Think of a subject you either know a lot about or would like to know more about. When you have a good understanding of the concept, you will explain it to your readers, considering carefully what they already know about it and how your essay might add to what they know.
You will supplement your explanation with paraphrased, summarized, or directly quoted material using MLA format for parenthetical citations and the Works Cited page. Directly quoted material should constitute no more than 15% of your essay. You will need to include at least three documented items from three different sources; two sources must be from EBSCO or a book, journal, newspaper, etc. Only one source may be from the internet. (You are not required to use any Internet sources, though.) Do not use Wikipedia or any other general encyclopedia like Encyclopedia Brittannica as a research source. See Part 6, ch. 45 -52 for helpful information on finding and evaluating sources, synthesizing your ideas, and how to paraphrase and cite. You may certain skim, but read carefully the parts you have not studied about before.
The body of your essay should be 4-7 pages long, typed, and double-spaced with one-inch margins. You must also include a Works Cited page. The Works Cited page is in addition to the four-page minimum. It does NOT count as the fourth page! Use size 12 Times New Roman font. Papers less than four pages will be returned without grading and may be resubmitted within a week for a full grade deduction. Papers longer than 7 pages, I will stop reading at seven and grade accordingly.