First I had to come up with a topic:
Plastic bags should be banned in the United States
Over the years, there has been a concern from environmental and research organizations on the dangers of increased use of plastic bags on the environment. The use of plastic bags are posing threats to the environment since they are harmful to plants, animals, land, and the water. Although people are aware of the negative impacts of plastic bags on the environment, efforts to reduce the use of plastic bags have not been successful over the years. Some experts predict the use of plastics contribute to more than 30% of the total environmental pollution. In the U.S, plastic waste is the leading environmental challenge that the country currently faces.
Over 8 million tons of plastic find their way into the oceans annually thereby increasing the current estimates of 150 million tons of plastics currently present in the oceans. Although governments, policymakers, and research organizations have debated on the best way to control the use of plastics in the world, there has been mixed reactions on the total ban as the best policy. Some countries, have taken the bold move of completely banning the use of plastic bags.
Next I had to develop a working thesis statement for my research paper:
Working Thesis Statement
Through the long term overuse of plastic bags we have created millions of pounds of deadly debris in our oceans, lakes, reservoirs, rivers and landfills. This increasingly destructive threat could most simply be resolved through the use of paper, reusable, biodegradable bags in all retail stores, therefore, banning all plastic bags in the United States.
What I need:
4.) Assignment: Annotated Bibliography,
-Choose 5 sources that you are considering for your research paper.
– In a Word document, for each source:
a. Write an ML format citation followed by a paragraph annotation of the source. The annotation should be a description and evaluation of the source. You can also explain how you will use the source to support your argument in your paper.
b. Each annotation should be approximately 150-200 words. Sample (from the presentation included in the lesson–see below for example):
Waite, Linda J., Frances Brink Schneider, and Christina Spitsbergen. “Non family Living and the Erosion of Traditional Family Orientations Among Young Adults.” American Sociological Review 51.4 (1986): 541‐554. Print. The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that non family living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males, increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self ‐ sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of non family living.