Chapter 3

            Chapter 3 is about developing your research question and proposal. You must ask yourself “How can I develop my research question”? You do this by, reflecting on your writing situation. You can generate potential research questions by looking at things like information, history, assumptions, goals, outcomes, policies, definitions, evaluations, comparison/contrasts, cause/effect analyses, problem/solution analyses or advocacy, sequential analyses, inquiry, and reporting. Craft questions that reflect your writing situation. Selecting and reflect on your research question by referring to shared assumptions and existing conditions, narrowing the scope of your research question, and conducting preliminary searches. You must then create a research proposal. You do this by identifying your topic, issue, and research question; providing a review of literature. Explain how you’ll collect your information by identifying relevant types of sources, and identifying appropriate search tools and research methods, developing a project timeline, compiling a working or annotated bibliography. Make sure to clarify and elaborate on your core proposal by creating an abstract or executive summary, creating an overview of key challenges, and funding a request and a rationale. Remember the steps. 1) Reflect on your writing situation. 2) Generate potential research questions. 3) Craft questions that reflect your writing situation. 4) Choose and refine your research question. 5) If necessary, develop a research proposal.

Chapter 5

                Chapter 5 is about deciding which factors to use to evaluate a source, and knowing if you should evaluate all types of sources in the same way. To determine what factors should be used to evaluate a source, evaluate the relevance of the source. You need to determine if the information in a source will help you address your readers’ needs, interests, values, and beliefs.  Evaluate the evidence of the source. Ask yourself, is enough evidence offered? Evaluate the author of the source. Make sure the author is knowledgeable about the topic.  Evaluate the publisher of the source, evaluate the timeliness of the source, evaluate the comprehensiveness of the source, and evaluate the genre of the source. Whether digital or field source, make sure you evaluate the relevance and accuracy of the source. Know your purpose in writing your paper while choosing sources. Remember to determine whether the source is relevant, determine whether the source provides evidence and uses it appropriately, learn about the author of the source, learn about the publisher of the source, consider the comprehensiveness of the source, and consider the genre of the source. Make sure to conduct a source evaluation for all of your sources.  

Evaluating a Website

1)      The domain of my website is .gov.

2)      The purpose of my site is information on expanding human presence into the solar system.

3)      There are many different sections and subsections containing information on my website

4)      Each article and journal entry on my website is dated.

5)      Everything on the site is extremely relevant to my topic as my topic is space exploration and my site is nasa.gov

6)      Publishers, authors, and editors are all listed. As well as contact information.

Chapter 4

      Chapter 4 is about the difference between reading critically and evaluating, using your research question to read critically, reading with attitude, reading actively, paying attention to certain things while reading, and the amount of times in which you should read a source. Using your research question to read critically is done by developing a position statement. Reading with attitude is done by approaching a source with your writing situation in mind. Strategies used to read actively are marking sources, annotating sources, and taking notes. The things to pay attention to while you read are identifying the type of source you are reading, identifying primary and secondary sources, identifying main points, identifying reasons, consider the using of evidence, identifying interpretive frameworks, identifying new information, identifying hard-to-understand information, and identifying similarities and differences. The number of times a source should be read is three. On your first read, skim the source for organization and content. On your second read, read actively. On your third reading, reread important passages, make sure to mark and annotate sources with your argument in mind. Remember to draft a position statement, read with attitude, keep track of your sources, identify your sources, and read your source multiple times.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 is about exploring your topic and focusing on an issue. Exploring your topic is a series of steps.

1)    Create A Plan To Explore Your Topic

2)    Discuss Your Topic With Others

3)    Conduct Preliminary Observations

4)    Find And Review Sources – do things like: Search your library’s catalog, Browse your library’s shelves, read books, articles in scholarly journals, articles in trade and other professional journals, articles in magazines and newspapers, theses and dissertations, microfilm and microfiche, and other sources, browse newsstands and bookstores, search available databases, search the web and consult web directories, browse electronic mailing lists, newsgroups, web discussion forums, blogs, and wikis, record your search results, and skim your sources

Focusing on an issue also requires steps.

1)    Identify Conversations About Issues In Your Topic – find things like central concepts, repeated in your sources, broad themes discussed in your sources, disagreements among your sources, recurring voices in your sources

2)    Assess Your Interest In The Issues

3)    Choose An Issue – ask yourself questions like: Will selecting this issue help me achieve my purposes as a writer? Will my readers want to or need to read more about this issue? Is this issue appropriate for my project’s context? Is this issue appropriate for the type of document I plan to write? Is this issue compatible with my requirements and limitations? What opportunities do I have if I choose this issue?

Chapter 1

            Chapter 1 was about getting started on your research paper. It addresses how to research and write with confidence, and how to choose an appropriate topic. Researching with confidence involves taking ownership of your project, understanding the research writing processes, learning how to work with sources, learning how to develop a position, understanding genre and design, understanding the importance of readers and context, being aware of new technological opportunities and challenges, and preparing to manage your time.

            The steps to choosing an appropriate topic are:

1)    Analyze Your Assignment – ask questions like: Who are my readers and why would they read my document? What will influence me and what will influence my readers? What type of document am I writing? What contexts will affect my work on the document? What role will I adopt towards my readers? What will affect my ability to work on this project?

2)    Generate Ideas About Appropriate Topics – do things like: Brainstorming, Freewriting, Looping, and Clustering

3)    Consider Your Writing Situation

It’s also important to remember to do things like creating a research log, create a project timeline, know your purpose, analyze your audience, and generate ideas about a topic.

In Class Activity 1/9

-          The paper is the correct link.

-          The paper employs correct grammar, punctuation, and MLA-style formatting, but it did not include citations in the text itself.

-          The paper employs signal phrases, parenthetical citations, and a Works Cited page to avoid plagiarism and identify the author’s sources.

-          The paper employs good arguments and ideas, but read as one-sided, and was not very persuasive as a whole.

-          The paper built its case logically, however it did not have a systematic order of presentation.

-          The paper had legitimate sources.

-          Paper conclusively demonstrated that the author should receive passing credit for English 102 and is ready to write for future undergraduate courses.