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EXPLORATORY ESSAY, exploring the problem. Need a title. WRITING AN EXPLORATORY ESSAY: NUTS AND BOLTS EXPLORATORY ESSAYS may explore a PROBLEM and offer possible solutions, or, explore AN ISSUE from multiple perspectives. (so, either explore a PROBLEM or an ISSUE, NOT both). - Exploring a PROBLEM: you need to show how complex it is and explore 4 (four) plausible solutions. - Exploring an ISSUE: your task is to explore the issue's complexity from 4 (four) different perspectives. An effective EXPLORATORY ESSAY needs to: 1. Effectively frame the PROBLEM or ISSUE: This is to be done in the introduction. You need to a) clearly identify the subject, b) situate the subject in a particular context, c) provide enough background information for the readers to understand it, and, d) clearly state the purpose of the paper (include a purpose or preview statement) 2. Present a well-researched, informative exploration. If you are exploring a PROBLEM, you need to show how complex it is from 4 (four) different perspectives and offer some possible solutions. If you are focusing on an ISSUE you need to explore its complexity through 4 (four) different perspectives (different viewpoints from your own) 3. Offer possible solutions to the PROBLEM, or 4. Include some commentary on the alternative views (perspectives) -- if you are exploring an ISSUE 5. Reflect on your own change of perspective, opinions, interpretations or understanding of the subject. This is showing your dialectic thinking (whether, how, and how much your perceptions/views have evolved while exploring this subject) Your Task: Choose a PROBLEM or ISSUE that really interests you. If a Problem: Explain why you are interested in this problem ad why there has been no satisfactory solution yet. Then, write a chronologically organized account of your thinking process as you research the problem, as you discuss it with others, or as you reflect on it. Your research must include at least 4 (four) external sources (books, articles in magazines or scholarly journals, websites, interviews with experts in the field, etc. NO Wikipedia. NO general dictionaries). Your task is to examine the problem from 4 (four) different perspectives, analyzing the strengths and the weaknesses of different positions, points of view. Your goal is NOT to offer a final, bulletproof solution. Rather, you need to offer possible solutions that might work – these are well-informed opinions founded on quality research and analyses. If an Issue: Explain why you are interested in this issue ad why there has been a public debate about it. Then, write a chronologically organized account of your thinking process as you research the issue, as you discuss it with others, or as you reflect on it. Your research must include at least 4 (four) external sources (books, articles in magazines or scholarly journals, websites, interviews with experts in the field, etc. NO Wikipedia. NO general dictionaries). Your task is to examine the problem from 4 (four) different perspectives, assessing the strengths and the weaknesses of different positions or points of view. Your goal is not to offer a final opinion or the “right” position on the issue. Rather, you need to offer a complex exploration with well-informed opinions that will be founded on quality research and analysis. Considering Multiple Solutions (Multiple Perspectives): This is the key element in exploratory writing -- you need to consider multiple solutions to a problem or multiple points of view (multiple perspectives) on an issue. Equally importantly, the essay needs to show possible tensions between alternative views or solutions. Dialectic Thinking: You need to show the changes and development in your thinking process while exploring your subject and writing about it. To that end, you need to comment on how (or how much) have your views/understanding changed now that you have researched this subject and learned more about it. Promising and Unpromising Topics: The two immediate difficulties seem to be topic choice and the need to establish the problem's existence and seriousness. In choosing a topic, avoid problems or issues that are abstract or complicated to be handled effectively in short time. The more distant the problem/issue is from your own personal experience, the harder it is to write about it. That is why I encourage you to select a problem plaguing a community or group to which you belong, or an issue that genuinely interests you. Even the most abstract problems can be treated in the context of a local group. If you are concerned with broad educational problems, for example, you might find evidence of the problem in your own school or college. If you are concerned with economic problems like homelessness or unemployment, look in your own communities. Problems such as world terrorism, poverty in Africa, lack of shelter for homeless in the UA, or unemployment in the US, are too complex and difficult to handle in a paper of this scope. Therefore, try to select problems of smaller scale, i.e., contextualize the problem in a smaller region or community. For example, it is much better to explore homelessness in Tempe (or your town or city), unemployment in Maricopa County (or the country where you come from), etc.) Problems vs. Issues: These terms are interchangeably used by many, but it is important to differentiate between controversial issues and obvious problems. Controversial issues are disputable, and people take certain positions on these issues. Problems, on the other hand, are unquestionably recognized as negative phenomena that require solutions. For instance, gay marriage is a controversial issue because people take a side (for or against it). On the other hand, violent crimes are an obvious problem because there is no disagreement about its negative impact on the community. Research: Your support needs to result from research, and not merely from your memory or personal experience. Before drafting, you need to revisit the subject and carefully take notes. This essay requires quality Internet research, looking at relevant, reliable, accurate, and current primary sources of information (scholarly journals, encyclopedias, specialized magazines, interviewing experts or consulting expert opinions, etc.) NO Wikipedia. NO general dictionaries. As you will be exploring various solutions or different viewpoints on issues, you will essentially approach your subject from multiple perspectives. Research Notes: Having good research notes and marked sources will make drafting easier. You should take notes while researching and note the sources immediately. It is often not easy to go back and find out what your sources were. If you find anything relevant, make a note of it. Using sources without giving appropriate credit is considered plagiarism and will result in a failing grade! Sources and Citation Format: Relevant sources add to the credibility of your writing. Referring to authoritative sources is a must in academic writing. It is used to support writer's assumptions and claims. For the use of outside sources, consult Chapter 23, pp.626-651. This section describes in detail how to cite various sources, including electronic sources. You need to use at least 4 (four) sources in the essay and they must follow MLA System of Documentation (pp. 628-642). Your final paper needs to have a separate “Works Cited” page listing minimally 4 (four) sources. Also, all of these sources need to be clearly referred to in the body text. A sample of an appropriately annotated research paper that uses MLA documentation format is given in on pp. 643-649. Exploratory Essay Format Requirements Formatting your document is the final important thing you need to take care of. Before you hand in your essays, please make sure that all the following format requirements are met: - Font size: 12 points. - Font: Times New Roman. - Margins: all margins (top, bottom, left, and right) should be 1 inch. To adjust the margins, go to File/ Page Setup/Margins and set all of them to 1”. - Place your name, my name, course title, and date, in the left corner at the top of the first page. - The text should be double-spaced. (Go to Format/Paragraph/Line Spacing and set the spacing to “double.” - The essay should have a Title that needs to be centered. Do not underline the title. - Pagination: All pages must be numbered. - Length: Minimum length is 1,200 words. The essay needs to have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. For full credit write the cumulative word count (in parentheses) at the end of the paper. - Begin typing your essay one double space below your title. - The sources used in the essay must follow MLA System of Documentation. (pp. 628-642) - The paper should have a separate “Works Cited” page containing minimally 4 (four) sources. - An example of an MLA-style student paper is shown on pp. 643-649. - Upload your final paper as a Word document to the DROP-OFF BOX on the BB NOTE: Papers that will not comply exactly with these format requirements will be downgraded up to 10%. Papers that do not include a Work Cited page with outside sources will be downgraded for 15%. LATENESS: If you do not present your final paper on the day it is due, you will lose 10 % from the paper grade. Also, late papers will be downgraded 10% per each day they are late. Papers more than one week late will be downgraded 50%. Writing Effective Introductions of Exploratory Essays Introduction (1 to 2 paragraphs) - Explain how and why your topic is complex, problematic, and significant. - Say why you are interested in this topic. How much do you know about it? What information do you have about your subject at this point? (i.e., before the exploration) What is your current opinion about it? - Presents some background information about it - End the introduction with a preview statement: say what exactly you will explore in this essay Tips: Begin your introduction with a “hook” or “attention grabber”. A good “hook” could be one (or several) thought-provoking questions that will be answered later on in the essay. Also, a “hook” can be an intriguing example, a bold statement, a surprising statistic, or a short anecdote that relates to the subject. End your introduction with a preview statement or purpose statement. General Principles: When writing introductions the author progresses from OLD to NEW information. Typically, in research papers the THESIS STATEMENT (or in your case, the PREVIEW or PURPOSE STATEMENT) should appear at the end of the introduction. Can you explain why? Discussion Question 1: Compare the old and the revised paragraphs on p. 523. What are the components of a good introduction? Discussion Question 2: You are now working on the introduction of your Exploratory Paper and you are trying to create the main components of your introduction. Look at the components below. What kind of attention grabber do you intend to use? What would you include as background information to show how complex is your topic? What would be your preview statement? - OPENING -- ATTENTION GRABBER: - BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROBLEM or ISSUE: - WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE TOPIC/WHAT IS YOUR OPINION? : - PREVIEW or PURPOSE STATEMENT: How to Organize an Exploratory Essay: Possible Framework Introduction (1 to 2 paragraphs) - Shows that your topic is complex, problematic, and significant - Explains why you are intrigued by it, and how much you know about it - Presents some background information about it - Includes a preview statement announcing the major parts of this exploratory paper Tip: You can open with a question or build up to it, using it to end your introduction Your First Source/Perspective (2 paragraphs) - Introduce your first source ad show why you started with this source of information - Give some rhetorical context and information about this source (is it a scientific source, a legal document, a political program, a testimony of an expert or professional, etc.) - Summarize the source's content and information about your topic - Now, you can offer your response (or interpretation) of this source, including both with-the-grain and against-the-grain points - Explain how this source helped you understand the complexity of this topic: What did you learn from this source? What value does this source have for you? What is missing from this source that you want to consider? Where do you want to go from here? Your Second Source/Perspective (2 paragraphs) (repeat the process explained in the bulleted points for the First Source) Your Third Source/Perspective (2 paragraphs) (repeat the process explained in the bulleted points for the First Source) Your Fourth Source/Perspective (2 paragraphs) (repeat the process explained in the bulleted points for the First Source) Conclusion - Provide a closure of your exploration by explaining  what do you think about this topic now  how (much) your understanding of this topic has changed - Present your answer to this problem/issue based on your research and understanding, or - Explain why you still do not have a definite answer to it, or - Ask some questions that still need to be answered and suggest some further research Works Cited (separate page) - Include a complete list of citations in MLA format (minimum 4 sources)