TEXT: Weidenborner and Caruso, Writing Research Papers: A Guide to the Process, 6th edition

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Fundamentals of research writing. Bibliographic instruction and practice in writing a substantial research paper.

Fundamentals of Research Writing is a "process" course, one which teaches the steps and strategies in finding a researchable topic; locating information; and integrating the information into a thoughtful scholarly work that answers a question which needs to be answered. Students will thus be engaged in three processes: learning how to do research, doing your own research, and writing a research paper. The text is the primary source for explaining how to find, evaluate, and write from sources; how to conduct research and understand its results; how to write a paper based on your findings; and how to document your sources completely and accurately.

The online aspect of this course provides students with a community of fellow scholars to respond to their work. It also facilitates handing in work and receiving responses from me and from other students. Thus, e-mail and forum communication will serve as a means of feedback for learning the research process, and for shaping your own research.

This course requires the use of the writing skills developed in other courses, and the employment of the methodologies you have learned in your academic discipline.

• You will use the Forum to post specified assignments, to respond to other students' work, and to receive feedback on your work.
  
• Assignments related to the chapters (unless you are instructed differently) will be e-mailed to me.
  
• Chat allows live "chat" if you want to "talk" with other students.
  
• You will receive your scores on the assignments in the Grade book section of the web site.
  
  

COURSE GOALS:
Students will learn strategies in finding a researchable topic, locating information, and integrating the information into a formal research paper.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1. Submit the required written assignments related to the readings in the textbook
   
2. Respond to THREE students' possible topics
   
3. Submit a research proposal
   
4. Respond to two other students' proposals
   
5. Respond to three students' theses
   
6. Submit two sample pages of your draft for me to check your use of sources.
   
7. Respond to two other students' drafts
   
8. Submit a research paper of 10-12 double spaced pages of text (exclusive of cover sheet, list of sources, illustrations etc.) The list of sources must include at least 10 sources. Grade will be reduced for fewer pages and/or sources
   

COURSE POLICIES:

1. Plagiarism (handing in work which is not your own) will result in an F in the course.
   
2. Work is to be done on time. Failure to hand in work on time will result in your grade for the assignment being lowered. No late research papers or exams will be accepted.
   
3. The paper must be correctly documented in the style appropriate to the discipline you are working in (MLA, APA, Chicago Style)
   
4. The paper must follow the formatting guidelines in Chapter 20.
   
5. Incompletes are given only in the case of emergencies, not for being behind in the work.
   
6. Keep copies of all your work until you have received your final grade.
   

SCHEDULE:
When e-mailing work to me, please title the e-mail clearly so I can recognize the assignment.

Fundamentals of Research Writing (LC/ENG377) June, 2003
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ASSIGNMENTS:

ASSIGNMENT #1

Section A: Due June 18

1. Read Part One (Chapters 1 and 2)

2. Look at the Sample Papers in Chapter 21.

3. Write out the answers to "Reviewing Part 1: Questions" (p. 27) and e-mail your answers to me.

4. Do Exercise #3 p. 33--use the paper topic you are currently considering. In Step 4, include the question your paper will answer as well as the hypothesis. Post this on the Forum.

Response due June 22

Respond to 3 students' "question and hypothesis" (Step 4 in Exercise 3 p. 33) on the Forum.


ASSIGNMENT #2

Due June 25

1. Read Part Two
2. Submit answers to the following to me by e-mail
* Reviewing Part Two: Questions #1, 3, 5, 6 (p. 92)
* Reviewing Part Two: Exercises #1, 3, 5, 6 (pp. 93-94)

ASSIGNMENT #3:

Section A: Due July 2

1. Read Part Three: Working with Sources
   
2. Submit the answers to the following to me by e-mail:
   * Reviewing Part Three: Questions (all) p. 150
   * Reviewing Part Three: Exercises #1; #2 (do this for 4 of your sources).
   
3. Post a Research Proposal to the Forum:
   

Write at least 1 page, double-spaced, presenting the following:

1. the question your paper will answer
   
2. the purpose of the paper
   
3. your intended audience and how that audience will affect the paper
   
4. your voice as a writer
   
5. the hypothesis
   
6. the types of sources you expect to use (be as specific as possible)
   

Response due July 6
Respond to 2 research proposals on the Forum.

ASSIGNMENT #4

Due July 9

1. Read Part Five: Documenting Sources
   
2. Submit the following to me by e-mail:
   * Reviewing Part 5: Questions (all) p. 246
   * Reviewing Part 5: Exercise (pages 246-247) NOTE: DO THIS ONE IN WHICHEVER DOCUMENTATION STYLE YOU WILL BE USING IN YOUR PAPER. BE SURE TO INDICATE WHICH ONE YOU ARE EMPLOYING. ALSO: ORGANIZE AND FORMAT IT EXACTLY AS A LIST OF SOURCES WOULD APPEAR IN A RESEARCH PAPER (THAT IS, DO NOT DO THEM AS A NUMBERED LIST).
   

ASSIGNMENT #5

Section A: Due July 16

1. Read Part Four: Writing the Paper
   
2. Post the question your paper will answer and the thesis of your paper on the Forum.
   

Response Due July 20
Respond to 3 people's postings (questions and theses) on the Forum.

ASSIGNMENT #6

Section A Due July 30

Complete your draft.

1. E-mail me two sample pages from your draft for me to look at your documentation
   
2. Post your draft on the Forum.
   

Response due August 3

Respond to 2 drafts on the Forum. Pay particular attention to:

• the introduction: does it introduce the topic and engage your attention?
  
• can you follow the ideas in the paper?
  
• has the author always indicated the source for ideas and quotations? (can you always tell when the idea belongs to the writer of the paper and when it belongs to someone else?)
  
• the grammar, spelling, and punctuation
  
• the effectiveness of the writing
  
• the conclusion: does it tie the paper up without introducing new ideas?
  

Research paper due August 9


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WRITING COMPETENCY

All written work must be appropriate senior level college work. As this is primarily a writing class, please pay very close attention to eliminating typos, spelling, grammatical and other mechanical errors from your writing. A part of your grade is at stake here.

PARTICIPATION

It is expected that students will actively participate during each class section. The participation grade as noted in the DISTRIBUTION OF COURSE GRADES section is based on an electronic "attendance," and the quality, timeliness and thoroughness of assignments and exercises e-mailed to the instructor or posted in forum.
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DISTRIBUTION OF GRADES

ACADEMIC HONESTY

Please review the Linfield policy regarding academic dishonesty. It can be found in the college catalog. Note that any incidence of academic dishonesty may result in a final grade "F."

Students with documented disabilities, who may need accommodations, who have any emergency medical information the instructor should know of, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation, should make an appointment with the instructor as early as possible, no later than the first week of the term.

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Quotations About Research:


“The beginning of research is curiosity, its essence is discerrment, and its goal truth and justice.”
__Isaac H. Satanov

“Research is a way of life dedicated to discovery”
__Anonymous

“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.”
__Zora Neale Hurston


“The search should take place because somebody needs to find out something or wants to satisfy an itch of curiosity as insistent as athlete’s foot”
__Ken Macrorie,
The I-Search Paper

“Research method is so central to the understanding and evaluation of the final written product that in many disciplines a writier is obliged to describe as part of the statement the method used to produce and analyze data. In this way, many articles contain stories of how they were made.”
__Charles Bazerman,
The Informed Writer

“Research is a way of learning, important in formal study, which we can use for the rest of our lives: we can research the voting records of congressmen, recipes, genealogy, precedents in zoning for the neighborhood, to types of schooling for information of the PTA. Research is a method. The research paper is a particular embodiment of the general method.”
__Donald Hall

“A research paper is not a list of findings; it is the coherent communication of a meaningful pattern of information”
__Richard M. Coe,
Form and Substance

“Research is the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under your observation in life.”
__Marcus Aurelius

“…You should always collect more material than you will eventually use. Every article is strong in proportion to the surplus of details from which you can choose the few that will serve you best—is you don't go on a gathering facts forever. At some point you must decide to stop researching and start writing.”
__William Sinsser,
On Writing Well

“The process of doing research is not dissimilar from the process of writing anything else. It starts with a question, a problem, a topic which the writer examines, probes, and analyzes. The difference is that the writer is not alone in this game. When doing research, the writer participates with others who have also been taken with the subject.”
__Ann Sullivan