Chasing Success Research Essay
The theme of this unit is chasing success. Each of the readings from this unit shows people achieving success in spite
of the adversity they have faced in their lives. Your task is to research 3 people who, likewise, rose from adversity as
children to become successful adults and present your findings in the form of an essay.
In your essay, you must include the following:
1. Original Title
• I usually start with “Blah” as my working title. Then, as I write my essay, I think about any common
threads that might emerge and craft my title around them
2. Introduction. Must include the following.
• Hook – get my attention!
• Brief explanation of what I should expect to learn from your body paragraphs
• Define success.
• You may define this according to your own beliefs or a more traditional definition (you
must cite more traditional sources!), but then you must explain and provide examples.
• Properly written thesis statement. Underlined!
• Include a transition into next paragraph
3. Body Paragraph 1-3 – The People You Researched
• You will write about three people: 2 celebrities and one person whom you know.
• For the person you actually interview, cite this information according to MLA guidelines
for interviews.
• You must cite and use 2 sources for each person you research—2 DISCUS articles for
EACH of the 2 people you research (4 total).
• For each celebrity and for your interview, tell his/her story, being certain to remain focused
on the following guiding questions:
1. What sort of adversity did he/she face?
2. How did he/she overcome that adversity?
3. What have they done since then to become successful?
• Include an underlined topic sentence in each paragraph
• Include a transition between each paragraph!
• Everything in here must be cited in MLA format.
• Let the OWL at Purdue University be your guide!  Google it!
4. Conclusion. You must include the following.
• A restated (say the exact same thing, differently) thesis statement. Underlined
• Remind me of what you just told me about each person from your research. One or two sentences
per person
• Something thought-provoking to wrap it all up…leave me with something to ponder!
5. Works Cited Page
• MLA format. USE OWL!
• Pay attention to every period, comma, parenthesis, and space. It all matters in MLA
• Minimum of 5 sources
• 2 DISCUS articles (from different websites) for EACH of the 2 people you research (4
total)
• 1 interview, cited in MLA format!