Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Day 28: The Final Class

Today's class will be somewhat short.

We will review requirements for the final paper and address issues such as formatting and file naming.

Please refer to the PAPER 3 PAGE for information.

You will have some time in class to work and ask questions.

We will do ICES and that's it!
Good Luck on Finals!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Day 27: Preparing the Outline

You will be able to:

-Outline their research paper in a reflective manner (given that they have completed the literature review section) and be more prepared for the write-up of the final paper.

You may be sick of outlining, but the outline you will work on today is actually a start to writing your research paper since you will actually be writing sentences and putting them in order.

Headings and Subheadings

We will review headings and subheadings at the beginning of class, but I don't want you to include the headings and subheadings until you complete your outline.

Create headings for the major parts of your paper (introduction, methods, results, discussion or maybe introduction, research, conclusion).

Create sub headings for important parts of your paper that make up the major parts. You can see an example of this in the methods section of THE SAMPLE ON ASSESSING WATER QUALITY.

Outline Requirements

1. Introduction (CARS): You need three sentences--one for each CARS movement
a. Brief background of topic
b. Identify gap in research
c. Fill in gap with your thesis statement

2. Literature Review: You need one sentence purpose for the introduction, a topic sentence for each topic in the body, and a one sentence emphasis of a need for research for the conclusion
a. Introduction--Present purpose for the literature and outline the structure
b. Body--Several paragraphs organized by topic focused on niche/related background information
c. Conclusion--Emphasize a need to fill in the gap

3. Body (your research):You need to provide a topic sentence for every body paragraph

4. Conclusion: Provide one sentence that responds to one of the following research paper types
a. Research question format--you must answer the research question
b. Argumentative format--conclude with restating your claim
c. Problem-solution--you must again present your conclusion on which is the best solution for the problem

Applying Headings and Subheadings

Now that your outline is complete, you will have the opportunity to go back and add headings and subheadings. Keep in mind that each citation style and journal has their own way to format headings and subheadings. You should choose a format appropriate for your field.

Preparing Questions

Now take some time to review your outline and prepare any questions you might have about the research paper to ask me in the individual conference.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Day 26: Abstracts

You will be able to:

-Understand the purpose of abstract of a research paper.
-Understand the types of abstract.
-Become aware of the necessity (or lack thereof) of an abstract in your discipline.
-Notice and practice the use of specific linguistic features in abstracts.

Presentations

First we will finish up presentations from the previous class.

Abstract

After presentations, we will study Abstracts. Abstracts come before the introduction and are separated from the rest of the paper in some way. Sometimes they will appear on a separate page, and sometimes they will be separated from the introduction by a line.


In groups, find the abstract in each of the sample papers below. In your groups try to identify at least one difference in structure of the abstract. Also try to find ways in which the two abstracts are similar (hint: look at verb tense).

SAMPLE 1--ECONOMICS OF FARMING
SAMPLE 2--ASSESSING WATER QUALITY

About Abstracts

To answer some basic questions about abstracts, you can follow along with this ABSTRACT POWERPOINT.

You can find some supplementary information about abstracts HERE

Abstract Analysis

Now that you have a greater understanding about abstracts, put your skills to the test with this ABSTRACT ANALYSIS task.

Working with Abstracts in Your Field

You will now have the opportunity to evaluate the use of abstracts in your field. It would be helpful for you to work in groups of similar disciplines of study, but it is not necessary.

1. Use the LIBRARY WEBPAGE to find an article in your field of study.
2. Identify the abstract in the article.
3. Identify whether the abstract is results driven or a summary.
4. Identify how tense is used in each part of the abstract.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Day 25: Presentations and IMRD

Presentations

During today's class you will present your research paper outline to the class. This should take a little bit more than an hour.

IMRD Structure

Before that, I will briefly present IMRD STRUCTURE.

You can view two sample IMRD papers below.
SAMPLE 1--ECONOMICS OF FARMING
SAMPLE 2--ASSESSING WATER QUALITY

Conferences

You can view the time slots available for individual conferences HERE. You should bring a printed copy of your completed final research paper outline to the conference along with any questions you have.

Class will be cancelled on 4/26/12 and my office hours will be cancelled on 4/25/12 and 4/27/12 for conference scheduling.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Day 24: Literature Review Workshop

Today we will work on literature reviews...IN CLASS!

First we will briefly review aspects of a literature review.

Then you will have the opportunity to work on it in class and ask questions to me or your peers.

If you finish your literature review, work on your reflection paper. If you finish both of those, then prepare for your presentation on Tuesday.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Day 23: Source Synthesis

Objectives: Students will be able to:

-Recognize the definition and purpose of source synthesis in academic writing
-Categorize ideas from different sources through the use of a grid
-Synthesize sources based on ideas rather than the author
-Review the principle of unity in when synthesizing sources

First, you will finish up sharing your outlines with your classmates.

We will move on to cover source synthesis. This will be especially helpful in developing your literature reviews which are due Thursday.

Begin by opening the SOURCE SYNTHESIS POWERPOINT.

You will revisit what it means to synthesize your sources, and then you will have the opportunity to evaluate the structure some excerpts from literature reviews. Review these EXAMPLES OF SOURCE SYNTHESIS. In groups try to answer these questions:
-What are the organizing principles of text A and text B?
-Which text synthesized the sources better?
-What are some characteristics that make a good source synthesis?

We will finish up with the powerpoint. You will then need to read the information in the
SAMPLE SOURCES document, and organize the information found in those sources into a GRID ORGANIZER.

Remember strategies for making your writing more clear. For each main idea that recurs among the sources, create a topic sentence that both
1) Synthesizes the literature to be discussed
2) Describes the literature to be discussed
Example 1) Much of the literature points out that whole capital punishment does not stop crime, most Americans still believe that it does stop crime.
Example 2) Not only does the literature agree that capital punishment does not stop crime, Prejean, Fitzpatrick and Marshall also suggests that capital punishment may in fact cause more crime.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Day 22: Research Paper Structure

You will be able to:
-select an outline for your final research paper
-develop the outline for your final research paper
-share the outline with your classmates

Research Paper Outlines
Today you will have the opportunity to develop an outline for your final research paper. We will first review SUGGESTED OUTLINES.

Select an Outline
You will then have the opportunity to evaluate each outline individually and decide on one to follow for your final research paper.

Developing your Outline
Once everyone has decided on their outline, you will work on developing the outline and present it to members of your group. Groups will be made according to the type of research paper you will write.

Preparation for your Oral Presentation
With the remaining time. You can make any adjustments to your outline you feel are necessary and prepare for your oral presentation. Minimally, you will need to present the information in your outline and provide a visual aid.