OVERVIEW
For this project, you will use scholarly sources to construct a researched argument about a
current phenomenon or debate that’s connected to your major, or to another area that
interests you. You will conduct secondary research, using Metro State library databases and other
digital tools (such as Google Scholar and JSTOR) on a topic related to your personal or professional
interest. You will assess, summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize sources to present an argument to
a community of scholarly peers. This will help you practice entering the conversation of an academic
discipline of study.
For this project, you will use scholarly sources to construct a researched argument about a
current phenomenon or debate that’s connected to your major, or to another area that
interests you. You will conduct secondary research, using Metro State library databases and other
digital tools (such as Google Scholar and JSTOR) on a topic related to your personal or professional
interest. You will assess, summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize sources to present an argument to
a community of scholarly peers. This will help you practice entering the conversation of an academic
discipline of study.
GETTING STARTED
For this paper, you’ll identify a question that hasn’t been adequately answered by the scholarly
conversation you have been investigating, and you’ll supply the answer yourself. This means
you’ll need to support that answer with evidence that you’ve found within that scholarly conversation
or in other relevant sources. You will also need to explain why this question matters for this scholarly
conversation, especially if no one else has considered this particular question before. If
others have considered this question already, then you’ll need to be able to explain why their answers
aren’t good enough. So, you’ll need to:
1. Make clear what question you are answering.
2. Make clear what answer you are advocating for.
3. Show why this is the best answer, using evidence that this specific scholarly audience will find
persuasive.
You will be creating an extended argument (1750-2000 words) over the course of five weeks for
this project. Consequently, you must select a topic and design a research question that you can
extensively research online during this time frame. You will also be extending the work of this essay
for your third writing project, so pick a topic that is genuinely interesting to you. You will be working
with this topic for the remainder of the course. Some potential topic ideas include:
• Agribusiness. The use of drones in farming can drastically decrease the amount of pesticide
runoff, while maximizing crop yields
writ 231 ∙ Panahi ∙ spring 2024 ∙ pg. 2
• Animal Science. GPS and other satellite technologies are becoming critical to animal behavior
research, as well as conservation efforts
• Economics. Microfinance, or the practice of providing small no-interest loans to individuals in
developing nations to help them start businesses, has come under critique lately for not
actually addressing structural inequality
• Education. Schools need to consider the importance of cybersecurity, to protect student
personal data, as well as academic integrity. Large-scale DDoS attacks are the latest threat
• Health & Medicine. Online medicine or eMedicine can help close the gap in mental health
treatment
• Animal Science. GPS and other satellite technologies are becoming critical to animal behavior
research, as well as conservation efforts
• Economics. Microfinance, or the practice of providing small no-interest loans to individuals in
developing nations to help them start businesses, has come under critique lately for not
actually addressing structural inequality
• Education. Schools need to consider the importance of cybersecurity, to protect student
personal data, as well as academic integrity. Large-scale DDoS attacks are the latest threat
• Health & Medicine. Online medicine or eMedicine can help close the gap in mental health
treatment
• Political Science. Social media has fundamentally changed the way we engage in, talk about,
and think about politics
and think about politics
You are not obligated to use any of these ideas; they are here to help you get started.
Like these examples, your argument for the WP2 paper should move beyond a simple assessment of
“X technology is good for Y profession,” or “the outsourcing of jobs is bad for Z business.” You’re
making an argument to a learned community of peers in a specific field or discipline here, and an
academic approach asks you to be careful, methodical, and measured in your conclusions. You need
to be attentive to making sure that your logic is sound, and that your evidence supports what you
claim, which will require you to think about counter-evidence and refutation as well.
This project requires the use of scholarly sources. Therefore, finding scholarly sources is your
main priority. Do not commit to a topic or an argument until you’ve found an appropriate number of
scholarly sources with which you can work for this project.
PROJECT EXPECTATIONS
Your final paper for this project will be 1750–2000 words (7–8 pages), typed in 12-point font
and double spaced with 1” margins in a scholarly style of your choice (MLA or APA). You may
include visuals to aid you in your argument (charts, tables, data visualization, images, etc.), but
remember that your visuals should mirror your overall (scholarly, formal) approach). Expect to be
graded on…
• How well you satisfy the goals and purposes identified in the assignment description and
your proposal and outline (i.e., your WP2 statement of purpose)
• Synthesis of 5-7 scholarly sources from the Metropolitan State University Library
databases (or Google Scholar and JSTOR) (attributed through in-text citations and a
bibliography or works cited page at the end of the paper)
• The appropriateness of the evidence (e.g., previous research, current trends, data,
historical precedent, etc.) used to substantiate your claims
• How well the researched argument responds to the needs of your identified audience
• The organization, arrangement, and structure of the work (think back to the component
parts you identified in your scholarly article analysis for WP1)
• Proper formatting and proofreading of your essay and your bibliography/works cited