1. Who are the current leaders in women’s sports?
Sample thesis might be: Two current leaders in women’s sports are ……… and ………..
2. What are the current trends in women’s sports?
Sample thesis might be: Two current trends in women’s sports are ……… and ………..
3. What are the current treatments for PTSD?
Sample thesis might be: Two current treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are ……… and ………..
4. Who are the current leaders in the black community?
Sample thesis might be: Two current leaders in the black community are ……… and ………..
5. What current pesticides are known to cause health risks?
Sample thesis might be: Two current pesticides that are known to cause health risks are ……… and ………..
6. What is the current status of the Black Lives Matter Movement?
7. Who are the current leaders in the Mexican/American community?
8. How is Dolores Huerta still influencing the farm workers movement?
9. What pesticides are currently being used on farms in California/Imperial Valley?
10. What are the current trends in college enrollment for women or minorities?
11. What is the current status of equal pay for women in America?
12. What is the current status of Agent Orange victims in Vietnam and America?
13. What is the current status of Round up in America?
14. How has Vietnam recovered since the war?
15. What is the current political status of the Kennedy family?
16. What are the current scholarships available for women and minorities?
17. What environmental factors are impacting the American bird population?
18. What is the current status of bees and butterflies in America?
19. Who are the current leaders in the environmental movement?
20. What artists are currently publishing politically themed music or art?
21. What are the current housing trends for minorities in America?
22. How did the recent tax cuts for rich impact income inequality?
23. Which top companies did not pay taxes in 2020-2021 and why?
Research Essay Instructions
Students are often confused regarding what makes an essay a research essay. To do research is a verb. You researched your argument essay and added outside sources to support your argument. However, doing research does not make an essay a research paper. An argument paper proposes a specific, doable action. A research paper answers a current and answerable question. A research essay is a noun; it is a specific type of essay that must follow a specific requirement. Answering an old question is an expository paper, not a research paper. Even though you do research, doing research does not make an essay a research essay. An expository essay might be “What led to the fall of the Roman Empire?” That is not a research essay because it is not current.
Research: Must be new, current, something we don’t have an easy answer to yet; it must be important or applicable to the time period. I want you to select a topic that is somehow connected to the chapters and themes from our Vietnam text or the articles we read for our quizzes. I am posting a list of topics that can be used, but you can also select a different question. However, make sure I approve it as an acceptable topic.
This essay will be four paragraphs: (1) Introduction, two supporting paragraphs (2) (3), and (4) a conclusion. You must use at least one EBSCOhost article with page numbers and include a Works Cited.
Follow all MLA guidelines.
Research begins with a question – your thesis is the answer to your question
Question: How are farmers trying to be more humane?
Thesis: Two ways farmers are trying to raise animals in a more humane way are removing animals from stalls and rotating pastures and reducing overcrowding.
Use one of the seven introductions.
Types of Introductions:
An illustration or anecdote: Hassan is 14 years old and lives with his family in Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan…
A surprising fact or statement: According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 4.8 million Syrians have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq, and 6.6 million are internally displaced within Syria.
A direct quotation: Bernie Sanders believes, “America stands for hope and we should take Syrian refugees.” In contrast, Ben Carson states America should, “Focus on funding refugee camps; not bringing refugees to the US.”
A definition: According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a refugee is, “Someone who has been forced to leave a country because of war or for religious or political reasons.”
A contradiction or opposing view: Some believe it is not in America’s best interest to take in Syrian refugees. However, there is nothing about the Syrians that should deter us from admitting them in far greater numbers than we have so far. Besides, like it or not, we kind of owe them (Steve Chapman reason.com).
A general or historical background: The wave of Arab unrest that began with the Tunisian revolution reached Syria on March 15, 2011, when residents of a small southern city took to the streets to protest the torture of students who had put up anti-government graffiti.
A Vivid Description: “From the parking lot, I could see the towers of the castle of the Magic Kingdom standing stately against the blue sky. To the right, the tall peak of The Matterhorn rose even higher. From the left, I could hear the jungle sounds of Adventureland. As I entered the gate, Main Street stretched before me with its quaint shops evoking an old-fashioned small town so charming it could never have existed. I was entranced. Disneyland may have been built for children, but it brings out the child in adults.”
Supporting paragraph one contains the first item listed in your thesis. Supporting paragraph two contains the second item listed. Supporting paragraph three contains the third item, and then you end with your conclusion:
Examples:
- Introduce the fact that farmers are trying to be more humane – your thesis is the last sentence.
- Supporting paragraph one topic sentence: “One way that farmers are trying to be more humane is by removing animals from stalls.” Give the evidence with correct in-text citation, discuss the evidence, then write your concluding sentence.
- Supporting paragraph two topic sentence: “Another way that farmers are trying to be more humane is by rotating pastures and reducing overcrowding.” Give the evidence with correct in-text citation, discuss the evidence, then write your concluding sentence.
- Conclusion
Question: How is The Drug Enforcement Administration addressing the opioid crisis?
Thesis: The Drug Enforcement Administration is addressing opioid abuse on two controlled substances: OxyContin and Fentanyl.
- Introduce the fact that America has an opioid crisis. – your thesis is the last sentence
- Supporting paragraph one topic sentence: “One drug the DEA is trying to address is OxyContin.” Give the evidence with correct in-text citation, discuss the evidence, then write your concluding sentence.
- Supporting paragraph two topic sentence: “The most dangerous opioid the DEA is trying to address is Fentanyl.” Give the evidence with correct in-text citation, discuss the evidence, then write your concluding sentence.
- Conclusion
Strategies for Writing a Conclusion
Conclusions are often the most difficult part of an essay to write. Often, many writers feel that they have nothing left to say after having written the paper. However, the conclusion is the last opportunity to get your point across to the reader and leave the reader feeling as if he or she learned something.
A conclusion should
- stress the importance of the thesis statement,
- give the essay a sense of completeness, and
- leave a final impression on the reader.
Conclusion Strategies
- Echoing the introduction: Echoing your introduction can be a good strategy if it is meant to bring the reader full circle. If you begin by describing a scenario, you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay was helpful in creating a new understanding.
- Echoing the Disneyland introduction from the “Vivid Description” example above: “I thought I would spend a few hours at Disneyland, but here I was at 1:00 A.M., closing time, leaving the front gates with the now dark towers of the Magic Kingdom behind me. I could see tired children, toddling along and struggling to keep their eyes open as best they could. Others slept in their parents’ arms as we waited for the parking lot tram that would take us to our cars. My forty-year-old feet ached, and I felt a bit sad to think that in a couple of days I would be leaving California, my vacation over, to go back to my desk. But then I smiled to think that for at least a day I felt ten years old again.”
- Answer the question “So What?”: Show your readers why this paper was important. Show them that your paper was meaningful and useful.
- Synthesize, don’t summarize: Don’t simply repeat things that were in your paper. They have read it. Show them how the points you made and the support and examples you used were not random but fit together.
- Redirect your readers: Give your reader something to think about—perhaps a way to use your paper in the “real” world. If your introduction went from general to specific, make your conclusion go from specific to general. Think globally.
- Challenging the reader: By issuing a challenge to your readers, you are helping them to redirect the information in the paper, and they may apply it to their own lives.
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