turn this into a list:
MLA Research lecture
 

"The search should take place because somebody needs to find out something or wants to satisfy an itch of curiosity as insistent as athlete's foot," Ken Macrorie.

As Macrorie states above,  research is not just an assignment requirement, but rather it should fulfill a curiosity that you want to find out more about.  We learn more when we have an interest in what we are studying.  For that reason, I do not choose your research topic for you.  Do you have a passion for anything in particular?  Consider topics related to your careers of choice, your family needs, or your hobbies. Often times students will research health problems that run in their families to find out how they can stay healthy.  Many students  choose to take this opportunity to research the needs, pay scale, and conditions of their careers.  The only topics to stay away from are argumentative subjects because you will be required to write an argumentative paper in ENC1102. Therefore, your research paper is an informative paper. 

For additional resources please refer to the Polk State library and the TLCC. They have a wealth of additional information.   The paper is 3-5 content pages, so the topic must be narrow.  Start your researching process by asking a question.  

Choose a topic and list  three areas of that topic you wish to explore and find out more about. Look for at least three references in the Polk State databases to begin your research. That is to see if there is enough information out there to gather information for your topic. If you run into a problem with researching your topic, perhaps you need to reevaluate your choice of topic. Otherwise, once you have found your minimum three references from the Polk State databases, you can now look for additional references  outside the databases in order to meet the minimum five references requirement for the Works Cited page. If you would prefer to have all of your references from the Polk State databases, that is fine, too.

The Comp textbook, the TLCC, and the Polk State library have a wealth of material, sources, and references in helping you write your MLA format research paper. I also recommend the Purdue Owl website www.purdue.eduLinks to an external site.

You must cite minimum five references for your Works Cited page. Three of those references must come from the Polk State databases. Polk State databases are not books. The remaining references may come from the Polk State databases, or other reliable, credible, objective sources which consist of .edu, .gov, Google Scholar, and only those .org you are familiar with. Any other sources are not acceptable. Please keep in mind books are not a good choice for references as they tend to be outdated. A research paper is written with the concept of the most up-to-date information. Sources should not be over five years old. The only exception to this is when writing a paper that requires historical information.

When it comes to formatting your Works Cited page you have several options.  You can also access several websites for your Works Cited page formatting: The Polk State library and TLCC have handouts that you can get for free. You will find when you access the Polk State databases, many of the references are cited for you in the MLA format, usually at the bottom of the reference.  All you have to do is put the references in alphabetical order on your Works Cited page. Remember, you alphabetize according to the author's last name; however, if there is no author, use the title unless the title begins with "The", "A", or "An", then skip to the next word in order to determine alphabetical order. It is not uncommon for a reference to not have an author. 

Follow the MLA format in writing this paper. There is no title page, and the 3-5 pages are content only. The Works Cited page is not part of the required 3-5 pages. The Works Cited page follows on a separate page after you have completed your research paper. The paper is submitted as one document.

The research paper is due by the posted date and time. No late papers will be accepted. You may, however, turn your research paper in at any time prior to the deadline.