Assignment Overview:

In the “State of the Conversation” Report, you have an opportunity to:

-discuss the main positions related to your guiding question/issue

-describe where the most useful information about your topic can be found

-demonstrate your skills with summary, paraphrase, and direct quotations

-organize and synthesize your material effectively

-adjust your writing to a specific audience

Audience: Assume you are writing to a group of people who are fairly new to your issue and want to learn more so they can participate in intelligent discussions with a wide group of people.

Length: Approximately 1000 words.

REMEMBER: This is NOT an argumentative essay.

Your goal is to report the different positions related to your issue.

What to Include in Your “State of the Conversation” Report:

Build your report using the sections and the headings below.  Suggested lengths are included.

Section 1: Overview of the Issue

In this section, offer relevant background/introductory information. Explain what issue you’re focusing on, who the issue is important to, and what makes the issue controversial--in other words, why are people debating it?

Around 200 words.

Section 2: Your Specific Guiding Question/Issue

In this section, clearly announce your specific guiding question/issue and explain why you chose to focus on this particular question.

Around 100 words.

Section 3: Available Materials

    In this section, describe where (in what kinds of sources, in which databases, using which searches, etc.) a researcher is likely to find useful information about your topic. You might also explain the challenges a researcher faces in gathering information about your topic, such as what kinds of sources are not as useful, available, etc. (and why).

    Around 200 words.

Section 4: Positions

In this section, carefully explain the various positions you’ve found in response to your guiding question/issue.

Important Notes:

·         Organize this section carefully. Group information according to key positions (and variations within those positions). Don’t just jump haphazardly from source to source. Use transitions to move from position to position, and/or use subheadings if you wish.

·         Include a clear “topic-sentence”-type statement for each major position and for each sub-position, and provide examples of the sources that illustrate each major position and for each sub-position you identify.

·         When you give examples of sources for your positions, use proper in-text citations and present these examples via a variety of direct quotations, paraphrases, and summaries (at least one of each).

·         You must include at least one source example for each position, but it is recommended that you include at least two source examples per position. The more source examples you include for a position, the better.

·         Follow each source example you cite with discussion of how the source supports the position it is meant to support.  

·         Bring in researched material to explain the position. Remember that you will likely draw on multiple sources as you explain each major position. “Frame” your research with sentences that introduce, interpret and explain your sources.

·         Use direct quotation, summary, and paraphrase to build your own credibility.

·         Do not simply organize your material into “two sides”: find distinctions and overlap across the different positions.

Around 500 words.

Section 5: Conclusion

In this section, reiterate the key overall positions you’ve discovered and emphasize the most important concepts/ideas that someone new to your issue must understand.

           Around 100 words.