English – Cheap Research Essays

RESEARCH ESSAY TOPICS

Choose one topic and write an essay using secondary sources to support your analysis. The essay must be 1500 words.

You will need to include:
• Three references
• Separate works cited page
• Use MLA format for your in-text references and works cited

Topics:

1. Write an essay on three Canadian poets who have used survival as a theme.

2. Using the poems studied in the poetry unit, develop the claim that metaphor plays an important part in the writing of poetry.

3. Write about the life and times of a Canadian writer. (You will need to formulate a thesis about this!)

4. Write about ballads as an expression of Canadian history.

5. Pick one aspect of Canadian life and trace its change as reflected by poetry; for example, values or conditions of life.

6. Poetry and storytelling are similar in many ways. Development this statement by comparing three elements of literature common to both, i.e. use of language.

7. “A culture of writing in English has existed among the native peoples of Canada since at least the early seventeenth century. Native orators and writers have had a voice not only in telling the native point of view of Canadian history, petitioning governments and such, but also in reviving ancient beliefs.” (OLA030) Choose several works by native writers from different time periods or regions and show how they reflect some aspect of native life.

8. Choose something from the novel you would like to research.

THE RESEARCH PAPER

So far, for most assignments, you have been the main source of information. However, when you do a research paper, you will be required to supplement and extend your own view with material from other sources. Here are a few things to help you: process, purpose and methods of conducting research.

The Research Process

Research can be a pleasure, one of the most interesting and enjoyable aspects of your education, if you learn how to pursue knowledge and information methodically and if you allow yourself enough time to do so comfortably. Learning to find, manage and use information is an important skill. Conducting research effectively means learning to educate yourself, learning where to look for information and learning how to use what you find.

Goals for research

Your goals for research are two-fold:

1. Discover your own thoughts about your subject and appropriate secondary support for your ideas.

2. Blend your own points with support from research sources to create a clear and correctly documented paper.

Five Steps for Effective Research

1. Establish your topic focus and create a trial outline.
2. Discover what you need from your research.
3. Find information using the library and the Internet.
4. Evaluate and select appropriate information.
5. Absorb your research findings and take notes.

Establish your topic focus

Read your assignment carefully to fully understand the topics or subject-areas offered. Ask for clarification of any aspect of your assignment if necessary. Always select the topic that interests you the most. Once you have chosen your topic, carefully consider any requirements for the length of your paper. The length will determine how you should narrow and focus your working thesis.

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Narrowing your topic

A research paper explores a single aspect of a subject in depth. More specifically, it explores your viewpoint on one aspect of some subjects with support from external resources. Your goal in narrowing your topic is to discover one aspect that interests you and provides a potentially rewarding area of research.

Trial Research Questions

Ask yourself the following series of research questions to help narrow topic.

– What do I want to discover about _______________________________?
– Who are the relevant people (or characters) I should find out about?
– When do things occur in ________________________________________?
– Where does/do ____________________________________happen?
– Why or how does/do ________________________________occur?
– Why is/are _______________ so _________________________?

Having answered one or more of these questions, you should be prepared to state the focus of your research.

Creating a trial outline

With a trial thesis, you can begin a trial outline to shape your research. Do not expect to work out a final thesis of your limited topic quickly. The time you spend discovering a single line of argument that interests you helps you discover what to look for during your research and what your ultimate thesis statement should be. As you work out your trial outline, you will have blanks in your support. You may even have more blanks than supporting points or details; those are ideal places to do some research.

Discover what you need from your research

Examine your outline with the following questions in mind:

– What, in general, do I need to know more about to add supporting details?
– Where do I need more facts to expand my support and fill in my blanks?
– What kinds of information – facts, statistics, details, quotations, technical data- are relevant to this course or subject-area and will make parts of my research paper stronger?
– Where can I find some reliable information in the areas I’ve noted above?

When you are doing research you are looking for information that

1. is clearly relevant to points and details in your trial outline;
2. is clearly understandable to you;
3. can be paraphrased or reasonably incorporated;
4. comes from reputable, reliable sources.

Why are you doing this research?

To find information that

1. supports the views that you hold;
2. expands on and strengthens points you make;
3. lends authority to your viewpoints.

Finding information using the library and the Internet

Research databases

College research tasks require specialized or academic information that cannot be found at a general access site or through search engines. In fact, over 70% of this high-quality information exists only on “invisible web” pages.

Evaluate and select appropriate information

Each time you identify suitable information from the library or on-line sources, list the names and locations of books, articles and database information you find useful.

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For each reference listing, write down the author’s name, the title of the book, article or website, the page number and some point-form notes of the most important information you found. Books tend to offer careful scholarship and a range of viewpoints; periodical articles offer specific explorations of single viewpoints and timeliness; and websites vary widely in quality of information.

Relevance

– Use sources that are more, rather than less, devoted to your topic. If a source’s main focus is your topic area, its information will be less superficial and more specialized.
– Check that a source’s treatment of topic-related information is suited to your understanding and needs. Is it too technical or too general?
– Consider, with a periodical source, the type of publication. Is it a general interest magazine or a specialized journal? Journals offer superior research and content quality compared to general-interest magazines and newspapers.
– Rank the source in terms of its importance to your paper’s focus in order to make your final selection easier.

Reliability

– If possible, use sources whose authors are recognized in the field. Look for the author’s biography or ask your instructor or a librarian for help.
– Check for authors who have published other material in your topic area and whose books and articles contain bibliographies and reference lists.
– Learn all you can about the author’s overall view of or bias on your topic. Check biographical material, the introduction or preface to the work or other writers’ views of the author.
– Check for references within the source to other material and authors on the subject. If these are not named, the information may be one-sided or biased.
– Look for well-supported arguments, clear logic and solid proof for points made in your source.
– Always verify important pieces of information in at least three sources. If some information reappears frequently, then it is probably reliable.

Timeliness

– Check for recent publication dates of books and periodical articles.
– On websites, look for the most recent updating. This information often appears on the homepage or final page of a site.

Evaluating Internet Sources

Choosing information sources online is a special challenge because the Internet is unregulated by design. The additional criteria listed below for judging online resources will help you evaluate your own choices.

Author reliability: Always check for any possible information about the author of a site. Does he or she list any credentials? Has the author published other material on a topic? Website authors should include e-mail contact information.

Affiliations and Sponsors: Is the site affiliated with any known organization? If so, is the organization likely to provide unbiased information? Does the site have affiliations with commercial groups? If so, does this affect the quality of the information on the site? Is the site sponsored by a corporation or special-interest group? If so, will its content reflect this?
Objectivity and Completeness: Read the entire site carefully before deciding to use pieces of information from it. Ask yourself if the author presents all content objectively. Are all sides of any topic stated before the author argues his or her own views? Does the author produce solid support for his or her view?