english 101 research paper assignment

ENG101 - First-Year Composition

ASSESSMENT 1
Selecting Topics
Information Cycle & Search Strategies
Primary vs Secondary Sources
Video & Images
SIFT This link opens in a new window

Types of Research Essays

Pvcc english division writing rubric, pvcc eng101 handbook.

Causal Analysis (Cause & Effect)
Literary Analysis This link opens in a new window
Literature Review This link opens in a new window
Plagiarism & Copyright
NoodleTools This link opens in a new window
Research Basics by JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Research eSkills This link opens in a new window
ASSESSMENT 2

Use ONESearch to locate articles off our many databases on any of your topics.

Search library resources for

articles, books, movies and more

There are multiple types of essays that everyone should be able to write or be familiar with and they are: analytical, argumentative (persuasive), cause & effect, compare & contrast, critical, definition & expository, descriptive, experimental research, interpretative, literary analysis, literature review, reports, and surveys.

Analytical , the analytical research paper often begins with the student asking a question (a.k.a. a research question) on which he has taken no stance. such a paper is often an exercise in exploration and evaluation. this type of paper hopes to offer a well-supported critical analysis without necessarily persuading the reader to any particular way of thinking. , the kinds of instructions for an analytical assignment include: 'analyze', 'compare', 'contrast', 'relate', and 'examine'., example: do later school start times increase student success, argumentative (persuasive), the argumentative research paper consists of an introduction in which the writer clearly introduces the topic and informs his audience exactly which stance he intends to take. an important goal of the argumentative research paper is persuasion, which means the topic chosen should be debatable or controversial., the kinds of instructions for a persuasive assignment include: 'argue', 'evaluate', 'discuss', and 'take a position'. example: self-driving cars are dangerous and should be banned from the streets., the argumentative essay - lois roma-deeley & john nelson, causal analysis - cause & effect a cause is something that produces an event or condition; an effect is what results from an event or condition. the purpose of the cause-and-effect essay is to determine how various phenomena relate in terms of origins and results. sometimes the connection between cause and effect is clear, but often determining the exact relationship between the two is very difficult., causal analysis information - lois roma-deeley & john nelson, compare & contrast, this essay is needed to analyze the differences between two subjects, authors, viewpoints, leadership styles, or other criteria and it is a common assignment for subjects such as literature, philosophy, social sciences, and many other disciplines. , writing the comparison essay - lois roma-deeley & john nelson, critical , critical writing is common for research, postgraduate and advanced undergraduate writing. it has all the features of persuasive writing, with the added feature of at least one other point of view. while persuasive writing requires you to have your own point of view on an issue or topic, critical writing requires you to consider at least two points of view, including your own., for example, you may explain a researcher's interpretation or argument and then evaluate the merits of the argument, or give your own alternative interpretation. examples of critical writing assignments include a critique of a journal article or a literature review that identifies the strengths and weaknesses of existing research. the kinds of instructions for critical writing include: 'critique', 'debate', 'disagree' and 'evaluate'., characteristics of a critical thinker - dr. tom butler, it is a focused analysis of a piece of writing or a live performance. while it may contain a sentence or two of summary material, the critique will offer the reader a “considered evaluation” of the writing or performance in question., how to write a critique - pvcc english division, definition & expository , an expository essay "exposes" the reader to a new topic; it informs the reader with descriptions or explanations of a subject. if you are writing an expository essay, your thesis statement should explain to the reader what they will learn in your essay. example: how to lead a healthy lifestyle on a tight budget., descriptive/narrative , the simplest type of academic writing is descriptive. its purpose is to provide facts or information. an example would be a summary of an article or a report of the results of an experiment. the kinds of instructions for a purely descriptive assignment include: 'identify', 'report', 'record', 'summarize' and 'define'., writing the descriptive/narrative essay - lois roma-deeley & john nelson, experimental research, this essay is commonly written for biology, chemistry, physics, psychology, and sociology papers. it is used to describe an experimental research case in detail. the student conducts the experiment, shares their results and provides data evidence and sums up the case. the paper describes your experiment with supporting data and an analysis of the experiment. experiments are aimed to explain some causation or predict a fact or reality with certain actions., interpretive, this essay requires one to use the knowledge that he or she has gained from a particular case study situation, for example, a poem or work of art, or material from business and psychology fields. this paper requires using learned theoretical knowledge to write the paper and using supporting information for the thesis statement and findings., literary analysis, the purpose of a literary analysis essay is to carefully examine and sometimes evaluate a work of literature or an aspect of a work of literature. , literature review, a "literature review“ is a critical analysis of a segment of a published body of knowledge through summary, classification, and comparison of prior research studies, reviews of literature, and theoretical articles” (university of wisconsin writing center)., outlines the case of a study situation. as a rule, such text includes the summary of a breakdown, situation, identification of the main issue, and recommendations, which means that it is basically a logical and detailed summary of some case study situation. a report is a mere restatement of the significant elements or components of a piece of writing or a live performance. it is, primarily, a summary of the substantial elements (the who, what, where, when and how) which are embedded in a piece of writing or a live performance. .

English Division Writing Rubric (Based on Arizona State Standardswith college-level emphasis on higher order thinking skills, research, documentation, and manuscript preparation)
PVCC ENG101 Handbook The ENG101 Handbook was created by PVCC professors Lois Roma-Deeley and John Nelson. This was created prior to the 2009 updates to MLA; therefore, if you use them, be aware you will need to update them. However, the instructions on how to write each essay type are clear and very helpful.
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English 101 Research Guide: Research Essay Assignment

Research Essay Assignment
Evaluating Information
MLA Citation Style
Distance & Online Library Services
In-Class Activity

Topic Development

Topic Development is a crucial first step in your research. Briggs Library has many resources and tools that can help. Use the link below to explore ways to generate topic ideas as well as broaden and narrow a topic.

Selecting & Developing a Topic
Creating Keywords

The next step once you have your topic is to create strong keywords. These will help you search for your topic in library databases. Use the links below to find resources to help you create helpful search strategies.

Search Strategies

Interlibrary Loan

Although Briggs Library has an extensive collection, you may need items that are not available at the Library. No worries! You can request those articles, books, and other materials through Interlibrary Loan .

Keep in mind that the process may take several days for articles and ebooks and longer for print books. We encourage you to start your research early!

Many of our databases have an Interlibrary Loan Request button for articles not available in that particular database. Before submitting the loan request, be sure to check our Journals List for the title of the source or periodical (i.e. New York Times).

Evaluating Sources

Applying a set of standards to information sources will help you judge their credibility and relevancy. The evaluation process will depend on the purpose for which you are using the information. Good research involves using multiple sources of information. In addition to applying the CRAAP criteria, compare the information you find with that in other sources.

Is the information up-to-date enough for my topic?

Does the information pertain to my topic and cover it in enough depth to meet my needs?

Authority

Who is responsible for the content and what are their qualifications?

Is the information reliable and free from error?

Is the information presented without bias or is the bias acceptable for my purpose?

Click the link below for more resources about evaluating sources.

Using Evaluation Criteria

Source Types

It is important to understand the characteristics of different source types. This will help you understand when and why to use certain sources when you're doing research. Use the links below to learn more.

Source Type Overview
Using Books
Using Articles
Using Websites

Popular and Scholarly Periodicals

Below are some identifying features of popular and scholarly periodicals. Note that sources occur on a popular/scholarly continuum. Some sources are clearly popular or scholarly while others have mixed features. Determining a source's popular or scholarly orientation will help you evaluate its appropriateness for your research purpose. For example, using some popular sources may work for an introductory undergraduate project, while all scholarly sources may be required for more advanced work, especially in a student's major field of study.

Finding Books

Print books.

The library has over 750,000 books in the shelve s on the 3rd floor, all of them available for check-out. The best way to search for them is by using Quick Search, the search box on the library homepage. Watch the video below for more information on how to that.

The library has collections of eBooks that can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection; log in with the same credentials you use to access article databases. In most cases, you can view the book right in your browser but some collections require you to create a free account with them in order to borrow and download texts. If you have trouble, ask a librarian for help.

eBooks from Ebsco This link opens in a new window Search e-books by bibliographic information or through the full-text search limiter. These e-books are PDF or ePUB format and can be read on a computer or downloaded to other devices.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window JSTOR contains hundreds of eBooks on topics mostly in the humanities and social sciences
Ebook Central - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Quick Search Use Quick Search to access all of Briggs Library's print and electronic books as well as many of our electronic journal articles. Limit to Books and More to see only the book collection.

Finding Magazine and Scholarly Articles

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window Academic Search Complete is the world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 8,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 journals and a total of more than 13,200 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format. Searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,400 journals.
ProQuest This link opens in a new window Provides access to eight bibliographic and full-text databases including the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Dissertations & Thesis at SDSU, EconLit, Physical Education Index, ProQuest Discovery, ProQuest Dissertations and Thesis and ProQuest Research Library. Coverage includes diverse subjects from popular and scholarly literature. The databases can be search all together or individually.

Finding Newspapers

ProQuest U.S. Major Dailies This link opens in a new window Provides access to The New York Times, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune. Full-text access from 1980 to the present.
New York Times Online: Home This link opens in a new window

Finding Statistics

Statista: The Statistics Portal for Market Data, Market Research, and Market Studies This link opens in a new window Statista is a global data and business intelligence platform with an extensive collection of statistics, reports, and insights on over 80,000 topics from 22,500 sources in 170 industries.
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