Posted: April 2nd, 2015

EH 1020, English Composition II

EH 1020, English Composition II

7. Assignments: This course has eight assignments, one to be submitted for each unit. With each
assignment, students will work toward completing the final draft of the Research Paper (due in Unit
VIII). Specific information and instructions regarding these assignments are provided below in this
syllabus. Following is a list of each assignment and the unit in which it is due. Grading rubrics are
included with all assignments. Specific information about accessing these rubrics is provided below.
a. Unit I Assignment – due in Unit I
b. Research Proposal – due in Unit II
c. Annotated Bibliography – due in Unit III (Students will need access to Microsoft Word to access
the Annotated Bibliography Template provided in the assignment instructions.)
d. Research Paper Draft 1 – due in Unit IV
e. Formal Sentence Outline – due in Unit V
f. Research Paper Draft 2 – due in Unit VI
g. Research Paper Draft 3 – due in Unit VII
h. Research Paper Final Draft – due in Unit VIII
8. Ask the Professor: This communication forum provides you with an opportunity to ask your
professor general or course content related questions.
9. Student Break Room: This communication forum allows for casual conversation with your classmates.

CSU Online Library
There is a virtual library with resources, including both journals and ebooks, to support your program and your course at
Columbia Southern University. eResources are accessible 24 hours a day/7 days a week from the CSU Online Library
gateway page. To access the library, log into myCSU, and then click on CSU Online Library. Resources are organized in
the library by title, but if you click on Research Guides, you will find eResources arranged by subject.
The Library Reference service is available 7 days a week; you can reach CSU’s virtual librarians by e-mailing
[email protected]. These professional librarians will be glad to help you develop your research
plan or to assist you in any way in finding relevant, appropriate, and timely information.
Librarian responses may occur within minutes or hours, but it will never take more than 24 hours for a librarian to send a
response to the e-mail address you have provided. Replies to reference requests may include customized keyword
search strategies, links to videos, research guides, screen captures, attachments, a phone call, live screen sharing,
meeting room appointments, and other forms of instruction.

Unit I Assignment
This assignment has three parts total: Topics Inventory, Controlling Idea Statement, and Short Proposal. Submit all three
parts in one document. If you have questions, please email your professor for assistance. As always, you may also seek
out the guidance of the Success Center; the tutors are always there to assist you with your writing and comprehension. You
may submit writing assignments to the Success Center by using a “Writing Center Request form” located on the myCSU
Student Portal. To submit a “Writing Center Request form,” log into the myCSU Student Portal, click on “Success Center,”
and then click on “Tutoring.” If you have questions concerning APA or your writing assignment, you can contact the
Success Center at [email protected] or by phone at ext. 6538.
The following webinar created by the Success Center may be beneficial to your success in this course. It provides a
general overview for the course. Click here to view the webinar.
In addition, the following sample paper here may be helpful for you to have an idea of what is expected for your final product:
Sample Student Paper.
Part I: Topics Inventory
For the Topics Inventory, you will construct a list of topics from which you may choose one to develop into a Research
Paper for this course. This exercise is based on the models on p. 318 of Strategies for Writing Successful Research
Papers, so you will want to refer back to this page for examples. (NOTE: The book does not always provide three possible
topics per category, but you will be required to do so. Please see the Unit I Example.

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Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is to help you formulate an inventory of topics that you are interested in so that you may
choose one to research in Unit II and develop into a Research Proposal. Be sure to choose a topic that you are invested in,
as you are more likely to be motivated and excited about a subject that interests you. You will want to choose a topic that is
academically viable, for as Lester et al (2011) state, “You can’t write a personal essay and call it a research paper, yet you
can choose topics close to your life” (p. 318).
Description:
You will supply three (3) possible topics in each of the following four (4) categories:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Academic subject
Social issue
Scientific subject
Cultural background

Within each of these four (4) categories, you will supply three (3) possible academic topics. Use the following format to
organize your topics inventory:
1. Personal interest
2. The category (repeated from above: academic study, social issue, scientific subject, and cultural background)
3. Three possible academic topics (each should be distinctive, developed, and as specific as possible)
After you complete Part I, you will have twelve (12) possible topics that you could choose from and develop into a research
project. You will choose one of these and work with the same one for Part II and Part III.
Example: Academic study
1. Personal interest: Cars
2. Academic subject: Eco-engineering
3. Possible academic topic:
• “The Fate of Hybrid Vehicles: The Cost Is Not Worth the Environmental Toll”
• “Hydrogen Cars: Are They a Safe Alternative?”
• “Electric Cars Are Not ‘Saving’ Environmental Resources, Only Saving
• Money at the Gas Pump” The Topics Inventory is worth 40 points of this assignment.
Part II: Controlling Idea Statement
Understanding your controlling idea will aid you in your research endeavor in Unit II as you launch into researching
materials to help you better develop your research paper.
Purpose:
The purpose of this exercise is to help you bridge between your Topics Inventory and your Short Proposal by helping you
to formulate a controlling idea statement.
Description:
You will formulate a controlling idea statement through one of the following: a thesis, an enthymeme, or a hypothesis. For
this assignment, you are required to only produce one Controlling Idea Statement. It should be a statement, not a question.
Further, your final Research Paper will be an argumentative, research-based, academic-style Research Paper; therefore,
your Controlling Idea Statement must propose an argument. In other words, your Controlling Idea Statement must be a
contestable statement that invites argumentation—something that you must prove or support with research.
Process:
Refer back to your Topics Inventory and Chapter 14, Section 14f, of Strategies for Writing Successful Research Papers,
“Developing a Thesis Statement, Enthymeme, or Hypothesis” (pp. 328-331). The Success Center has created a webinar
that will assist you when you are constructing your argumentative thesis statement. Click here to view this webinar.

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Follow these steps, and draft a Controlling Idea Statement:
1. Choose one topic from the list of twelve possible topics that you created when you wrote your Topics Inventory.
Consider these questions when choosing your topic: Which of these topics is most appealing to you? Which one
seems as though it has the most possibility for ease of researching and for developing a research paper?
2. Choose one type of Controlling Idea Statement you would like to write:
• a thesis statement “advances a conclusion the writer will defend”;
• an enthymeme “uses a because clause to make a claim the writer will defend”;
• a hypothesis “is a theory that must be tested…to prove its validity” (Lester & Lester, 2010, p. 328).
3. Draft your statement; use the examples in Section 14f as examples to assist you.
4. Save a copy of this statement for yourself, and submit your Controlling Idea Statement with the Unit I Assignment.
The Controlling Idea Statement is worth 10 points of this assignment.
Part III: Short Proposal
For the Short Proposal, you will write a research proposal developed from the Topic Inventory you constructed and the
Controlling Idea Assignment (a thesis, an enthymeme, or hypothesis).
Your Short Proposal must be between 150-200 words and written in one cohesive paragraph. All source material used in
the Short Proposal must be cited correctly according to APA convention and style. If material is quoted, then quotation
marks must be used, along with a parenthetical citation. If material is paraphrased, then a parenthetical citation giving
attribution to the author must be used. A list of references must be included as well. Textbooks should not be included on a
references list.
Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is to help you prepare for the next stages of the Research Paper writing process that you
will participate in for Unit II, which will give you the foundations of research methods. In Unit II, you will be writing a fullfledged Research Proposal as well, so you will want to seriously consider what you write for this Short Proposal as a
precursor to that assignment.
Description:
This assignment is based on the models in Chapter 14, Section 14f, of Strategies for Writing Successful Research Papers
(p. 331), so you will want to refer back to this page for an example. Your Short Proposal should include the following five
elements:
1. The specific topic.
2. The purpose of the paper: Your paper must be an argumentative paper, so you will want to cast your purpose
statement towards this argumentative end.
3. The intended audience: If you are unsure about whom your audience might be, consult Chapter 1, Section 1d, of
The Little, Brown Compact Handbook with Exercises (p. 7-8).
4. Your voice as a writer (informer, advocate, concerned citizen, etc.).
5. The preliminary thesis statement or opening hypothesis.
The Short Proposal is worth 50 points of this assignment.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit II Research Proposal
Follow the directions below for the completion of the Research Proposal assignment for Unit II. If you have questions,
please email your professor for assistance. As always, you may also seek out the guidance of the Success Center; the
tutors are always there to assist you with your writing and comprehension. You may submit writing assignments to the
Success Center by using a “Writing Center Request form” located on the myCSU Student Portal. To submit a “Writing
Center Request form,” log into the myCSU Student Portal, click on “Success Center,” and then click on “Tutoring.” If you
have questions concerning APA or your writing assignment, you can contact the Success Center at
[email protected] or by phone at ext. 6538.

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Purpose:
The purpose of the Research Proposal is to mold the preliminary ideas you have about your topic and to develop them in
an academic manner. This development occurs as a direct result of your research on the subject. Therefore, this is your
first formal articulation of your project. The Research Proposal is the next step towards writing assignments that will help
you construct your Research Paper.
Description:
In this 500-600-word, essay-style Research Proposal, you will develop the project that you intend to write about for your
final Research Paper for this course. If your Research Proposal is less than this word count, then it is likely you have not
fully developed your proposal or adhered to the assignment appropriately, which can severely impact your grade for this
assignment. Your Research Proposal will include the elements listed below.
Your Research Proposal should also include a list of references in APA style and should adhere to APA convention
throughout for in-text citation and style. When you write for academic or public audiences, it is imperative that you are
supported by voices other than your own. In other words, even if you are an expert, you still must support your assertions.
In a Research Proposal, the same is true. For this assignment, you will include at least one source in your description of
your tentative argument. The source cannot be yourself, an interview, or your text book. You must research your topic in
order to gain a valid academic source that speaks to your topic in some way.
Elements:
Your Research Proposal grade will be largely based on your inclusion of the elements listed below, as well as your
development of the project. For assistance, you might want to refer to Chapter 1, Section 1a, of The Little, Brown Compact
Handbook with Exercises (pp. 3-4). Your Research Proposal must contain the following elements:
1. Cover page and APA formatting:
You will include an APA-style cover page for your Research Proposal. See the example on page 16 of The CSU
APA Guide (6th edition). Your cover page should include the following: the title of your future Research Paper (this
may be changed as your project develops), your name, and the name of your university (Columbia Southern
University). The cover page must also include a running head which should include up to 50 characters from the
title of the paper, along with a sequential page number in the upper right-hand corner. You can find instructions for
formatting the running head on pp. 9-11 of The CSU APA Guide.
2. Purpose:
Review the purpose statement on p. 333 of Strategies for Writing Successful Research Papers. You may also want
to refer to Chapter 1, Section 1c of The Little, Brown Compact Handbook with Exercises (pp. 6-7). The following
questions should be addressed in the first paragraph of your Research Proposal, which should be dedicated to
establishing your purpose for doing this particular project.
• What is your rationale for this project?
• What do you hope to learn from the project, or what to do you want to see happen as a result of it?
• Who is your audience for this project? Chapter 1, Section 1d, of The Little, Brown Compact
Handbook with Exercises (pp. 7-8)
• What role will you play in this project: investigator or advocate?
3. Statement of qualification:
Address the following questions as they are applicable to your project.
•
•
•
•

What is your investment in the topic?
What personal experience do you bring to the topic?
What special qualities do you bring to the project?
How might your investment, experience, and special qualities make you particularly apt at developing this
project?

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4. Tentative argument:
Your final Research Paper for this course will be an argumentative, research-based, academic paper. While it is
unlikely that you will have a concrete idea of what your entire argument will be at this point in the writing process, it
is necessary for you to articulate your argument as you understand it to be right now. Address the following
questions.
• What is the context surrounding your topic? In other words, is there some event that was a catalyst
for bringing your topic into the public eye? (Optional)
• What is your explanation or definition of the topic?
• What is your analysis of the specific issue surrounding your topic?
• What is your tentative thesis statement or hypothesis?
5. References:
Include a references list as the last page of your Research Proposal. See the example on pages 6, 7, and 21 of
The CSU APA Guide (6th edition). All entries are those that have been cited in the text. No others are to be
included. No textbooks should be included on the references list.
This long proposal example pulls together everything you have learned in this unit, following the elements listed above.
Click here to access the long proposal example.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit III Annotated Bibliography
Follow the directions below for the completion of the Annotated Bibliography assignment for Unit III. If you have
questions, please email your professor for assistance. As always, you may also seek out the guidance of the Success
Center; the tutors are always there to assist you with your writing and comprehension. You may submit writing
assignments to the Success Center by using a “Writing Center Request form” located on the myCSU Student Portal. To
submit a “Writing Center Request form,” log into the myCSU Student Portal, click on “Success Center,” and then click on
“Tutoring.” If you have questions concerning APA or your writing assignment, you can contact the Success Center at
[email protected] or by phone at ext. 6538.
Purpose:
The purpose of the Annotated Bibliography is to summarize the sources that you have gathered to support your Research
Proposal project. These summaries help you to think about the complex arguments presented in your sources and the
massive information therein in terms of short, digestible articulations. In addition, these summaries will likely form the basis
for Draft 1 of your Research Paper (the review of literature) that you will complete in Unit IV, which is largely comprised of
summaries that are transitioned together and that form a conversation about the issue.
Description:
In this assignment, you will create an Annotated Bibliography consisting of five sources. Each entry will consist of a
reference list citation that precedes a 100-150 word summary of the source. If each of the five entries is less than the word
count, it is likely you have not fully developed your summary, and this lack of development can severely impact your grade
for this assignment. Your Annotated Bibliography will include the elements listed below.
Elements:
Your Annotated Bibliography must contain specific elements. Your grade is largely based on your inclusion of these
elements, as well as your ability to summarize your sources. For assistance, you may want to refer to the example in
Chapter 20, Section 20f, of Strategies for Writing Successful Research Papers (pp. 436-438). The elements include the
following.

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1. Cover page and APA formatting:
You will include an APA-style cover page for your Annotated Bibliography. See the example in The CSU APA
Guide (6th edition) on page 16. Your cover page should include the following: the title, your name, and the name
of your university (Columbia Southern University). Your title will appear in the running head which should include
up to 50 characters from the title of the paper, along with a sequential page number in the upper right-hand corner.
The following conventions should be followed as well. See the Annotated Bibliography example (linked below) for
guidance:
• The entries should be ordered in alphabetical order according to the first substantive word in the reference list citation.
• The entire Annotated Bibliography should be double-spaced, with no additional spaces between entries.
• No reference list should be included with the Annotated Bibliography, as the entries themselves will contain the
reference list citation information.
• The first line of each reference list citation should be flush left with the left-hand margin (no indentation), and the
second and proceeding lines should be indented ½” from the left-hand margin (hanging indent of one-half inch).
• The summary paragraph begins on the line following the end of the reference. It lines up with the indented portion of
the reference, with the exception that the first line is indented an additional one-half inch. (Look at the example to
see how this formats.)
2. Entries:
Each of the five entries should begin with a reference list citation in APA format and be followed by a 100-150 word
summary of the source’s information. An Annotated Bibliography summary should include the most important
information from the text. Sometimes, this means that you will broadly summarize larger portions of text (as in main
ideas of a whole essay); other times, this means that you will focus on summarizing one paragraph out of an entire
source. Whenever you quote information, use APA in-text citations.
Annotated Bibliography Example:
The purpose of the Annotated Bibliography example is to help you with the formatting of the Annotated Bibliography, which
can be confusing. Use the document formatting as a guide. If assistance is required with the APA formatting, see page 13
of The CSU APA Guide (6th edition), and follow the instructions for formatting hanging indents. If further assistance is needed,
contact the Success Center or your professor. Click here to access the Annotated Bibliography example.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.

18.

Unit IV Research Paper Draft 1
Follow the directions below for the completion of your Research Paper Draft 1 (the review of literature) for Unit IV.

Purpose:
The purpose of Draft 1 is to build upon the Annotated Bibliography and to move forward in drafting your final Research
Paper.
Description:
In this assignment, you will build upon the summaries that you did for the Annotated Bibliography for Unit III. Unlike the
Annotated Bibliography, however, the Draft 1 of your Research Paper is more than just a summary of sources. Instead, it is
a conversation between sources wherein the student author places his or her sources into a conversation about topics
surrounding the issue. You will need to review at least five academic sources for this assignment. You are not restricted to
the sources used in the Annotated Bibliography, but that would be a good place to start. The length of the draft should be
between 3-5 pages, not including the cover page or references page.

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Elements:
Your Draft 1 grade is largely based on your inclusion of several elements and the overall quality of your writing. For
assistance, you might want to refer to the examples in Chapter 20, Section 20g, of Strategies for Writing Successful
Research Papers (pp. 438-444). Your Draft 1 must contain the following elements.
NOTE: the following resources will provide you with guidance and examples that will help you as you write your review of
literature (underlined words link to .pdf documents):
• Click here to access a review of the literature example.
• Click here for a webinar on paraphrasing and summarizing.
1. Cover page and APA formatting:
You should include an APA-style cover page for your Draft 1. See the example on page 16 of The CSU APA Guide
(6th edition). Your cover page should include the following: the title of your paper, your name, and the name of your
university (Columbia Southern University). The running head should include up to 50 characters from the title of the
paper, along with a sequential page number in the upper right-hand corner.
2. Review of literature:
Below are techniques for writing a review of literature.
• Consider the topics that your sources cover. Then make a list of those topics. Cluster the topics together, and decide
which sources speak to the same concerns.
• Decide which sources speak to the same issues, and decide which material from those sources that you will include.
• When sources discuss the same topic but do not agree, you should still include them in the same paragraph if you
would like. There is nothing that says that two sources that disagree cannot be presented in the same paragraph.
• Remember to transition between ideas, sources, and paragraphs. Check out the list of transitional expressions on pp.
44-45 of The Little, Brown Compact Handbook with Exercises.
• Remember to include concise summaries of the material.
Avoid the following in a review of literature.
• Do not comment on the sources. Your job here is to present the material only, not to give your take on what is has to
say.
• Do not include your argument. You do not want to argue in the review of literature because you are reviewing the
literature, not asserting your argument. You will be able to argue for your position later in the paper.
• Do not just insert the summary paragraphs from your Annotated Bibliography. The review of literature is far more than
just a list of paragraphs summarizing sources.
• Do not forget to cite your sources in text and to include a references page.
NOTE: “Integrating Literary Resources,” a webinar created by the Success Center, may help you with your review
of literature. Click here to view the webinar.
3. References:
Include a references list as the last page of the paper. See the example on pages 6, 7, and 21 of The CSU APA
Guide (6th edition). All entries are those that have been cited in the text. No others are to be included. No
textbooks should be included on the references list.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.

19.

Unit V Assignment

Formal Sentence Outline
Follow the directions below for the completion of the Formal Sentence Outline assignment for Unit V. If you have questions,
please email your professor for assistance. As always, you may also seek out the guidance of the Success Center; the
tutors are always there to assist you with your writing and comprehension. You may submit writing assignments to the
Success Center by using a “Writing Center Request form” located on the myCSU Student Portal. To submit a “Writing
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Purpose:
The purpose of the Formal Sentence Outline is to help you organize, design, and outline your final Research Paper for this
course. Now that you have researched your topic and composed a review of literature that demonstrates your
understanding of the conversation surrounding your topic, you are ready to begin fleshing out your paper—one section at a
time. In the last three units of the course, you will write the remaining sections of your paper (introduction, body,
conclusion, and abstract), and this outline will guide you through that process.
Description:
In this 300-500-word, Formal Sentence Online, you will organize and outline the project that you intend to write about for
your final Research Paper. If your Formal Sentence Outline is less than the word count, it is likely you have not fully
developed your outline or adhered to the assignment appropriately, and this lack of development can severely impact your
grade for this assignment. Your outline will include the elements listed below.
Your Formal Sentence Outline should also include a list of references in APA style and should adhere to APA convention
throughout for in-text citation and style.
Elements:
Your grade is largely based on your inclusion of the following elements, as well as your development of the project. For a
model, you might want to refer back to pp. 465-467 of Strategies for Writing Successful Research Papers. Your outline
must contain the following elements.
1. Cover page and APA formatting:
You should include an APA-style cover page for your Formal Sentence Outline. See the example on page 16 of
The CSU APA Guide (6th edition). Your cover page should include the following: the title, your name, and the
name of your university (Columbia Southern University). The running head should include up to 50 characters from
the title of the paper, along with a sequential page number in the upper right-hand corner.
The entire outline should be double-spaced throughout, without additional spaces between sections.
2. Thesis:
The thesis statement should be provided at the beginning of the outline, and it should be labeled “Thesis,” followed
by a colon. The thesis statement should be an argumentative statement that embodies the argument of your paper.
Please see the directions for double-checking the argumentativeness of your thesis statement in the lecture for
Unit V.
When writing your outline, make certain that every topic and subtopic is written as a complete
sentence. Additionally, it is required to include in-text citations within your outline. For instance, one of your
subtopics may be a direct quote; therefore, you would place an in-text citation at the closing of the sentence just
as you would do if it were written in essay form. For example:
I.

Hybrid vehicles are far inferior to our country’s available technology.
A. Electric cars are more energy efficient and do not have tailpipe pollutants.
1. Nissan CEO, Carlos Ghosn (2008), states, “I want a pure electric car. I don’t want
a range extender that still uses oil. That is unsustainable” (para. 2).

Furthermore, any in-text citation will also have a correlating reference entry listed on the reference page. For the
purpose of this outline, you will only reference the sources, which have in-text citations to match (in the
outline). In later drafts, you will include every source that you used in your essay on your reference
page. However, the outline only requires that you reference sources that were used solely in the outline.

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3. Headings and subheadings:
You must include at least four headings in your outline, indicated by Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV). Each of these
headings must have at least two subheadings, indicated by capital letters (A, B, C). The best outlines will break
down these subheadings into topics, indicated with numerals (1, 2, 3). A framework for an outline might look like
the following.
Thesis: Hydrogen cars might be the future’s best hope for an environment-friendly family vehicle, but the
unstable nature of the hydrogen that powers them is not worth the risk of personal injury.
I.

There have been a number of alternative cars designed in the last decade, but none that are as
efficient as the hydrogen models. (Heading)
A. Efficiency for alternative car models means production costs do not exceed the financial strain
of consumers. (Subheading)
1. Hybrid cars are not as efficient as electric cars. (Topic)
2. Electric cars place undue energy demands on society. (Topic)
B. Subheading 1.2
1. Topic
2. Topic