Week 7: Oct 5-9

 

 

MONDAY’S ASSIGNMENT:  Due October 8th by 11:59 p.m.

Please post under Discussions, Unit 2

 

READ: Read at least two (2) of your colleagues’ entries from last week (can be either the Baldwin response or the curiosity response). Do any of them spark your curiosity?

 

ASSIGNMENT 1

COMMENT:  Next, comment on at least two of your colleagues’ posts.  Here, I would like you to help them figure out topics they might research. So, if you see someone who feels stuck, but they mention something they used to be curious about as a child, maybe you can help them find a topic that grows out of their childhood curiosity. Or if they responded to something from the Baldwin article that they really feel they should’ve learned about in high school, point out that that might be a starting point for their research. Remember that curiosity is contagious– if something about a colleague’s blog post makes YOU curious, let them know. That might get them interested too!

 

And please! If you see someone without any comments, do your colleague a favor and drop them a line instead of saying something to the person who already has 17 notes. If someone is just totally stuck, ask them a few questions that you feel would help you!

 

ASSIGNMENT 2

WRITE:  Write a new blog post of your own by October 8th telling me the topic you think you want to write about.  You may find your topic anywhere– from Unit One to the blog posts we wrote last week, to your peers’ blog posts! (It’s really okay if two people write about the same topic– I promise you).

 

What is important here– and I can’t stress this enough– is that you research something you want to know more about, not something you think you already know the answer to.  You may be curious to know why there are so few African American ballerinas in major companies, or you may want to know how much “housing projects” have changed in New York since James Baldwin wrote “A Talk to Teachers” in 1963, or you may want to know what we really learn from playing computer games.  Just be curious. Write it in question form (it can’t be a yes-or-no question, though).

 

Okay, here’s what to write in your post.  There are a few steps, but it’s really not long. You will need a timer (maybe use the timer on your phone).  This is what we call a KW/L+ entry (just think of this as a format).

 

  1. Topic: Write down your topic.  This might be a question, or you could just be writing a general overview (“Why aren’t there many black ballerinas?” or “black people in the ballet.”)
  2. K- KNOW: Set your timer for five minutes.  Write that whole time (but not longer!) about what you KNOW about your topic.  It is important that you don’t pause here, so if you are stuck, write “I’m stuck!” But just keep typing.  If you want to write by hand, that’s fine too– you can just take a picture and post it on the website.
  3. W-WANT: Another five minutes.  Same thing– you’ll write that whole time.  This time, write what you WANT to know about the topic.
  4. /- Here is where you do a little bit of research.  Again, time yourself– spend 10-15 minutes on the Internet looking up your topic.
  5. L-LEARNED: Another five minutes.  Again, write the whole time.  Write what you LEARNED from your 10-15 minutes of internet research.
  6. +-STILL WANT TO KNOW: This is the most important question (but we had to do all of the above to get there!) After doing very basic internet research, what are some questions that you still want to know?   Pick one or two of these out that you think would make a good research topic!

 

You MUST get your topic approved by me before you move on to the October 12th assignment this week! This isn’t so I can tell you what is and isn’t worth knowing about. Everything is worth finding out more about! But some questions will not be the “right size.”  We have a few weeks to work on this– so we don’t want something you could answer in 5 minutes.  We also don’t want a question that you won’t be able to make a dent in in the semester. Keep in mind, you don’t have to finish answering your question, either– it’s okay if you just find out more and deepen your understanding.

 

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WEDNESDAY’S ASSIGNMENT:  Due October 12th by 11:59 p.m. 

Please post under Discussions, Unit 2

 

Useful reading about research methods:

“Googlepedia: Turning Information Behaviors into Research Skills” by Randall McClure. https://wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces2/mcclure–googlepedia.pdf

 

At this point in the semester, there will be a virtual library visit.  We’re still in conversation with the library folks about what this will look like. I will get back to you just as soon as I know!

 

READ: “Navigating Genres” by Kerry Dirk https://wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces1/dirk–navigating-genres.pdf

 

WRITE: Write a blog post (at least 400 words) in which you introduce your research question (remember to get it approved by me first!) You must cover all of the questions in bold:

  • Why are you interested in this question? (Feel free to talk about your own personal experience with the topic, or to tell an anecdote about your experience with this subject matter)
  • What do you expect to find in your research? (Why do you expect to find this?)
  • What will you do if you find information that goes completely against what you had expected to find? (Will you throw it out? Will you write about it anyway? Will you challenge your own assumptions?)
  • What genres do you think might give you good information? (What is it about those genres that make them good potential sources?)

 

Spend some time on this– because this will serve as the first draft of the introduction for your annotated bibliography!