02VMPART2

SUBJECT:  Address whether it’s a good thing that the US is re-entering the Paris Climate Accords 
To complete this assignment:

Based on your planned topic that was approved in the “Research Paper Topic Selection” assignment, search the databases to see what information is available on that topic. (If you haven’t “really” done this step, then you should absolutely not move on to the next step. You do not want to build an entire research project from a shoddy foundation.) CQ Researcher and Academic Search Complete will be particularly helpful databases. Once you have narrowed to one topic with one issue (remember, “topic” and “issue” are not the same thing), find a minimum of five sources relating to your issue. These sources should be current, credible, specific, local (or regional), and relevant to your issue. If you “can’t find anything,” change your key words, refine your search; you can even “Chat with a Librarian” at the Library Homepage. Whatever you do, don’t just throw your hands up in the air, saying, “There’s nothing there.” There is. I promise, you can find ample source material on practically anything you can imagine, but finding the material might require determination.
Remember, this will be a persuasive essay, not merely an informative one, so as you are searching, narrowing, keep the point you plan to make in mind. You are looking for sources that are discussing the issue you are examining. However, DO NOT stick with something that’s not working. If, after you have looked through the databases and tried different variations of your search terms, you still cannot find any source material, then you should contact me to discuss a new topic.  You might be fascinated by a subject, but if there is really not any research available on the topic/issue there to support your thesis, then you will need to shift to a thesis that you can support from research rather than personal anecdotes. 
For this assignment, you will need 5-7 sources that look like they might be useful to you. (You might not use all of them in the final paper, but a first glance should suggest they will be useful to your topic.)  Additionally, at this stage of your research, it would be wise to include sources that hold the opposite view from your own.  Effective persuasive essays will often preemptively address the major opposing arguments to the thesis to demonstrate that the writer has considered all available evidence and refute those arguments as a way of strengthening the claims made in the thesis.
Compose a correctly-formatted Works Cited page with the bibliographical information for these sources. Refer to handouts and Purdue Online Writing Lab for guidance. Remember that you should be using MLA 8th edition formatting, and that part of that formatting requires that you list your sources alphabetically according to author!