engl202: research writing

EN202: Research Writing 1

ENGL202: Research Writing

Spring 2010Dr. Park & Ms. Robinson

Class Sessions 1EN202: Research Writing


January 21st Session

• Take your name card out, and place it on your desk

• Take attendance• Assign groups for the 6 readings sets

Class Sessions EN202: Research Writing 2


Journal Entry #1: Unpacking this Invisible Knapsack of Privileges

January 21st Entry—What were some of your initial impressions of McIntosh article?

(be specific)


White Privilege & Male Privilege by McIntosh

• Let’s get into groups of 4, and discuss your reflections on the questions below. Be ready to provide examples provide examples from everyday occurrences:

– Do you believe the different races in our country are given equal privileges? Why or why not?

– How do interlocking systems of privilege and marginalization work in our lives? In other words, in what ways are you privileged and marginalized?



Homework for Tuesday, Jan. 26th

• Using the diagram on page 23, draft some initial ideas about your personal, professional, and academic interests, which may ultimately influence your choice about an empirical research topic for this course

• Read thoroughly the Johnson article (pp. 107-123) and tackle the questions listed on the syllabus under WEEK 2

January 26th Session

• Attendance• Hand out the group presentation schedule• Take out your three-pronged visual diagram

as a way to discuss “Choosing a Research Topic” (Ms. Robinson)

• Johnson Article (group work)

04/20/23Class Sessions EN202: Research Writing 6


Choosing a Research Topic

• Share a few potential topics/diagrams

• What should your research topic consist of?



Elements of a Research Topic

• A good research topic consists of two main elements:– Thesis: what you hope your readers will learn

from your writing.• Declares your opinion and what you intend to prove

(and/or in qualitative research, it is more to persuade/convince the readers) within your paper.

– Purpose: the reason the topic is important or interesting to you.


Knowledge of Self When choosing a topic, we need to consider what we

already know, think, and care about. - When considering what we know, we need to ask ourselves:

1. What are the things you care most deeply about in life?

2. What things do you know most about?3. What life experiences have you had?

• Let’s take a minute to write down some ideas…(please feel free to use the diagram sheet to continue brainstorming)


Knowledge of the World

Along with personal experience there must also be a public aspect. In other words, the reader of your paper should be able to relate.• How can our personal interests be used to

persuade other people?• How are our personal experiences similar

to/different from others?• How are personal experiences influenced by

outside issues?


Activity

• Take a few minutes to write down a potential topic and create a thesis statement (use the same diagram sheet).

Remember: a thesis declares your opinion and what you intend to prove within your paper.


Connecting the Lesson to the Research Article (Johnson)

• Before we get into the multiple section of the Johnson article, …– What are the thesis and purpose(s) of this article?– Could you direct us to the part(s) of the article

where we would find the thesis/purpose?



Johnson, A. (2007) Unintended consequences: How science professors discourage women of color

(packet)

• Let’s get into groups and deconstruct each section of the article. Let’s have 9 groups (refer to the new PINK sheet):– Introduction pp.805-807 (3 people)– Background (Literature review) pp.807-808 (3

people)– Methods pp.808-810 (4 people)– Results pp. 810-818 (5 groups: 3 people per

group)– Conclusion pp. 818-820 (3 people)



Journal Entry #2: Unintended Consequences?

• In-Class Writing:Reflecting on the content of the

article, what were the “unintended consequences” that Johnson was referring to? Do you agree with her given the evidence from the research article?


Overview for Next week & Assignment for Tuesday, 2/2

• Next week, we will continue to work on refining our research topic and constructing a rough draft of the Introduction

• You will examine samples of “introduction” from previous semesters as a way to “critique” and refine/improve your own introduction. The near final DRAFT will be due the 2/4 or 2/9.

• Given the discussions we’ve had about research topics, and what you have gained from reading the Johnson article, DRAFT (i.e., ROUGH) an introduction (please type, double space) for your diversity research project. Remember that:– Your Rough Draft will help you expand your introduction, and

even with your next draft, you may need to tweak it throughout the semester;

– There are certain components (types of information) that are mandatory in the Introduction. Refer to our discussions around Johnson article


February 2nd Session

• Attendance• Examine samples of “Introduction” from previous semesters

– In groups– List the positive/negative elements

• Please take out your Introduction- Rough Draft– Have at least 2 (classmates) peer-review your rough draft,

and peer-reviewers must write at least one question in the author’s introduction (and also write your name as the reviewer)as a way for them to expand their introduction.

– At the end of the class session, we will collect your rough draft and give you our comments for the revised version to be handed in on 2/9


Introduction Section (2/2; 2/4)

• Let’s look at one of the Student Samples from previous semesters– Is this a good introduction? Why or why not? – List some items that are positive/negative as a way to

beef up your own INTRODUCTION– If time, we can examine other student samples

• speech pathology group;• history education group; and• military group


Introduction Section continued (2/2; 2/4)

• Let’s take out your ROUGH DRAFT and exchange with one of your classmates– Read through the draft and list some questions,

comments, etc. for the author– Write your name on the bottom as the Peer-Reviewer

and return it to the author– Return Dr. Park’s comments: Your Introduction– The Near final version is due on 2/9, Tuesday

• Develop and Refine my RQ (course packet pages 24-25)

• Talk about the Reading Group #1 for Thursday, 2/11 presentation


Assignment for February 9, Tuesday and OVERVIEW for The week of February 9th

• Hand in your Introduction (the near final version for a grade) on 2/9

• Develop and Refine my RQ (course packet pages 24-25)• Have read: “What can a literature review do for me?” in the

course packet for 2/9

Overview for the WEEK:• We’ll have a research literacy session on Summarizing &

Documenting summaries (Ms. Robinson)• Discuss “what can a literature review do for me? And Develop

and refine my RQ brainstorm sheet.• The Reading Set #1 will present and facilitate on 2/11,

Thursday, please have read all the essays in reading set, and bring 2 questions for the presenting group.


Your Wh-Questions (pp. 24-26)

• Choose the research question that best meets the needs of your topic and write it on the board to share with the class

– Let’s choose one RQ on the board, how would we go about exploring this question? In other words, let’s brainstorm to figure out what might be needed in each section (i.e., Literature Review, Method of Inquiry)

– Do one as a class and each group selects one RQ


Journal Entry #3: Understanding the Literature Review (2/9)

• In your journal, please reflect on the following questions:

– What is the connection between your literature review content and your research question/statement?

– What can the literature review do for you in your quest to explore the diversity research topic for ENGL 202?


A Good Summary

• A good summary meets both of these criteria: Accurately reflects the meaning and intention of

the original work without distorting the information.

Completely re-worded to reflect your own vocabulary and writing style.


An Example…

• Original excerpt:– The following is from a book by Kate Muir titled Arms and the

Woman• It would make more sense if the military took advantage of

perceived, and actual, differences between men and women. When soldiers complain about the problems of integration and the resentment on both sides, these are management and leadership problems, and not the fault of women. An army which accommodates women and uses them to best advantage rather than wasting time making excuses will find integration far less painful.

• Can you summarize the above excerpt?...


• An acceptable summary:

– - The solution to integrating women into the military can be resolved by proper leadership and management, taking advantage of gender differences rather than making excuses (Muir 196).


Documenting Summaries

• The first step in summarizing source material is writing the summary accurately, without bias, and in your own words and writing style.

• It is important to make sure that you give credit to the author for the ideas you have summarized


Key Points Lead-Ins: the first time you cite a source, it is best to use a

narrative lead-in giving the author’s name (first and last for MLA; last name only for APA) and as much additional information as you can fit smoothly into your sentence.

Multiple Authors: if your source has more than one author, mention them in the same order in which they are listed in the source.

- MLA: Herman, Brown, and Martel predict dramatic changes in the earth’s climate in the next 200 years (174).

- APA: Herman, Brown, and Martel (2008) predict dramatic changes in the earth’s climate in the next 200 years (p. 174).


Key Points (continued…) No Author: If the source does not list an author, you must

mention the title since that is how it will be listed in your reference list. If you are putting that information in parentheses, you do not need to use the entire title, just enough so that the reader can find it.- MLA: The article “Rising Toll of Teenage Alcoholism” points out that

television beer commercials present drinking role models that most young people see as desirable (17).

- APA: The article “Rising Toll of Teenage Alcoholism” (2008) points out…as desirable (p. 17)


Key Points (cont…) No Page Numbers: Electronic sources usually do not have

fixed page numbers. Without page references, you must take care to frame summaries of more than one sentence. If your electronic source has page or paragraph numbering, included in the Works Cited or References citation.- (Hargrave, pars. 9-10).

• “Pars.” Is the abbreviation for paragraphs.Secondary Citation: Try to avoid secondary citation, and always go to the

original source.• Seymour and Hewitt (1997) (cited in Johnson, 2008) argued that…. • (Seymour & Hewitt, 1997 cited in Johnson, 2008)


Inclement Weather Closing

• Thursday, February 11th, class was cancelled due to inclement weather


What’s happening on Feb. 16,

Tuesday… • Return the Introduction (near final draft),

and discuss the connections among RQ, Literature review, and Method of inquiry

• Pre-group presentation reflections on reading set #1 essays

• Group presentation/discussion facilitation by – Stephen, Kristina, Chris, Rick, and Boku

• Post-group presentation reflections• Dialogic Textual Reflections


Pre-group presentation reflections

• Journal Entry #4 (7 minutes):– As a result of reading the essays on racism, what

are your thoughts on racism? Provide examples from the essay to support your statements.


Post group presentation reflections

• Journal Entry #5 (10 minutes):–What are some aspects of their

presentation/discussion facilitation that added to your understanding of “racism”?


Thursday, February 18th

• Library Session- conduct literature review searches (course packet p. 29)-come directly to Stabley 201

• Turn in your Take Home Quiz in class


Assignments for the Week of Feb 23/25

• TUESDAY: Have read Garcia (1989) article (course packet pp. 147-168) (Tues): a historical seminal piece on Chicana feminist discourse, please think about the following questions:– Briefly discuss the historical development of Chicana feminism– Define feminism, especially for women of color– Development of ideological discourse that addresses three issues

• Chicana feminism and cultural nationalism• Chicana feminism and feminist baiting• Chicana feminists and white feminists

• TUESDAY: Have all your literature review sources organized using the format on p. 29 (course packet), and be ready to share them in class.


Assignments for the Week of Feb 23/25

• THURSDAY: Reading Set #2 group presentation

• THURSDAY: have read all the essays in reading set #2


engl202: research writing

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