Project 4

Writing Prompt 4

ENG 1302 – Rhet & Comp II

Writing 4: Drafting your Research Essay

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Just so we don't forget, here are my goals for this class:

• Develop and build confidence in your abilities to create, interpret, and evaluate texts in all types of media.
• Develop knowledge and inspire new ideas through writing.
• Become a rhetorically effective writer who can respond credibly and accurately to a variety of writing situations.
• Learn to write with a purpose.
• Develop an awareness of how and why you revise your writing.
• Develop an understanding of the importance of getting feedback from others when writing.
• Develop habits for thoughtful and effective questioning.
• Develop reading strategies for analyzing texts (your peers’ papers as well as the readings you’ll be working with).
• Learn how to work constructively with each other through group work.
• Learn how to creatively take risks.
• Become familiar with appropriate style guidelines for class projects.

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We’ve reached the point in your research where I now have to ask you to write a formal draft of your final essay. You may be asking: How do I synthesize all my research and thoughts into a formal draft?! Do not freak out just yet. This prompt will help guide the organization of your essay.
This essay is not your average essay. It is a far reach from the thesis at the end of your first of five paragraph style essay. You should consider yourselves scholars now who are making contributions to the discipline of Writing Studies. Therefore, this essay will look a lot more like the articles we’ve read in class (refer back to their structure as examples) than the essays you’ve written in previous composition courses.
This essay is a synthetic piece of writing. You’ll need to explain the research you did, the different ideas you learned, try to make sense of your research question, your research process, and your conclusions for someone who didn’t go through the same experience.
Your paper should therefore include the following:

• explain how you came to your question, why it is important and what it involves
• describe how you investigated, both in terms of the strengths of your design an its limitations
• discuss your findings and their significance for one or more invested stakeholders
• brainstorm about possible ways to adapt what you’ve leaned in your investigation into a public project that puts your findings and theories to work in the “real” world

You are free to present your sections the way you want, either like a report (with subheadings) or something more elaborate. When writing, bear in mind that each section should transition from one to the next cohesively and cogently and always be mindful of your overall purpose, your research question, and the conclusion(s) you’ve reached through your research. More importantly, make sure your essay meets all of the requirements of this project [they are at the bottom of this prompt]. Also, keep in mind that you’re writing for an academic audience (your peers and your instructor). And, remember it has to be 5 to 6 pages long.
So, how should you organize your draft?
Interest & Context - Your first part requires you to provide the context for your research project: It’s a bit like your proposal, but more elaborate. Remember that you are entering conversations that other scholars have started. But, your readers may not be aware of this conversation, its importance, or the problems it poses and attempts to solve. You will need to explain to your readers how you came to your research question, why your question matters, and what this question involves. Further, answer the big-picture question that plagues so many writers… “So what?”
Methodology - The second part is the section in which you will describe for readers how you investigated your question. You need to help us understand why you chose to conduct one kind of primary research over another (e.g. why you conducted surveys rather than interviews or vice versa); how you determined the questions you would/would not ask, why you selected a particular subject population. You will also need to consider the strengths and limitations of your design, and think about changes you would make if you were to undertake the project again.
Findings - The third part is the findings discussion. Here, you will tell your readers what you learned from your research and explain the significance of these findings for one or more investigated stakeholders (high school teachers, college composition instructors, parents, students etc.). Here, your goal is to put your information in direct conversation with the sources in your annotated bibliography and use the results of your primary research to formulate and sustain an original claim.
Application - Your last part will be about thinking about how your findings could benefit real people in real situations. You will have to imagine an audience (outside of this class and/or outside of UTPA) for which you will design a “thing” (a workshop, YouTube video, website, lesson plan, or conference presentation to name a few examples) informing them of the results of your research and how things could be changed, according to your conclusions.
Requirements

• Incorporate empirical primary research in addition to secondary source research.
• Follow MLA guidelines.
• Include a Works Cited (no fewer than 3 secondary sources).
• 1400+ words (5-6 pages double-spaced) for the “final” draft.
• Failure to complete any of the above requirements will significantly lower your grade.

Due Dates      PLEASE BRING ALL PAGES THAT YOU HAVE DONE ALREADY. FROM 1  
                        TO WHAT EVER IS DUE THAT DAY.

• Draft of Part 1 (Interest & Context) for Peer Review (1-2 pgs double spaced): _Due Monday April 4th

• Draft of Part 2 (Methods) for Peer Review (2-3 pgs double spaced): __Due Monday April 11th_

• Draft of Part 3 (Findings) & Applications & Ofcourse your Conclusion for Peer Review (2-3 pgs double spaced): __Due Monday April 18th__

PLEASE NOTE!!!!!!!!!
PAPER DUE TO ME ON WEDNESAY APRIL 20TH * THE WHOLE THING!!!! FULL AND COMPLETED DRAFT