Skills for College-Level Research: Final Project Topics and Schedule

Brief Description for Final Project
This project will allow you to demonstrate various skills necessary when conducting college-level research. By the end of the semester, you’ll need to demonstrate that you can find and develop a topic worthy of research. You will also need to demonstrate that you can use various tools to find a variety of sources in a variety of media (print, online, etc.). You should be able to show me you can find and evaluate sources that are recent, relevant, and reliable. You will describe that topic/problem and develop a working thesis, and share your findings and sources in an approved style (APA, MLA).

Below you will find a list of topics from which you must choose. These topics come from our various readings, discussions, forums, experiences, and assorted conversations.
Some of the topics come from previous Eng 131 classes.
I. Possible Topics
1. Happiness, the nature and meaning of;
2. Rethinking household gender roles;
3. Important but forgotten women of the Detroit/Dearborn area
4. Do animals have rights?
5. Can becoming a vegetarian or vegan help save the world (climate disruption)?
6. Specific obstacles (or solutions) to climate change;
7. Why do we procrastinate?
8. Theme of relationships in short fiction (think of Schickler and Roupenian);
9. Ideas about the self and identity in poetry (needs to be specific)
10. The role of community colleges in today’s education/workforce;
11. The effects of our responses to Covid-19
12. Any topic previously discussed in class
13. [Develop your own topic, perhaps based on earlier writings or discussions]1

II. Schedule
Step One: On the week of June 14, you must turn in a one-page document announcing your choice of topic. In this document you must include a summary of everything you currently know about this topic, regardless of how much research you’ve done or haven’t done up to that point. If you choose topic #13, you must have that topic approved by me first. I will not read, much less grade, any submission on a topic not listed above or discussed with me prior to the deadline of step #1. If you develop your own topic, you must consult with me first, and after a brief discussion, must be approved by me before you start researching.

Step Two: On the week of June 21, you must turn in a list of at least five sources on your chosen topic. Three of these sources must come from recent searches of academic databases (this will be explained later). In addition, you must include a preliminary thesis. This thesis must not be an observation (review relevant sections in our book and uploaded materials).

Step Three: On June 28, you must submit a 2-3 page document that includes your name, course number, semester, my name, and date on the top right corner. The document must have a specific, non-generic title. This document will include a summary of the topic, identifying the main problem you’re exploring, and a working thesis. It must also include at least three direct quotes from your sources. Finally, this document must include a list of Works Cited. (You will receive a sample assignment from previous semesters.)