Research Project Part One: Contexts
Two major assignments comprise the research project: Part One: Contexts (CP) and Part Two:
Advocacy (AP). This first assignment, the CP, asks you to (1) research and deploy various types of
sources to describe, contextualize, and analyze a significant contemporary
political/social/cultural problem; (2) summarize and evaluate conversations and debates
happening between credible scholars, thinkers, and organizations about your topic.
Together, the actions above comprise expository writing—the guiding method of this project—which
means simply that with this first composition you are attempting to describe your project's central
problem and explain its relevance by contextualizing it.
Why “contexts”?
An informed, authoritative writer understands their topic in context. Context can be historical.
Analyzing the past means grappling not simply with events,
but with the issues and concerns of the time. It’s not enough
to read a contemporary account of the past; we must also look
at the work produced in the past—its political speeches, court
decisions, and media. Therefore, one goal of this assignment
is to learn about the historical contexts of your problem: the
laws, legal precedents, and institutional practices that underlie
its current form, and economic, social, political, and/or
environmental trends that have shaped its development.
Context can also be rhetorical. We want to present the stakes
that a given community has in the topic of our research, but
we also want to interrogate the way those stakes get
articulated by journalists, researchers, and politicians. Even
within “scholarly writing,” you should become aware of how
various communities (called disciplines) frame the same topic
quite differently from one another. Identifying these relevant
communities of thinkers and writers, analyzing their
perspectives, and bringing their views together will help you
gain a comprehensive understanding of your problem, and the
authority that understanding entails.
As you research for your CP, you will concurrently develop a
Working Annotated Bibliography for your entire project
that involves summarizing and analyzing individual sources (your instructor will provide you
with separate instructions for this portion of the assignment).
By the time you complete the CP, you should be able to:
● Develop effective research note-taking habits through source annotations.
● Practice information literacy in the research process by locating and critically evaluating
relevant and credible evidence from a variety of sources and genres.
● Understand research as a part of the larger composition process of prewriting, drafting, and
revision.
● Collaborate with fellow researchers to give and receive constructive feedback on the work in
progress.
● Plan, draft and revise an essay with organization and style appropriate for addressing a
general academic audience.
● Arrange and integrate evidence—primary-source, secondary-source, and
multimodal—intentionally, with particular attention to its argumentative purpose and
rhetorical effect.
● Integrate and cite evidence in a transparent and ethical manner, using a standard citation
system. Learn how and why to avoid plagiarism and patch-writing.
Assignment Requirements
Process work is required to be eligible to submit a final draft for a grade. This may include but
is not limited to topic development exercises, a proposal or prospectus, and multiple essay drafts.
Late or incomplete process work may result in a grade penalty on the final draft.
The contextualizing in the CP must be supported by a broad and varied selection of research,
including primary and secondary sources, scholarship, journalism, policy papers, reports, case
law, and other sources as appropriate for your topic. While both you and your instructor will
work to determine an appropriate scope and variety of research for your essay, at a minimum it
should draw evidence from 6-8 sources, including TWO scholars in conversation. Keep in
mind that the total number of sources for the entire project’s bibliography is 15-20 sources.
Your final submission for Part One should be a 1500-2000 word multimodal composition. It
should be formatted in MLA style, with parenthetical citations, a Works Cited page, and a
descriptive academic title.
Han 1
Nate Han
Jean Little
Writing 39C
7/17/19
Nutrition and Physical Activity in Relation to Obesity Prevention
Watson, Ronald R. Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Abdominal Obesity. Burlington:
Elsevier Science, 2014. Internet resource.
The article is a review of how nutrition can be used in the prevention and treatment of
obesity. The article outlines the clinical management of visceral obesity and the pathophysiology
of abdominal obesity. The author also explains the interrelationship between work and the risk
of abdominal obesity. The relevant information from this source is the use of diet and nutrition in
the management of abdominal obesity. The author outlines foods and dietary supplement s that
can be used to manage obesity. The unique factor of this source is that it outlines the factors that
currently affect the epidemic of abdominal obesity. The benefits of managing abdominal obesity
include prevention of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart and vascular diseases. The
author describes how a major cause of mortality (obesity) can be managed using dietary and food
therapies. The various disciplines involved in handling abdominal obesity are also covered such
as studies on lipids nutrition and metabolism, cardiology as well as research on physiology and
endocrinology.
Koplan, Jeffrey, Catharyn T. Liverman, and Vivica I. Kraak. Preventing Childhood Obesity:
Health in the Balance. Washington, D.C: National Academies Press, 2005. Internet resource.
Han 2
This source discusses the prevalence of obesity in children throughout the United States.
The author provides details of the short term and long-term risks of obesity to physical health.
The most relevant information is the development of an action plan that helps in the prevention
of obesity. The relevance of this research is based on its association with the Institute of
Medicine Committee and Prevention of Obesity in Children and Youth. This source is unique in
the sense that it provides a solution to the problem of childhood obesity most of the measures
provided are a preventive measure and they also provide health balance. The author focuses on
physical activities, diets and other habits that could result in obesity. Preventive measure and
recommendations are then clearly outlined.
Mela, David J. Food, Eating, and Obesity. London: CRC Press, 2005. Print.
This book by Mela David provides a description of the global trends in obesity. The
author also covers the factors that contribute to obesity, the macronutrients that influence the loss
of weight, and the functional targets of weight control. All these subjects explain the interrelation
between nutrition, physical activity, and obesity. The accuracy of this source is pegged on the
research deduced from various credible institutions. This source is different because it covers the
element of physical activity in detail. Physical activity can be used as a way of managing obesity.
The author provides details of the implications and the recommendations after implementing
changes in leisure, work, travel, and home physical activities. Physical activity, weight
maintenance, and physical fitness are all described in relation to obesity and the implication.
Nutrition and metabolic health are also covered in this source. The health risk of increased body
fat in children as well as the prevention and treatment of obesity.
Han 3
Jana P. Physical Activity, Fitness, Nutrition and Obesity During Growth. Bentham Science
Publisher, 2015. Internet resource.
This source describes the connection between obesity, fitness, physical activity, and
nutrition during childhood. The childhood period allows the researchers to understand the
changes in growth, the functional capacity of children, the body composition and the different
environments in which adolescents grow up. The aim of the author is to provide research
findings and recommendations on how to approach and regulate the risks of obesity during the
early years of a child’s growth stages. The relevance of this source lies in the details on the
adequate physical fitness in an effort to reduce the BMI among children. The author details the
positive impacts of physical fitness on the health of a child. Other parameters that are to be
considered in such context is the frequency, duration, and intensity of the physical exercises.
This source is unique in the sense that the review discusses the solution to obesity based on
physical exercise. Through physical activities, children are able to avoid unpleasant strategies
like a strict diet.
Crespo CJ, Smit E, Troiano RP, Bartlett SJ, Macera CA, Andersen RE. Television Watching,
Energy Intake, and Obesity in US Children: Results from the Third National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155(3):360–365.
doi:10.1001/archpedi.155.3.360 \
The main objective of this source is to explain the relationship between watching
television and obesity in boys and girls aged 8 – 16. The information in this source is relevant
since watching television represents a lack of physical exercise which is a great contributor to
obesity. The authority of this source is based on the surveys conducted as well as interviews and
medical examinations. The data collection was done in a balanced manner in order to provide
Han 4
reliable estimates. This source is different since it is an actual study involving data collection,
analysis, and presentation. The source only covers time spent on the television and not the
computer. This source accounts for the prevalence of obesity in children with inactive lifestyles.
This source emphasizes the need to promote a more active lifestyle among children to help them
avoid cases of obesity. Active lifestyles help to manage the energy of children. This source
provides research findings which are not outlined in the other sources.
West, Sarah, et al. “The Epidemic of Obesity and Poor Physical Activity Participation: Will We
Ever See a Change?” Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, vol. 3, no. 2, 2018, p.
34., doi:10.3390/jfmk3020034.
This article discusses obesity as an epidemic that not only affects children but also adults. The
author examines the prevalence and impact of obesity in the last ten years. The relevance of the
article lies in the part where the author relates obesity to physical participation. Poor physical
participation is seen to account for the many cases of obesity. Obesity also causes other disorders
in the system such as high cholesterol, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. The accuracy and
authority of this research are based on previous studies by other scholars providing information
on the obesity epidemic. The contribution of this source is different in the view that it provides
summarized information on the relationship between obesity and poor physical exercise. This
article also accounts for the statistical representation of the effects of obesity and the economic
burden as a result of obesity. The article also leaves room for future obesity outlook and the
possibility of future studies.
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