ENGWR 300 (Lewis) Career Choices

Welcome to the LibGuide for Ann Lewis' ENGWR 300 class.  This guide will help you with library research on your career choices topic.   It will present information on searching books, databases and websites that will help you define and support your topic.

Use the guide pages to the left to navigate the resources.

Encyclopedias are invaluable sources for detailed definitions, summary and background information.

Reading an encyclopedia article is a good way to get a grasp of the range and depth of the topic you are investigating. An encyclopedia article can also help you become familiar with the terminology and concepts relating to your topic.

Encyclopedia articles are usually written by expert subject specialists for beginners. This means that the information is reliable and authoritative, but you don't have to be an expert to understand it.

Articles in encyclopedias often conclude with a bibliography. These bibliographies are very useful for identifying additional sources of information on the topic.

For WA #5 you will be taking the research you’ve done on WA #4 (the Annotated Bibliography) and write an essay in which you do two main things:

• Discuss your chosen career (or, if you have not yet chosen a career, a career you are interested in potentially pursuing) in terms of at least FIVE criteria ( examples: education/training, salary, location, outlook, training, duties, personal qualities, work settings) that you have formulated to determine whether the career is the right choice for you (we will have done some brainstorming and discussion of these prior to you writing this essay).  This portion of your essay should be approximately 5-7 pages.
• Argue whether or not, based on your research, this career is the right one for you. This portion of your essay should be approximately 2-3 pages.

Your essay, not including your Works Cited page, should be approximately 7-10 pages.  A correctly-done, MLA format Works Cited must also be submitted with your essay.  Please do not submit your Works Cited as a separate document.  It should be included at the end of your essay document.

Some Tips for a Successful WA #5:

• Divide your essay into two parts: 1) Criteria; and 2) Conclusions; the “Criteria” section should be further divided into five or more sections, each with its own sub-heading for each criterion; the “Conclusions” section should contain a clear statement of your overall conclusion(s) about your chosen career based on what you’ve learned from your research;
• Use the skills we’ve covered thus far in the course (summary, paraphrase, direct quotation, attributive tags, etc.) as well as what you have learned (and what will cover shortly) about MLA format ;
• Aim to use at least TWO sources per criteria in your essay, for a total of at least 10 sources;
• Attend your individual conference day (date TBA shortly); this will help to insure that you have appropriate sources and a good start to your essay;
• Seek help from your instructors and/or the Writing Center (don’t wait until the last days before the assignment is due!)