Exploratory Essay

Related to our course theme of “identity,” we have been reading articles and essays that discuss issues of race, gender, and career identities. We’ve been asking and writing research questions that have intrigued us and certainly merit more investigation.

For this paper, I want you to consider the pieces that we have read for class. As you read, you were hopefully annotating, taking notes, free writing, and asking intriguing questions.

Now, you should seek to ask a research question – one that is controversial and has at least two definitive answers – related (however narrowly) to the work we have read in class and seek to answer it using outside research.

Writing Instructions

You may use your summary from Reading Response

-In the opening paragraph, you will summarize one source from class, identify how you came to ask the question, and then tell us your question at the end of the paragraph.

-In the body paragraphs, you will summarize the sources that you find that help you to answer your question/problem.

-In the conclusion, you will leave the reader with something to think about, such as an insight, a deeper appreciation of the problem, or further research questions that developed in your mind as you wrote.