Research Assignment Sequence

  
 
This assignment sequence is not based on texts in The Presence of Others, but it does an elegant job of modeling one approach to the research essay.  Gita DasBender created this for her ESL class.

Research Essay

Writing Exercise 1

Choose a historical or political event that is important to you and that you find fascinating. Tell us clearly what the event is and why you are interested in it. If you have a personal investment in the event please explain what that is. I suggest that you think about events that are particularly relevant to your own background and heritage, that has to do with the history of the country from which you originate (if applicable to you).

This assignment should be about two pages long.  Student example.

Writing Exercise 2

Now that you have started to look for outside sources that represent the historical event you chose to write about, you need to start putting together your ideas on what you're finding. For this exercise explain what at least one source says about the event. What approach has the writer taken? What point of view or perspective is being discussed here? Make sure you clearly explain the ideas of the writer and use direct quotes and summary as supporting evidence. Remember to cite properly. Also, start creating a Works Cited.

This assignment should be at least a page long.  Student example.

In-class Writing Exercise

What problem or conflict do you notice in the sources you have found? What questions do the contradictory versions or conflicting accounts of history leave you with?

Writing Exercise 3

For this exercise introduce a second or third source that complicates our understanding of the historical event you're examining. How does the perspective of this writer (or writers) conflict with what you read and understood earlier? What confusions arise for you now?

Keep in mind that all the writing you have done until this point is in service of your essay and that most of it should show up in your first draft. Start planning and writing this draft separately since it will be due on Friday.

This assignment should be at least a page long.  Student example.

First Draft

If you have successfully found two (or more) sources that explain the complicated nature of the historical situation you're researching, you should have little problem writing a first draft of this essay.

Your draft should have a thoughtful and interesting introduction where you present a CONTEXT for what is to come. That is, tell us a story which explains why you're writing this essay. Write the rest of the essay as if you were modeling Jane Tompkins' essay. Tell us what the first source says and what you think about the ideas of this source. Then, explain and elaborate on the views of the second or third source. Reflect on how this source complicates or confuses your understanding of the historical event or situation. What do you think now? What is the problem that you confront? Make sure your reader has a clear understanding of this problem.

Finally, resolve the issue the best you can based on the ideas that Tompkins concludes her essay with. How do you decide what is right, what is the "truth"? What criteria do you use to reach this conclusion? Your final understanding of the issue should be the result of genuine examination of what the sources are saying and what you believe is morally right and acceptable. The idea of this essay is to understand a complex historical/political issue based not on our personal motives, prejudices and biases, but upon the careful examination of ALL the perspectives that are presented to us.

In this draft you need to quote directly from and cite the various outside sources you have found. You also need to quote from Tompkins' essay as support for the METHOD you use to resolve the issue. Of course, you may use other parts of Tompkins' essay too. Make sure you have a proper Works Cited in the MLA format.

THE ESSAY SHOULD BE 4-6 PAGES IN LENGTH.  Student example.