Your Name Mrs. DiSilvestre English 11 - G/H 13 December 2023 Last Name 1 11th Grade Research Paper: Social Issues in America Today You will be drafting and writing a

research paper based on one social issue Americans face today. You will do research and use specific and sufficient evidence from at least 3-4 sources. Your goal is to clearly establish your claim about the social issue you chose and provide an alternate or opposing claim, which is called your counterclaim. You must include an introduction to the quote and properly cite your sources using MLA format. You will be completing this research paper mostly in class in various well-defined steps. This is a research paper; therefore, you cannot use first person or third person. Avoid summarizing. It is simply research: you will examine and report information that provides a better understanding of the social issue Americans face today. GOALS: 1. To research one social issue Americans face today. Do not flip flop. You must stand by one side of the position. 2. To research and understand the opposing claims (your counterclaim). 3. Restate your position as your rebuttal. 4. Conclude with research about awareness or research about future research. Length: 5 Paragraphs 1. Paragraph 1: Introduction - Introduce the topic / describe the general background / Your thesis statement, which is your LAST sentence of this paragraph, is a roadmap telling the reader where you are going with your research paper. In your thesis, you will state your position clearly and directly. (2 IDEAS) 2. Paragraph 2: Claim #1 - contains a topic sentence related to the ideas mentioned in your thesis / restate your position (should or should not) / contains examples / one quote from research relating to that idea 3. Paragraph 3: Claim #2- contains a topic sentence related to the second idea mentioned in your thesis / contains examples / one quote from research relating to the second idea 4. Paragraph 4: Counterclaim contains a topic sentence related to your opponent's position / Counterclaim research / contains one quote from research / Analysis Last Name 2 5. Paragraph 5: Conclusion and Rebuttal- restate your position (should or should not) Rebuttal → “Opponents may say however they are invalid because "" Include any of the following: ■ evidence of ideas for raising awareness of the issues ideas for future research explanation of why this issue is important to American society ****This is not a platform for political rhetoric. This is not the place to address political subject matter. If you are uncertain if your topic falls under this category, please check with me immediately. You will be graded based on each of the following elements: ○ Organization: This too includes proper MLA format: As always, remember that proper MLA format should be followed. □ Running header on each page, ½ inch from top □ Proper MLA heading O O O Title. Your title should be creative and relate to your main idea. This should be the same font as everything else and not bolded, italicized, underlined, or put in quotes. Indent first line of each paragraph ½ inch. Double-space entire essay. Do NOT leave any extra spacing between paragraphs. Font should be Times New Roman, 12pt. Margins should be 1 inch all around Evidence: You will use 3-4 reliable and approved sources. You must use properly- formatted in-text citations. (This will be a large portion of your grade.) Development: Does your research follow a logical progression of thought within the requirements of the assignment? (This will be a large portion of your grade.) Conventions: This will consist of your grammar, usage, and mechanics. O Last Name 3 *Please note that the majority of these instructions have been written using proper MLA format, so your writing assignment should mirror the format provided for you here.