At this junction, you have identified your topic and research questions and crafted an annotated bibliography of your sources. Now you are prepared to compare and contrast (how is what you read similar and how are some things different) the information you have gathered from various sources towards developing a theme or argument around your topic.

Specifically, you are to use research to answer your research questions:

• First, review the Research Paper Instructions so you are clear of the expectations of the assignment.
• Next, identify the key points in your selected literature.
• Finally, synthesize (see resources below) the information and integrate it into your paper in a way that supports your argument.

Your analysis should be grounded in the facts that are found in the studies data, rather than making the facts fit a preconceived idea. When completed, this essay should be approximately 4-5 pages in length.

All assignments must have an APA formatted facepage as well as an APA formatted reference page.

Review this resource to help you integrate resources into your paper in a meaningful way.

General Resources to help you with this Assignment  

Take a Video Tour the Empire State College Library where you can learn about:

• Choosing your topic
• Turning your topic into a thesis statement or try the Thesis Generator 
• Choosing scholarly sources and searching for information to support your thesis
• Document your sources carefully and using APA in-text and reference citations