Touchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course material, help you refine skills, and demonstrate application of knowledge. You can
work on a Touchstone anytime, but you can’t submit it until you have completed the unit’s Challenges. Once you’ve submitted a Touchstone, it will be graded
and counted toward your final course score.
Touchstone 1.2: Write a Research Question, Thesis, and Outline
ASSIGNMENT: Following the Topic Selection Guidelines below, choose an argumentative topic to research. This will be your topic throughout the entire
course, so the activities required for this assignment will provide the foundation for your future Touchstones. The topic for an argumentative research
paper must be an arguable topic, meaning that it involves a stance that advocates for a concrete course of action and at least three supporting reasons
which are defensible with credible sources. Additionally, it must take a stance that someone could hypothetically disagree with. You will need to take a
firm position on the topic and use evidence and logic to support the position. Touchstone 1.2 includes a research question, a working thesis, a detailed
outline, and a reflection on this pre-writing process.
Sample Touchstone 1.2
In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any recycled work will be sent back with a
0, and you will be given one attempt to redo the Touchstone.
A. Topic Selection Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: You may choose any topic you wish as long as the stance is arguable and the supporting reasons are defensible with evidence. Your topic
should be current, appropriate for an academic context and should have a focus suitable for a 6-8 page essay.
In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any recycled work will be sent back with a 0,
and you will be given one attempt to redo the Touchstone.
EXAMPLE THESIS STATEMENTS
1) Rather than ending at age eighteen, compulsory education in the United States should be lifelong in order to improve civic engagement, teach new skills,
and stave off cognitive decline, thus extending life expectancies.
2) Local governments, businesses, and property owners should replace conventional grass lawns with clover lawns in order to create habitat for pollinators,
save water, and reduce maintenance, which will also lower carbon emissions.
Not Submitted Submitted Scored
You can work on a Touchstone whenever you want, but you must completethe previous assessments in the Unit before you can submit it. SUBMIT TOUCHSTONE
It takes 5-7 business days for a Touchstone to be graded once it’s been submitted.
UNIT 1 — TOUCHSTONE 1.2: Write a Research Question, Thesis, and OutlineSCORE
-/50
3) Colleges and universities should prioritize academic freedom for students because sensitive discussions on difficult topics are necessary for students to
learn, confidence in their own expertise is essential to teachers being effective, and students should be prepared to be exposed to many different opinions.
B. Research Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: Refer to the list below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these guidelines.
1. Research Question and Working Thesis
Keep in mind: The research question and working thesis are the driving force behind your research and eventual argument.
❒ Your research question should be a single sentence, framed as an actionable statement that takes a clear position on the research question and
includes three main supporting points for holding that position.
❒ Your working thesis should be a single focused sentence, framed as a statement that takes a clear position on the research question.
❒ Include your research question followed by your working thesis.
2. Detailed Outline
Keep in mind: Your detailed outline provides a map of the argumentative research essay that you will write in Touchstone 3.2, including your key claims and
the sources that support them. You might not have all seven required sources yet, and that is fine. The outline is a way to organize your essay and determine
which areas (e.g. your sub-points) will require researched evidence as support.
❒ Headings: one for each paragraph with a brief label of the paragraph’s controlling idea(s).
❒ An introduction, at least five body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
❒ Introduction includes your working thesis.
❒ Body paragraphs should each have their own unique title and key points.
❒ At least one body paragraph is devoted to addressing counterarguments.
❒ Conclusion includes notes on your final thoughts.
❒ Subheadings: two to five for each paragraph, below each heading, indicating key points that support the controlling idea
❒ Sources: one to three for each paragraph, as relevant, indicating the support for the key points. Do not over-rely on any single source.
❒ For each source, include the author’s name and the idea or information relevant to your argument (e.g. “Lappé (2017) on mono-cropping corn/soy and
production”). Link with a website if it is available.
3. Reflection
❒ Have you displayed a clear understanding of the research activities?
❒ Have you answered all reflection questions thoughtfully and included insights, observations, and/or examples in all responses?
❒ Are your answers included on a separate page below the main assignment?
C. Reflection Questions
DIRECTIONS: Below your assignment, include answers to all of the following reflection questions.
. Learning to conduct research is important because it is a skill you will use both in academia and in your professional life. It improves critical thinking
and empowers you to find information for yourself. Consider the process of researching as a whole. What was the most challenging aspect of the
process for you? (2-3 sentences)
. The working thesis statement is a proposed answer to your research question. It should clearly identify an arguable topic and take a position on one
side of that topic. Analyze the effectiveness of your working thesis statement. (3-4 sentences)
. A detailed outline is an effective tool for laying out the progression of an argument. It allows you to consider the arrangement and organization of your
ideas, as well as choose places to incorporate outside source materials. Review your detailed outline and summarize the argument you’ve presented.
(3-4 sentences)
. You will use the same topic on three of the remaining Touchstones in this course. What kind of feedback would be helpful for you? What are specific
questions you might have as you go deeper into the research process? (2-3 sentences)
D. Rubric
Advanced (100%) Proficient (85%) Acceptable (75%) NeedsImprovement (50%)
Non-Performance(0%)
Research Question (10points)
Pose a meaningfulresearch question on anarguable topic.
Constructs a precise andfocused research questionrelative to a current anarguable topic.
Constructs a focusedresearch question relative toan arguable topic.
Constructs a researchquestion relative to anarguable topic; however it issomewhat too broad or toonarrow for the assignment.
Constructs a researchquestion; however, thequestion is too broad or toonarrow for the assignmentand/or it is not arguable.
Does not construct a researchquestion, or constructs aresearch question that doesnot meet any of the rubriccriteria.
Working Thesis (10points)
Propose a focusedworking thesis.
Includes a working thesis thattakes a well-articulated, clear,specific position on one sideof an issue.
Includes a working thesisthat takes a clear, specificposition on one side of anissue.
Includes a working thesis thattakes a clear position on oneside of an issue; however itlacks specificity.
Includes a working thesis;however, it lacks specificityand does not take a clearposition.
Does not include a workingthesis, or includes a thesisthat does not take a position.
Detailed Outline (15points)
Present a detailed outlinethat includes coherentheadings, subheadings,and source placementnotes.
Outline is thoroughlydeveloped and clearlylabeled with effective notes,such that the reader caneasily see how the essay willbuild its argument; allnecessary elements of theoutline are present.
Outline is well-developedand labeled with sufficientnotes, such that the readercan get a sense of how theessay will build its argument;all necessary elements of theoutline are present.
Outline is primarily well-developed and labeled withsufficient notes, such that thereader can get an overallsense of how the essay willbuild its argument; however, afew necessary elements maybe unclear or missing.
Outline is not fully developedand/or labeling and notes areoften unclear, such that thereader cannot easily get asense of how the essay willbuild its argument; severalnecessary elements of theoutline are unclear or missing.
Outline is not developedand/or labeling and notes areunclear or absent, such thatthe reader is unable to seehow the essay will build itsargument; most necessaryelements of the outline areunclear or missing.
Style (5 points)
Establish a consistent,informative tone andmake thoughtful stylisticchoices.
Demonstrates thoughtful andeffective word choices,avoids redundancy andimprecise language, anduses a wide variety ofsentence structures.
Demonstrates effective wordchoices, primarily avoidsredundancy and impreciselanguage, and uses a varietyof sentence structures.
Demonstrates generallyeffective style choices, butmay include occasionalredundancies, impreciselanguage, poor word choice,and/or repetitive sentencestructures.
Frequently includes poor wordchoices, redundancies,imprecise language, and/orrepetitive sentence structures.
Consistently demonstratespoor word choices,redundancies, impreciselanguage, and/or repetitivesentence structures.
Conventions (5 points)
Follow conventions forstandard written English.
There are only a few, if any,negligible errors in grammar,punctuation, spelling,capitalization, and usage.
There are occasional minorerrors in grammar,punctuation, spelling,capitalization, and usage.
There are some significanterrors in grammar,punctuation, spelling,capitalization, and usage.
There are frequent significanterrors in grammar,punctuation, spelling,capitalization, and usage.
There are consistentsignificant errors in grammar,punctuation, spelling,capitalization, and usage.
Advanced (100%) Proficient (85%) Acceptable (75%) NeedsImprovement (50%)
Non-Performance(0%)
Reflection (5 points)
Answer reflectionquestions thoroughly andthoughtfully.
Demonstrates thoughtfulreflection; consistentlyincludes insights,observations, and/orexamples in all responses,following or exceedingresponse length guidelines.
Demonstrates thoughtfulreflection; includes multipleinsights, observations, and/orexamples, followingresponse length guidelines.
Primarily demonstratesthoughtful reflection, butsome responses are lacking indetail or insight; primarilyfollows response lengthguidelines.
Shows limited reflection; themajority of responses arelacking in detail or insight, withsome questions leftunanswered or falling short ofresponse length guidelines.
No reflection responses arepresent.
E. Requirements
The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded:
• Double-space the outline and use one-inch margins.
• Use a readable 12-point font.
• All writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
• Composition must be original and written for this assignment.
• Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
• Submission must include your name, the name of the course, the date, and the title of your composition.
• Submission must include your research question, working thesis, outline, and reflection questions.
• Include all of the assignment components in a single file.
• Acceptable file formats include .doc and .docx.
F. Additional Resources
The following resources will be helpful to you as you work on this assignment:
. Purdue Online Writing Lab’s APA Formatting and Style Guide
a. This site includes a comprehensive overview of APA style, as well as individual pages with guidelines for specific citation types.
. Frequently Asked Questions About APA Style
a. This page on the official APA website addresses common questions related to APA formatting. The “References,” “Punctuation,” and “Grammar and
Writing Style” sections will be the most useful to your work in this course.
. APA Style: Quick Answers—References
a. This page on the official APA Style website provides numerous examples of reference list formatting for various source types.
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