8th Grade Informative Essay – Topics in the News from 2021
For this assignment, which you will work on for a few weeks, your goal is to produce a
MLA-style, 3-point research paper that explains what you’ve learned about something
that happened in the news in 2021.
You will need to choose your topic by Monday, Dec. 6.
You may use any of the topics on the list of ideas or suggest one to me and I will
most likely give you permission, as long as you can show me multiple, recent
sources.
You will need to find a minimum of 3 sources about your topic and begin writing a rough
draft by Monday, Dec. 13.
Wikipedia is a great jumping-off point to get ideas, but you should look for
information from sources such as magazines and newspapers. Most of your
information should come from other sources! These may be online. If it’s a local
topic, you might want to try interviewing the people involved.
Your rough draft (including an introduction with a thesis statement, a conclusion, and
a works cited page) is due Wednesday, Jan. 5.
Your final, submitted copy is due Monday, Jan. 10.
WE WILL SPEND AT LEAST 2 DAYS A WEEK IN CLASS WORKING ON THIS
PROJECT, BUT YOU WILL NEED TO WORK ON THIS OUTSIDE OF CLASS,
TOO.
Your paper should describe FACTS (no opinions!) about the topic you choose and
explain them so that your reader (me) has a strong understanding of your topic. Assume I
know next to nothing about the topic.
You will need to explain your topic and why it was important. You will probably need to
include background information that leads up to what happened in 2021.
For example, if you were to do a paper about Tom Brady, you would need to include
basic background information about his life. Then you would need to include what made
him newsworthy in 2021 (Super Bowl MVP).