Back in the day, when we needed sources for our research papers, we had get to a library and rifle through card catalogues for books and the Reader's Guide for recent articles. We carried little, white, 3 x 5 cards, and on these cards, in very small print, we would write down summaries of the resource and all the bibliographic information so that, when it came time to cite and acknowledge our sources, we had all the information we needed.
Today, you have Ebsco Host. Check your library for online sources.
Whether you're using 3 x 5 cards or the Internet, you need to do the same thing: summarize and evaluate your source and make sure you've got all the necessary bibliographic information.
On the assignment proper, I offer you an outline for this assignment, but let me explain it here in some more detail.
Your first task is to Define the Problem. Now, if you've already done that in the first paper, you are not only welcome to use that same definition for this paper but encouraged to do so. I would recommend, however, that you try to revise it (unless, of course, it's absolutely perfect). You see, as a consequence of this assignment, you'll no doubt have more statistics to report, more authoritative sources to cite, and perhaps even a better anecdote or story to tell. But, basically, you define the problem with an illustrative story, statistics, and authoritative sources. (Note that each subsequent assignment - the causal analysis, your refutation, and your final project - you begin with a Definition of the Problem. So, if you write a good one for this assignment, you can use the same one for the following three.)
Then, you state your position on the problem and your solution.
Then, you begin to address your sources. Here's what you do. First you summarize the source - whether it's an article from the Atlantic Magazine that you found through Ebsco Host or by personal interview, the information needs to be summarized. You list the main ideas of your source, and you omit details and illustrations.
After you summarize the source, you evaluate it. First, determine whether the author and the format are reputable. If the article was written by a physician with 30 years of experience and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, then you can safely say the source is reputable. If it's an article from the National Enquirer's web site, a source of "celebrity news, gossip, and photos," you would probably want to comment on its reputation for sensationalism.
Then you need to say how you intend to use this source - very important, this. And there are only six ways that you might use a source:
1. To Define the Problem -- it may have stories that illustrate the problem you're addressing, or authoritative sources decrying the problem.
2. To discuss the causes -- you may find one that explores the causes of the issue you're addressing.
3. To propose a solution -- you're writing about euthanasia, and, lo, right there you find an article that clearly describes how euthanasia is administered.
4. To provide you with refutable counterarguments -- that is, you find an article or a book that disagrees with you; this information you can use in your refutation, wherein you discuss arguments against both your position and your solution.
5. To provide you with alternative solutions -- yes, toward the end of your final project, you may want to consider alternatives to the solution you're proposing and show how yours is superior.
6. Finally, after interviewing someone or reading a book, you find that the source is useless. You are welcome to summarize an evaluate a source that you won't use.
And that's it. Define the problem, offer you position and solution, and then summarize and evaluate four (4) sources. Don't worry about a conclusion.
The only other issue to attend to is the MLA format. MLA stands for the Modern Language Association. It's the group that develops (for lack of a better set of words) policies regarding the English Language. And insofar as this assignment is concerned, abiding by the MLA format means that you need to cite your sources in the text of what you write, and you need to create a Works Cited section at the end of this paper AND ALL FUTURE PAPERS.
Check all of Chapter 22 to see how to use and acknowledge your sources. And check pages 772-779 specifically to see the MLA format in a sample research paper. Let me mention a couple of things to help out.
First, go to page 772 and notice how your name, my name, the course, and the date are written in the upper left hand corner. Yes, that means you, too. Also notice how the date is written. Just as the Mexicans do it, just as the French do it, just as the Japanese do it... Just as just about everybody else on earth does it but Americans. This is the MLA's attempt to move us in line with the rest of the world. Also, notice the logic...
Next, when you quote someone or some written passage, you use quotation marks and, afterwards, you put the author's last name and page number in parentheses. As follows, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" (Kennedy 23). And notice that the period (.) comes after the parentheses.
Also, on the Works Cited page, the authors are listed alphabetically. Thus, as you're reading along in someone's manuscript and you find a quote for which you need the source, you can flip to the last page, and, viola, there it is.
Should you have any other questions about the format, be sure to check the text...
Good luck.