10Th Grade Research Assignment

10th Grade Research Assignment

Name______Date:______

INTRODUCTION:

It's that time of the year…research time! You are now ready to begin an informative and interesting journey into the world of researching, and the best part is…YOU get to choose the topic to research! There is one catch, however: the topic you choose must be something on which you will be able to influence the reader by persuading them to accept your perspective. How exciting! This is your chance to speak out, make a difference, and LET YOUR IDEAS BE HEARD!!

RESEARCH:

To complete this assignment, much research will be done. We will spend three days in the media center as a class for the purpose of completing research. Any additional information must be found on your own time. The media center is open until 4:00 in the afternoons. Use that time to your advantage. Also, you may obtain a pass from me to use the media center during lunch or homeroom periods. Not having a computer at home or having no access to the Internet will not be an excuse for failureto complete this assignment.

THE RESEARCH PROCESS:

A research paper is a written report that presents the results of a purposeful, focused, in-depth study of a specific topic. Its writer chooses a topic, gathers information about that topic from several different sources, and then presents the information in an organized way; in our case, a persuasive essay.

To complete this process you will (among other things):

Choose the topic you are going to research a narrow it into a focus question

Compose a title for your paper

Take a position and write a statement of controlling purpose-- a thesis!

Prepare a list of possible sources (a Working Bibliography-- handout given in class)

Annotate the printouts/copies of your sources

Organize your notes and create an outline

Write your first draft and revise (Teacher/student edit)

Write your second draft and revise (peer-edit)

Write a third draft (self-edit)

Write the final draft

Complete a Works Cited Page and Bibliography

Compile all necessary components neatly in a folder to be turned in

READY OR NOT…HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PERSUASIVE RESEARCH TOPICS

By tomorrow, you must have chosen a topic from this list on which to complete your Research Paper. Yes, I know these are very broad topics; therefore, your next step will be to narrow your chosen topic down to a specific focus. This should be put into the form of a question (at the bottom of the page).

1.Gun Control

2.Animal Rights

3.Censorship

4.Adoption

5.Women in the Military

6.Free Speech

7.Drug Legalization

8. Genetically engineered food

9.Gambling

10. Best ever Rock Band

11. Existence of life on other planets

12. Preservation of the rainforests

13. Capital punishment

14. Gender intelligence

15. Optional schooling for minors

16. Mental illness

17. Affirmative Action

18. Separation of church and state

19. Year round schools (or “Extended Calendar”)

20. Human cloning

21. School dress code/mandatory uniforms

22. Smokers/alcoholics/drug addicts/criminals on

transplant list

23. Professional athlete salaries

24. Obesity in America

25. Immigration in the U.S.

The Topic I Have Chosen Is:______

My Focus Question Is (see example above as a guide):______

______?

Example: Obesity in America Focus = Is America’s obesity epidemic the fault of the individual or society?