Journal 1-

• You now know that you will be engaged in a research project for the rest of this course. Your investment in the outcome of the project often has a good deal of reliance upon the topic about which you choose to write. The more interest you have in your topic, the more you will be driven to learn more about it and to write about it so you want to choose a topic that will hold your interest as you learn about the process of writing a research paper.

Use some of the following questions to help shape a reflection upon the topic you are considering for your research paper.

Think about some of your favorite subjects. What interests you the most? What ideas do you have about a topic? You may want to mention and then briefly explain three ideas that you have, pointing out the topic idea that is most appealing to you.

What thoughts do you have about the topic right now (prior to researching it)? What do you expect to find when you research the topic? What do you hope to learn about? What are some of your assumptions right now?

Your response should be at least 200 words. No references or citations are necessary.

Topic-

• Publicly Funded Higher Education

"America's higher education system is becoming less affordable for the middle class citizen, due in large part to the loss of public funding. In fact, notes The Campaign for the Future of Higher Education in its introduction to a set of three working papers offering possible viable solutions, between 2006 and 2007 alone the rate of public investment in public higher education dropped by 12.5 percent. Sharp tuition increases have become the substitute, with tuition for California public institutions increasing by 98 percent between 2006 and 2001.

The CFHE organized a telephone briefing this week to draw attention to the working papers and stimulate more thoughtful, fact-based national conversation about funding higher education in the U.S."

Could we follow the lead of other developed countries and publicly fund tuition for higher education? Is it economically feasible? This webpage reviews three options.

Journal 2-

• You are now engaged in a research project! This can be a very exciting and intimidating process, but you have a great support network to help you.

Take just a moment to think about something you have researched in the past, and describe what that experience was like. What did you research? What were your reasons for researching it? What did you find out about the topic and about yourself? Did you find yourself seeking out primary or secondary sources? What kinds of sources did you use? How did you choose your topic, and what was the result of your research?

Feel free to choose any experience. You do not have to limit yourself to an academic research topic. You might reflect upon research that you did for your job, or you might want to reflect upon a time that you researched a large purchase, such as a new computer or a car.

• Your response should be at least 200 words. No references or citations are necessary.

Assignment-

Follow the directions below for the completion of the Annotated Bibliography assignment for Unit II. If you have questions, please email your professor for assistance.

• Purpose: The purpose of the annotated bibliography is to summarize the sources that you have gathered to support your research proposal project. These summaries help you to think about the complex arguments presented in your sources.

• Description: In this assignment, you will create an annotated bibliography consisting of seven sources. Each entry will consist of a reference list citation, a summary of the source's information, and a one-sentence assessment. Each annotation should be between 150 to 200 words. If an entry is shorter than 150 words, it is likely you have not fully developed your summary, and this lack of development can severely impact your grade for this assignment.

As always, you may also seek out the guidance of the Writing Center; the Writing specialists are always there to assist you with your writing, comprehension, and APA formatting. You may submit writing assignments to the Writing Center by using a "Writing Center Request form" located in the myCSU Student Portal. To submit a Writing Center Request, log in to the myCSU Student Portal, click on University Forms in the top right menu. Then click on Courses. Towards the bottom of the list, you will find the Writing Center Request. You can fill out this form and attach your paper for assistance. Be advised that Writing Specialist require up to two business days to return requests. If you have questions concerning APA style or your writing assignment.