Day 20: APA Reference Page Citations and Relevancy Statements

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! What an appropriately gloomy day. Hopefully you've already picked out your costumes and stocked up on candy (if not, you might be stuck with a fake mustache and some candy corn). For anyone interested, here is a short video clip about the origins and history of Halloween! 

Today is class we will be talking about how to format reference page citations. This is a very important process, though it is not the only citation consideration that we will be discussing this semester. As part of the final unit, we will also be talking about in-text citations as well. The two (reference page citations and in-text citations) form a united team to ensure that your writing and research maintains a high standard of academic integrity. 

The outline for today's class follows:

APA Reference Page Citations and Relevancy Statements

I. Introduction: Review the sample APA Reference Page Citation and Summary from last class

Let's start today's class by reviewing the work we were doing at the end of class on Tuesday. Please open the file you were working on and compare your answers with mine (found here).

II. APA Citation Patterns

First, let's distinguish between reference listings and in-text citations. Reference listings come at the end of the paper, as part of the (annotated) bibliography. Look at this sample list of APA reference page citations. In-text citations are found within the text, like these examples. This short ppt covers the difference in greater detail.

Now, let's focus on reference listings. Looking at the same list, with a partner, come up with a list of at least 5 different rules, commonalities or patterns that you observed. Once you finished, share a few of your observations on this chart. Feel free to mention anything you may have learned from the APA Handbook! 

II. Practice: Writing APA Reference Listings 

I'll bet many of you didn't know that some of your classmates are already published authors. Pretty cool, huh? Today, we'll be talking the bibliographic information for their books, articles and websites and formatting APA reference listings for them. Here is the list of information. 

Now with a partner, open up an MS Word document and create the APA reference page listings for the sources written by your classmates. Don't forget to consult with the APA Student Handbook (found here) for formatting tips. 

List them here

III. More Practice: APA Reference Listings

Ok, now that you have practiced and are all warmed up, it's time to put your skills to the test. In your groups of three, please fill out this short quiz with a partner. Remember to read the directions! It not only asks you to create the APA reference listing citation, but also to format the bibliography page with all the citations in the correct order. When you finish, please email me the completed document (jk.esl.uiuc@gmail.com) and include the group names. 

IV. Source Relevancy

What does the word 'relevancy' mean? Can you give an example? What do you think you will write as part of your relevancy statements for the annotated bibliography? We looked some examples in class last time. What do the example relevancy statements discuss? 

Housekeeping Details and Homework for Tuesday (11/5/2013)

-Finish your APA citations for all five of your sources. When you finish, please add them to the document where you have been storing all your APA Annotated Bibliography work. By Tuesday, you will have APA Citations and Reliability Statements for ALL of your sources. 

-Fill out the Relevancy Organizer for your sources as a way of helping you write your "Relevancy Statements'. The organizer will not be graded. It's for your personal use to help you organizer your thought. However, you're relevancy statements will be due before class on Tuesday. Please add them to document with your reliability statements and APA citations. Remember to order everything correctly (APA, (Summary), Relevancy Statement, Reliability Statement). 

-Pre-Research Portfolio Upload to SafeAssign: I figured it out! In order to upload your Pre-Research Portfolios to SafeAssign, they need to be converted to pdfs. To do this, go to your GoogleDoc, click 'File', then scroll down to "Download As" and choose "pdf". A window will open up and under "Options", choose "All Sheets" and then click "Export". You should then be ready to upload it to SafeAssign. 

Be careful when walking home tonight….

Day 19: Introduction to the Annotated Bibliography and Reference Page Citations

  

I hope this post finds everyone well and relaxed after an enjoyable weekend. In today's class, we will continue our discussion of research themes with an overview the features of an APA-style annotated bibliography as well as an overview and some practice with writing reference page citations. This is a crucially important lesson, not just because the major assignment for Unit 3 asks you to create your own (properly formatted) annotated bibliography (featuring a minimum of five sources) for the research you've done for your individual problem-solution research papers. Also, this is the first of a group of units designed to help you perfect your citation skills, a vital skill when doing EAP writing.

Here's a review of progress throughout Unit 3 so far (today's lesson topics are highlighted in blue):

Module 3.1 Evaluating Sources

Module 3.2 Choosing Sources 

Module 3.3 An Introduction to the Annotated Bibliography

Module 3.4 Reference Page Citations

Module 3.5 Source Reliability 

Module 3.6 Source Relevancy 

Module 3.7 Summarizing Sources

An outline of today's class can be found below: 

Intro to the Annotated Bibliography and Reference Page Citations  

I. APA Student Handbook Quiz (Part 1)

As I mentioned last week, we will be having the first of two (possibly three) short quizzes designed to test your familiarity with the APA Student Handbook

II. Brainstorming: The APA Annotated Bibliography

Why is important to include a bibliography as part of any EAP essay? Why are we writing our bibliography before we start writing the paper? What is the minimum amount of sources for this assignment? What kinds of sources should be included? How is an annotated bibliography different from a standard bibliography? What kinds of information will be included as part of the annotated bibliography?

III. The APA Annotated Bibliography: Explained

Click here for an example of a well-done annotated bibliography from an ESL 115 class last semester. After taking a few moments to analyze it's structure, let's take a moment to view this ppt that discusses the importance of writing bibliographies, the utility of the annotated bibliography and it's essential components. A review of the information from the ppt can be found on this handout.

IV. The APA Annotated Bibliography: Practice (Part I)

Now, with a partner, take a look at the bibliographic information provided for four source on this worksheet. Organize the information correctly, according to the instructions provided in the ppt and handout from part three (1st: "Citation", 2nd: "Summary, 3rd: "Relevancy Statement" and 4th: Reliability Statement). Finally, note if any of the entries is incomplete as well as the specific information that is missing.

V. The APA Annotated Bibliography: Practice (Part II)

Using the sources we selected in class last Thursday, I would like you practice creating citations and writing short (4-5 sentence) summaries. The articles we chose are below: 

Source #1: Tuition Rising: Why College Costs So Much

Source #2: The Three Year Bachelor Degree: Reform Measure or Red Herring

Please use this sheet to keep track of your answers. Before we start, let's watch this short video on how to summarize.

Remember, you only need to provide the correct APA citation and the summary of the information contained in the source. Remember: the summary must be in your own words. There should be no 'copy-pasting'!

VI. APA Reference Page Citations

Finally, let's take a look at this ppt that covers some more detailed information about how to format our reference listings according to APA style rules. Finally, let's practice using the last two examples on this handout.

Housekeeping Details and Homework for Thursday (10/31/2013) 

-Finish the relevancy chart that you started over the weekend. It should be completed for all five sources by Thursday.

-Create APA reference citations for three of your five sources. Please save these citations to the same document where you have your reliability statements saved, following the ordering/formatting instructions we talked about in class today.

-Do two of the three exercises in "Writer's Help" entitled "Exercise: APA Documentation: reference list 1, 2 and/or 3". As always, you need at least an 80% to get full credit on the assignment.

Day 18: Choosing Sources

Today in class we will continue our discussion on how to the characteristics of appropriate sources for EAP essays. We'll review how to identify reliable sources, the distinction between "reliable" and "academic" sources and introduce additional criteria for consideration when choosing sources for your individual research papers (IRPs). Finally, if there is time, we'll discuss the specific requirements for our third major assignment: the annotated bibliography. 

An outline for today's class can be found below: 

Evaluating and Choosing Sources for Your Research Paper

I. Submitting the Pre-Research Portfolio via SafeAssign

Before we start class, please take a minute or two and re-submit your final "Pre-Research Portfolio" assignment through SafeAssign. All you need to do is download the assignment from your Dropbox folder, log into Compass 2G and upload the assignment under the "Pre-Research Portfolio" assignment heading. Thank you. 

II. Brainstorming

What are some adjectives that you would use to describe appropriate sources for an analytic research paper? Which are the most important? What is the difference between 'relevant' and 'reliable'? How about between 'reliable' and 'credible'? 'Reliable' and 'academic'? 

III. Choosing Reliable, Academic Sources

Has anyone found a source that they've decided is both reliable and academic? How do you come to your decision? Let's take a look at this presentation for a review of the characteristics of a reliable source. 

IV. Review of Search Techniques

Let's take a moment to review the search techniques listed here. At this point, an important thing to keep in mind is source relevancy. This means thinking about how the sources you choose will help you write your individual paper. One way to do this is to keep your outline with you while you do your search. That way, you can make the connections between your paper and the sources you want to use right away! Take a look at how I have divided up the rough outline for our demo topic here.

V. Practice Choosing Sources

Now, let's take some time to choose some sources for our demo topics. Below you will find four sources that deal with the demo and, more specifically, with the solution of choosing three year bachelor degrees. I want you to evaluate the sources using this document. Your goal: to choose the two best sources for the demo topic and the specific solution. 

As part of you search, you should be looking for the following criteria: 

-Relevancy: How is the source connected to the topic? More specifically, how is it connected to the solution? Does it offer a description? A critique? An improvement? 

-Purpose: With what purpose was the source article/essay written? To persuade? To inform? To analyze? To critique? Are there multiple purposes? 

-Readability: How easy is it to read the source? It is too long? Too short? Is there too much jargon? Is it too informal? 

-Possibility for Synthesis: Can you think of any ways to combine any of these sources? What kinds of patterns or similarities do you notice between any of the sources? 

Demo Topic Sources

Source 1: Examining the Push for Three Year Bachelor Degrees

Source 2: The Three Year B.A.

Source 3: Tuition Rising: Why College Costs So Much

Source 4: The Three Year Bachelor Degree: Reform Measure or Red Herring?

Housekeeping Details and Homework for Tuesday (10/29/2013)

-Find, evaluate and choose 5 reliable and academic sources for your IRP Topic. For each source, write a reliability statement. This should be between 2-3 sentences where you give a justification for the reliability of your source. Please put these statements into a MS word document and title it, "ReliabilityStatements_YourName". Please upload it to your Dropbox folder (in the folder titled "Annotated Bibliography Work") by Tuesday at 4:55pm. 

-Start filling out the "Finding Sources" chart (found here). Please fill it out for at least three of your sources and upload it to your Dropbox (in the folder titled "Annotated Bibliography Work") by Tuesday at 4:55pm. 

Day 17: Evaluating Sources

Congratulations on finishing Unit 2. We are now (almost) 50% finished with the semester! To recap: we began the semester with a diagnostic unit designed to get me acquainted with your individual writing styles. During Unit 1, we also reviewed the basics of EAP. From there, we moved on to Unit 2, the Pre-Research Portfolio, which was designed to reinforce the idea of writing as a process. During Unit 2, we chose topics for our final research papers and tried to find as much general information about the topics as possible, using a wide variety of different "pre-research" techniques (keywords, database searches, UGL Librarian Chat, visiting the library and talking to a GA, Google, etc.). 

Now we move on to Unit 3: The Annotated Bibliography. In this unit, you will be asked to choose at least five reliable, academic sources as a base for the research you will do in order to write your final paper (the major assignment for Unit 4). This process will involve you choosing your sources by closely evaluating them based on the criteria we talk about in class. We will continue to use our demo topic as a way to hold in-class discussions about the criteria and techniques used for finding reliable, academic sources. Your out-of-class work will primarily deal with finding sources and then writing the annotated bibliography. Here is a tentative outline for the lessons in this unit: 

Module 3.1 Evaluating Sources

Module 3.2 Choosing Sources 

Module 3.3 An Introduction to the Annotated Bibliography

Module 3.4 Reference Page Citations

Module 3.5 Source Reliability 

Module 3.6 Source Relevancy 

Module 3.7 Summarizing Sources

Finally, here is an example of the kind of work you will be submitting as a final draft for this assignment. 

Now that we've established an overview for our projected trajectory through Unit 3, let's begin. The outline for today's lesson is below: 

Evaluating Sources 

I. Brainstorming

According to the Randomizer, you will be put into groups. Once in your group, you'll be asked to discuss the questions found here. Be sure to come up with at least one answer for each question. Once you've had some time to discuss in small groups, we will come back together to compare answers as a class. 

II. Evaluating Websites (Pre-Practice)

Now with a partner, take a look at the following three websites: 

-DHMO

-WTO

-Feorran

With your partner, take a few minutes to evaluate these websites and decide whether or not you think they should/could be used in a formal academic research paper like the one we'll be writing in this class. Be sure you can back up your reasoning with examples/explanations. 

III. Evaluating Source Reliability

What does it mean for a source to be 'reliable'? Let's take a look at this short presentation that establishes the criteria for source reliability. After we look at the reasons behind the criteria, we can move to using this checklist for determining source reliability. Finally, for more information on determining source reliability, be sure to check out that section of the OWL Purdue page, found here. Also, you can check out the resources on the UGL ESL homepage, found here.

IV. Evaluating Source Reliability: Website Practice Activity

Now you're ready to determine source reliability on your own (or with a partner). Take a look at this activity that asks you to determine the reliability of each website. For each, please answer the question on the source reliability checklist. After you've determined the (un)reliability for each of the three sites, take a moment, choose the most reliable site and then give a rationale (explanation) for your choice. 

Housekeeping Details and Homework for Thursday (10/24/2013)

-Start reading through the APA Student Handbook and be ready for a short, open note quiz. 

-Take a look at the three sources about your topic that you chose to bring to class today. Determine their reliability using the source reliability checklist. For any reliable sources, start writing "reliability statements" like the example in the ppt. Discard any unreliable sources and continue the search until you have 5-6 reliable sources. 

-Read the short overview in "Writer's Help" entitled, "Citing Sources, APA Style" and do the second activity (in the long list of activities), entitled, "Exercise: APA documentation: identifying elements of sources". As usual, you must receive an 80% to get full credit on this assignment. 

Day 16: Finalizing Your Pre-Research: The "Rough" Outline and Formulating a Research Plan

Today is the last class dedicated to Unit: Pre-Research! We will begin Unit 3: The Annotated Bibliography next Tuesday. Unit 3 will be dedicated to a source for credible, reliable and relevant academic sources that you will use to research your topic. It will also be a discussion of how to properly cite sources and how to create an Annotated Bibliography. But before we can begin Unit 3, we must finish Unit 2 and in order to do that, we need to talk about how to create a rough outline as well as a plan for the next steps you will take as part of the research and writing process. 

An outline for today's class can be found below: 

Creating A Rough Outline and Research Plan

I. Brainstorming

What is an outline? How do you write an outline? What sorts of information should you include in an outline for an analytical research paper like the IRP? Why even write an outline? You can look here for some suggestions. 

What about a research plan....what is a research plan? Why is it a good idea to write one? You can look here for an idea of what I'm looking for. 

II. A Human Outline 

Working together as a class, you will have 4 minutes to put together a model outline for the individual research paper. While this paper will follow the standard APA format, it will be longer than 5 paragraphs, since each solution will have both a critique and improvement paragraph associated with it. 

III. Outline Presentations 

First, let's take a look at how I've filled out the outline for the demo topic here. After we talk about some of the features of the rough outline, you will be divided into four groups. Each group plan and present a short presentation on a different part of the outline. You will have about 20-25 minutes to plan your presentation (including the ppt, found below). The actually presentations shouldn't be longer than 2 minutes. Each group will be asked to answer the questions found in this document. Active participation in these presentations will be considered as part of your grade for "Sheet 2" of the "Pre-Research Portfolio". 

Groups #2-4 will use the third solution for our class demo topic ("moving more classes online"). Information on that topic can be found here.

Group #1: Introductions and Conclusions

Group #2: Solutions

Group #3: Critiques

Group #4: Improvements

I will give some feedback after every group has finished presenting. 

IV. Formulating a Research Plan

Finally, we'll spend a few minutes discussing what kinds of things should be included part of your research plan. 

Housekeeping Details and Homework for Tuesday (10/22/13)

-Step #7 Fill out the "Critique" and "Improvement" sections of the Pre-Research outline for your first solution. While this doesn't have to your final critique and/or improvement, I would still like to see you demonstrate your understanding of the ideas as we've discussed in class. See the example outline here for an idea of what I'm expecting. 

-Step #8 Create a research plan where you explain the next few steps you will take as part of the process of writing your research paper. These should be done in about 150-200 words. 

-Your completed Pre-Research Portfolios are due by Sunday (10/20/13) at 11:55pm. Please see the bottom of this post for submission details. You do not need to submit a title page for this assignment, but all other submission/formatting requirement should be followed as stipulated in the post. 

-Come to class with a list of three possible sources for your research paper topic. These should be from journals or academic texts. Google, wikipedia or any of the Pre-Research resources will not be considered acceptable. It would be a good idea to contact a librarian using the chat function found here or to visit one of the many campus libraries in person. 

Day 15: Pre-Research Thesis Statements and the "Rough" Outline

While it may feel like we just started Unit 2, we are actually almost at the end! I'd like to begin class today with another short overview of where we've been and where we're going. Here is a list of the modules for Unit 2 for ESL 115C: 

Module 2.1 Understanding, Identifying and Avoiding Plagiarism 

Module 2.2 Library Day

Module 2.3 The Research Process/Choosing a (Demo) Topic

Module 2.4 Pre-Research/Choosing an Organization

Module 2.5 Choosing an Organization/Critical Thinking 

Module 2.6 Critical Thinking/Research Paper Thesis Statements

Module 2.7 A "Rough" Outline for the Research Paper/Discussing Pre-Research Progress

As you can see via the blue highlight, today we will be talking about writing a "first-draft" of the thesis statements for our eventual final essay. Again, this is a first draft. You will have the flexibility to change what you've written as your progress throughout the research and writing process. BUT! You draft will also be graded as part of the final "Pre-Research Portfolio". Here is the link to the "Pre-Research Portfolio Overview" doc. You can check your progress against where you should be on this doc. Finally, here is the link to our work for the class "Demo Topic".

Speaking of the final "Portfolio". It will be due this Saturday, October 19th, at 11:55pm. Here is the rubric I will be using to grade your portfolios. I will give you the submission information as part of the "Houskeeping Details and Homework" section of the blog post for next class. 

The outline for today's class can be found below: 

"Pre-Research Thesis Statements" 

I. Brainstorming

Before we discuss as a class, please take a moment to read this link on the definition of "research" and the difference between "argumentative" and "analytical" writing. Then try and answer the following questions: 

-What is research? What does it involve? What is it not? 

-What is the major goal of an argumentative essay? What kind of topics are dealt with in argumentative writing? Can you give an example of argumentative writing that you've done in the past? 

-What is the major goal of an analytical essay? What is the goal of an analytical research paper? 

-What are the components of any good thesis statement? Can you think of a good thesis statement for our class demo topic? 

II. Analytical Thesis Statements 

To begin, let's take a look at what OWL Purdue has to say about writing an analytical thesis statement by clicking on this link. Some important considerations for writing analytical thesis statements include: 

-Breaks down the problem into component parts

-Presents possible solutions 

-Easily understood by the audience

Now, on your piece of paper, take no more than 5 minutes and try and come up with a good analytic thesis statement for our class demo topic, the organization we've chosen and the solutions it proposes.  Look at these examples for some inspiration.

Demo Topic: The Rising Cost of Tuition at U.S. Universities 

Organization: The Center for College Affordability and Productivity

Proposed Solutions: 1). Offering 3-year bachelor degrees, 2). ending the "Athletics Arms Race" and 3). move more classes online. 

After you come up with your individual conceptions, you will be divided into groups of three. Your group task will be to try and come to an agreement on the best "working" thesis statement possible. When you've decided on your group thesis statement, please upload it to this document. From here, we will discuss similarities and differences. 

III. The Components of an Analytical Thesis Statement

Now, fill out this worksheet that asks you to identify the different components of an analytical thesis statement. After, we will discuss the answers as a class. Finally, in the same groups, take a few minutes to fill out this worksheet which compares building a thesis statement to building a house. 

IV. Individual Work Time/Questions

Any time left during class will be dedicated to giving you a chance to make sure "Steps #1-5" of your own "Pre-Research Portfolio" are completed and to give you chance to ask me questions about any questions you may have. 

Housekeeping Details and Homework for Thursday (10/17/2013)

-Fill out Step #6 of your "Pre-Research Portfolio" where you are asked to create a pre-research thesis statement for your research paper topic. 

-Fill out both APA Thesis Statement exercises in "Writer's Help" ("Exercise: Thesis Statements in APA  Papers 1 and 2")

-Finish any remaining work you may have left for Steps #1-5 on your "Pre-Research Portfolio" (for partial initial credit). 

Day 14: The Pre-Research Process: Critical Thinking

Today in class we will continue our discussion of the pre-research process by dedicating our time together to a discussion of "critical thinking". Critical thinking can be loosely defined as "thinking about the way we think". If we apply the concept of critical thinking to our own writing, then it becomes, "thinking about the way we think about writing". A nice technical term for critical thinking is "metacognition". Hopefully our in-class discussion today will make these somewhat confusing definitions clearer for you. The outline for today's class can be found below: 

Critical Thinking and the Pre-Research Process

I. Brainstorming: What does the idea of "critical thinking" mean to you? What are some different components of the concept? Can you think of any related ideas? Synonyms? Why do you think we are talking about "critical thinking" at this point in the semester? 

II. Critical Thinking and the Demo Topic

Click here to view the "Pre-Research Portfolio" I've created for our class demo topic. I'll be updating this along with you as we progress through the various steps of our "pre-research journey", so feel free to consult with the doc for an example of the kind of work I expect of you. Also, don't forget to check here for a general overview and definitions for each step of the process. 

III. Critical Thinking: A Review

Now, let's take a look at this short presentation on the basics of critical thinking. The vocabulary should look familiar. After the review, we will look at this short guide to analyzing the solutions proposed by our organizations through various "lenses". 

IV. Application: A Critical Review of the Proposed Demo Topic Solutions

Now, with a partner (or in a group of three), take a few minutes to fill out this chart that asks you to critically examine the solutions proposed by the organization for our demo topic. Below are the links to the different pages for each solution:

1). Three Year Bachelor Degrees: CCAP_3 Year Degrees

2). Ending the "Athletics Arms Race": CCAP_Athletics

3). Move More Classes Online: CCAP_Online Classes

Once you finish your group discussion, take a couple of minutes to add your thoughts to the class wide GoogleDoc here. Please be sure to use a different color from the other groups. Once everyone has had a chance to post, we'll finish with a short class discussion about the comments and insights you've shared. 

Housekeeping Details and Homework for Tuesday

-By Tuesday, you must have parts 1-4 of the Pre-Research Portfolio completed. That means that this weekend will be your last chance to change your topic and/or organization. I will check what you have completed tonight and give you points for trying parts 1-4. By Tuesday, those sections of the document will be "locked". 

-Complete part 5 of the "Pre-Research Portfolio". This part asks you to analyze the solutions you've chosen. It is it's own sheet, so make sure to go to "Sheet 3" of the pre-research doc to fill it out. This will require a decent amount of time to do well, so be sure to account for that. 

As always, if you have any questions (or want a second opinion) on something, feel free to send me an email or come to office hours on Monday (3-4pm, FLB 4106). 

Day 13: Choosing an Organization, Evaluating Solutions and Critical Thinking

As we move farther into Unit 2, I'd like to begin class today with a short overview of where we've been and where we're going. Here is a list of the modules for Unit 2 for ESL 115C: 

Module 2.1 Understanding, Identifying and Avoiding Plagiarism 

Module 2.2 Library Day

Module 2.3 The Research Process/Choosing a (Demo) Topic

Module 2.4 Pre-Research/Choosing an Organization

Module 2.5 Choosing an Organization/Critical Thinking 

Module 2.6 Critical Thinking/Research Paper Thesis Statements

Module 2.7 A "Rough" Outline for the Research Paper

Module 2.8 Research Paper Discussion Day

After the final discussion day, you will be asked to submit your "Pre-Research Portfolio". This is a document that I have shared with each individual in class. You job is to fill out the portfolio with the information about your topic that you gain during the pre-research process. Here is a copy of the rubric I will use to grade your portfolio. If you are ever confused about what kind of information to provide for a particular step in the process, please consult this helpful guide.

After this overview, I think we're ready to start today's class. The outline can be found below: 

I. Review of Critical Thinking Vocabulary

To begin class today, let's review the definitions you created for the critical thinking vocabulary from last week. Here is a reminder of the terms: 

-Analyze/Analysis

-Synthesize/Synthesis

-Summarize/Summary

-Paraphrase/Paraphrasing

-Evaluate/Evaluation 

II. Brainstorming: Characteristics of a Good Organization

Since one of the primary components of the final research paper involves finding an organization that is working to solve the problem implied in your topic, what do you think the characteristics of a good organization should be? Can you think of adjectives that you would use to describe a good organization? Why did you choose these words? 

III. Choosing an Organization 

Let's take a look at this presentation that outlines the characteristics of an appropriate organization for the final research. Afterwards, you can consult this handout that outlines the characteristics of a good organization. There is also a built-in practice component. 

IV. Using "Associations Unlimited" to Find an Organization for Our Demo Topic

Remember: our demo topic is "The Raising Cost of College Tuition at U.S. Universities". Now we need to find a credible organization working to solve the problem. First, let's review this flow chart which offers a step-by-step guide to the kind of considerations you'll be making when you choose your organization. Then, let's practice using "Association Unlimited" and Google to evaluate the organizations on this list and decide which would be the best for our topic. 

V. Finding Organizations for Your Topic 

For those of you who have an approved topic, you can now start applying the same process we used to find an organization for the demo topic to finding an organization for your topic. Be sure to update your "Pre-Research Portfolio" with your information. If your topic hasn't yet been approved, you can use this time to decide on a topic and have a conference with me to approve it. 

Housekeeping Details and Homework for Thursday (Oct. 10th, 2013)

-Review your graded "Diagnostic Assignments" and let me know if you have any questions. 

-Begin filling out your "Pre-Research Portfolio". By Thursday, please fill out columns #1-4. If you cannot find an organization that offers three solutions, you may have to change topics. Remember, if  your topic hasn't been approved by me, you cannot start filling out your "Pre-Research Portfolio". 

Day 12: Pre-Research and Choosing an Organization

Today, I'd like to begin class by having a short discussion about where we are now and the direction the course will be taking from here on out. To do this, I'l be consulting this  document. It will updated with new information as we finish Unit 2 and move on to Unit 3. If you have any questions about the class' focus, please consult this document first. 

After this short progress overview, we will continue our discussion about the characteristics of a good research paper topic and your small groups will present on the topic you've chosen. From there, we will move on to a discussion of how to do good pre-research investigation into a given research paper topic. Finally, we will end by discussing how to find an organization that is working to solve the problem implied in the topic we've chosen. 

An outline for today's class can be found below: 

Pre-Research and Choosing an Organization

I. Topic Presentations

We'll begin today's class with your topic presentations. Each group will be given one minute to explain why the topic they've chosen is a good research paper topic by explaining how it meets the criteria we discussed in class on Tuesday. After each group has presented, we will decide on the best topic through a vote. This topic will then be used as our class demo topic for the rest of Unit 2. 

*Remember, you will be asked to submit your own research paper topic (complete with a justification as to why it meets the requirements we've discussed) by tomorrow (Friday, Oct 4th) by 11:55pm. The final IRP topics will be stored via a GoogleDoc here.

II. Pre-Research: Brainstorming 

Before we begin the pre-research process, consider these questions: why is pre-research important? What information are we trying to gain from pre-research? Why don't we just start looking for sources in the library database collection? How does pre-research make finding sources easier/more effective? Where are good places to begin your pre-research? 

III. Pre-Researching the Demo Topic

Now that we have a demo topic and a better understanding of the reason why pre-research is important, let's do some practice. In groups of three, fill out the categories of this  document based on the demo topic. Every group needs to contribute something to each of the five categories. 

IV. Choosing an Organization 

Per the description of the task, one of the necessary components of the IRP paper in 115 is finding an organization that is working to find solutions to the problem you choose to investigate. This can be a little tricky, but luckily, we have a good presentation on the characteristics of a good organization here.

For more practice, look at this  checklist and the example.

Housekeeping and Homework for Tuesday (October 8th, 2013)

-For Tomorrow at 11:55pm: Submit the topic checklist for the topic you would like to do for the IRP. You must submit your topic for my approval, which you must receive before moving on to the other parts of this assignment. There is a good chance I will ask you to modify some aspect of your topic. Don't worry! This is all part of the unpredictable process of research paper writing. As long as you email me your completed topic checklist, I will give you full credit for the assignment. 

-Review the Pre-Research Portfolio Overview: Even though we talked about this in class, I would like you to review the information found here before next class, so that we are all "on the same page". Also, please let me know if you have any questions. 

-Review the Pre-Research Portfolio Template: Review this document. Once your topic has been approved, I will send you a version of this document that will be shared between you and I. Filling out this portfolio is the major assignment for Unit 2. For now, you don't have to do anything, but once your topic is approved, you'll be asked to start filling out steps 1 and 2. 

Day 11: The Research Process and Choosing a Research Paper Topic

During our last class, we visited the UGL and explored some of the tools we can use to help us do research. Today we will continue our exploration of Unit 2: The Pre-Research Process. As I mentioned last week, we will continue to emphasize the idea of writing as a process (and not something you do quickly, the night before an assignment is due, like the young woman in the cartoon above). This unit is designed to discuss all the necessary steps one must take when beginning a major, formal EAP essay, even before finding sources and doing the actual research. 

Again, as a reminder, Unit 3: Annotated Bibliography will discuss finding sources, researching and creating an annotated bibliography. Unit 4: Writing the Research Paper is when we'll actually be writing the final, Individual Problem Solution Research Paper (IRP).

An outline of today's class can be found below: 

The Research Paper Process and Choosing a Research Paper Topic

I. Brainstorming: When you're asked to write a formal academic paper, what's the first thing you do? Have you ever written a research paper? What are the steps involved in writing a research? What comes first? Second? What's the most important step? What's the biggest problem you've ever faced when writing a (research) paper? How did you overcome this problem? 

Here is a short video that nicely sums up my greatest challenge when writing...

II. A Step-by-Step Guide to the Research Paper Writing Process

Now, in pairs, take a few minutes to look at this exercise. It asks you to do two things: first, put these concepts into order according to when they happen as part of the writing process. It also asks you to provide a basic definition for each term. After the pair discussions, we will reconvene as a class to discuss the right order and proper definitions for each term. 

III. Choosing a Research Paper Topic ("To Boldly Go...")

Now that we've established the order of the Research Paper Process, let's begin discussing the first step.  While the research process is dynamic and, at times, unpredictable, it always begins in the same place: choosing a topic. 

Brainstorming: What are the characteristics of a good research paper topic? How is an analytic research paper different from an argumentative essay? 

Let's take a look at the following presentations. The first discusses things to avoid when deciding on a good research paper topic. The second outlines a checklist of questions you should ask yourself when deciding whether you have a good research topic or not. 

IV. Group Topic Presentations

Now, in groups of three, discuss the two possible research paper topics you brought to class today. Using this chart, compare and contrast the possible topic using the checklist of criteria for a good research paper topic. Then, decide on the best topic out of the possibilities listed by the group. Be ready to do a short presentation in front of the class where your group informs the other groups of the topic you've chosen and explains why. 

To review:

-Compare and contrast your research paper topics using the decision chart

-Each group will choose one primary topic (and one back-up topic, in case another group has already chosen theirs)

-Each group will give a short, 1-minute speech to the class explaining why their topic is an appropriate research paper topic and how it meets the criteria on the checklist. 

House Keeping Details and Homework for Thursday, 10/3/13

-EPT Research Survey: You all should have received an email from a colleague of ours named Sun Joo Chung, asking you to fill out a short survey that evaluates the EPT exam. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey, as it will provide valuable insight necessary to continually improve the test. 

-IEFs: Please take a moment to fill out this short feedback form with your thoughts about how class is going thus far. As the directions indicate, it is anonymous, so your honest feedback is appreciated. 

-Critical Thinking Vocabulary: We will be discussing the concept of "critical thinking" a lot over the course of Unit 2. Please fill out this short worksheet that asks you to define a few of the most crucial concepts related to writing and critical thought. Please bring a copy of this handout to class on Thursday (hard copy or electronic). 

-Prepare Short Topic Presentation: Come to class on Thursday ready to discuss why the topic your group has selected appropriately represents the criteria on the checklist.

For Friday-Choosing Your Individual Research Paper Topic (Phase 1): Now that we've run through the process in class, take a moment and fill out the "Research Paper Topic Decision Chart" for a two topics (one primary, one a "back up") of your own. If the topic you brought to class today fits the requirements on the checklist, feel free to use it to fill out this chart again. Once you have finished, please email me with this form attached. Title your email, "Research Paper Topic_YourName". This should be completed before our next class meeting.