Overview
Part II: Analysis. The second part of your paper is an analysis of your topic. Here, you are to develop your own argument, drawing on the ideas and research in your literature review. Even though your argument should be your own, it should also be grounded in the scholarly literature. Students often make the mistake of thinking that an original argument is completely unconnected to previous research. Far from it: arguments are built from previous research. You should think of the analysis part of the paper as a contribution to the discussion on your topic, engaging the work of previous scholars. The analysis should be an extension of the literature review, and should not repeat information contained in part I.
Paper Requirements
1. There are no specific page minimums or maximums, but since students will keep asking me “how long should it be?” if I don’t provide any guidance, I’ll say this: in the past part I tended to be around 2,000 words and part II around 1,700 words. But the number of words really isn’t all that important, and how long or short your paper is will not affect your grade.
2. Students should submit their paper through Canvas anytime on the due date (the actual due time is set for 11:59 pm)
3. Students found intentionally plagiarizing will automatically fail the course, and will be referred to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities for further disciplinary action. Please note that using AI tools to write any part of your essay is a form of plagiarism.
4. You may not hand in a paper written for another class. Students who do this will fail the assignment. In other words, the research paper must be an original piece of work written specifically for this class.
5. Late paper will be marked down 2 points for each day late without a legitimate excuse.
6. You should not repeat information in part II covered in part I, even though the analysis in part II will rely heavily on the literature covered in part I. When you are writing part II, you should assume that the reader has already read part I.
Grading Criteria:
Papers will be graded based on the following criteria (not in any particular order):
- The quality of the student’s research
- Student’s knowledge of the issue
- Student’s ability to write a well-organized, coherent paper
- Student’s analytical ability