BIS 351

Topics in American Culture:

Ethnic Studies 

David S. Goldstein, Ph.D.

Spring 2007

Research Paper Assignment

Assignment Calendar

• Thursday, March 29 : Research paper assignment introduced
• Thursday, April 5: E-mail research question to me no later than 8:35 a.m.
• Tuesday, April 10 : NO CLASS MEETING; independent research time.
• Thursday, May 3: Annotated bibliography due in Blackboard no later than 8:35 a.m.
• Tuesday, May 29 : Research paper due in Blackboard no later than 8:35 a.m.

The purpose of this assignment is to practice critical thinking and writing skills while learning about a topic in ethnic studies that interests you. To make this assignment as meaningful and interesting to you as possible, you will have considerable flexibility in choosing a topic and approach for this paper, as long as it is somehow related to ethnic studies.

Sarah Leadley, the Campus Library's Research Librarian for American studies, has prepared an excellent research guide to help you (http://www.uwb.edu/library/guides/BIS351Goldstein.html).  I strongly recommend using that guide, which is custom-made for this assignment.

This assignment will enable you to investigate an area of ethnic studies that most interests you by entering into an academic conversation or debate, building on the work of others and contributing your own.  Your topic can be historical (race, ethnicity, racially-defined groups, or ethnically-defined groups as they used to be) or contemporary (race, ethnicity, racially-defined groups, or ethnically-defined groups as they are now ).

• First, identify a topic, related to ethnic studies that interests you. Think about what you already know about the topic, and what you still want to learn about it.  Use the question, "What do I want to learn?" as a way to generate a good research question.
• No later than 8:35 a.m. on Thursday, April 5, e-mail your tentative research question to me.   Your research question should state, as a question , what you want to learn about your topic.  Most good research questions begin with "How" or "Why" and cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no."  Here are some examples:
  • Why do American Jews and Asian Americans have a reputation for academic success?
  • How did hip-hop emerge?
  • What have been the effects of affirmative action in American universities?
  • How does comic Margaret Cho influence perceptions of Asian Americans?
  • Whose ideas have been more influential:  Booker T. Washington's or W. E. B. Du Bois's, and why?
  • What role did Cesar Chavez play in the development of organized agricultural labor in California?
  • How did U.S. Government policies affect American Indians in the Pacific Northwest in the 19th Century?
  • Why is Seattle's International District more diverse than most of the nation's Chinatowns and Japantowns?
  • Who have been the most influential Latino authors in the twentieth century?
  • To what extent do films like Boyz 'N the Hood reinscribe stereotypes, and to what extent do they dispel stereotypes?

• Then, use appropriate sources to learn what other scholars have said about your topic. You will need to use academic books and articles, which you can locate most readily via the UW Library Catalogue <http://catalog.lib.washington.edu/> and the nearly two hundred academic databases <http://www.lib.washington.edu/types/databases/> to which the UW Library subscribes.  You will have independent work time on April 10, because we will not meet as a class that day.  You probably will need to find other times to seek sources, as well.

• No later than 8:35 a.m. on Thursday, May 3, submit your annotated bibliography.
  • Your annotated bibliography should include at least six sources, at least four of which must be peer-reviewed research articles from scholarly journals.
  • For guidance in determining whether a source is scholarly or not, read this document prepared by our professional academic librarians: <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/library/guides/sources.html>.  Be sure to check Ulrich's Directory at <http:www.lib.washington.edu/types/databases/u.html> (use the off-campus access link at the top of the page if you are using an off-campus computer) to make sure a journal is peer-reviewed.  Once you are sure the journal is peer-reviewed, check to see whether the article is presenting original research.  (Some articles in peer-reviewed journals are not actually research articles.  Journals sometimes include other kinds of articles in addition to research articles.)  One clue is that your article is not labeled "Editorial" or "Research Brief."  Another clue is if the article includes a list of References or a Works Cited page.
  • To create your annotated bibliography, first type your research question at the top of a Microsoft Word document (after your header).  Then, below the research question, put all of your potential sources into an MLA Works Cited format.  Consult the latest edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or Diana Hacker's online guide at <http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c08_s2.html>.
  • After each entry, write a sentence or two that explain(s) why you think the source might be helpful in response to your research question.  You need not summarize the source.  I just want to know why you think it might be useful.
  • Submit this document in Blackboard.

  To submit the annotated bibliography:

  • First, name the Word file of your annotated bibliography exactly like this: Lastname351Biblio (replacing Lastname with your own last name, starting with a capital letter (for example, Kerrigan351Biblio).
  • Then, go to the Assignments area of Blackboard (http://bb.uwb.edu/) and click on the link labeled "View/Complete Assignment: Annotated Bibliography."
  • In the "Comments" box, type your first and last name.
  • Where it says, "Attach local file," click on the "Browse" button.
  • Find the correct file o your hard drive and click "Open" to choose that file.
  • Click the "Submit" button (not the "Save" button, which is used only to save work you are not ready to submit yet).
  • You should get a confirmation page that says, "The assignment has been updated."  Click the "OK" button.
  • Click again on the "View/Complete Assignment: Annotated Bibliography" link.
  • Click on the "OK" button.
  • You should get a confirmation page that says, "The assignment is complete.  Click OK to review the result."  On that page, click the "OK" button.
  • You should get a confirmation page that includes the file you attached.  Please print this confirmation.

Getting feedback on the annotated bibliography:

• My goal is to return annotated bibliographies (you should find it in the same Assignments area in Blackboard), with my comments, within seven days of their submission.  I will not comment on bibliographies submitted after the midquarter portfolio deadline, so you will not have the benefit of my feedback when you write your essay unless you submit the annotated bibliography on time.
• I will grade your annotated bibliography like this:

• You will earn a minus, check, or plus for appropriateness of sources.
• You will earn a minus, check, or plus for clarity and logic of explanation of sources.
• You will earn a minus, check, or plus for degree of compliance with MLA format.
• For each plus you earn, I will add one percentage point as a bonus to your final paper's grade.  You therefore can earn up to three extra percentage points.

• Then, start writing a research paper in which you argue your own point of view on the topic in response to your research question.
  • This is a research paper, and I expect that you will be entering a scholarly discussion on your topic. You therefore need to take into account previous work and opinions on your topic, and you should cite those sources in your paper using proper MLA formatting as described in the latest edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or Diana Hacker's online guide at <http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c08_s1.html> (in-text citations) and <http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c08_s2.html> (Works Cited).
  • You should cite at least four sources (as described above for your Annotated Bibliography).  They need not be the same sources that you listed in the Annotated Bibliography if you have found others that work better for you.  At least three of your sources must be peer-reviewed articles from academic journals.
  • Assume that your audience is a smart, educated person who is not an expert on your topic but is very interested in academic discussions of your topic. As you write, it might help to think of a smart friend of yours as your audience.
  • All papers must be written in Microsoft Word (available in all UWB computer labs) and must run between 2000 and 2300 words (not counting the mandatory Works Cited page), according to the word count tool in Microsoft Word. Do not use Microsoft Works. It must be Word.  Note: This page length is shorter than what was originally listed on the syllabus.  This is the correct page length.
  • Please do not use a cover page or footnotes. If you wish to quote, do so sparingly, and only after reading Becky Rosenberg's document, "Using Direct Quotation" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Quotation.html>. If you paraphrase or quote one of the authors about whom you are writing, you can provide just a page number if it is obvious whom you are citing (such as when you refer to an author in the text of your sentence). Be sure you cite correctly according to MLA format according to the latest edition of the MLA Handbook.
• Before you submit your paper, but after getting close to a final version, do some careful editing and proofreading. (I recommend that you wait until you get your ideas organized and on paper before worrying about the less-important mechanics of prose.)
  • Because all teachers have their own idiosyncratic preferences for writing, you should review what mine are by re-reading "Tips for Better Prose" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Prose.html >. Reading this document is a required part of the assignment.  I recommend printing that document, and, after you finish writing your paper, check the items off one by one to make sure your paper is as mechanically sound as you can make it. Although the mechanics of writing are less important to me than the ideas expressed, the mechanics inevitably improve the effectiveness of your communication of ideas, which, after all, is your ultimate goal with each piece of writing that you do.
  • As a formal piece of university writing, your paper should be typed and double-spaced throughout, using a standard font (like Times New Roman) in 12-point size, and with margins of one inch all the way around each page. In the top, left-hand corner of the first page, place a heading that includes (using one line per item) your name, the course number (BIS 351), the date, and my name (Prof. David S. Goldstein). (See item #20 in "Tips for Better Prose."  Provide a meaningful but brief title for your paper (not "Research Paper" but rather a short hint of your paper's main argument) that is centered just one double space beneath the heading on the first page and in plain type (no underlining, bold, italics, or quotation marks). (See item #22 in "Tips for Better Prose." )
  • If I think your paper is at least a middle draft, then when I return your paper to you, I will indicate patterns of problems that I noticed in your paper, using a list of codes such as "T1," "T2," and so forth, which refer to the numbered items of the "Tips for Better Prose" document.  (If your paper is still in the early-draft stage, you will have more important things to focus on, and can take care of editing and proofreading after you do the major rewriting.  There obviously is no point in worrying about small matters of prose mechanics if you will be doing major rewriting.)
  • Do a final word count (in the Tools pull-down menu of Microsoft Word) to make sure you are within the stated word count requirements. To count all of the words except the Works Cited page, highlight all of the text except the Works Cited page before using the word count tool. If you are not within the required parameters, then please edit appropriately.
  • Needless to say, your work must be entirely original. Using another person's ideas or words without proper attribution, whether intentional or accidental, constitutes plagiarism, and will result in a zero on this assignment. Please review "Policy on Academic and Behavioral Conduct," which was the first reading assignment for this course.
  • Submit this document in Blackboard.  Your research paper is due no later than 8:35 a.m. on Tuesday, May 29.

To submit your research paper:

Resources:

• UWB Library Research Guides: <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/library/guides/index.html>
• Reference/Research Librarians:
  • American Studies: Sarah Leadley (American studies ; 425-352-5387; e-mail: SLeadley@uwb.edu)
  • Culture, Literature, and the Arts: Amanda Hornby (media studies ; 425-352-3167; e-mail ahornby@uwb.edu, and available at the Library Circulation Desk from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. on Thursdays
  • Culture, Literature, and the Arts: Leslie Bussert  (humanities ; 425-352-3168; e-mail: LHurst@uwb.edu)
• Writing Center: <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/writingcenter/> (Note: The Writing Center usually offers a one-day workshop focusing on research papers.)
• Prof. Goldstein: <https://catalysttools.washington.edu/tools/umail/form/?i=124&o=davidgs >

Some additional advice:

• Get in the habit of saving your work often (maybe every ten minutes) so you do not lose everything when your computer freezes. It also is a good idea to keep multiple copies in different places, such as on a different computer, on diskettes, CDs, flash drives, or Zip disks, or in your electronic "shell" on the UWB student computer server. I usually e-mail important files to myself at the end of the work day, so if my computer blows up, I still can retrieve my work.
• I do not have time to read rough drafts, but I am very glad to discuss your paper as you work on it. You would be wise to visit me during office hours (see syllabus) to make sure you are on the right track, to see whether your thesis makes sense to me, and to get advice about any particular difficulties you might be encountering.
• Re-read this assignment sheet just before each submission of your paper to make sure it meets all of the requirements.
• Visit the Writing Center (see <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/WritingCenter/>) as many times as you can to help you build confidence in your writing process.

This page last updated March 30, 2007.

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