Name
SC English IV
4th Quarter Research Paper
Purpose: This quarter, you will be writing a research paper on a topic of your choosing. Learning to
properly research and articulate information on a topic is an important skill you will need in college or
your chosen field. This is more than a persuasive essay; you are required to provide FACTS and research
that supports your claims.
Guidelines: The research paper must:
 Include a cover page (Name, Date, Title, Class) and a works cited page
 Be at least three pages (not including cover and works cited page)
 Be typed – double-spaced, 12-point font, 1 inch margins
 Include MLA form citations
 Use at least three CREDIBLE sources (to be discussed further)
Timeline:

Topic Chosen

Thesis Written

Rough Outline

Works Cited Page

1st Rough Draft

Self-editing day

2nd Rough Draft

Final Draft

Late papers: Any papers turned in after the final due date will receive a 30% reduction in their
grade.
Topic Options: You may choose from the list below OR find your own topic (you must run it by me before
you go ahead with it). Please remember that you are going to be required to research this topic and write 3
pages on it using that research.
BIOETHICAL ISSUES
Withholding the truth from dying patients
Physician-assisted suicide
Limits to confidentiality
Organ donation
Access to experimental drugs for dying
patients
GAY MARRIAGE
Same-sex adoption and access to
reproductive technologies
Immigration rights for gay partners of
citizens
Health care benefits and gay couples
CRIME AND CRIMINOLOGY
HUMAN ISSUES
_Is criminal behavior biologically
Women in combat
determined?
Career vs. family
Street crime vs. white-collar crime: which is
more serious?
LEGAL ISSUES
Is the criminal system racist?
Censorship of student newspapers
Does arrest reduce domestic violence?
Religious displays on public property
Execution of juveniles
Affirmative action
Reverse discrimination
DEATH PENALTY
Insanity defense
The death penalty for minors
Welfare
The death penalty for the mentally
handicapped
MASS MEDIA
Televised executions
Does mass media shape American values?
The death penalty as a deterrent
Privacy in the Information Age
The relationship between race and the death
Advertising: is it ethical?
penalty.
Women and the death penalty
MORALITY
Death penalty methods, such as lethal
Should the law enforce morality?
injection
Animal rights
The Constitutional question of "cruel and
Do rich nations have an obligation to help
unusual punishment"
poor nations?
ECONOMIC ISSUES
Mandatory national service
Minimum wage
EDUCATION
Should schools determine what is learned?
Does a common curriculum promote
equality?
Home-schooling
Measurement-driven instruction
ENVIRONMENT
Nuclear power
Global warming
TEEN ISSUES
Adolescent marriages
Adolescent suicide
Lack of discipline in American high schools
Teen pregnancy:
o Emotional aspects
o Psychological stresses
o Short- and long-term affects
o Socio-economic aspects
Is juvenile delinquency linked to family
instability?
Spending/purchasing power of teens
Teenage alcoholism:
o Socio-economic aspects
o Short- and long-term affects
o Emotional aspects
College vs. career