Purpose
To conduct an inquiry into your Spark Grant Project topic; to report what you learn about your Spark Grant Project topic
Introduction
(Link to Google Docs version of the essay promptLinks to an external site.)
To begin the process of the quarter-long Spark Grant Project, the Exploratory Essay asks you to research what society is doing to address the social issue you’ve chosen for the project. In other words, you will need to learn how government agencies, organizations and community members attempt to solve issues like homelessness, food insecurity or mental health. The aim of this exploratory essay is not to argue or choose one solution over another, but simply to understand the current ways society deals with these complex problems.
Your essay will have an introduction paragraph that establishes the context (why you are writing this essay), relevance (why the reader should care) and research question (what you want to learn by the end of the essay).
Each body paragraph should identify an entity that is taking action to address the social issue. Is there a nonprofit that supports homeless youthsLinks to an external site.? What are local colleges like TCCLinks to an external site. doing to support student mental health? Is there a community member who has taken it upon themself to offer free food for the communityLinks to an external site.? Use the latter half of your body paragraphs to share personal reflection. What is new information to you? What information did you already know? What surprised you? What information are you still in need of? Your essay’s focus should be on learning about existing resources; you may research statistics related to your social issue but those statistics should only supplement your search for current solutions to the problem.
Use the conclusion to briefly summarize what you learned and what your next steps are for research. For more information on the structure of an exploratory essay, you can read this Purdue OWL resourceLinks to an external site. or this sample exploratory essayLinks to an external site..
Assessment
The final draft is worth 15 points. I will be using this rubric to assess your work:
- Research Question and Organization: Your essay has an original, clear and focused research question that establishes what information you are searching for in the essay. Your research question should focus on the “who.” Who or what organization is addressing your social issue in our community? Please highlight your research question in bold or color highlights. The essay structure is logically organized with a proper introduction paragraph, multiple body paragraphs and a conclusion paragraph. Ideas, sentences and paragraphs apply effective transitions. If you use a generative AI program like ChatGPT, you must reference Star Wars and pickleball in two paragraphs.
- Explanation and Development of Ideas: Important ideas are all explained thoroughly, with specific examples, details and information as support. Each body paragraph begins with a proper topic sentence. The bulk of the written content and ideas are the writer’s own. You can try to answer, or attempt to find answers to, some of these questions to develop your commentary:
- What services or information are most impactful to the community?
- What services or information are missing?
- What further questions do you have about this resource? Where could you find answers?
- How does this information influence your Spark Grant Project idea?
- How could you use this information in your final proposal?
- Research, Critical Reading and Documentation: The essay uses at least three outside sources. All quotes and paraphrases are smoothly integrated into the essay and include correct MLA in-text citations and a complete MLA Works Cited page. Since we are in the early stages of research for the Spark Grant project, you can use non-scholarly sources for this essay like newspaper articles, websites and videos. I recommend using our LibGuide, an online resource like the Purdue OWLLinks to an external site. or the TCC Writing and Tutoring CenterLinks to an external site.
- Language and Style: The essay is written with an effective level of formality and strategically varied sentence structure. You are writing for an academic audience, but “I” statements are highly encouraged.
- Mechanics: The final submission has been clearly proofread with no noticeable errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation or grammar.
- Formatting: Your final draft should be between 1000-1200 words, not including the Works Cited page. The document must be double spaced and use 12-point Arial or Calibri font. The heading, page numbering and essay titling follow MLA specifications.
Process: All required process drafts and peer reviews are completed before the final draft submission.
- Tier 1 (14-15 points): Submission exceeds expectations in all criteria
- Tier 2 (12-13 points): Submission meets or exceeds expectations in most criteria
- Tier 3 (10-11 points): Submission meets expectations in most criteria or approaches expectations.
- Tier 4 (9 or fewer points): Submission approaches expectations in most criteria or does not approach expectations in one or more areas
Exploratory Sequence
Social Issue or Community Need Ideas
Thursday, April 4th by 11:59 pm
Sharing Our Spark Grant Topics (discussion assignment)
Tuesday, April 9th by 11:59 pm (original post) Thursday, April 11th (peer replies)
Exploratory Essay Discovery Draft (at least 90& complete (roughly one introduction paragraph, three body paragraphs, a conclusion paragraph and an MLA Works Cited page)
Monday, April 22nd by 11:59 pm
Discover Draft Peer Review
Wednesday, April 24th by 11:59 pm
Exploratory Essay FINAL DRAFT
Monday, April 29th 11:59 pm
Important: You may use your Exploratory Essay sources for future Spark Grant assignments like the Annotated Bibliography or Spark Grant Project Proposal; however, you cannot reuse written content since this is considered self-plagiarism. Please speak with me if you have questions.
Submission
You can submit a Word/PDF file or Office 365 link. Late submissions are accepted up to three days after the original due date with a 10% point deduction for each day the submission is late. Students who miss the three-day grace period must speak with me if they plan to eventually submit late assignments.
I highly recommend checking your assignmentLinks to an external site. after submitting it to Canvas. Students have told me that Canvas has altered formatting and spacing in their assignment files. If you see that Canvas has changed your document adversely, leave a submission comment or send me a Canvas inbox message.
Academic Honesty
All submissions will be processed through Unicheck, a Canvas add-on that allows instructors and students to check submissions for any unintentional (or intentional) instances of plagiarism. When you submit your essay, you will see a color-coded similarity report. Try to keep your similarity score in the green range. Avoid scores in the brown or red. Below is a short video on checking your Unicheck similarity score. (The relevant portion for students are the last twenty seconds.)
Important: You may use your Exploratory Essay sources for future Spark Grant assignments like the Annotated Bibliography or Spark Grant Project Proposal; however, you cannot reuse written content since this is considered self-plagiarism. Please speak with me if you have questions.
