Research paper | English homework help

RESEARCH PAPER PROMPT: (A revised and expanded Essay 4 into Research Paper)

In her text Writing to Change the World, psychologist and writer Mary Pipher coins the term “Change Writer” and explores what “change writing” is and why she feels it is important to be a change writer. Spend time defining what “change writing” is by summarizing ideas in Pipher’s text and referencing other texts that support her definition or that speak generally about writing, social justice or other similar issues. You should quote from Pipher’s chapters (introduction, Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4 etc.) to help support and develop this section of yoru paper.

Then, use Pipher’s chapter “The Psychology of Change,” which outlines specific criteria that she believes ‘change writers’ use in their work, to identify and examine 2-4 texts that fulfil Pipher’s criteria and so can be called “change writing” or “change writers.” 

(For example, we may have watched Ted Talks like “The Danger of a Single Story” https://www.ted.com/search?q=The+danger+of+a+single+story (Links to an external site.)

or “The Power of Vulnerability” https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability/transcript?language=en (Links to an external site.)

or we may have read essays like Jimmy Baca’s “Coming into Language” https://pen.org/coming-into-language/ (Links to an external site.) 

or Brent Staples’s “Black Men and Public Space” https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hmr8HOsI5GOJ9CVdU8N5EWY2Mzxa03eW/view?usp=sharing (Links to an external site.) .  

Choose your 2-4 texts to summarize and analyze as examples of “change writing”. Using Pipher’s own words and ideas from her chapter on “The Psychology of Change”, and with support from additional external sources, explain this concept “Change Writer/Change Writing,” by providing at least 2 (no more than 4) examples of texts that use her “psychology of change” criteria and fulfill her definition of “change writer/change writing.” 

Conclude your essay with some opinions and take-aways about “Change Writer” and its importance, value, and larger cultural significance.

IMPORTANT RESEARCH PAPER NOTE:

Note that your Final Research Paper Draft will need to include screen caps/pictures or file attachments/highlighted with the quotations you use in your Research Paper. We are not using TurnItIn.com’s plagiarism Checking software, so you’ll need to proved the Screencaps of highlighted sources in the context of the research sources and citations for each source so that I can find the source myself. It is VERY helpful to me if you download the article so that you can simply upload the articles you’ve found WITH your research paper so that I can look them over.

You might consider/complete the following: 

Read and annotate and study the text selections so that you fully understand Pipher’s concept

Select useful quotes that you feel help support and clarify Pipher’s concept

Formulate your own ideas about her concept and its usefulness and decide if other writers and their work fulfill her criteria for “change writing.”

Formulate a thesis that sets out your argument in a clear manner. You’re writing a Research Paper that

Summarizes some key concepts of Mary Pipher

Clarifies and defines her concept “change writing” and “change writer”

Explores several other sources that help to contribute to an understanding of Pipher’s concept

Offers text-based examples of writers/texts that fulfill some or all of her criteria from her chapter “The Psychology of Change

Conclude with an opinion about the usefulness of and importance of “change writers” and “change Writing”

Organize your essay with an introduction that lays a foundation for the concept, a series of body paragraphs that discuss and clarify and explain the concept using Pipher’s text as support as well as other texts, and a conclusion that summarizes your ideas and that makes a solid argument about the importance of and significance of change writers in the world.

You are writing a Research Paper — this is an ARGUMENT paper that requires research sources. To compose this paper, you’re blending several genre strategies:

Defining a Concept 

A definition essay is writing that explains what a term or concept means. In some definition essays, your instructor may ask you to take a term and explore the various definitions and then argue for or against a particular definition, or to enlarge the scope of meaning of a specific term. For our definition essay, you’ll be presenting your understanding of a term defined by Mary Pipher from her text Writing to Change the World, and as you’re presenting Pipher’s definition, you’ll analyze her definition and its usefulness for writers. (You’ll find out what the term is when you open the exam, but for now, read on to learn how to put together your definition essay).

Note: Some terms have definite, concrete meanings, such as glass, book, or tree. Terms such as honesty, honor, or love are abstract and depend more on a person’s point of view. It is these terms that make the best subjects for a definition essay – a term that is new and different, or that can mean many things to many people.

To write a definition essay, you’ll need to define a word that:

has a complex meaning

is disputable (could mean different things to different people)

To get started, remember that in your Definition essay you want to tell readers what term is being defined, and then present clear and basic information to your readers to help them understand the scope of the term. You can use facts, examples, or anecdotes that readers will understand, as well as source material by others who may have defined this term.

To create a thesis statement for your Definition essay, be sure that the thesis statement identifies the term being defined and provides a brief, basic definition before you dive into exploring the many facets and aspects of the term. In your introduction, you might start with one of the various techniques that we’ve explored this semester, such as a short anecdote, an extended definition, or some open-ended questions that might grab your reader’s attention. Your introduction should conclude with a distinct, precise thesis statement that tells your readers just what your essay will be discussing. All body paragraphs should directly and clearly support the thesis statement. The thesis statement usually identifies the term being defined and provides a brief, basic definition. Your body paragraphs will offer examples, anecdotes, and reflection on the definition, and in your conclusion, you should come to some larger idea or understanding of the term for your readers.

2. Synthesizing various sources in service to your argument

3. Analyzing text examples to develop an opinion about the concept

Remember: 

Please “cite” in the text by quoting or paraphrasing from each source at least once;

Include a Works Cited Page listing Pipher’s chapter, at least 2 Ted Talks, and additional sources so that you have 10 sources in proper MLA Works Cited format.

Essays should be free of major grammatical errors and free of imprecisions in language usage. Essays should employ sentence fluidity.

Essays should be in MLA Paper format 

Essays should be a minimum of 7 full typed, double-spaced pages and no more than 10 full typed, doublespaced pages.

RUBRIC: SCORE CRITERIA

CONTENT:

A

Excellent to very good: knowledgeable; substantive, thorough development of the thesis, including appropriate examples; quotations are well chosen to support the argument; quotations are well integrated and presented correctly, good analysis and synthesis of the material; literary devices noted and analyzed, good use of comparison and contrast, critical inquiry and interpretation. Interpretation is imaginative and nuanced.

B

Good to average: some knowledge of the subject; adequate range of analysis and synthesis; limited thematic development and use of examples; mostly relevant to the topic, but lacks detail in critical interpretation of the material; quotations support the argument somewhat; quotations are adequately integrated, but may be too long or short. Interpretation shows some originality.

C

Fair to poor: limited knowledge of the subject; minimal substance, analysis and synthesis; poor thematic development, use of examples and critical interpretation of the material; inadequate use of quotations. Interpretation is predictable and/or unfocused.

D

Very poor: shows little or no knowledge of the subject; lacking analysis or synthesis of the material and lacking good examples; inadequate quantity; not relevant, or not enough to rate. Interpretation is overly predictable.

ORGANIZATION AND FORMAT:

A

Excellent to very good: clear statement of ideas; title that orients the reader to the thesis; clear organization (beginning, middle, and end) and smooth transitions; introduction leads reader into topic; conclusion effectively summarizes main findings and follows logically from the analysis presented, logical and cohesive sequencing both between and within paragraphs; quotations/footnotes properly cited; length, spacing, fonts, margins, numbered pages all carefully adhered to.

B

Good to average: main ideas clear but loosely organized or connected; title pertinent to the thesis; sequencing logical but incomplete; bibliographical material and formatting adequate.

c

Fair to poor: ideas not well connected; title too general; poor organization and transitions; logical sequencing and development lacking; formatting inadequate.

D

Very poor: ideas not communicated; no title; organization, sequencing and transitions lacking, or not enough to rate, formatting lacking.

GRAMMAR, VOCABULARY, AND FLUENCY:

A

Excellent to very good: fluent expression; accurate use of relatively complex structures; very few grammatical errors. Complex range of vocabulary; accurate word/idiom choice; mastery of word forms and expressions; appropriate level of usage.

B

Good to average: adequate fluency; simple constructions used effectively; some problems in use of complex constructions; some grammar and spelling errors.

C

Fair to poor: low fluency; significant mistakes in the use of complex constructions; frequent grammar and spelling errors, lack of accuracy interferes with meaning.

D

Very poor: lacks fluency; no mastery of sentence construction; text dominated by errors; does not communicate meaning, or not enough to rate.

RESEARCH — MLA FORMAT AND USE OF 10 sources, 7-10 pages with signal phrases to introduce material, and correct in-text citations.

ted talk : https://www.ted.com/talks/candy_chang_before_i_die_i_want_to 

ted talk2: https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability?language=en