Early in the term, you’ll choose a question that
will culminate in an 8-10 page research essay. We’ll have several research process writing (RPW)
assignments along the way to help you formulate your question, gather sources,
draft your paper, and finally, to make your knowledge public.
The topic of the course is “dissent,” but the topic
of the paper need not be dissent itself. Instead, you’ll engage ideas about
dissent by practicing the ways of thinking, knowing, and making writerly moves necessary
to engaging in thoughtful, informed conversation.
RPW #1: Choosing a topic (due Nov. 26)
Your paper should begin with a question that is
connected to your own life and choices but about which you are truly undecided.
The question should be relatively mundane, but allow you to open up different
research pathways. The question should require pragmatic attention to facts yet
ultimately necessitate a moral choice that pushes you to narrate and develop your
own stake in this matter. Questions might be like these:
-
Should I listen to rap
music?
-
Should I shop at the Gap?
-
Should I participate in Yik-Yak?
-
Should I take up yoga?
-
Should I go gluten-free?
-
Should I swim in the Mississippi?
For the first RPW, you’ll identify an overarching question
and four sub-questions meant to lead you down research pathways that include
four kinds of knowledge:
1)
Subjective (sometimes called tacit or intuitive
knowledge, based in opinion, belief, and personal experience)
2)
Empirical (sometimes called explicit knowledge, based
in researchable facts)
3)
Authoritative (conclusions based on previous
research or logic, substantiated by authorities)
4)
Social (sometimes called embedded knowledge,
interpretations informed by community consensus, cultural practice, social
artifacts.
For example:
Question: Should I listen to rap music?
Subjective:
Why do I like rap music? How does it make me feel? What experiences do I
associate with it?
Authoritative: What do other people say about why it’s
good or bad? How do they know? What
information do they use?
Empirical: What concrete evidence links rap music
to problem behaviors? To positive outcomes?
Social: What are the lyrics? Video content? What
might these lyrics and content mean to different communities?
Turn a copy of your questions in to me and bring your own
copy with you to the introduction to research in the library on Dec. 1.
RPW #2:
Bibliography and Coming to Terms (Due Dec. 15---or the 16th, since I failed to change this!)
Our visit to the library will help you identify and find
different kinds of information relevant to your question. For this assignment, you’ll list, with
full bibliographic information, six sources you hope to use in your
research (eventually, you should collect 8-10). But they shouldn’t be just any article with your keyword in
it. Your bibliography must include sources that offer different kinds of information. Sources should include two of
each non-subjective type of knowledge listed above.
Then, write a three-paragraph discussion in which you “come
to terms” with what you’ve read. Each paragraph should process what you learned
from reading each pair of sources by answering two important questions: How do these sources answer my question, and
what aspects of this discussion stand out for me as a reader? As an added
challenge, no quotations are allowed. The paper must be entirely in your own
words, to show your ability to process what these folks have said.
RPW #3: Idea draft (due Jan. 27)
Your idea draft is a discovery draft. Write a paper in which
you explore different facets of your question in order to figure out an answer.
The draft should be 6-7 pages long, use at least 8 sources total, making sure to include each kind, and
include full citation. Your draft must explore the question using all four
sorts of knowledge. It should explore your subjective knowledge and acknowledge
the limits of that knowledge through a thorough engagement with the work and
ideas of others. You’ll share this draft with me and with others in the class.
Empirical=Definition: what does this source give me in terms of basic information about my problem? What are the circumstances of it? What is the scope of the problem? Who is involved? How is it defined? When did it happen? Why does it happen? Found in documents, data collections, public records. Degree of truth often rests on degree to which the author is disinterested. Research-based fact trumps subjectivity.
Authoritative=Identity: May or may not be true. Authorities recognized by others, not just themselves; public records over private accounts; people who work in the field, not outside it; identity is key but may not be logical (ie actor promoting a drink); key is that the argument rests more on the PERSON who said it than on the information it contains. Authorial identity trumps logic or groupthink.
Social=Systems: community consensus, not single authority/group of authorities; group beliefs, practices, symbols (ie flag means freedom –decided only by consensus). Found in ethics, cultural processes & products, values, codes of conduct, language,. Found in agreement among number of people. Collective buy-in trumps logic or authority.
Empirical=Definition: what does this source give me in terms of basic information about my problem? What are the circumstances of it? What is the scope of the problem? Who is involved? How is it defined? When did it happen? Why does it happen? Found in documents, data collections, public records. Degree of truth often rests on degree to which the author is disinterested. Research-based fact trumps subjectivity.
Authoritative=Identity: May or may not be true. Authorities recognized by others, not just themselves; public records over private accounts; people who work in the field, not outside it; identity is key but may not be logical (ie actor promoting a drink); key is that the argument rests more on the PERSON who said it than on the information it contains. Authorial identity trumps logic or groupthink.
Social=Systems: community consensus, not single authority/group of authorities; group beliefs, practices, symbols (ie flag means freedom –decided only by consensus). Found in ethics, cultural processes & products, values, codes of conduct, language,. Found in agreement among number of people. Collective buy-in trumps logic or authority.
Your public service announcement should make the answer to
your question available to the public in some fashion. It might take different
forms: a blog post (on your own blog or another), a short video (no more than 4
minutes), a PechaKucha, a work of art, a series of tweets, an opinion piece or letter to the
editor, etc. The PSA must be 1) public, 2) demonstrate your research-based
authority, and 3) answer your question. You’ll receive feedback on your PSA
before it goes live.
Research paper (due finals week)
The final draft of the research paper will be due during
finals week. It should be 8-10
pages long, use MLA format and style, include at least 8 sources, and use all
four types of knowledge. Research papers that are late, do not include
citation, or engage in plagiarism will fail.
Due Thursday, Feb. 19 at 11 a.m. Papers turned in by Tues., Feb. 17 at 11 a.m.= evaluation sheet + commentary; turned in by Feb. 19 11 a.m.=evaluation sheet only.
Managing Sources
Essay Rubric
Due Thursday, Feb. 19 at 11 a.m. Papers turned in by Tues., Feb. 17 at 11 a.m.= evaluation sheet + commentary; turned in by Feb. 19 11 a.m.=evaluation sheet only.
Managing Sources
Essay Rubric
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