conduct preliminary research grading criteria W r i t i n g

conduct preliminary research grading criteria W r i t i n g

Task: Explore potential areas of interest within the theme of Food, Culture, and Identity. Begin reading and researching material, and come up with a topic you would like to explore for your final paper. Make sure the scope of your topic is suitable for a 4-5 page paper of 1200-1500 words.

Once you have decided the topic you want to focus on for your research paper, develop a guiding research question and a working hypothesis to guide your research. Your question and your working hypothesis should require you to analyze rather than describe (i.e., focus on how and why rather than what).

Remember, pick a topic and formulate a question that you are truly interested in researching, and that you believe is meaningful. Also, make sure you pick a topic that can be researched for the scope and the setting of this class; i.e., pick a topic on which you will find suitable sources in English. For example, if you want to write about a particular food or tradition involving food in your own country and its importance to culture and identity, make sure that you can find credible articles that are written in English.

In short, for this assignment, do the following in a well-organized page:

a) Format your paper according to MLA and give it the following title: Research Question & Working Hypothesis. In the heading (top left), use the assignment due date.

b) Introduce and describe the topic you plan to research and develop

c) Introduce one source you have found that connects to your topic. (Note: This should be a source that you have found, not one of our course readings.)

d) Clearly state your research question that you plan to investigate (Note: State your research question in question form). Also, highlight your research question in yellow.

e) Explain what makes your research topic analytical (i.e., focused on how and why rather than what). Remember, your topic should be analytical, not descriptive.

f) Predict what you expect to find through your research, in the form of a working hypothesis

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify an original topic connecting food, culture, and identity
  • Narrow the scope of your topic so that it is reasonable to research
  • Develop an analytical research question that specifies your focus
  • Demonstrate an ability to conduct preliminary research

Grading Criteria:

  • Research question makes a connection between food, culture, and identity.
  • Research question is clear, focused, meaningful and researchable in English.
  • Research question requires an analytical response rather than just a descriptive one
  • Research question requires the collection of information from credible and scholarly sources
  • Writer uses academic vocabulary and clear phrasing and edits effectively, with few basic errors with nouns and verbs
  • Research question is grammatically formulated and uses academic vocabulary.