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Research Questions

This guide is the workshop support for Research Questions.

What's the assignment? Carefully read and reflect on the prompt. Consider:

  • What's the assigned topic? How is it related to the course, in what context?
  • When is the project due? What is timeline for completion?
  • What are the maximum / minimum numbers? Of pages, of sources, of slides, etc.
  • What source types are accepted / required? Newspapers, web sites, peer-reviewed articles, books, other?
  • What citation style to use? MLA, APA, Chicago, other

Example Prompts of the past

Review these real-life GCC assignment prompts for the assigned topic in green text, the project due date in blue text, the minimum and maximum requirements in red text, source types in purple text, and citation style in brown text.

Example Prompts

Generate your own topic related to education and connected to themes of language, knowledge, or power. Include 6 sources of which 3 are articles from GCC library databases, no anonymous sources accepted, use MLA style for citations, 6-7 pages in length + Works Cited. Due 4 weeks from now.

Write an analytical essay regarding the cultural construction of illness and wellness. Explore how culture affects our approach to illness and/or wellness. Some questions to consider:  
- How does your family or family's culture handle health, wellness, and sickness?
- Do you think different cultures see some illnesses in specific ways and how does that affect their approach to it?
- Is there a difference between how America handles illness and how specific cultures approach illness?
Include at least 4 sources from GCC Library, final draft 8-10 pages in length, use MLA style for citations, due 8 weeks from now at end of semester. 
Write an analytical essay about the cultural, social, and/or political importance of music. Specifically analyze at least one artist or album that holds personal significance to you. The final essay should be 6-8 pages in length and formatted in MLA style. Your sources should include 2-4 articles from GCC Library databases, of which 1-2 are music reviews. Due 5 weeks from today.

Activity: Assignment Prompts (CS version)

Read the following prompt and identify factors we need to know about to complete this assignment successfully.

(A) We will be reading and discussing issues currently affecting women around the nation and the globe. (B) Your assignment for this semester is to choose one political or cultural issue affecting women, anchored on a particular current event that's occurred in the past 12 months. (C) You will write an analytical essay of 5-6 pages (not including the Works Cited list) that assesses the event and its impact on women. (D) Your analysis must refer to a minimum of 3 sources from the GCC Library, one of which is a peer-reviewed journal article; use MLA style to format the essay and its citations. (E) Your final essay is due on the first day (Monday) of Finals Week.

Raise the letter, A through E, of each part of the above prompt to answer each of these questions:

  • When is this assignment due? How much time do you have to work on it?
  • What is the topic of this prompt?
  • What types of sources do you need to find?
  • How long is the final product that you'll submit?

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