AP/Dual ENG102 Research Project
For the next few weeks, you will work toward creating your own synthesis prompt. We will spend some time in the
computer lab, but most of this will be independent research and writing out of class.
Please note the due dates herein as you will be expected to meet each one. Reminders won’t always be provided.
All documents, except for the Final Revised Synthesis Essay, will be due in class and can be either handwritten or typed.
The Final Revised Synthesis Essay must be typed using MLA format and will be posted to Turnitin.com for scoring.
Hardcopies and emailed copies will not be accepted.
Check-Point Products:
 Topic Choices – due 2/18/15
 Narrowing Your Focus chart – due 3/20/15
 Critical Research questions– due 3/20/15
 Essay Question Background & Prompt – due 3/20/15
 Final Synthesis Prompt Packet – due 3/27/15
 Timed Write Synthesis Essay – in class 4/6/15
 Peer Review & Self-Reflection – in class 4/13/15
 Final Revised Synthesis Essay – due to Turnitin.com by midnight on 4/14/15
Timeline:
WEEK 1
 Wednesday, 2/18/15: three topic choices from list due
 Friday, 2/20/15: CGCC Librarian Presentation-Intro to CGCC Library Databases – to be completed in class
WEEK 2
 Friday, 2/27/15: Narrowing Your Focus chart due
WEEK 3
 March 2-6: Midterms
 Friday, 3/6/15: Critical Research questions due
WEEK 4
 March 9-13: Spring Break
WEEK 5
 Wednesday, 3/18/15: Essay Question Background and Prompt due
 Friday, 3/20/15: CGCC Librarian Presentation-Searching Databases (Boolean Logic) – to be completed in class
WEEK 6
 Friday, 3/27/15: Final Synthesis Prompt Packet due
WEEK 7
 AzMERIT Testing
WEEK 8
 Monday, 4/6/15: Timed Write (using peer prompt) – to be completed in class
WEEK 9
 Monday, 4/13/15: Peer Review & Self-Reflection – to be completed in class
 Tuesday, 4/14/15: Final Revised Synthesis Essay due to Turnitin.com by midnight
AP Research Topics
The following list of approved research topics are essential human themes that have appeared on past AP Language
exams and that very likely could appear on this year’s test.
Directions:
1. Review this list and choose three possible categories you’d like to research this quarter.
2. Bring your list of three topics to class on Friday. We will be in the computer lab so you can begin looking up
information on your three topics.
3. At the end of that initial research session, you should have an idea of which of the three topics you want to
investigate further.
4. By this Friday 3/20/2015, the worksheet on the next page will be due in class. This worksheet will help you to
narrow your focus and to create some research questions:
Topic from List
Technology in education
Free speech
National curriculum
Childhood memories
Narrowed Focus
iPads in classrooms
Book banning
Common Core
Nature vs. Nurture
APPROVED RESEARCH TOPICS
 Value of technology in education
 Slavery
 Function of humor and humorists in society
 Daylight saving time
 Midwestern values
 Effects of consumer culture
 Individual and conformity
 Free speech
 Effect of television on society
 Environment
 Effect of adversity on one’s character
 Value of penny coin
 Scientific research method
 Corporate advertising/sponsorship in schools
 National school curriculum
 Anti-intellectualism
 Effect of dissent in America
 Effect of advertising on society
 Emigration
 Ethics of rewarding charitable acts in schools
 What museum artifacts represent
 Value of muckrakers/whistle-blowers
 Race
 How fads reflect American values
 Effect of money in society
Research Question
How does using iPads in classrooms affect test scores?
Why is banning books in public schools unconstitutional?
Is Common Core is a viable solution to illiteracy in the US?
Is natural predisposition more influential than upbringing?
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Value-effect of personal opinion/commentary
in society
Compulsory voting
Effect of reading on independent thought
Consumerism and advertising
Poverty
The Mississippi River
Value of trial-and-error thinking
Cultural differences
Common sense and personal values
Protecting the environment
Morality
Cultural norms
Effect of entertainment on society
Admiration of birds in flight
Individual and society
Plagiarism in schools
Effects of Civil War from Lincoln’s point of view
Childhood memories
Abuse of power Appreciation for natural
world/beauty
Man versus machine/technology
Self-awareness
Limitations of viewing the world through
photographic images
AP/ENG102 Narrowing Your Focus: Developing a Research Question
As part of your research plan, you must first draft a research question for your research paper that will guide the rest of
your writing. A research question, which is more specific and focused than a general topic, is the question that your
research paper will be answering. For example, if your general area of interest is social security, a possible research
question might ask “How can low-income families save more money if the United States had a reformed social security
plan that includes personal retirement accounts?”
As you develop a research question, keep in mind that you will need to research sources at the CGCC Library
(www.cgc.edu/library) to support your topic. Do not pick a one-sided question that will limit your research. Instead,
develop a research question that lends itself to further exploration and debate—a question for which you genuinely
want to know the answer. Try to pick a research question that is neither too broad, which covers too much, or too
narrow, which covers too little. It should be broad enough to be discussed in a short research paper.
What is your general topic or area of
interest from the approved list?
What is it about your general topic of
interest that interests you?
What do you already know (from
experience, high school classes, or
initial research) about this topic?
List three specific areas of focus that
fall under the category of your chosen
topic and that you would like to
explore further.
1.
2.
3.
List three questions that you have
about the topic and that you would like
to investigate.
1.
2.
3.
Would any of the questions you listed
about the topic make a good subject
for a research paper? Pick or adapt one
question and make it into a research
question.
Why do you think this research
question will be appropriate for a
research paper?
How is your research question
significant or relevant to a wider
community?
AP/ENG102 Critical Research
Once you’ve narrowed your focus, you’ll want to find some background on your topic, including definitions, key figures,
and terminology. As you do this, feel free to adjust your focus and/or research question accordingly. Make changes
directly on your Developing a Research Question chart (can be messy: this is a prewriting/drafting activity).
Directions:
1. Go to CGCC Library homepage at www.cgc.edu/library.
2. Click on eResources.
3. Click on Reference.
4. Choose a database (you will search in each of the following for this assignment)
a. Gale Virtual Reference Library
b. Opposing Viewpoints
c. CQ Researcher
d. Films on Demand
5. Enter search term (topic from AP Research Topics list).
6. Select an article or film and read or review.
7. Answer questions below for the different databases you explore.
GALE VIRTUAL REFERENCE LIBRARY
1. What is the title and who is the author of the article?
2. What is the main theme in the article/film you reviewed?
3. What related issues are discussed?
4. What problem(s) is addressed?
5. Who is affected?
6. Why is this a problem? How did it become a problem?
7. Is the problem(s) being addressed? Have solutions been implemented or attempted? If so, how and by whom? If
not, why not?
Questions continued on next page.
OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS
1. What is the title and who is the author of the article/video?
2. What is the main theme in the article/film you reviewed?
3. What related issues are discussed?
4. What problem(s) is addressed?
5. Who is affected?
6. Why is this a problem? How did it become a problem?
7. Is the problem(s) being addressed? Have solutions been implemented or attempted? If so, how and by whom? If
not, why not?
CQ RESEARCHER
1. What is the title and who is the author of the article/video?
2. What is the main theme in the article/film you reviewed?
3. What related issues are discussed?
4. What problem(s) is addressed?
Questions continued on next page.
5. Who is affected?
6. Why is this a problem? How did it become a problem?
7. Is the problem(s) being addressed? Have solutions been implemented or attempted? If so, how and by whom? If
not, why not?
FILMS ON DEMAND
1. What is the title and who is the author of the article/video?
2. What is the main theme in the article/film you reviewed?
3. What related issues are discussed?
4. What problem(s) is addressed?
5. Who is affected?
6. Why is this a problem? How did it become a problem?
7. Is the problem(s) being addressed? Have solutions been implemented or attempted? If so, how and by whom? If
not, why not?
AP/ENG102 Essay Question Background and Prompt
Now that you have done some initial research on your topic, you should be able to write a brief background of a
problem, as well as a prompt for an argument essay.
Use the following examples as models for your prompt and include each of the following in your background and
prompt paper:
 Heading & title – copy directly from the examples below
 Suggested time information – copy directly from the examples below
 Directions – copy directly from the examples below
 Introduction – 1- or 2-paragraphs of background information from your research
 Assignment – can copy some wording from the examples, but make sure the actual prompt is for your topic
 List of sources with author names in parentheses
AP/ENG102 Final Synthesis Prompt Packet
As you work on finalizing your prompt packet, feel free to make any necessary changes and adjustments to your
background and prompt so that it is “test ready.”
Finalizing your prompt packet is simply a matter of finding and attaching six sources to your essay question so your test
taker has some valid information to use in composing his or her synthesized discussion.
Exactly ONE source must be a visual image – photo, chart, graph, or cartoon.
Each source, including the visual image, must meet these guidelines:
 Fit on one page
 Labeled Source A, B, C, D, E, or F
 Include a citation at the top of the page, under the Source title
 Include a brief introduction (italicized)
 Formatted as shown here: