We had a good class this week. It's good to have a break and then come back ready to tackle this research paper project!
First, my apologies for the missing Class Notes for Week 8. I found it in my drafts folder; I'd written it but my battery ran out before I could send it. I then completely forgot to go back and send it. Mea culpa. I'm making it up in a longer note this week.
I handed back the first rough drafts of their papers. My primary focus with these drafts is organization and content. Many students noted that they knew they still had more to write. Below is a condensed version of our discussion for the day.
REGARDING CONTENT
-- As I'm reading papers, I'm asking myself, "What other questions should this paper answer in order to be complete?" Many times students feel that they've run out of material or are unsure what direction a paper should take. If still a bit confused, a helpful strategy is to have another person read the paper, asking the same questions.
REGARDING FOCUS
-- It's crucial that students have strong introductions and conclusions. These set up the paper for greater success.
-- Some questions to ask about the introduction:
-- Do I grab my reader's attention at the beginning? Have I established common ground and interest? Have I addressed a reader's concern, "Why should I care?"
-- Is my thesis stated clearly? It can be two sentences, but at the end of the introduction, there should not be any doubt about what the topic and opinion/stand are?
-- Do I give an adequate road map for my readers? Do they know what subtopics this paper will cover?
-- Some questions to ask about the conclusion:
-- Have a adequately summed up my essay? Have a summarized the subtopics? In the introduction you tell your readers where the paper is headed. In the conclusion, you tell your readers where they have been.
-- Have your restated your thesis statement? Have you reminded your readers what your purpose in writing this paper was?
-- Have you left your readers with something memorable? What parting thoughts have you made that will leave a lasting impression? Do you want them to think differently or to take some action?
REGARDING INCORPORATING RESEARCHED MATERIAL:
-- This is probably one of the trickier parts of writing a research paper. Some information at student knows, but the average reader may not know this same material. That information should be cited. (In other words, common knowledge for the writer may not be common knowledge for the reader.) When in doubt, cite.
-- Seamlessly incorporating information is challenging. Remember, your job as a research writer is to gather information from many sources and then present it to your readers. Any ideas, facts, statistics, data, etc. that you got from a source needs to be cited.
-- Use signal phrases to indicate sources.
-- If you are not sure how to do this, review some of the handouts and links that I've previously given you.
REGARDING ORGANIZATION:
-- Some sections in the papers felt more disjointed than others. This is often a result of missing transitions, either between paragraphs or within paragraphs. Students should re-read their essays and look for those places where there are abrupt changes in ideas presented. (Below are some helpful links)
-- Some sections seem to have information that has been presented in another section of a paper. When writing about a topic that has elements that are closely woven together, it's sometimes hard to figure out when to write about the individual elements. Students should re-read their papers, looking for places where they repeat themselves.
-- A way to get a bigger picture perspective of your organization is to do a Reverse Outline. A detailed outline tells you what you plan to write, but a reverse outline tells you what you actually wrote.
-- Directions for a Reverse Outline:
-- A reverse outline is kind of like taking notes from your own paper.
-- Number each paragraph and give the details that are in that paragraph (including the intro & conclusion)
-- After the details of the paragraphs have been listed, check for subtopic groupings.
-- Be especially aware of information that is out of place, unnecessary, or repeated.
After our discussion, I broke the students up into groups of three to do Peer Reviews. I asked them to read their classmates' papers in the same way that I did -- looking for those questions to ask that would help in expanding the essay and looking for any organizational issues. Sometimes having a peer read and comment on your writing feels a little uncomfortable, but it's really a helpful exercise. It not only helps the writer, the reviewer often walks away with some insights that helps his/her writing.
Students have been working hard. KEEP IT UP!!!
Assignments for Next Week:
-- Keep working on the Rough Draft
-- Write a Reverse Outline
-- Works Cited draft
Links for this Week:
Class Notes
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Prichard
