Don't forget the Writing Center--Check out its web page, or go directly to hours and who's on duty Jan 27. (Thur): First class. Introduction to English 2, the writing requirement at Drew, and the on-line syllabus. General technology concerns, writing concerns, etc. In-class diagnostic test. Syllabus editing contest--and the winner is . . . Homework: Send me two e-mail messages (sjamieso@drew.edu) by noon on Friday telling me: 1) two things you do well as a writer and two things you'd like to strengthen (these can be research related or not. Don't tell me what other people think about your writing, though, tell me what you think!). 2) how you feel about research. Describe any memorable research projects -- good or bad -- and also describe topics you might be interested in conducting research into this semester. I'll send a reply to both of these messages by Sunday night. Keep thinking about research topics. You need to come to class Tuesday with two possible topics and a brief description of why you'd like to research them. Send them to me over e-mail by Monday lunchtime. Feb. 1 (Tue): BRING YOUR COMPUTER AND LAN CABLES TO CLASS (learn your LAN password if you haven't already!). Introduction to the K: drive. Discuss research--why we do it, what we can do with it, and how it can help others. Discussion of potential topics, and how to evaluate a potential topic. (See advice at the website). In-class writing. Identify the topic you are interested in (more than one if you like), explain why this topic interests you, and discuss who might benefit from your sharing your findings. Finally, speculate on the best way to report your findings to others (as a traditional paper, as a brochure/handout, as a website, etc). Save this in the K: drive folder named "Research Ideas," with the name of the document being YOUR NAME. [See "Guide to using the K: drive"]. I will provide feedback on the topics and identify potential research teams (students will conduct research and review drafts in teams of three or four, although each student will adopt a different thesis, write a separate paper, and may use different information in the final paper). SIGN UP FOR LIBRARY SESSION SOMETIME BETWEEN 2/7-2/13 SIGN UP FOR INDIVIDUAL (15-MINUTE) MEETINGS WITH ME SOMETIME BETWEEN 2/2 AND 2/7 Homework: Finish your in-class writing and save it to the K: drive folder by midnight. Open the K: Drive folder for the class, and then open the folder named "save papers in these folders" and save your draft into the K: drive folder named "Research Ideas,"with the name of the document being YOUR NAME. [See "Guide to using the K: drive"] Individual meeting #1: 2/2-2/7. In this conference we will discuss your research and what you hope to gain from this course. I will also return the diagnostic tests. Come with ideas and please be on time! (I will post the sign-up list on my office door--S.W. Bowne 118 in case you forget what time you signed up for.) Feb. 3 (Thur): No class today. Spend
the time thinking about possible research topics.
2/7-2/13: LIBRARY sessions -- don't forget to show up! Feb 8 (Tue): BRING YOUR
COMPUTER AND LAN CABLES TO CLASS.
Introduction
to the Internet; discussion of what it is and its terminology;
finding
quick facts and general
information; finding information with more
specificity; guessing site addresses; the role of the Internet in the
life of a researcher. Search
engines, specialized
searching, metasearching,
and more information about academic searching. Jody
Caldwell, reference librarian will introduce you to the finer
points of library and Internet
research
in class today. (Check out the handout
to review the sources she presents.)
Feb. 10 (Thur): BRING YOUR COMPUTER
AND LAN CABLES TO CLASS.
Summary
Writing: Do an Internet
search in class, and find three apparently useful sites relating to your
topic (remember to make book marks to good sites and write
out the address). The sites can be very general if you need to learn the
basics, or more specialized if you already know something about this topic.
As you search for sites, pay attention to what you are finding and make
note of any sites that might help with Thursday's assignment. (Yes, it
is smart to read ahead in the syllabus!!) Write three summaries
of the information you found on your topic--one for each site).
Feb. 15 (Tue): Summaries due today. BRING YOUR COMPUTER AND LAN CABLES TO CLASS. Comparison writing: Discussion of how to structure a comparison paper based on your summaries and other sites you found in your search. Comparison grids. [See "Hints for Writing Comparisons"]. Start work on a comparison grid for sites you found on your topic. Write a comparison of the sites you found on your topic. You can compare useful sites with less useful sites; professional sites (.edu; .org; .gov) with commercial sites (.com); specialized sites with sites aimed for a popular audience; or some other difference that intrigues or vaguely interests you. Let your topic be your guide so that this paper helps you get a better understanding of your topic and of the on-line resources you might use as you learn more about it. [The web site has information on both of these skills.] Open the K: Drive folder for the class, and then open the folder named "save papers in these folders" and save your draft into the K: drive folder named "Comparison Paper drafts," with the name of the document being YOUR NAME. [See "Guide to using the K: drive"]
Feb. 17 (Thur): BRING YOUR COMPUTER
AND LAN CABLES TO CLASS.The
Research Proposal: Groups will work together to help each individual
member draft a research proposal. [See "The
Research Proposal" for more details] Save your research proposal to
the K: drive folder named "Research Proposal Drafts."
SAVE IT USING YOUR NAME AS THE TITLE. Using the library and
the Internet, each team will come up with a list of 40 possible sources
that any group member might find useful (this can include any Internet
sources you've found so far, but must not be exclusively Internet sources).
Feb. 22 (Tue): BRING YOUR COMPUTER AND LAN CABLES TO CLASS. Group editing of comparison papers using the K: drive. Your paper will draw on your analytical skills and your ability to synthesize information and we will evaluate these and your overall paper using the peer editing guide. [The web site has information on both of these skills and a list of peer review questions] Homework: Revise and perfect the comparison paper and save it in the K: drive folder marked "Final Comparison Paper" by 6pm Thursday 24th. (If you are having computer problems, slide a printed copy under my office door.) Feb. 24 (Thur): BRING YOUR COMPUTER
AND LAN CABLES TO CLASS.
Writing
annotated bibliographies. For each source that you decide to use in
your paper, write an annotated
bibliography entry (you should have about
ten sources in your final paper--more if you use web sites; fewer, perhaps,
if you use mostly books). Practice writing an entry for this
Internet site. Follow this link to find out how
to cite on-line
sources. One group member from each group
will write up the annotation and save it into the "Hand work in here folder"
under the group name (whatever you want to call yourselves). Group
critiques. Brief discussion of Tuesday's assignment and strategies for
in-class writing and timed essay writing.
Feb. 29 (Tue): BRING YOUR COMPUTER AND LAN CABLES TO CLASS. Okay, so now you are all experts in your new field! Time to write up what you know. In-class writing. Using whatever notes you'd like, write a general introduction to the topic you plan to write about. This should be about three pages typed (double-spaced) and should identify the major issues and arguments you've found so far. Please cite all sources. (Introduce summarized material with phrases such as "According to xxx, the most important thing about this topic is..." and "In contrast to xxx, ppp argues that..."--see the website for a fuller discussion of citing sources, introducing source material, and lead-in phrases like these.) Save these in the K: drive folder named "Background Synthesis" USING YOUR NAME AS THE NAME OF THE DOCUMENT. This is called a "background synthesis" by the way! SIGN UP FOR INDIVIDUAL (15-MINUTE) MEETINGS WITH ME SOMETIME BETWEEN 3/2 AND 3/8. Homework: Continue working on your research and your annotated bibliography.
Mar. 2 (Thur): No class today. Don't forget to keep your appointment with me!
Mar. 7 (Tue): No class today. Don't forget to keep your appointment with me! Mar. 9 (Thur): Formulating
a thesis: Discussion of how to form a thesis and develop
an argument about the topics selected. Using Enthymeme's to generate outlines.
Developing
an argument and paper structure (not your usual outline).
Discussion of topic sentences, organizational patterns, paragraph development
and so on.
March 13-17--Spring Break. No class--but keep working!
Mar. 21 (Tue): No class today. Keep working on your draft, annotations, plan, etc. Mar. 23 (Thur): No class today.
Draft of your paper due in the K: drive folder by midnight tonight along
with your annotated bibliography and plan. Save
these into the K: drive folder with your name on it and call it draft
#1.
Mar. 28 (Tue): BRING YOUR COMPUTER AND LAN CABLES TO CLASS. SCHEDULE APPOINTMENT (#3) WITH ME BETWEEN 3/30 AND 4/5. Perfecting drafts: Your drafts may be at different stages of development and your final project may take several forms (paper, brochure/handout, web site, etc), but certain features will need to be developed at this stage. Discussion will focus on revising introductions, conclusions, and overall organization. Groups will workshop drafts using the K: drive--so make sure your paper is there! Homework: Think about how you will revise your paper in light of the discussion in class today. Come to your meeting with me with a copy of your draft marked up to show how you'll revise it (or a revised draft if you have one--save revisions as "draft #2" "draft #3" and so on).
Apr. 4 (Tue): Optional class on Web design and editing (BRING YOUR COMPUTER AND LAN CABLES): design and perfect that website. Check the Academic Technology documentation for creating a website, adding links, adding images, and using tables. Don't forget to keep your appointment with me this week! Homework: Keep working on the paper. [SAVE everything to your folder on the K: drive-- save revisions as "draft #2" "draft #3" and so on] Apr. 6 (Thur):BRING YOUR COMPUTER AND LAN CABLES TO CLASS. LAST CLASS. Discussion of citation and final aspects of the perfect paper/web site/brochure. Discussion of the final portfolios--which will include all of the work you have done this semester including the research paper, and will be introduced by a brief introduction in which you discuss your attitudes to research and the progress and quality of the work in the portfolio. Class evaluations, etc. SIGN UP FOR AN APPOINTMENT TO COLLECT YOUR FINAL PORTFOLIO AND DISCUSS YOUR GRADE FOR THE COURSE. Homework: Keep working on the paper. [SAVE everything to your folder on the K: drive --save revisions as "draft #2" "draft #3" and so on.]
11 (Tue): No
class today. (I'll
be in my office all day if anyone needs to stop by!)
13 (Thur): No
class today. (I'll
be in my office all day if anyone needs to stop by!)
18 (Tue): Optional Web design and editing class (BRING YOUR COMPUTER AND LAN CABLES): your last chance to perfect that website before the deadline. Check the Academic Technology documentation for editing a page (and don't forget to spell check every page on the site!!). 19 (Wed): Final portfolio containing all of your work due at my office by 5pm today
...you're done...well done...now sleep...or dance!! ...or visit the "hampsters" and hear them sing [Hamsters courtesy of hamsterdance.com] Apr. 24-28. MEETINGS TO DISCUSS YOUR FINAL GRADE. Don't forget to show up --I will not hand in a grade for you unless you come for this meeting!! (Sign up sheets on my office door.)
SJamieson |