This is a short essay of 900 to 1000 words in which you will narrate your first steps in beginning a
research project. This essay is NOT itself a research paper. Instead, here you will narrate your initial steps in
researching an issue, which will eventually involve academically appropriate research and which will lead to a
researched argument essay.
You will first identify an issue which intrigues and captivates you,
A key move in this essay will be to identify a research question which will govern your research.
Structuring the Essay
Begin your introduction by identifying your issue. Describe for your reader what has drawn you to this
issue: what about the issue has grabbed you, has intrigued you? Next, identify what your current base of
knowledge of the issue: what do you know? How do you know it? Finally, supply your thesis, which will be a
statement of your research question. What is it you want to discover about the issue? Why?
The body of your essay will then detail your initial research, which will include your narration of how
you searched for and found at least four (4) popular sources. Consider the following as you develop the body:
• what tools/resources did you use in conducting this research?
• what search terms did you use in conducting this research?
• how and where did you access credible popular sources on your issue? What usable sources did you
identify? Discuss at least four sources that you found. What do they indicate about the issue? What
claims do they make about the issue, and how do they support those claims? Indicate how those
sources might be used to support a researched essay about the issue.
In your conclusion, evaluate and comment on the results of this initial research. Consider this
question: if you had to write a researched essay at this point, what would it look like? How successful would it
be? If there are “holes” in the research, what are they? How could those holes be filled?
Cite the sources you have identified appropriately, using correct in-text citations and works cited
entries.
Here are the elements that should be apparent in your essay:
• a well-made opener that introduces the issue and discusses your interest in it
• a clear, well-directed research question
• a full detailing of your initial searches and the sources they uncovered
• well-made signal phrases and correct citations, both in-text and on a works cited page
• a predominant first-person voice effectively narrating this process.
