ENGL1301 Research Evaluation of

ENGL1301 Research Evaluation of

Instructions/Descriptions

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ENGL1301 Research Evaluation of

Paper 2: Researched Evaluation of a specific current product ENGL 1301

Major Due Dates:

Annotated Works Cited Page (AWCP)                                                  Fri           17 Sep (5 pts)

Paper 2 Thesis+Draft of 1 body paragraph (~3/4 pg)                            Wed        22 Sep (5 pts)

Final Draft                                                                                                                             Wed        29 Sep (30 pts)

Overview:

This essay is the first of a two-unit journey into exploring the marketplace. For this work, evaluate a specific, current, consumer product made by a specific company, by focusing on 2 or 3 specific criteria, and using current research to support each criterion discussion. Explore specific practical, ethical, and/ or aesthetic criteria for your evaluation.

WARNING: Papers that do not follow any of the requirements below will earn reduced points, possibly an unsatisfactory grade.

FORMAT AND TURN-IN REQUIREMENTS:

– 2-4 pages (not including AWCP), double spaced, no extra spaces between paragraphs.                     12 point Times Font, 1 inch margins on all four sides.

– See “RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS”  below for further details.

– Final drafts must have underlined Quote Selections (QS) in the essay, and corresponding  underlined/highlighted QS in the research copies.

– Research printouts should be individually screenshot, and alphabetically ordered (the same as the order in the AWCP). Only the first page and the pages with underlined/ hightlighted QS should be included in the Paper 2 turn-in document.

– Turn in photo of product + final draft + revised and updated AWCP + highlighted research material, all in a single document.

Product Requirements:

Your research topic must be the current and latest generation/ version of a product.

Your research topic must be single product, not a whole product line, not part of a larger object.

Your research topic must be clearly a physical product that can be used up, broken, or worn down;                                                                                                                        NOT a virtual online product that only exists in cyberspace.

Your research topic must be a product, not a service, and the product must not rely

on a service in order to function properly (Ex. cell phone).

If it does usually contain a service component to work, AND if you receive

permission to use it for your research topic, your paper focus must avoid

discussing the associated services.

OFF LIMITS PRODUCTS: Cars, generic drugs, phones/ tablets, online games, and other products that run with attached services; any product without clearly one company clearly associated with it; products no longer current/ on the market; previous generations of a current product; Internet/ virtual “products” (ex. loot box, online gaming) which are really services.

Some examples of specific evaluative criteria for products:

Practical: the product’s effectiveness, efficiency, versatility, longevity/ durability,

Ethical:         Promoting in/justice, promoting virtue (ie peace, harmony, forgiveness, tolerance, generosity); promoting societal vices (addiction, 7 deadly sins: pride, gluttony, etc.), Company ethics: socially beneficial/ detrimental, honesty; see also “Five Ethical Standards” webpage from Unit I.

Aesthetic:   Visual (beauty, patterning); olfactory (smells sweet/ earthy/ natural); touch (smooth, rough, jarring, warm, cold un/comfortable); taste (sweet/ sour/ bitter); hearing (harmonious, dissonant, too soft/ loud); emotional/ psychological (relaxing, draining, inspiring, un/comfortable)

Off Limits Criteria: PRICE, Customer service, any unresearched or oversimplified issues

Off Limits Products: Cell phones, tablets, conventional cars, computers.

(Note: If you feel you have a unique angle for one of these off-limits products, then ask the professor about it.)

Limitations: only one student per product or product type.

A sign-up forum will be established online. First come, first serve for any product types.

INTRODUCTION (1/2 page max):

Briefly introduce the product by describing what it is and how it works; also identify the specific company that produced it. Possibly mention some “popular” consumer reviews/ comments in order to consider the “popular perception” of this product. (These do not count toward your research requirements they are not reliable sources.)

Your thesis: To end your introduction, state your evaluation of the product, using 2 or 3 criteria that you believe should be used for evaluating the product. These criteria might overlap with the “societal criteria,” but the more independent and different your thesis is, usually the better it is. Higher marks will be considered for those papers using two creative and independent criteria, and/ or for using three criteria.

Use a complex and argumentative format for your thesis:

Complex: You must have at least one positive and one negative assessment, and then come down on one side for an overall evaluation. Write your complex sentence in the following format:

Example format: “Although product X is not acceptable when considering [criterion 1], it is still overall a competent product because of more significant considerations regarding [criterion 2] and [criterion 3, if a third is used in paper].”

Note: The italicized words indicate evaluation terms, and the second evaluation (“competent”) indicates the dominant overall evaluation.

Argumentative: In order to make this an interesting discussion, try to use different or unusual criteria not normally applied to this product. Your thesis might benefit by following it with 1-2 sentences justifying why these criteria should be considered the most interesting, or the most relevant ones.

CONCLUSION: Your conclusion should be brief, with no additional research: 5-10 lines. Suggest how the product may be improved in some crucial way, by addressing a negative point previously discussed in your paper. Explain how this change would improve your evaluation.

RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS:  Required: database research using quality newspapers, journals, & quality magazines.

2-6 researched articles from the ACC library databases, using at least one article per criterion. 

100% of your AWCP sources and 100% of your quote selections (QS) and in-text citations should rely on these. If you obtain approval for an internet source, you should explain its authority and/ or trustworthiness in your essay, as well as in your annotations.

Your research should consist of recent information gathered on the product, and perhaps on the company, whatever information you find that helps to evaluate the product (strengths, weaknesses, testing, environmental impact, social impact). Get creative and expand your searches through practical, ethical, and aesthetic concerns. Higher marks will be given to those papers emphasizing independent thought and interesting research.

Internet sources: Internet sources will most likely not be approved. If you find interesting information on the ‘Net, then try to look for that information in the databases. For example, consumer product reviews are highly unreliable, would never count as valid research. However, you may find an interesting angle or criterion to help you establish a focus, or even find a quality source. Contact an ACC librarian for help!

If you use 2 criteria, then you must use quote selections (QS) from at least 2 sources for a total of at least 6 QS in your paper. If you use 3 criteria, then you must use QS from at least 3 sources for a total of at least 8 QS in your paper. Each QS should be no longer than 2 lines. Each body paragraph must contain and discuss a minimum of 2 QS.

Instructions for copies of research material:

All research sources must be quoted in the paper in order to count. Each source must be included as embedded articles after the AWCP (see below). Sources longer than 5 pages should be shortened: embed the following after your AWCP: (1) the citation page of the article found in your search results of a database, (2) the title/ first page of the article, and (3) screenshot(s) of the relevant pages on which the passages are written; if appropriate, include th page before the passage(s) in order to indicate proper context for the quoted passages. Passages quoted in your paper must be highlighted clearly in the source articles. Order your articles in alphabetical order by author/ title, in the same order as they appear in your AWCP.

Any sources not found through the library databases must be approved by the professor. Otherwise, such sources will count against the grade for this paper.

Avoid Content Farms.

Review the website below and click on its other tabs (especially “What is a Content Farm?” and “Evaluating Web Pages”) to avoid getting caught up in low quality research sources on the internet. http://researchguides.austincc.edu/content.php?pid=272945&sid=2250367

ARGUMENT REQUIREMENTS:

Warning: Finding quality research for your product is a difficult first step. Before committing to a research topic, you should continue to search for articles related to several products, in order to verify quality sources.

You must use at least 2 evaluative criteria in your thesis, one discussing a positive evaluation, and one negative. Any paper discussing only one side (positive/ negative) is limited to a maximum score of 70 (C-). Devote at least one body paragraph for each criterion. Each criterion discussion must involve research. Higher marks will also be given to those evaluations using at least two of the following three categories of criteria: practical, ethical, and/ or aesthetic (see lecture notes).

When mentioning research sources in your discussions, make sure to explain the credibility and/ or authority (ethos study) of each research source, especially internet-based sources. Higher marks will be given to those papers emphasizing careful introduction and explanation of research material.

Discussing the source and/ or writer: an ethos study within the AWCP and the body of your essay:

When using a quote selection (QS), make sure to use proper quoting technique (QT). Your QT must state the source of information (ex. the name of journal or newspaper) and the writer’s name. If the source is not clearly reliable, then some explanation of its validity must be mentioned in both the AWCP and within the body of the essay itself. Examples of questionable sources include all internet sources and low-grade popular magazines (ex. People, National Enquirer)

MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS:

Annotated Works Cited Page (AWCP) PDFs of source articles

The AWCP should include at least three sources, with at least one source for each criterion that is intended to be used in your research paper. Reminder: this AWCP should not include the consumer product reviews that you might use in your introduction paragraph.

At the beginning of each citation, add the number(s) of the type(s) of citation format(s) that you used: see EA Ch 22 for these numbers. An annotated works cited page is the same as a normal works cited page, with a short explanation following each citation.

Annotation requirement: After each citation, briefly discuss three concerns (2-3 sentences total): (1) the trustworthiness and authoritativeness of the article (this is called an ethos study, and a vital part of the “CRAAP” test mentioned in your online research tutorials); (2) a brief list of discussion topics in the article; and (3) what criterion discussion the article will be useful for, in your paper. This annotation will thus indicate progress in two areas: (1) that you have found quality sources on your topic; and (2) that you are beginning to formulate your thesis as well as your body paragraph topics.

NOTE: Your final AWCP attached to your Final Draft should include only those sources that are quoted and discussed in body paragraphs of your paper, for total of 2- 6 sources (see Research Requirements).

Partial Draft               (photograph of product, Thesis + 1 body paragraph + current AWCP)  

This draft is concerned primarily with the completion of your body paragraphs. For full credit:

1. State your thesis sentence (not an entire introduction paragraph)
2. 1 body paragraph, containing a minimum of 2 QS and 1 criterion, for a minimum of 1/2 full page.
3. An updated AWCP + screenshots of quoted sources, according to the requirements mentioned above.

Include updated AWCP + screenshots of researched article pages with researched quotes highlighted/ boxed. Label each article screenshot clearly with correct citation information.

Final Draft                                                                                 

The complete turn-in is the following: screenshot of an ad or other photo of product + final draft + updated AWCP + highlighted research material, embedded in order of appearance in the AWCP.

Highlighted research material:  Images of quoted research pages (with quoted passages highlighted) should be screenshot and embedded after each AWCP citation.

Papers may receive a failing graded or remain ungraded if they do not fulfill the requirements for the research paper and research material (regarding 1. clear criteria, 2. minimum QS totals, 3. AWCP with proper formatting, 4. research article images with quoted passages highlighted).

RUBRIC

Intro:

Product disc. & appropriateness       /3

Thesis Eval. w/ Criteria                   /3

Body paragraphs:

Criterion-focused discussion                 /5

Usage of research to support thesis./7

AWCP format, completeness                  /4

Conclusion suggestion                             /2

Overall Grammar/ Clarity                       /6

(Incl. quoting technique w/ source ref.)

30 pts. total

ENGL1301 Research Evaluation of

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