Research writing begins with a question worth pursuing, not a pile of sources. This sequence makes uncertainty, discovery, evaluation, synthesis, and revision visible so students can recognize research as a series of rhetorical decisions.
From inquiry to sustained argument
An I-Search gives students a way to narrate question development and source discovery. Source evaluation then asks what a source can credibly support in context—not whether it passes a generic checklist. A proposal and annotated bibliography help students define a problem, locate an emerging conversation, and recognize patterns, tensions, and gaps before they draft a sustained argument.
The final argumentative essay asks students to synthesize scholarly and public sources for a specific audience and purpose, including counterargument and revision. Earlier work remains usable evidence rather than disposable prewriting.
Five connected assignments
- I-Search: Students narrate the development of a research question and changes in understanding.
- Source Evaluation: Students assess relevance, credibility, authority, context, and rhetorical usefulness.
- Research Proposal: Students define a problem, refine a question, identify methods and sources, and explain significance.
- Annotated Bibliography: Students summarize, evaluate, and connect sources within an emerging conversation.
- Argumentative Research Essay: Students develop a sustained, evidence-based argument for a defined audience.
Documentation serves judgment
Feedback, revision, and reflection are placed before the next consequential decision. When AI is relevant to a course activity, students distinguish appropriate bounded roles—such as generating questions or comparing options—from replacement of their own thinking, source work, organization, or final language. The point is not surveillance; it is to make rhetorical labor and responsibility discussable.
A case, not a course archive
This page shares the sequence’s structure and teaching rationale. It does not include student submissions, private feedback, grades, or internal course materials.