Unit Two: Researching Material
The writing process begins far before you actually start crafting paragraphs or sentences for the draft you want to “go public.” As we’ve already discussed in detail, we need to know some things before we start writing them. And yet! Writing is part of the discovery process—we learn WHILE we’re writing, too. So you’ll spend the bulk of this semester investigating research questions that are of interest to you, and you’ll write a lot throughout the whole process. We’re breaking things into 2 main units, though, so we can focus on different elements of the process.
In Unit Two, you’ll practice a range of research strategies, from bibliographic and/or archival to field and empirical methods. We’ll use the scientific method for articulating and refining research questions, putting off final conclusions until we’ve reviewed as much data as possible. We’ll also incorporate “write to learn” strategies, to help you make your own invisible ideas visible, to order and make meaning of your research material, and to identify research gaps or tangles in logic. By the unit’s end, you’ll present to us your source material with an emphasis on your own research process—how did you approach your questions? How did your thinking evolve through your research and writing? Your final assignments include a live presentation and a companion essay.
Unit Two: Major Writing/Presentation Assignment
*Note on Unit Two Essay and Presentation Grading:
Grades for Presentations are almost wholly based on completion.
If you include full information for 7/10 of the required sources, your grade will be a 70%, etc.
Partial responses to any given item will result in reduced points tied to that item.Grades for Essays are based first on “Did this essay answer the ‘research narrative’ assignment?”(pass/fail), and then almost wholly based on MLA format. The essay itself is very easy to write, so this is our best opportunity to whip MLA into shape.
My Old Sample Submission:
““Investigating How the Body Heals, or Doesn’t, from Chronic Stress”
Examples of Past Submissions:
“Variables that Affect Levels of Imposter Syndrome”
“Investigating dead zones in the chesapeake through students perspectives”
“Harnessing the Ideal Acoustic Guitar Tone”
“Investigating the Effects of Studying Art on Problem Solving and Divergent Thinking”