RESEARCH PAPER GUIDELINES AND TOPICS
ENGLISH
SPRING/VOGEL
Students: You are required to complete a typed research paper to complete the course-work for English.
Please choose a topic that will interest you. You are welcome to choose any of the given topics, or you
may choose your own. If you choose your own, please choose a specific and narrow topic and clear it with
me.
REQUIREMENTS:
 5-7 pages typed (AP English); 3-5 pages typed (English III)
 MLA format
 At least 4 DIFFERENT sources
o Example: 1. Book 2. Article in Magazine 3. Article in Newspaper
 A Works-Cited page
TOPICS:
 Discuss Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism and how her characters embrace it or how they
despise it.
 Choose an American author
 Research the Harry Potter phenomena and discuss its popularity, influence and controversy.
 Choose a modern musician/band
 Research a philosophy and discuss:
 Electronic music. Discuss its many uses.
 Social Commentary in Rock Music
 The decline in Native American culture
 Compare and Contrast Bluegrass Music to Country and Western
 Fashion
 Should Furs be fashion or be banned
 Movies’ influence in fashion design
 The evolution of denim jeans
 The most expensive film ever produced and why it was so expensive
 Hollywood's treatment of Vietnam and other wars
 The appeal of Marilyn Monroe
 Discuss censorship in television or movies. Should there be?
 Comedy genre in movies.
 Prominent action heroes and why they become popular
 The Jackie Chan phenomena
 Prominent Black authors
 Discuss the evolution of MTV from its origins to now. What prompted the change?
 Outstanding film techniques in The Matrix or other movies.
 Pro Wrestling
 How college sports are beneficial or detrimental to athletes and Universities.
 Why extreme sports have become so popular.
 The evolution of snowboarding.
 The Olympics
 The appeal and success of Dance Clubs
 The popularity of raves and why the drug "X" is the fastest growing choice among youth.
 How street racing has evolved and grown to elicit the demand for movies such as The Fast and the
Furious. Is it dangerous?
 Eating disorders and their dangers
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Surfing
Haunted Houses
Life on other planets
Celebrity Homes
Medieval Times
The Holocaust
Lives of Models
Capital Punishment
Hitler and WWII
Ballet
Tattoos
The war and how it began/evolved
Comparison's of Religion/Culture
Music Genres
Counter Culture of the 60's and 70's
Life and Times of Martin Luther King
Liposuction and the desire to change our bodies
Addictions like drugs/alcohol
Interior Design
DJ-ing and club music
Engines for cars
Graffiti Art- Is it Art?
Haunted Houses –Are they real?
Fragile X – a chromosome disease
The Victorian Era
Vert Ramps and Freestyle Bikes
Mat Hofman
Body Building
Any Sports
Athletes
Assassination of JFK
CIA
Area 51
Big Foot and other Urban Myths- Are they True?
Aids
Bill Clinton
Big Bang Theory
Organized Crime and Criminals
Teen Pregnancy
Hodgkin’s Disease
Harlem Renaissance: Jazz, literature- Why it happened.
Trends in Clothing
Development of Sun Powered Cars
Phobias- Fears and how they begin.
Ancient Egypt
Architecture
How TV changed life
Air Conditioning: Changes in Society
Deaf People
The history of Snowboarding
The War on Terrorism
Birth Disorders – Pick a specific disorder
Dream Interpretation
Shakespeare
Depression
Oklahoma City Bombing
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80's Music
Roller-coasters
Magazines
Concerts
Fads
College Sports
Teenagers in Abusive Relationships
The U.S. Military
Problems with Public Education
Vegans
Teenage Drinking
Origins of the Internet
Spring Break problems
Civil War
The scare of Mad Cow Disease
The theory of Evolution and why it is controversial
The History of Film-making
Skateboarding
Evolution of Video game Systems
Gothic Art, Literature. . .
The popularity of Mixed Martial Arts (UFC)
Poker
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THE PROCESS:
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Look over the topics and choose a few that sound interesting.
Do preliminary research.
Complete Problem Sheet One (Due Monday, May 2nd)
Complete Problem Sheet Two (Due Tuesday, May 3rd)
Write Part I of the paper: Statement of Research Problem) (Due Friday, May 6th)
Write Part II of the paper: Formulation of Research Question/Hypothesis (Due Monday, May
9th)
Write Part III of the paper: Definitions of Key Terms (Due Tuesday, May 10th)
Write Part IV of the paper: Review of Related Literature (Due Friday, May 13)
Revise and Finalize paper (Due Monday, May 16th by midnight)
PLAGIARISM:
One of the purposes of your working bibliography and effective note-taking is to help you avoid
plagiarism. Plagiarism is the act of intentionally or unintentionally presenting work done by someone else
as though it were your own. In most schools, including Jr. High schools, High Schools, and Universities,
plagiarism is considered a serious offense and can result in severe penalties, such as failing grades, loss of
course credit, or even expulsion.
Here is a simple test to determine whether something is plagiarized: ask yourself, Is this
information, idea, or statement common knowledge? If the answer is “no,” then ask yourself, Did
this information, idea, or statement come from a source outside myself, or did it come from my own
experience or as a result of my own creative activity? If the information, idea, or statement is not
common knowledge, and if it came from an outside source, then you must credit that source. Failure
to do so constitutes plagiarism.
Students: If you plagiarize any area of your paper, either intentionally or unintentionally, you will receive a
zero for the paper. In college, you would lose credit for the course and potentially be kicked out of the
university. Be careful!!!! Lack of a “Works Cited” page will be considered plagiarism.
SOURCES:
Students, choose your sources carefully. All sources must be reliable. Ask yourself:
1. Do the publisher and author have credibility?
2. Are my web page sources reliable or are they biased?
3. Is the source current and up to date?
 Sources you cannot use:
a. a friend for an interview.
b. Wikepedia
c. Web pages that aren’t credible sites. (personal web pages, blogs. . .)
CHECK LIST: Use before submitting your paper.
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Complete Research Paper (required page numbers)
Works Cited Page
Careful revisions
MLA format
All Four Sections Included
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Name: _________________
Problem Sheet One
1.
My research problem is:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2.
My research question is:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.
Following are the key terms in the problem or the question that are not clear to
the reader and need to be defined:
a.______________
b. ______________
c. ______________
d. ______________
e. ______________
4.
Here are the definitions to those terms:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
5.
My justification for investigating this question/problem (why I would argue that
it is important enough to investigate and research) is as follows:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
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Name: ________________
Problem Sheet Two
1.
My research question is:
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. My hypothesis is (what I expect to find and prove):
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
3.
My possible sources so far are:
1._____________________________________________________________
2._____________________________________________________________
3._____________________________________________________________
4._____________________________________________________________
5._____________________________________________________________
6._____________________________________________________________
**Sources need to be specific. Don’t write: The internet, an interview, or a book. Write
the name of a specific source with titles, authors, etc.
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Paper Outline
Part I: Statement of Research Problem:
a. State your research problem
b. Describe background information (what factors caused it to be a
problem/history leading up to current state of problem)
c. Justify your reason for studying the problem. Why is this problem
worthy of your time?
Part II: Formulation of Research Question/hypothesis: Remember a
hypothesis is a guess or prediction about what you will find. Example. The
hypothesis in this study is that violence on television and violence in video games
causes children to become violent.
a. State your question or hypothesis
b. Explain why you believe the hypothesis or question may be true or
answered.
Part III: Definitions
a. Write clear definitions to terms that will be covered in your study.
Example: If you are studying video games and the effects on young
children, you need to define what types of video games you will look
at. . .PS3, computer, violent games, games that are rated m17. . .
Part IV: Review of Literature: This is the biggest part of your paper.
Considerable time should be spent on this section. You will be reading what
other authors have already written on the topic and simply summarizing their
findings. Then you will write what conclusions you have drawn from the
findings.
a. Review Source One and write about author’s findings
b. Review Source Two and write about author’s findings
c. Review Source Three and write about author’s findings
d. Review Source Four and write about author’s findings
e. Write what you concluded after synthesizing all four sources.
i. Was the research question answered?
ii. Was your hypothesis accurate or did the sources prove
the opposite?
iii. Do you feel enough research has been done to
thoroughly investigate the problem?
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