Unit 3: Inquiry Paper

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Instructions

For this assignment, you will compose a 7-10 page paper in which you synthesize research on a topic of your choosing to answer (or begin to answer) your inquiry question(s). 

In your essay, you should:

  • Leave readers with a clear understanding of your inquiry question(s) and the answer(s) to your inquiry question(s). Stay focused on your question throughout the paper.
  • Use your research to develop claims that you support with evidence drawn from your research
  • Use both academic sources and non-academic sources for a total of at least 6 sources and document these sources appropriately using MLA, APA, or Chicago style
  • Follow the structural and stylistic conventions of academic writing 
    • Formal tone/word choice
    • Paragraphs use topic sentences, evidence, analysis, and transitions
    • Each paragraph stays focused on one topic or subtopic
    • Can use “I,” but please don’t use “you” (in the sense of “you’re probably thinking that…”) 
  • Use at least 5 rhetorical devices in your paper, 2 of which can be repeats
  • Write a separate note explaining all of the intentional rhetorical choices you made in your essay (the above devices, but also appeals to ethos/logos/pathos, choices you made based on how you want to present yourself as a speaker, based on your message, based on your audience—me, or your classmates, or an imagined broader audience, etc.)

Intentions for this paper:

  • Rather than picking a belief/position/opinion you already have and using research to support that opinion, I want you to pick a topic/question that interests you and you want to learn more about. That doesn’t mean you can’t have beliefs about that topic, but it should be something you feel open to new information about. 
  • I want you to genuinely learn something via your research—that’s what research is supposed to do! 
  • Your inquiry questions should not be the kinds of questions where it’s easy to find a simple answer on Google. 
  • Your inquiry questions should also be narrow/specific enough that you aren’t trying to solve a huge global problem or write a whole book in just this one paper. 

Rubric

1. First and second drafts are turned in on time, peer review is completed in a timely manner, peer review is specific, thorough, and respectful (25 points)

2. Incorporates research effectively and appropriately to support the argument (10 points)

  • All claims are backed up by evidence as needed, which is correctly cited (5 points)
  • Quotes or paraphrases from sources are well-integrated into the paragraphs (5 points)

3. The paper uses evidence from reliable sources and/or addresses the potential biases of the source/information. If there are common criticisms of the main argument, the paper addresses those criticisms using evidence. (10 points)

4. Paragraphs and sections follow the structural conventions of Standard American Academic English (15 points)

  • Paper includes an introductory section (may be more than one paragraph) that establishes the topic, the inquiry question(s), and the writer’s preliminary answer to the question(s) (5 points)
  • Body paragraphs stay focused on individual claims supported by relevant evidence and use topic sentences and transition phrases (5 points)
  • The paper includes a conclusion that explains why the inquiry is important and what readers should take away from the paper. (5 points)
  • Each paragraph logically follows from the previous to build a line of reasoning.

5. Paper is correctly formatted in the student’s chosen citation style (5 points)

  • Title page and/or header 
  • Abstract with keywords (if choosing a style that requires this)
  • In-text citations are largely correct
  • Works cited/references/bibliography page is largely correct

6. Follows the stylistic conventions of Standard American Academic English (5 points)

  • Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, Formatting, Capitalization, Formality

7. Includes at least 5 rhetorical devices (2 can be repeats), which the student has either labeled in the text or pointed out in a separate document. The student has also written a separate statement describing their intentional rhetorical choices in the paper, including those devices, but also consideration of rhetorical appeals, and Cicero’s five canons of rhetoric. (15 points)

8. Other Requirements (10 points)

  • Paper meets the length requirement
  • At least 6 sources are used