English 601: Assignments
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Mini-Research Project, Research Proposal, and Presentation (50% of final grade)
Conference
When you are ready to discuss your plan for this assignment, you should make a conference with me. You should bring with you your topic, a description of the research problem, your purpose statement, and your research question or hypothesis for us to discuss. This conference should happen before November 2nd.
Mini-Research Project
For this class, I'd like you to attempt a small empirical study connected to your proposal. This study can use any research design, strategy, or method as appropriate to your topic and research question(s). This could serve as a small pilot study for the larger project you are proposing or it very well could help ground your research problem.You will report your findings to us during your presentation and include your findings as appropriate in your written proposal.
Research Proposal
For this class, you’ll compose a formal research proposal. This will give you practice at the sort of proposal you’ll need to do for your dissertation. Below is an outline for you to follow. If you have good rhetorical reason for straying from this format, go for it. I’ll expect that you’ll use MLA, but again, if you have reason for using another format, fine. Proposals of this type generally run about 25-30 pages (including title page, abstract, references, etc.). I’ll be evaluating your proposal on the depth and breadth of secondary research you’ve done, the fluency with which you can describe your methods and theoretical framework, and the overall competency of the writing. I will not evaluate you, though I will respond, on my sense of the feasibility of the study for a dissertation.
Format
I. Title Page
II. Abstract
Your abstract should be about 200-300 words. It should include your research problem and a brief overview and justification of your intended study.
III. Introduction
(See Creswell Chapter 4 & 5)
The introduction should include the research problem and a justification why it needs to be studied. Creswell discusses a deficiencies model for introductions; this model is prevalent in Comp Studies. The Introduction should include your purpose statement: what direction will your study take? And it should include your research question(s). See Creswell for advice on writing both of these.
IV. Literature Review
Include studies that relate to your topic, your methodology (briefly—you’ll expand on this in the next part), and your theoretical framework. (Ideally, your lit review includes studies that intersect on all three planes.) Creswell, in chapter 2, discusses how to abstract sources and how to organize your lit review. Remember that not all works require drawn out abstracts; give space in accordance with how important they are for your study.
V. Methodology
Your methodology section will describe both what you will do and why you will do that to answer your research question (as opposed to any other methods). You should specifically address what strategies of inquiry you’ll use, how you’ll collect data, how you’ll analyze data, and what limitations/delimitations your study has. You can remind your reader of the similar studies in your lit review that used your methodology. You’ll also want to demonstrate how your study will be ethical. Draw on North, MacNealy, and Creswell here.
VI. References (Works Cited and Works Consulted)
VII. Appendices
Thesis/Dissertation Analysis (10% of final grade)
For this assignment, you will select a completed thesis or dissertation in the field of Rhetoric and Composition. You will do an analysis of the thesis/dissertation which you will present to the class (10-15 minutes) and compose into a brief paper (2-3 pages, single-spaced) which you will post to the ning site (as a blog post) on the day of your presentation.
The analysis should include:
1. A brief overview of the work including a description of the type of scholarship: empirical or theoretical
2. A description of the philosophical assumptions, strategies of inquiry, methods, and findings; or, if theoretical, describe the argument and support for the argument
3. Your critique: do you think this study is sound? Does it follow recommendations in Creswell, North, and/or MacNealy for the type of approach taken? What could make the study better? What did you learn from reading this study?
Discussion Leader (10% of final grade)
In true seminar style, all students will take turns leading the discussions of the assigned readings. I will expect discussion leaders to be the expert for the day. This means you should read the readings carefully, do any pertinent background research, pay attention to the others' blog posts on ning, and prepare a number of topics and questions to facilitate discussion. If you’d like, you can prepare an activity, a brief lecture, show a video clip, present a PowerPoint or whatever else to spark discussion. You are welcome to discuss with me your questions or ideas about the readings beforehand. N.B. Your goal here is to keep a conversation going, not to dominate it. You will have 45-60 minutes for the discussion.
In-class and online (Ning) participation (30% of final grade)
Each week, you will be expected to be a frequent, though not overly-dominating participant in our class discussions. Likewise, each week you will post at least once to your Ning blog and post at least one question to the Ning discussion forum when you are discussion leader.
Blogs: One post per week
Your blog posts should respond to the weekly reading assignments and course materials. You should not provide a summary of the readings, rather you should provide a thoughtful response (Possible questions to answer: what do you think of the research study? What do you notice about the methodology? About the analysis? About the writing? What intrigues you about a particular methodology? What surprises you? What does a reading remind you of? What connections/disconnections do you see between the study and your teaching or other experiences?). You will not be evaluated on the length of your posts, but on your level of engagement with the material. You are certainly encouraged to read your classmates' blogs and comment.
Discussion Questions: Post the week you are discussion leader and others as desired
On the discussion forum, you should post about something from the course that you'd like to discuss with others. You, of course, should respond to others' questions. These can be anything from questions about terminology to more complex questions that gauge classmates' opinions. Discussion board questions can be used by the discussion leader to shape the discussion for the week.
Mini-Research Project, Research Proposal, and Presentation (50% of final grade)
Conference
When you are ready to discuss your plan for this assignment, you should make a conference with me. You should bring with you your topic, a description of the research problem, your purpose statement, and your research question or hypothesis for us to discuss. This conference should happen before November 2nd.
Mini-Research Project
For this class, I'd like you to attempt a small empirical study connected to your proposal. This study can use any research design, strategy, or method as appropriate to your topic and research question(s). This could serve as a small pilot study for the larger project you are proposing or it very well could help ground your research problem.You will report your findings to us during your presentation and include your findings as appropriate in your written proposal.
Research Proposal
For this class, you’ll compose a formal research proposal. This will give you practice at the sort of proposal you’ll need to do for your dissertation. Below is an outline for you to follow. If you have good rhetorical reason for straying from this format, go for it. I’ll expect that you’ll use MLA, but again, if you have reason for using another format, fine. Proposals of this type generally run about 25-30 pages (including title page, abstract, references, etc.). I’ll be evaluating your proposal on the depth and breadth of secondary research you’ve done, the fluency with which you can describe your methods and theoretical framework, and the overall competency of the writing. I will not evaluate you, though I will respond, on my sense of the feasibility of the study for a dissertation.
Format
I. Title Page
II. Abstract
Your abstract should be about 200-300 words. It should include your research problem and a brief overview and justification of your intended study.
III. Introduction
(See Creswell Chapter 4 & 5)
The introduction should include the research problem and a justification why it needs to be studied. Creswell discusses a deficiencies model for introductions; this model is prevalent in Comp Studies. The Introduction should include your purpose statement: what direction will your study take? And it should include your research question(s). See Creswell for advice on writing both of these.
IV. Literature Review
Include studies that relate to your topic, your methodology (briefly—you’ll expand on this in the next part), and your theoretical framework. (Ideally, your lit review includes studies that intersect on all three planes.) Creswell, in chapter 2, discusses how to abstract sources and how to organize your lit review. Remember that not all works require drawn out abstracts; give space in accordance with how important they are for your study.
V. Methodology
Your methodology section will describe both what you will do and why you will do that to answer your research question (as opposed to any other methods). You should specifically address what strategies of inquiry you’ll use, how you’ll collect data, how you’ll analyze data, and what limitations/delimitations your study has. You can remind your reader of the similar studies in your lit review that used your methodology. You’ll also want to demonstrate how your study will be ethical. Draw on North, MacNealy, and Creswell here.
VI. References (Works Cited and Works Consulted)
VII. Appendices
Thesis/Dissertation Analysis (10% of final grade)
For this assignment, you will select a completed thesis or dissertation in the field of Rhetoric and Composition. You will do an analysis of the thesis/dissertation which you will present to the class (10-15 minutes) and compose into a brief paper (2-3 pages, single-spaced) which you will post to the ning site (as a blog post) on the day of your presentation.
The analysis should include:
1. A brief overview of the work including a description of the type of scholarship: empirical or theoretical
2. A description of the philosophical assumptions, strategies of inquiry, methods, and findings; or, if theoretical, describe the argument and support for the argument
3. Your critique: do you think this study is sound? Does it follow recommendations in Creswell, North, and/or MacNealy for the type of approach taken? What could make the study better? What did you learn from reading this study?
Discussion Leader (10% of final grade)
In true seminar style, all students will take turns leading the discussions of the assigned readings. I will expect discussion leaders to be the expert for the day. This means you should read the readings carefully, do any pertinent background research, pay attention to the others' blog posts on ning, and prepare a number of topics and questions to facilitate discussion. If you’d like, you can prepare an activity, a brief lecture, show a video clip, present a PowerPoint or whatever else to spark discussion. You are welcome to discuss with me your questions or ideas about the readings beforehand. N.B. Your goal here is to keep a conversation going, not to dominate it. You will have 45-60 minutes for the discussion.
In-class and online (Ning) participation (30% of final grade)
Each week, you will be expected to be a frequent, though not overly-dominating participant in our class discussions. Likewise, each week you will post at least once to your Ning blog and post at least one question to the Ning discussion forum when you are discussion leader.
Blogs: One post per week
Your blog posts should respond to the weekly reading assignments and course materials. You should not provide a summary of the readings, rather you should provide a thoughtful response (Possible questions to answer: what do you think of the research study? What do you notice about the methodology? About the analysis? About the writing? What intrigues you about a particular methodology? What surprises you? What does a reading remind you of? What connections/disconnections do you see between the study and your teaching or other experiences?). You will not be evaluated on the length of your posts, but on your level of engagement with the material. You are certainly encouraged to read your classmates' blogs and comment.
Discussion Questions: Post the week you are discussion leader and others as desired
On the discussion forum, you should post about something from the course that you'd like to discuss with others. You, of course, should respond to others' questions. These can be anything from questions about terminology to more complex questions that gauge classmates' opinions. Discussion board questions can be used by the discussion leader to shape the discussion for the week.
