REARCH PROJECT: THE I-SEARCH ESSAY

In your “Problematizing Reality” essay, you raised many questions by challenging the
assumptions—your own and others’—surrounding something commonly seen as accepted or
natural. The topic that you wrote about is ideally something you have a connection to and are
committed to finding out more about. In many instances, you have a level of intimacy with the
topic in much the same way that Floyd Skloot had in his essay “Gray Area: Thinking with a
Damaged Brain.” For Skloot, it was his injured brain that compelled him to research and ask
“Who am I?” among other important questions.
You will now be attempting to expand your understanding in a more comprehensive
research project by asking more in-depth and compelling questions. Taking a cue from Emily A.
Wierszewski in her essay “Research Starts with a Thesis Statement,” we can begin by asking:
Why is something the way it is? Why doesn’t the data quite add up? How could something be
changed for the better? (233). If your inquiry is genuine—one that “begins with unsettled
problems and questions, rather than with thesis statements and predetermined answers” (232)
then you will be doing important and interesting research.
The I-Search essay provides an interesting and engaging alternative to the traditional
research paper. "RE-search" means, of course, to search again: to do over what others have
already done. And too often school research papers become simply a regurgitation of found
material, the ideas of which "belong" to someone else. In the worst examples of research
writing, the topic is assigned, the writers voice is silent, the text is full of quotations, and
students learn very little about integrating sources or supporting a main idea of their own.
Your I-Search essay must be informed by research (not just popular or journalistic
sources, but peer-reviewed scholarly articles). You will be collecting and evaluating primary and
secondary sources for this essay that will “extend and challenge our beliefs and ideas about a
topic” (Wierszewski 232). In doing so, you will be disrupting the traditional research paradigm
of simply confirming your ideas or worse, reiterating the borrowed ideas of others.
You will likely have to revise or adjust your topic to begin this essay and may continue to
do so as you progress. It is important to begin with questions that are focused, challenging, and
grounded. That is, your topic and the questions you raise about it cannot be too broad, bland,
or speculative. You should be genuinely interested in your topic and your reader should share
your curiosity. To this end, you should make use of open-ended questions that are both
personal and public.
You can use a narrative structure for this essay that reconstructs your search by showing
readers what your questions were and what paths you took to answer them. Your essay should
reveal a process that is flexible and recursive, that is, it is open to modifications and diversions
along the way. In your conclusion, rather than tying up the problem with a neat bow, you can
provide readers with closure, perhaps with an account of "where you are now" in your research
process. You may also conclude your essay with a more original and perceptive question that
did not exist before.

As with all essays, you need to adhere to MLA conventions throughout. There is a
detailed rubric attached, but your essay should have these basic requirements:
 Have minimum of six (6) pages and maximum of eight (8) pages, including a
Works Cited page
 Include a Works Cited page at the end of your essay
 Include a minimum of four (4) sources from peer-reviewed scholarly journals or
books and a minimum of four (4) non-traditional sources such as an interviews,
surveys, or newspaper/magazine articles
 Use direct quotes for all sources properly cited using MLA in-text citation format
 Use general MLA formatting guidelines overall
 Use 12 pt. Times New Roman font or similar
 Double-space your essay and set the margins to 1” top and bottom and 1.25” left
and right
ESSAY GRADING RUBRIC

“A” Paper (qualities that distinguish an “A” paper from a “B” paper are in bold)
 Establishes a nuanced, insightful position that is the result of thoughtful analysis
in response to a specific inquiry
 Develops a clear global structure in order to guide your reader intentionally
through your thinking, transitioning effectively from one idea to the next and
explaining the nuances of your position
 Makes specific claims in development of your position and avoids vague
generalizations
 Selects relevant evidence in support of claims and explains their meaning.
Selected evidence demonstrates engagement with sources and may go beyond
the passages selected (authority)
 Analyzes source evidence, thoroughly explaining the relationship between the
source’s ideas and yours while avoiding excessive summary
 Controls language style and syntax in order to provide a smooth and pleasant
reading experience for the audience and placing emphasis on significant ideas

“B” Paper
 Establishes a position that is the result of thoughtful analysis – beyond the
obvious – in response to a specific inquiry
 Develops a clear global structure in order to guide your reader through your
thinking, attempting to transition from one idea to the next and explain your
position
 Makes specific claims in development of your position and avoids vague
generalizations
 Selects relevant evidence and explains its meaning. Selected evidence
demonstrates engagement with sources and may go beyond the passages
selected and discussed in class (authority)
 Analyzes source evidence briefly, with limited explanation of the relationship
between the source’s ideas and yours while avoiding excessive summary
 Controls language style and syntax to convey meaning, perhaps with occasional
lapses

“C” Paper
 Demonstrates characteristics of an unrevised draft that is not ready for an
audience
 Establishes a position that is fairly clear but is simple – perhaps one that is an
agree/disagree or yes/no position
 Attempts to focus discussion on the specific inquiry but may occasionally wander
off-topic
 Makes claims in development of your positon, but some claims are
generalizations or are unclear
  Lacks a clear global structure and does not effectively guide the reader through
your thinking
 Includes evidence in support of claims that is not clearly relevant to your position
 Does not analyze source evidence and/or does not explain the relationship
between the source’s ideas and your own
 Demonstrates a developing control over language style and syntax, causing
meaning to be unclear at times (paragraph and/or sentence structures may be
confusing and illogical). There is reasonable adherence to grammatical and
spelling conventions, indicating having been proofread

“D” or “F” Paper

 Does not establish a consistent position
 Does not address or fails to develop the inquiry, may be entirely off-topic
 Makes few and/or unclear claims, includes several generalizations
 Lacks an intentional organization and fails to guide the reader through your
thinking
 Does not include evidence or includes evidence that is irrelevant
 Does not analyze evidence and/or does not explain the relationship between the
source’s ideas and your own
 Demonstrates a developing control over language which makes the essay
difficult or impossible to understand (paragraph and/or sentence structures may
be confusing and illogical). May not demonstrate a reasonable adherence to
grammatical and spelling conventions.