BIS 365

Exploring American Culture:

Popular and Consumer Culture

Spring 2006

David S. Goldstein, Ph.D.

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Research Paper Assignment

Statement of site and analytical question due in midquarter portfolio at 1:05 p.m. sharp on Thursday, April 27;
optional preliminary thesis and bibliography submission due in interim portfolio after April 27 but before 1:05 p.m. on Tuesday, May 16;
final version due in final learning portfolio at 1:05 p.m. sharp on Tuesday, May 30

Assignment Calendar

Tuesday, April 4: Assignment presented in class.

Thursday, April 27: Statement of site and analytical question due in midquarter portfolio at 1:05 p.m. sharp

Tuesday, May 16: Optional preliminary thesis and bibliography submission due in optional learning portfolio no later than 1:05 p.m.

Tuesday, May 30, 1:05 p.m. sharp: Final version of research paper due in learning portfolio.

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The purpose of this assignment is to solidify your understanding of popular and consumer culture by applying the knowledge and skills developed during this term to a topic that interests you.

First, identify a topic, related to both popular culture and consumer culture, that interests you. It should include a site (i.e., the thing, person, or place that you want to study) and an analytical question (i.e., what you want to discover as you study the site).

Here are some samples. You may use one of these topics (no guarantee of feasibility--these are just ideas) or formulate one of your own.

Using the research resources suggested by Research Librarian Sarah Leadley at <http://www.uwb.edu/library/guides/BIS365Guide.html>, find at least five sources, at least four of which must be from peer-reviewed, scholarly journals.  (Check <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/library/guides/sources.html> for a guide to distinguishing scholarly articles.)  Your sources need not--in fact, should not--answer the question.  Rather, they should provide insights and background to help you make the points you want to make in support of your argument.  You, not the support articles, should be making your argument.  The articles are your supporting evidence.  In the final paper, you will need to cite at least three sources, at least two of which must be from peer-reviewed, scholarly journals.
 
The articles can be as general or as specific as you need.

Midquarter Portfolio:  Preliminary thesis and working bibliography:  Submit a statement of your research site (what you are going to study) and your analytical question (what you want to ask about this site, the answer to which will be your thesis later on).   This should be a typed and double-spaced Microsoft Word document with a standard MLA-formatted header.  (See T20 in "Tips for Better Prose" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Prose.html>.)
When I return your midquarter portfolio, you will have my comments to help you write your research paper.  The instructions for the midquarter portfolio will explain how to name this document when you submit it as an artifact in the portfolio.  I expect to return midquarter portfolios within ten days of their submission, so the earlier you submit your portfolio with the preliminary thesis and working bibliography, the more time you will have to use my comments for writing the research paper.  Be sure to allow some time for unforeseen problems with the electronic submission or other unforeseeable circumstances like illness or computer malfunction.

When I return your midquarter portfolio, you will have my comments on your research site and analytical question to help you write your research paper.  The instructions for the midquarter portfolio will explain how to name this document when you submit it as an artifact in the portfolio.  I expect to return midquarter portfolios within seven days of their submission, so the earlier you submit your portfolio with the statement of research site and analytical question, the more time you will have to use my comments for writing the research paper.  Be sure to allow some time for unforeseen problems with the electronic submission or other unforeseeable circumstances like illness or computer malfunction.

Optional preliminary submission of thesis and working bibliography: If you would like my comments on your thesis and preliminary bibliography before writing your research paper, you may submit it to me after Thursday, April 27, but before Tuesday, May 16, by re-submitting your midquarter portfolio with the thesis and bibliography in it.  Specifically:

I will read a preliminary thesis and bibliography page only once, so please make sure it is as finished and polished as possible so I can provide the most helpful feedback.   I expect to return interim portfolios containing preliminary versions of theses and Works Cited pages, with my comments, within five days of their submission, so the earlier you submit your work, the more time you will have to revise it for your final portfolio.  Be sure to allow some time for unforeseen problems with the electronic submission or other unforeseeable circumstances like illness or computer malfunction.

Writing the research essay:  Now, in a formal, argumentative research paper of 1250 to 1500 words, not counting the Works Cited page (use the word count tool in Microsoft Word), respond to the prompt. To do this, develop a thesis (main argument) that responds to your research question.  The rest of the paper will comprise your attempts to convince your reader of the veracity of your thesis, supported by your research. Assume that your audience is a smart, educated person who has read, but is not an expert on, popular and consumer culture theory, so you need not provide extensive summary of articles we have read for this course.  As you write, it might help to think of a smart friend of yours as your audience.

As a formal piece of university writing, your research 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. Provide an MLA-style header and essay title as explained in #20 and #22 in "Tips for Better Prose" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Prose.html>. Please do not use a cover page or footnotes. If you wish to quote, do so only after reading Becky Reed Rosenberg's document, "Using Direct Quotation" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Quotation.html>.

Using MLA formatting, you will append a Works Cited list.  Use a page break to make sure it starts on a new page.  Remember that only works you actually cite go on this page.  Also, remember that you must provide, in addition to complete publication information, the details regarding where you found the sources if you retrieved them electronically.  For guidance regarding assembling a Works Cited list, 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.  See also Tip 19 in "Tips for Better Prose" at http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Prose.html.  For guidance regarding how to use and format in-text citations, see the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or Diana Hacker's online guide at http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c08_s1.html.  Remember that you need to cite at least three sources, at least two of which must be from peer-reviewed, scholarly sources.

After your paper is carefully written, it will be time for editing and proofreading. Because all teachers have their own idiosyncratic preferences for writing, you should learn what mine are by reading "Tips for Better Prose." Reading this document is a required part of the assignment. When I return your paper to you, I will indicate common errors that I find in your paper that tend to distract your readers. I will use a list of codes such as "T1," "T2," and so forth, which refer to the numbered items of the "Tips for Better Prose" document. Of course, it would be better for you and for me if you pay close attention to the document so you can avoid some of the mechanical errors that I commonly find in student (and even professional) writing, rather than have them pointed out to you afterward. 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.

When you think you have a completed draft, do a final word count (in the Tools pull-down menu of Microsoft Word) to make sure your paper meets the length requirement.  Do not put the word count in your paper, though; I can check that myself.

I have posted an example of a very good research paper (written in a different course) in the "Course Documents" area of Blackboard at <http://bb.uwb.edu/> You may read it if you want to see an example of a paper that I have liked.

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 re-read "Policy on Academic and Behavioral Conduct" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Integrity.html>.

Your final research paper is due in your final portfolio at 1:05 p.m. sharp on Tuesday, May 30. Remember to do a word count to check the length. Then, when you submit your learning portfolio (instructions will be posted separately), choose this paper as your included sample. I will grade this final version using the criteria below.

Criteria for grading the final version of your essay. Please carefully read "Criteria for Assessing Writing" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/WritingAssess.html> for an explanation of these items:

Content

50 percent

Organization

10 percent

Reasoning

20 percent

Rhetoric

10 percent

Conventions

10 percent

TOTAL

40 percent of course grade

When you get your paper back back from me in your returned learning portfolio, it will be marked as an early draft, middle draft, or late draft (see "Criteria for Assessing Writing" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/WritingAssess.html> for an explanation) and will include my comments and your score.

Let me emphasize that I expect your best effort in this and every exercise. It is worth the investment of your time and effort to do the best you can.

Some additional advice:

This page last updated April 25, 2006.

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