ENGL 102: Guilford Issues Research Project (Budhecha)

Phase I: Research and Write-ups

1. Research problem and rationale: Articulate the research problem and the reasons why it’s important to look into. The way you frame the problem will likely shift and develop over the next few weeks.

2. Library research: Find relevant and appropriate sources that will help you to discuss the history and currency of your topic. You need to find 3 sources about Guilford, and 2 sources about other school(s). Of these 5 sources, only 2 can be school websites; the others need to be school newspapers, etc.

3. Interviews: Interview people on this campus and/or people you know at other schools who are involved with this issue. You need a total of three interviews.

4. Progression Map: Map out the organization of your argument.

Phase II: Proposal and Presentation

1. Model review: research and evaluate various models of potential final products; understand their rhetorical characteristics so you can make an informed choice about your own final product.

2. Presentation: you will give an informal presentation to the class where you propose the type of final product you want to create and why.

Phase III: Final Product

Your final product for this project can take one of several different forms. It can be a memo addressed to an administrator(s) here at Guilford, an editorial for the Guilfordian, a brochure for a specific group of people, a website for Guilford students, or an academic conference paper discussing this issue. In other words, you will make your case to an audience here at Guilford for why this problem needs to be addressed, and your choice of form will be determined by your topic and the audience to whom you are trying to appeal.

Sources:

• Official Documents: government studies, college reports, meeting minutes

• Organizations: political think tanks, public policy centers, special institutes

• News Media: national, local and/or campus newspapers, TV and radio

• Education Journals: Chronicle of Higher Education, peer-edited journals

• Primary Research: interviews with campus administrators, student leaders, and/or local governmental officials, firsthand accounts