Research Paper Instructions and RubricResearch Paper – 150 point.docx

Research Paper Instructions and Rubric
Research Paper – 150 points
Your final essay in English is a research paper that provides an
opportunity to delve fully into a topic of your interest. Writing
a research paper—while a challenge—offers a reason to read,
research, reflect, think deeply, then address and formally
answer in writing a question worth exploring. See the bottom
of this document for possible topics.
This assignment is designed to utilize all the skills we have
learned this semester, including in-text MLA citation techniques
and documentation of sources we have learned in our lab
sessions.
The length of the essay should be a minimum of four pages, but
no longer than seven pages.
RESEARCH PAPER TIMELINE AND ASSIGNMENTS:
Select a controversial topic - My choice of topic is HUMAN
CLONING
Minimum of 4 pages and no more than 7 pages.
A controversial topic is one that reasonable individuals can
argue over and that has at least two sides. Gun control and
abortion are two classic topics that are controversial; the life of
your favorite actor or the history of baroque music are not
controversial.
Once you select your prompt, begin researching reliable sources
and compiling them into an annotated bibliography. This is a
good time to visit our Library and the library’s website and
database of academic articles.
List of sources, a working thesis, and first pages of rough draft
- 20 points
When this step in the process is due, you will need to have
compiled an annotated bibliography (a list of sources with brief
descriptions of the source) from your research on your topic. As
you encounter sources that relate to your topic, be sure to
paraphrase key ideas, record word-for-word quotations you may

want to use, and note page numbers from the sources that you
can easily reference once you begin to write the paper.
As a research paper, this assignment requires research, which
means you need to reference at least three outside sources:
· An article or essay from a reliable, trustworthy source. You
should try to include an article from one of the library online
databases, if possible.
· One book on the topic, if available; otherwise, you may use
another trustworthy source.
· One other source (i.e. another essay from the library database,
a website, video, DVD, interview with someone knowledgeable
about the topic, etc);
· Note: Please do not cite Wikipedia for this research paper
Turn in your annotated bibliography along with the first pages
of your rough draft. By this due date you will need to identify a
working thesis statement. (A “working thesis” refers to the idea
that because your research will eventually lead to what position
you take on your topic, the final thesis will begin to take shape
as you read and think about your topic.)
Your thesis statement—which in its final version will answer
the question you have identified to research—is a one-sentence
(or occasionally two-sentence) statement of your central idea.
You’re encouraged to contact your instructor at any time and at
any stage of the paper to check your progress and ensure you’re
on the right track.
Rough draft – 20 points
A portion of class time will be devoted to peer review, so bring
four copies of your rough draft to class. Be sure to bring your
paper on a flash drive to make corrections during our lab
session.
Your final draft (150 points) is due.
Note these important steps:
Please title your Word document using your last name, like
this: Potter Research Paper
The final draft of the research paper will be submitted to
Canvas.

We studied plagiarism earlier in this semester, so be sure to
review what constitutes plagiarism so you avoid it in this
essay. Plagiarism may result in a grade of F for the research
paper.
Observe the news and select a controversial topic that interests
you. Be sure to select a topic that can reasonably be argued
from two opposing perspectives.
Use this rubric as a checklist to ensure that you meet the
requirements of the assignment and avoid potential pitfalls:
Thoroughly
Somewhat
Minimal or not at all
Follows MLA formatting, double-spaced, 12 point font (Arial or
Times New Roman), left-justified only, and heading listed in
proper order
10
5
0
Essay’s content and argument reflect critical thinking and a
depth of thought that makes reading the essay worthwhile for
the reader
20
10
0
Essay’s spelling, punctuation, and grammar are error-free (no

comma splices, fragments, run-ons, etc.) Commas and semi-
colons are used correctly. Author and other names are spelled
correctly.
10
5
0
Essay is well-organized, easy to follow, and seeks to prove the
thesis
10
0
0
Essay begins with an introductory paragraph that includes a
thesis statement (often the last sentence of the introduction)
5
2
0
Essay cites at least three reliable, academic sources, and in-text
citations match the first words of sources as listed in Works
Cited.
15
7
0
Essay properly cites quotations, paraphrases, and sources of
information not commonly known
5
2
0

Essay is at least 4 pages and no more than 7 (not counting
Works Cited page)
5
2
0
Essay has creative title that fits with topic
5
2
0
Although you are arguing on behalf of a claim or thesis, your
essay avoids unnecessary use of “I” and other overt references
to yourself
5
2
0
Essay avoids slang, casual diction, and maintains a scholarly,
formal academic tone. Words such as "huge" and "big" are
replaced with words such as significant, essential, important,
critical.
10
5
0
Commas and periods are placed insideclosed quotation marks
(except periods that go after an in-text citation)
5
2
0
Once people are introduced with first and last names, the essay
uses last names.
5

2
0
News sources such as The New York Times, The Washington
Post, CNN, and others are italicized. Article titles are placed in
quotation marks.
5
2
0
Essay demonstrates that the student looked back at earlier
writing assignments and has corrected errors he or she tends to
make (avoids run-ons and fragments, formatting errors, and uses
commas correctly, etc.)
20
10
0
Essay avoids dropped quotations by using signal phrases
10
5
0
Works Cited page is properly formatted (using Noodletools is
recommended)
Missing Works Cited will result in minus 20 points
5
2
0
Essay score – 150 points possible Total:
150
--
--

Bilke 1
Kaycee Bilke
Professor Ott
English 1A / Research Paper
14 December 2017
Anything But Social
If we ask adolescents of 2017 who their best friend is, it should
not come as a shock if
they say their loyal and trusty iPhone. School hallways and
cafeterias are crowded with bright-
eyed teenagers, but the likely source of light in their eyes is
coming from a screen in their hand.
The use of mobile devices and social media has become such a
significant issue that high school
teachers and college professors have to list consequences in
their syllabi for using a phone during
class time. Every public place where adolescents can be spotted
will more than likely have free
Wi-Fi, suitable lighting for Instagram pictures, and a socially
acceptable background that will
gain likes from perpetual followers on the internet. No matter if

the site is Facebook, Instagram,
Snapchat, Twitter, or one of the other hundreds of social media
outlets, adolescents are always
going to be looking for a thumbs up or retweet for acceptance
from peers even if they may not
know them personally. Social media may connect adolescent
users to each other, but the negative
effects on cognitive and psychosocial development tend to
outweigh the positives.
Social media can impact and rewire the brain in ways
adolescents do not fully
understand. Every time they check their notifications or refresh
the page, pathways in the brain
are formed and the neurons associated with these pathways are
strengthened. In “Teens: This is
How Social Media Affects Your Brain,” Susie East, a health
writer and editor for CNN,
describes how different studies have found that social media
and cell phone use can ultimately
change the brain. East frequently discusses Dr. Iroise
Dumontheil’s findings at Birkbeck
Bilke 2

University in London where he is currently the director of
educational neuroscience. East shares
her findings and how they can potentially affect the daily lives
of adolescents. She states that
“Dumontheil does concur that social media is affecting our
brain, particularly its plasticity,
which is the way the brain grows and changes after experiencing
different things” (East). While
social media can encourage the brain to grow and adapt to new
concepts, the material and
content on the different sites can negatively wire the brain.
Instead of doing homework and
studying, an individual would probably want to spend their time
refreshing their pages on social
media and watching their follower count grow. This can lead to
obsessing over these apps and
spending all free time staring at a screen.
Mental health can also be negatively affected by adolescent
technology use. Children and
adolescents who use multiple public sites can start to experience
symptoms of mental health
disorders by spending excessive amounts of time on them. The
American Academy of Pediatrics
is an organization dedicated to providing advanced mental and

physical health services for
children and adolescents. Gwenn Schurgin-O’Keeffe, the CEO
of Pediatrics Now, and Kathleen
Clarke-Pearson, a North Carolina Pediatrician, illustrate the
risks of using social media in their
article “The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents,
and Families.” O’Keeffe and
Clarke-Pearson state:
[R]esearchers have proposed a new phenomenon called
“Facebook depression,”
defined as depression that develops when preteens and teens
spend a great deal of
time on social media sites, such as Facebook, and then begin to
exhibit classic
symptoms of depression. The intensity of the online world is
thought to be a factor
that may trigger depression in some adolescents.
Bilke 3
The authors further describe how depression linked to social
media “can cause profound
psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, severe
isolation, and, tragically, suicide”

(Schurgin O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson). Mental health cases
due to social media use can be
found everywhere and the prevalence of depression and anxiety
have skyrocketed. Although
depression, anxiety, and OCD are diagnosed due to other
underlying causes, stressors that
adolescents experience through technology use can be enough to
bring out symptoms necessary
for identification of mental health disorders.
Self-esteem and body image can be damaged through social
media as well. The Child
Mind Institute offers children and adolescents evidence-based
care from well-trained clinicians
in various settings to help manage any disorder a client may
have. In her editorial entitled “How
Social Media Affects Teenagers,” Rachel Ehmke examines how
low teenage self-esteem is
directly correlated to social media. In the article, she gives
examples of how the internet can lead
to an adolescent having negative self-concept, ways peer
acceptance can drive an individual to
overuse social media, and what parents can do to help and
prevent their children from developing

low self-esteem. Ehmke writes about what happens when young
people “scroll through their
feeds and see how great everyone seems” and, she continues,
“We’re used to worrying about the
impractical ideals that photo-shopped magazine models give to
our kids, but what happens when
the kid next door is photo-shopped, too? Even more confusing,
what about when your own
profile doesn’t really represent the person that you feel like you
are on the inside?” These models
and seemingly perfect people may only be pictures to most
people, but seen through an
adolescent’s phone screen this is what society expects from
them. Turning on the television to
find that the model or actress in some commercial looks like the
one from Instagram is enough to
Bilke 4
make an adolescent want to take the extra step to lose weight
and change themselves to mirror
what they see on the internet.
When it comes to the overt effects of social media and
technology, behavior in

adolescents is also altered. The growth and wiring of the brain
due to today’s technology
advancements and cell phone use changes the way people
interact with the world around them.
In the same article, Rachel Ehmke quotes Dr. Catherine Steiner-
Adair, a clinical psychologist, by
stating that “there’s no question kids are missing out on very
critical social skills. In a way,
texting and online communicating—it’s not like it creates a
nonverbal learning disability, but it
puts everybody in a nonverbal disabled context, where body
language, facial expression, and
even the smallest kinds of vocal reactions are rendered
invisible” (Ehmke). By communicating
primarily through text and other electronic options, adolescents
are missing out on important
human interactions that serve as the foundation for future
friendships and relationships.
Adolescents may not communicate with adults and teachers as
well as they could because of the
amount of time they spend daily looking at their phone when
they could be experiencing their
environment.
Parent and family relationships and communication are

deteriorating due to the presence
of technology. Siblings are now following each other’s accounts
on public sites rather than
simply walking 20 feet and speaking to one another. Although
looking through friends’ and
followers’ photos online may be fun, adolescents of today’s
generation are missing out on
important time with family members and building relationships
with parents that will support
them throughout their lives. Psychology Today’s Jim Taylor, a
professor at the University of San
Francisco, argues in his article “Is Technology Creating a
Family Divide?” that families are
Bilke 5
becoming more and more distant from each other to the point
where parents do not even know
their children anymore. Throughout his work, Taylor states
how:
New technology offers children independence from their
parents’ involvement in
their social lives, with the use of mobile phones, instant
messaging, and social

networking sites. Of course, children see this technological
divide between
themselves and their parents as freedom from over-involvement
and intrusion on
the part of their parents in their lives. Parents, in turn, see it as
a loss of
connection to their children and an inability to maintain
reasonable oversight, for
the sake of safety and over-all health, of their children’s lives.
Because of social media, parents no longer have control over
who their children talk to and have
no idea with whom they spend their time. Instead of spending
time connecting with parents,
siblings, and other family members during Thanksgiving and
other family holidays, teens devote
themselves to checking Instagram to see where friends are and
what they are doing. While social
media can improve some aspects of communication, it can also
diminish the strong connection
between parent and child.
Peer relationships are also greatly affected by extensive use of
social media. Instead of
looking six inches up from the phone screen to see who is
directly in front of them, adolescents

take more interest in those they cannot see. Social media may
claim to bring people together, but
users are frequently missing valuable social skills that are
necessary to survive in the real world.
The days of playdates and sleepovers are gone, and now they
are replaced with the strangers
being a screen on Facebook and Twitter. Meeting others through
social media sites is not always
a horrifying instance, but it takes away from the time spent with
the friends made in real life.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/health
Bilke 6
Some children are online so much that their online friends, in
some ways, become their
superficial real life friends.
When these issues and other related to the internet are being
discussed, cyberbullying is a
substantial topic tied to adolescent users. Multiple movies and
television shows are based around
teenagers who are effected by harassment and online bullying
by individuals they know and do
not know. In his essay, “Influence of Social Media on

Teenagers”, Suren Ramasubbu—the
creator of Mobicip, a parental control and internet filtering
service for technology—discusses
how adolescents are at risk for experiencing the negative effects
of social media use.
Cyberbullying is at the top of the list. He writes, “According to
Stopbullying.gov, two kinds of
people are likely to be cyberbullies — the popular ones and
those on the fringes of society; the
former resort to such activities to stay popular or to feel
powerful, while the latter troll to fit into
a society or to get back at a society that excludes them”
(Ramasubbu). Teens tend to think that
the hurtful words said behind the keyboard will not have the
same effect if they were spoken in
person, but they absolutely do. Cyberbully has become just as
much of an issue as traditional
bullying in the upcoming generations. Attacking people behind
the safety of a screen does not
excuse the fact that it is still unkind and wrong.
Adolescents face the possibility of many harmful consequences
of being avid social
media users. Mental health, disconnect with friends and family,
and parts of the brain are only a

few characteristics of a child’s life that are at risk when talking
about technology use and social
media addiction. If adolescents and teens are given support by
parents, teachers, and other role
models in their lives, they can overcome the obstacles they face
online and in real life.
http://www.deletecyberbullying.org/why-do-people-cyberbully/
Bilke 7
Works Cited
East, Susie. “Teens: This is how Social Media Affects Your
Brain.” CNN.com, Cable News
Network, 1 Aug. 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/07/12/health/social-
media-brain/index.html.
Accessed 7 Dec. 2017.
Ehmke, Rachel. “How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers.”
ChildMind.org, Child Mind
Institute, childmind.org/article/how-using-social-media-affects-
teenagers/. Accessed 7 Dec.
2017.

Ramasubbu, Suren. “Influence of Social Media on Teenagers.”
Huffington Post, Oath, 26 May
2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/suren-ramasubbu/influence-of-
social-media-on-
teenagers_b_7427740.html.
Schurgin-O’Keeffe, Gwenn, and Kathleen Clarke-Pearson. “The
Impact of Social Media on
Children, Adolescents, and Families.” AAP Publications,
American Academy of Pediatrics,
Apr. 2011, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/127/4/800.
Taylor, Jim. “Is Technology Creating a Family Divide?”
Psychology Today, 13 Mar. 2013,
www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/201303/is-
technology-creating-family-
divide.

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