ENG 102

Preliminary Research Report Instructions

This 3-5 page assignment will ask you to perform some basic preliminary research on your topic using more generalized sources and present your findings in a structured, formal report. In completing this task, you will learn more about your topic so you can focus it appropriately, understand the points of issue about this topic within the discourse community, and determine relevant questions at issue. Note that you will choose one of these questions as your research essay’s question at issue and serve as the prompt for your thesis.

To prepare for this assignment, you will need to read introductory material on your topic. This may include:

·         Encyclopedias (electronic or print)

·         Textbooks

·         Non-scholarly general interest articles from newspapers, magazines, or websites.

·         Non-scholarly general interest books

Be sure to include at least three sources from the Seattle Central databases.

As you research your topic, be sure to take notes on your findings and keep careful track of where you found your information.

Once you have found your information, organize your report in the following way:

1.    In your first paragraph or two, provide an overview of your subject. Introduce the subject (for example: video games or social media) and provide a brief definition of any key words, concepts, or facts the reader would need to know in order to follow the discussion. Remember that your audience is someone who is not an expert in the subject, but interested in what you have found out. At this point, you are not making an argument, only presenting the foundational information.

2.    In your next paragraph or two, introduce your more specific topic. For example, you might be writing about the legitimacy of video games as a sport, or how social media is preventing meaningful face-to-face interaction. This is where you are distinguishing your topic from your larger subject, so be as specific as you can here. You will need to explain any specific key ideas and define any key terms here, but like the above paragraph, do not try to make an argument here. By the end of this portion of your report the reader should have a basic idea of the topic you will write about.

3.    Next, present three to five questions currently still at issue within your topic. What does the discourse community still seem to be arguing about or seeking to resolve? These questions demonstrate that there is a space to further the discussion and insert your own voice within the debate. The last thing you should do in this paragraph is indicate which of the questions will be answering in your essay and a working thesis that responds to your chosen question at issue.

4.    In your final paragraph, describe the information you will need to find in order to answer your question at issue and support your working thesis. This will be the beginning of your research plan.

5.    Be sure to include quotations as needed and citations for any quotes, paraphrases, and summaries. You should include signal phrases, in-text citations, and quotation marks for direct quotes. Your final page should be a complete work cited section containing an entry for each source you reference in your report and does not count towards the page total for the assignment.

Use Times New Roman 12-point font with double spaced lines for this assignment. Further information about formatting can be found in the course syllabus.

Rubric

Preliminary Research Report Rubric