102 SHORT EXPLORATORY PAPER

Final version is due to the Assignment link by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday 1/ 21 A Topic Focus Group Workshop will be available from Thursday 1/16 through Monday 1/20 in the Discussion Section. Use this space to share ideas, like a large group brainstorm.

SPECIFICATIONS: Your assignment is to develop, compose, and revise a 2-3 page (500-750 words) analytical essay based on one, two, or even three possible topics of your choice that are related to the theme of our class the Harlem Renaissance. Your choice of topic should be linked to some specific aspect of the cultural revolution of the 1920s and 30s that is referred to in general as the Harlem Renaissance.

SUMMARY OF NECESSARY ELEMENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL PAPER

1. A clearly-stated and well-focused topic and or topics; 2. Some logical connection and reference to the Harlem Renaissance in a relatively well-defined area; 3. Some cited references (summary, paraphrase, and/or direct quote) to how and where your topic is treated in your preliminary research sources (with clear in-text references to the those sources that refer to the work(s) cited list on a separate page); 4. A preliminary conclusion that points toward your possible research path; and 5. Optionalsome reference to HR, BV, and or DT texts.

THINK CRITICALLY: You have already begun the essay process by reading and thinking about some of the controversial aspects of the Harlem Renaissance in Fergusons Part One ( HR). As you follow your interests in choosing a topic, you begin some preliminary research into that topic, following the principles explained in Lesters WRP Finding a Topic and Organizing Ideas and Setting Goals. This short analytical paper will chronicle those first steps, that process, and your path of reasoning and questioning as you explore and narrow your topic of interest.

PURPOSE: The purpose of your analysis is to persuade your readers/audience that your opinions about and position on this topic, although necessarily preliminary, are reasonable, logical, and sound. To accomplish this, you will need to structure a

102 SHORT EXPLORATORY PAPER

logical path of reasoning and to provide brief but specific, clear, and concrete examples from texts as supporting evidence for your assertions. SOURCES: For this short paper, one or two sources would be fine. Research your ideas by using our EdCC Library Research Guide (see Discussion Board Forum for a fuller description of this resource) and/or database, or your local library database resources to look for information in a newspaper, a periodical, or look for a reliable organizational, educational or governmental website (.org, .edu, or .gov). You may also use the HR, BV, and or DT texts as sources, if possible

AN IMPORTANT NOTE ON ENCYCLOPEDIAS: Although encyclopedias are generally reliable sources for collecting general background information for informational reports, general encyclopedias are not appropriate sources for an analytical research paper. For research purposes, reference books and encyclopedias are best used for finding links to other reliable, less general research sources. That is, in fact, where the general encyclopedias got some of their information! Specialized subject-specific encyclopedias, however, can be a valuable resource in your initial research process.

CITATIONS: Based on your present knowledge of integrating text into your writing, do the best job that you can to credit your sources, using signal phrases and parenthetic references to introduce summaries, paraphrases, and direct quotes. Do not under any circumstances represent the ideas and words of someone else as your own. In the upcoming weeks, we will be studying in depth the skill and art of blending reference material so don't worry if you're not an expert yet. Just be honest. Please include clear MLA bibliographic links to the sources of your borrowed information whether youve summarized, paraphrased, or quoted that information. You must include a separate Works Cited page for this essay and copies of your sources. See the Manuscript Format handout for general manuscript guidelines.

FOCUS: Choose an appropriately narrow and specific topic and develop an angle on your topic. Base your ideas on a reading of WRP Getting Started and Gathering Sources, if possible, Chapters 1-6, You are beginning to work toward an arguable hypothesis that will eventually control your research paper. Don't forget to explore the assumptions that underlie your ideas by asking yourself how and why you arrived at your opinion. Ideally, your academic research journal (what is often called a writers notebook) will become an excellent place to brainstorm and explore your ideas; those ideas, added to your preliminar y forays into research, will help you to question your own assumptions and to refine your ideas about your topic.

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EXAMPLE: Here is one example of a possible path of reasoning to be explored and analyzed: When I first read Jeffrey Fergusons introduction to The Harlem Renaissance text, I was fascinated by his reference to journals published at that time; I had never heard of them before. The Crisis was just one of the influential magazines during the Harlem Renaissance; if there were others, what were they? Who read these magazines? Who published them? Who wrote for them? The journals covered such a wide variety of areas philosophy, art, poetry, and politicsso what was their mission? As I began to read some of the documents in Fergusons text, I then encountered specific example of pieces that appeared in the se journals, so I became more and more intrigued by the realm of journalism and the role of publishing during the HR, and I was on my way. I had questions, wanted answers, and wanted to make connections, and I could use research to find the puzzle pieces and try to put them together.

CAUTION: In your analysis be careful not to over generalize, not to use unsupported generalizations, and not to use clusters of related generalizations. Instead, be sure to include a particular sociopolitical issue or an artistic medium that you would possibly like to focus on, i.e. music, poetry, fiction, painting, theatre, or dance, specific examples from that issue or medium, and specific details as support. Finally, be sure to use MLA in-text citations to clearly credit the sources of your information.