Police brutality

Introduction (approx. 300 words)

Introduce your question.
Explain how or why you got interested in your question.
Explain what you expect to find in your research (a hypothesis).
Write this in paragraph format (1-3 paragraphs).
Source Entries (approx. 300 words each). You need three entries!

Use three sources.
Organize the sources in alphabetical order by author’s last name.
Be sure each source is a different genre.
Include an entry for each source (directions for entries are below).
Include all four parts for each entry (summary, reflection on the source, analysis of the author’s choice of genre and writing style, and quotes).
How do I write an entry?

Part 1:

The first part of your entry will be the MLA style bibliographic citation for your source. The citation gives the publication information, author, date, title, and so forth. There are many websites (like easybib.com) that can help you do this. Here is one example of a citation:

Fitzgerald, Jill. “Research on Revision in Writing” Review of Educational Research. 57.4 (Winter 1987): 481-506.

Part 2:

For the second part of your entry (right beneath the citation), you will write a summary. This will be useful for remembering what you read. The summary should convey what the author states in the article and not your opinions. Write what you think the main point is, but also what you think the most important points are (these aren’t always the same.) This is also a good time to make note of what data, facts, and evidence the author uses to support their claims, and how they use this evidence to arrive at their conclusions. This will be approximately a paragraph long.

Part 3:

In the third part of your entry, you will write a reflection. This part is perhaps the most important part, so don’t skimp here! This is where you respond to the text you’ve read:

Do you agree or disagree with the text? Why or why not? Be specific!
Quote the text.
What questions do you have about what the text is saying? What don’t you understand?
What other information do you need to look up to better understand this article?
If you could say something to this author, what would you say?
What does this document tell you about your research question?
Also consider rhetorical factors here like the genre, writing style, purpose, and author’s credentials:

How do you feel about the author’s writing style?
What is the author’s intended audience and purpose (reason for writing)?
Is the genre effective? Does the choice of genre make sense for what the author wants to accomplish?
How do you know this is a credible author and document?
Part 3 will be approximately 1-2 paragraphs.

Part 4:

Quotations: Make a note of at least one direct quote from each source that you feel really exemplifies the document’s claims or interpretations or that you feel is important or useful in some way. Be sure to put the quotation in quotation marks and note the page number.

Conclusion (approx. 400 words)

Summarize what you found in your research.
Tell readers what surprised you, or how your understanding of your question deepened or changed.
Explain why what you learned is important.
Explain who you think needs to know about your research and why– be specific! (The answer cannot be “everyone” needs to know. That is too big of an audience.) Narrow it down to who needs to hear about it first or the most!