Your WP#4 will be an expository Researched Report (Writing Today p. 312-13); you will research then explain a topic agreed upon by your new group.  It will have a current social or ethical impact about some issue within the broader topic.  [Your topic must be approved by your professor.  For example, a general paper about being “for or against” abortion will not work and will not be accepted.  If you want to write about abortion, you must do thorough research on the various stakes for various stakeholders and come up with a very particular question that will drive your essay.  Likewise, a paper arguing “for or against” gun control will not work.  A particular issue involving existing laws regarding the possession, licensing, and use of firearms might lead to an interesting paper.]
2.    AUDIENCE AND VOICE
Your audience for this essay is your instructor and the rest of the English faculty.  This should be your most formal essay of the semester, so adopt a confident, credible tone and voice.  Remember, part of building one’s ethos, or credibility, when writing a researched report is to demonstrate that your opinions are informed by and grounded in careful research.
3.    REQUIRED SOURCES
A.    Three common sources that all of your group is using.  Then you will find at least twoadditional sources for your particular angle.
B.    Only two sources may be from online sources.  Look for .org or .edu as these are more credible than .com or .net.
C.    No Wikipedia allowed.
D.    Try to find the most current information possible.  Articles from periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) will most likely be your best sources.  Don’t forget the searchable databases available to you within the West Library.  Choose your sources wisely.
4.    FORMAT
The Researched Report must be a minimum of 4-6 pages, doubled-spaced, typed.
A.    12 point Times New Roman or Arial font.  (The Works Cited page does not count as a text page, but it does appear as the last numbered page of your paper.)

B.    Use headings to separate sections of your report (Writing Today p. 420-21).
C.    You may include an image, graph, or chart.
D.    Use MLA style in-textparenthetical documentation (Writing Today p. 317) and create a Works Cited page.
E.    Quote, paraphrase, or summarize each source (Writing Today p. 318)

5.    ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: The University Catalog addresses academic integrity, which includes cheating and plagiarism.  Plagiarism is the presentation of another person’s work as one’s own whether s/he means to or not.  Copying or paraphrasing passages from another writer’s work without acknowledging that writer is plagiarism.  It is easy to avoid this situation by simply acknowledging any words, phrases, or ideas received from other writers.  If students are not sure how to quote or paraphrase a source or if they need help with documentation, they are encouraged to ask for help.  Plagiarism is a serious offense.