Please see the Blackboard for final portfolio guidelines and submission requirements.
Happy Holidays!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
Class Cancelled Mon-Wed for Conferences/Source Checks
Our regular class meetings of English 106 are cancelled Monday and Wednesday of next week (Dec 3 and Dec 5) for individual conferences and source checks. You must pass a source check before I accept your final portfolio.
Please arrive on time for your conference time slot—if you miss your conference, you will be counted absent for the week!
The conference schedule will be posted on my office door (Chapel 031) and on the course blog (see below). You should do the following four things to prepare for your draft conference:
- Bring to your conference a full draft of your research paper (at least five pages, plus a References page or Works Cited page), with key sentences highlighted;
- Choose and boldface three citations from sources (paraphrases or quotes) that you've used in your paper, and bring the original books or articles in which you found the information. I'll check your paraphrase or quotation against the sources to make sure they're accurate and acceptable; and
- Write down at least two goals for revising your paper, and at least one question that you want to ask me during the conference. We will begin the conference with your goals and questions.
MONDAY, Dec. 3
8:40 Kim
10:20 Sara
10:40 Megan
11:00 Drew
11:20 Zach J.
12:40 Samantha
1:00 C.J.
1:20 Katy
1:40 Sarah
2:00 Emily
2:20 Mike B.
3:20 Sophie
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 5
8:00 Kate G.
8:20 Matt
8:40 Michael B.
10:00 Marcus
10:20 Tyler
10:40 Clark
11:00 Juliet
11:20 Jameela
11:40 Salim
12:00 Claire
12:40 Adriel
1:00 Kendal
1:20 Jon
1:40 Michelle
2:00 Josh
2:20 Natalie
2:40 Veronica
3:00 Sal
4:00 Sam
4:20 Krystle
4:40 Dan
Please bring a copy of your final course participation self-evaluation (see Blackboard Assignments page) to our last class meeting on Friday, December 7.
Your final research portfolio will be due during the regularly scheduled exam time for your course section. See the Course Blackboard for specific guidelines for submitting the final portfolio.
Monday, November 19, 2007
They Say, I Say Templates
The following templates come from Cathy Birkenstein and Gerald Graff's They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing (Norton, 2007). Which one(s) might be best suited to state your main claim and develop your argument for the research paper?
Post as a comment below at least two main claims that you might develop in your research paper, using the following templates as a guide:
1. Although it is often said that [your topic: e.g., autism] ______________________________, I argue _______________________. [Disagree]
2. I agree with X that _____________________________, and I would add that _________________. [Agree]
3. When I first thought about ______________________________, I assumed __________________________. Now, however, having _____________________________, I’ve come to the conclusion that _______________________________. [I was lost, but now I’m found]
4. Group X argues _______________________, and I have mixed feelings about it. One the one hand, _______________________________. On the other hand, ________________________________. [Yes, but. . . ]
5. Researchers have long wondered about ___________________________, having been unable to determine _______________________. My research offers an answer: ________________________________. [Problem-solving]
6. ___________________________ seems so unproblematic that we fail to recognize ___________________________. [Sell your problem]
7. Debates over ________________________________________ dominate discussions of ____________________________________________. What such debates obscure, however, is the more important issue of __________________________________________. [Change the conversation]
8. Although fierce debates have raged over __________________________, the debaters agree on one important thing: ________________________________________. [Opponents really agree]
9. Up to now I’ve been suggesting that ___________________________________. But it’s really more complex than that. First, ___________________________. Second, ______________________. And third, complicating matters even further, ____________________. [It’s more complicated]
10. At this point you will probably object that ____________________________. Although it is true that _________________________, I nevertheless maintain that __________________________________________. [Insert a naysayer]
Post as a comment below at least two main claims that you might develop in your research paper, using the following templates as a guide:
1. Although it is often said that [your topic: e.g., autism] ______________________________, I argue _______________________. [Disagree]
2. I agree with X that _____________________________, and I would add that _________________. [Agree]
3. When I first thought about ______________________________, I assumed __________________________. Now, however, having _____________________________, I’ve come to the conclusion that _______________________________. [I was lost, but now I’m found]
4. Group X argues _______________________, and I have mixed feelings about it. One the one hand, _______________________________. On the other hand, ________________________________. [Yes, but. . . ]
5. Researchers have long wondered about ___________________________, having been unable to determine _______________________. My research offers an answer: ________________________________. [Problem-solving]
6. ___________________________ seems so unproblematic that we fail to recognize ___________________________. [Sell your problem]
7. Debates over ________________________________________ dominate discussions of ____________________________________________. What such debates obscure, however, is the more important issue of __________________________________________. [Change the conversation]
8. Although fierce debates have raged over __________________________, the debaters agree on one important thing: ________________________________________. [Opponents really agree]
9. Up to now I’ve been suggesting that ___________________________________. But it’s really more complex than that. First, ___________________________. Second, ______________________. And third, complicating matters even further, ____________________. [It’s more complicated]
10. At this point you will probably object that ____________________________. Although it is true that _________________________, I nevertheless maintain that __________________________________________. [Insert a naysayer]
Friday, November 9, 2007
The Big Picture, Part II
For today's writing workshop, please start by completing the following sentence:
"Taken together, the sources I have consulted so far on my research topic reveal _____________________________________________________________.
"Taken together, the sources I have consulted so far on my research topic reveal _____________________________________________________________.
The Big Picture
For today's writing workshop, please start by completing the following sentence:
"Taken together, the sources I have consulted so far on my research topic reveal ___________________________________________________________________________________."
"Taken together, the sources I have consulted so far on my research topic reveal ___________________________________________________________________________________."
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Preparing the Annotated Bibliography
During the next two weeks, you will be responsible for independent reading and research for your final paper. On Wednesday, November 14, you will hand in a draft of your annotated bibliography. A revised version of your annotated bibliography will be included with your final research portfolio, which is worth 30% of your course grade.
Preparing your Annotated Bibliography
Your annotated bibliography is an opportunity to show off your current understanding of your topic and the research you have done so far. In addition, your annotated bibliography allows you to do some of the work of summarizing and synthesizing your sources before you begin writing a more analytical essay. As you prepare your bibliography, then, you will be coming up with material and structures that you may use in your research paper.
Elements of the Bibliography
Your bibliography should have a title and a 1-2 paragraph introduction, which should give a bit of background on how your topic is usually viewed and studied, as well as an explanation of how the entries have been classified into at least two categories. Your draft should include a minimum of five relevant sources on your topic.
Each category should have its own heading and entries in alphabetical order. Each entry should consist of the source information in appropriate format (MLA, APA, or CBE), followed by an annotation of the source. The annotation should comment on the content of the source as well as its significance to the topic and your research. Review Chapter 2 of They Say, I Say on the “art” of writing strategic summaries, rather than the typical list summary. That is, summarize in terms of the specific issue your research addresses.
Summarize your sources strategically, emphasizing how the author(s) answer your research questions or contribute to developing your main claim/argument.
Sample entry in MLA format
Bright, Sidney. “Ethical Behavior in Group Work in a College Composition Course: The Devil Never Took the Hindmost.” Journal of Collegiate Ethics 14 (1999): 12-27.
Bright found that her students showed advanced ethical development in social behavior in small groups in class. However, when these same students wrote essays, their ethical development did not appear as advanced. This research is significant because it shows how different contexts shape ethical behavior.
The Longman Handbook explains how to arrange bibliographic entries in MLA, APA, and CBE fomat. Please choose one of these styles to use for your research project, according to the primary disciplinary area of your research:
MLA style is used in the humanities.
APA style is used in social sciences.
CBE is used in natural sciences, physical sciences, and mathematics.
During today’s class, practice writing a bibliographic entry and strategic summary (see pp. 32-33 of They Say, I Say) of at least one source you uncovered from your library research.
Preparing your Annotated Bibliography
Your annotated bibliography is an opportunity to show off your current understanding of your topic and the research you have done so far. In addition, your annotated bibliography allows you to do some of the work of summarizing and synthesizing your sources before you begin writing a more analytical essay. As you prepare your bibliography, then, you will be coming up with material and structures that you may use in your research paper.
Elements of the Bibliography
Your bibliography should have a title and a 1-2 paragraph introduction, which should give a bit of background on how your topic is usually viewed and studied, as well as an explanation of how the entries have been classified into at least two categories. Your draft should include a minimum of five relevant sources on your topic.
Each category should have its own heading and entries in alphabetical order. Each entry should consist of the source information in appropriate format (MLA, APA, or CBE), followed by an annotation of the source. The annotation should comment on the content of the source as well as its significance to the topic and your research. Review Chapter 2 of They Say, I Say on the “art” of writing strategic summaries, rather than the typical list summary. That is, summarize in terms of the specific issue your research addresses.
Summarize your sources strategically, emphasizing how the author(s) answer your research questions or contribute to developing your main claim/argument.
Sample entry in MLA format
Bright, Sidney. “Ethical Behavior in Group Work in a College Composition Course: The Devil Never Took the Hindmost.” Journal of Collegiate Ethics 14 (1999): 12-27.
Bright found that her students showed advanced ethical development in social behavior in small groups in class. However, when these same students wrote essays, their ethical development did not appear as advanced. This research is significant because it shows how different contexts shape ethical behavior.
The Longman Handbook explains how to arrange bibliographic entries in MLA, APA, and CBE fomat. Please choose one of these styles to use for your research project, according to the primary disciplinary area of your research:
MLA style is used in the humanities.
APA style is used in social sciences.
CBE is used in natural sciences, physical sciences, and mathematics.
During today’s class, practice writing a bibliographic entry and strategic summary (see pp. 32-33 of They Say, I Say) of at least one source you uncovered from your library research.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Role for Writers of Research Paper
Last week, you explored your sense of your audience and purpose for writing the research paper. Another task for writers is understanding the kinds of roles they can play in doing a research project. Often the writer's role and purpose depend on the nature of the research question posed.
See the Course Blackboard (Assignments page) for some typical roles that research writers can play, each followed by some sample research questions (adapted from an original student handout on Roles for Research Writers by Jack Folsom).
See the Course Blackboard (Assignments page) for some typical roles that research writers can play, each followed by some sample research questions (adapted from an original student handout on Roles for Research Writers by Jack Folsom).
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