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PWR 2 ! The Rhetoric of Gender and Technology ! Spring 2014
RESEARCH ARGUMENT ESSAY
LOGISTICS
Assignment Description: This assignment asks you to deliver your research in the form of an
academic research paper of 2800+ words, utilizing at least 12 sources, with a balance between
primary and secondary research. Both the draft and the revision of the research essay should be
prefaced by a reflective memo.
Due dates:
• Draft #1 due: Tuesday, May 13, by class
• Introductory paragraph (required) & Draft #2 due (optional): Thursday, May 29, by
class
• Final Revision due: Tuesday, June 3, by class
Paper Format: 2800+ words; 1.5 spacing; separate title page including name, title, and date;
page numbers; in-text citations and works cited in MLA form; 1” margins; visual evidence (as
appropriate) with captions.
Submission Format: Electronic posting of all materials to your student portfolio as they are
due (this includes title pages, reflective memos, abstracts, works cited as they are due).
Grading: This assignment is worth 35% of the overall class grade.
Recommended Envision reading: Chapters 6 & 7
ASSIGNMENT GOALS
This assignment has three interrelated goals:
1. To ask you to take on a sophisticated research project, working with both primary and secondary
sources, on a subject related to the intersection of gender and technology.
2. To encourage you to develop skills in delivering complex research effectively in written form.
3. To help you develop skills in presenting a powerful and articulate argument about a topic, using
evidence to substantiate your claims.
DETAILED ASSIGNMENT
All PWR 2 students are required to complete an extended piece of academically rigorous research writing,
designed to reinforce the skills learned in PWR: research strategies; deliberate use of rhetoric; clear and
forceful argumentation.
Your research paper should include an argumentative thesis that represents your own claim about your
topic. This thesis should be supported by evidence derived from both primary and secondary research. You
should utilize at least 12 sources and, as applicable, fieldwork (interviews, surveys, etc.) -- in many cases, you