Connecting Real-Life Issues and Writing Courses: A Few Sample Topics for Essays and Research Papers

A great way to motivate students to conduct research and to write with true enthusiasm and passion is to let them select writing prompts that relate to everyday life and occurrences, and which give them an opportunity to express their point of view. Engaging students in issues they care about, and making sure that the topics are current and up-to-date helps writers avoid the problem of cliched responses, stale statistics, and a flat emotional appeal. Further, guiding students away from cliched, standard prompts may help eliminate copying and pasting and retrieving canned papers from repositories.

1. Human Encroachment and Animal Maulings (why are so many people mauled by bears, etc each year?)

A. Opening -- an illustrative example. Show an example. Follow with a thesis statement and overview.
B. What is going on? What is the problem? Describe it. (Use current examples, and cite sources. The examples should be real. If they are composites or hypothetical examples of what could have likely occurred, be sure to mention so.)
C. What is the extent of the problem? Provide statistics and examples. (use reliable sources, and try to obtain the original statistics, not a watered down version from an excerpt or press release)
D. What are possible explanations? Provide two sides of the story. What do you think?
E. What can be done? Describe possible solutions. What are some communities doing? Do you agree? What would you do?
F. Conclusion (more than a summary) -- Restate what you believe to be the most urgent aspects of the situation, and the most pressing moral or ethical dilemmas. Discuss what you think would be the best approach.

Brown Bears in Kamchatka

2. When Pets Become Predators: What Happens when "cute" and "exotic" pets are released into the "wild" (aka the neighborhood) by their overwhelmed owners?

A. The Nightmare Scenario -- worst case situation (!) Opening -- an illustrative example. Show an example. Follow with a thesis statement and overview.
B. What is going on? What is the problem? Describe it. (Use current examples, and cite sources. The examples should be real. If they are composites or hypothetical examples of what could have likely occurred, be sure to mention so.)
C. What is the extent of the problem? Provide statistics and examples. (use reliable sources, and try to obtain the original statistics, not a watered down version from an excerpt or press release)
D. What are possible explanations? Provide two sides of the story.
E. Common responses and solutions: what are communities doing? Do you agree? why or why not?
F. Ethical Dilemmas: What are some of the issues?
G. The Ethics of the "Easy Answer" -- is the easiest, most expedient solution the most ethical one? Why or why not?
H. What might happen in the future?
I. Conclusion (more than a summary) -- Restate what you believe to be the most urgent aspects of the situation, and the most pressing moral or ethical dilemmas. Discuss what you think would be the best approach.

Pet Boa That Swallowed the Family Cat

3. The New Homelessness in America: Mortgage Crisis Consequences on Families

A. The Faces Behind the Statistics -- Did you know...? Opening -- an illustrative example. Show an example. Follow with a thesis statement and overview.
B. What is going on? What is the problem? Describe it. (Use current examples, and cite sources. The examples should be real. If they are composites or hypothetical examples of what could have likely occurred, be sure to mention so.)
C. What is the extent of the problem? Provide statistics and examples. (use reliable sources, and try to obtain the original statistics, not a watered down version from an excerpt or press release)
D. What are possible explanations? Provide two sides of the story.
E. Common responses and solutions: what are communities doing? Do you agree? why or why not?
F. Ethical Dilemmas: What are some of the issues?
G. The Ethics of the "Easy Answer" -- is the easiest, most expedient solution the most ethical one? Why or why not?
H. What might happen in the future?
I. Conclusion (more than a summary) -- Restate what you believe to be the most urgent aspects of the situation, and the most pressing moral or ethical dilemmas. Discuss what you think would be the best approach.

The New Homeless: The Mortgage Crisis and It Human Impact

4. New Homelessness in America: The Pet Face of the Crisis (Princess Chunk, etc.)

A. "Left Behind" -- and it's not a very nice place to be... if you're a cat, dog, ferret, or iguana...
Opening -- an illustrative example. Show an example. Follow with a thesis statement and overview.
B. What is going on? What is the problem? Describe it. (Use current examples, and cite sources. The examples should be real. If they are composites or hypothetical examples of what could have likely occurred, be sure to mention so.)
C. What is the extent of the problem? Provide statistics and examples. (use reliable sources, and try to obtain the original statistics, not a watered down version from an excerpt or press release) .
D. What are possible explanations? Provide two sides of the story.
E. Common responses and solutions: what are communities doing? Do you agree? why or why not?
F. Ethical Dilemmas: What are some of the issues?
G. The Ethics of the "Easy Answer" -- is the easiest, most expedient solution the most ethical one? Why or why not?
H. What might happen in the future?
I. Conclusion (more than a summary) -- Restate what you believe to be the most urgent aspects of the situation, and the most pressing moral or ethical dilemmas. Discuss what you think would be the best approach.

Princess Chunk

Research Paper Sources: Is Your Data Original or Derivative?

Conducting research for a paper or study requires students to be able to determine where and when their sources are reporting information derived from the primary research, which is, in essence a derivative or second-order reporting. Needless to say, this could lead to errors. Here are a few ways to avoid the problems.

Seek the Primary Source of Statistics and Studies:
Using a web-based search engine such as Google, or a database such as Lexis-Nexis that contains a large number of newspaper articles, can yield excellent preliminary results if one is seeking statistics or the results of research to provide evidenciary support for a position made in one’s primary thesis.

However, it could be a bit risky to use the information from the newspaper source, since it could have been slightly distorted or mistyped (scrivener’s errors, etc.). Even worse, the information is often gleaned from a press release, which was created with a definite agenda in mind, resulting in potential skew or bias.

The best approach is to use the newspaper articles as a good first step. After finding who conducted the research, where the results were published, and when, go online to online information repositories and obtain the actual report.

Many times, the report or original publication will be housed on the website of the organization that is publishing the results. This is many times the case with government agencies, not-for-profit organizations and think tanks.

Identify Second-Order Derivatives of Primary Research-Use as Points of Departure:
A reference to a published report or statistics can be thought of as second-order derivatives of primary research. While these are very useful, the information can be a confusing, especially if the article contains a combination of original research and other peoples’ findings.

Sometimes it is not easy to determine that an article is referring to the results of studies contained in other published reports.

While reading the article, it is often useful to develop a diagram that lists the research, the dates, and the names of the primary researchers.

If several studies are being mentioned, it is important to be able to differentiate them. Once the second-order derivatives have been identified, make list and start to construct a brief annotated bibliography. If the results are to be quoted or used in one’s own paper, it is important to obtain a copy of the original report.

Here is a video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2165370213936058620&hl=en