In many ways the most practical course of the sequence, Junior English Composition trains the students to summarize, report, criticize, and conduct research. During the first term, students are trained to summarize and paraphrase as they learn to incorporate outside sources into their papers. They learn to use reported materials without plagiarizing and to incorporate ideas from outside sources to support and prove a thesis. Students are also given the opportunity to do critical writing with an emphasis on general principles of logic and argumentation. They are encouraged to investigate the soundness of a conclusion, the validity of a judgment, the value of a short story. Four papers of around 3-5 pages constitute the main substance of the first semester, culminating in a 10-page mini-research piece. The second semester centers on the step-by-step process involved in writing a research paper, culminating in a final term paper of 18-20 pages, citing at least 8-10 outside sources. The paper is to be a thesis-support paper. Each step in the process is an essential course requirement which is carefully laid out in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. This paper in turn can be used as a writing sample for graduate school applications, and at any rate represents a real milestone on the way to becoming a professional.