shifts from one subject to another! Also, avoid separating the subjects into individual paragraphs. DO NOT MENTION THE AUTHOR OR TEXT IN THIS AREA OF THE INTRODUCTION!!!
2. Revise the introduction-Thesis to include all three arguments, in order of strength and quality. Please use the thesis models that were provided this semester. Also, do not be repetitive. Many of you can both identify the author/text AND present the clear argument at the same time. You may need to edit to maintain the proper length. Please do so!
3. Revise the body of the essay to include all three arguments, in order of strength and quality. Make sure that each argument meets the length requirements and follows all directions! Use multiple paragraphs for each argument and DEVELOP ANALYSIS WELL!
4. Revise the conclusion of the essay to include all three arguments- general implications and your opinion. Make sure to address the general implications of each subject and develop an opinion for each as well. Include an added connected idea as well-directions!

When you have completed all of this work, you will have a master essay and you can move on to research! The master essay will look like this:                                                                                                                                              Introduction   Body Argument#1    Body Argument#2    Body Argument#3         Conclusion

1 1/4 pages                    1 1/2 pages                          1 1/2 pages                 1 1/2 pages            1 1/4 pages

THIS ESSAY MUST FOLLOW ALL BASIC DIRECTIONS. IT SHOULD HAVE NO SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, OR GRAMMAR ERRORS AND IT ADHERES WITH MLA FORMAT. DO NOT PROCEED TO RESEARCH UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE MASTER ESSAY!!! 

Research Step IV- Subject Source Quote

Now that you have an edited and revised master essay of 7-8 pages in length, it’s time to add outside source quotes to our essay. For this essay, you will have a total of THREE OUTSIDE SOURCE QUOTES, one for the introduction and two for the body. 

The first step of the research process is to find a subject source quote that helps to add to or amplify pre-existing commentary made in your define and discuss section. Even the most astute introductions could use some backup from professionals, and now is your chance to add it! As you research and read articles about your subject, you’ll begin to notice gaps and absences-things you didn’t define and discuss in your original essay introduction. This is ok!

Outside source work is meant to fill these gaps. In our case, we will fill ONE MAJOR GAP OR ABSENCE. Please do not be tempted to change your original introduction to include new knowledge you have acquired. Doing so without giving credit is PLAGIARISM. Your task is to understand what elements are missing from your define and discuss section and to use an outside source quote to fill ONE of these holes. You MAY want to add the outside source quote to the WEAKEST of your three subjects in the introduction. This will serve to strengthen it!

Quotes for the Body Arguments

Let’s continue our work on the research! Now that you have added a quote (with accompanying analysis) to the introduction, the next step is to research articles for the body quotes!  

Please use the following steps to find TWO DIFFERENT ARTICLES about Cheryl Strayed’s Wild. Identify a quote in each article/interview/review that will add to TWO OF THE THREE ARGUMENTS in your essay.

Once you finish your essay and have included the required outside sources, it is time to complete a Works Cited Page.  A Works Cited page is a complete list of all sources used in your research paper. It has VERY specific directions to adhere to, and the challenge is to create perfect citations that are formatted correctly. Failure to adhere to the proper format for the page and/or citations may lead to a large reduction in your overall grade!

You have one primary source(Wild) and three outside research quotes for a total of four citations in the Works Cited page Make sure to cite ALL sources used!  Many students in English 101 have already received instruction on how to construct a proper Works Cited page in other classes at Pierce or in high school English. The OWL at Purdue has complete information on how to construct a Works Cited Page for students with no previous experience. Please use the following link for a review! 

Works Cited Basics (Links to an external site.)

Please note that there is more content available on the left side of the linked page! It provides you specifics and details, including a visual model of a Works Cited page.