An academic researched essay should contribute a meaningful answer to your inquiry based on your completed research, which has already been collected
in your annotated bibliography. The proposed answer to your question will be the essay’s proposition (thesis) statement and will represent the perspective
you are offering to the ongoing conversation of the issue.
An academic research essay is not the same as a research report. You are not merely presenting what other “experts” have said; you are joining and actively
participating in that conversation with them by forwarding & countering their ideas. You will build your authority on your chosen subject through not only
referring to that credible research but also implementing academic writing conventions.
Part of what makes this writing academic is that it engages with pre-existing scholarship that has been reviewed and accepted as reliable. You are required
to cite a minimum of 5 sources in the essay. At least 2 must be scholarly, peer-reviewed sources. This means you may not use all of the sources in your
annotated bibliography, and that’s okay!
Learning Goals
By the end of Writing Project #1B, students should be able to…
construct a clear, specific, and arguable proposition (thesis) to address an intellectual inquiry;
synthesize information from sources in order to produce a logical and coherent essay;
develop their own authoritative voice, which includes seeking reliable and accurate information as well as respecting intellectual property;
articulate and implement rhetorical strategies conventional to the genre of academic research essay in a given field.