RAB Road Map

This document is important. It will help you understand all the moving parts of the RAB. But these are meant as guidelines to help you understand where to go next; they are not strict rules.

Intro (at least 300 words)

• • Introduce your question
  • Explain how you got interested in your question / why you are interested 
  • Explain what you expect to find in your research and why you expect to find that (a hypothesis). It’s totally okay if you get this wrong! Be open to being surprised. 
  • Write this in paragraph format, 1-3 paragraphs

Source Entries (at least three sources, at least 400 words each)

• Notes
  • You will have 3 sources
  • You will have a “Source Entry” for each source
  • Each source will be a different genre
  • At least 400 words each
  • Each entry will have all four parts.
• How do I write a source entry?
  • Part I, Bibliographic Entry
    • Gives the publication information, author, date, title, etc. There are websites like easybib.com which can help you develop these entries.
    • Example: Fitzgerald, Jill. “Research on Revision in Writing” Review of Educational Research. 57.4 (Winter 1987): 481-506.
  • Part II, Summary (1 substantial paragraph)
    • In this summary, you will capture the most important points the author makes relating to your research question. Quote directly when possible. It’s also a good time to make notes of what data, facts, and evidence the author uses to support their claims and how they use this evidence to arrive at their conclusions.
    • It might be tempting to use ChatGPT for these summaries, but avoid doing so. You are choosing what parts of the text to focus on and ChatGPT might make things up which the text doesn’t say. You will also use the thinking you do for this summary in other sections of your bibliography.
  • Part III, Opinion and Rhetorical Analysis (2-3 paragraphs)
    • Respond to the text you’ve read. This is where your voice is most valuable. Avoid simply agreeing or disagreeing with the author; explain your full reaction instead. If you could say something to the author, what would you say? Do you think they have a good point, but take too long to get there? Do you think they sound good, but are wildly off-base? Most importantly, what, if anything, did you learn from reading?
    • In this section, quote sentences which you are responding to. Make note of questions you still have.
    • Also, consider factors like the genre of writing, the author’s credentials, and the publication venue. How do you feel about the author’s writing style, awareness of audience and purpose, and choice of genre?
  • Quotations (include in your summary and rhetorical analysis)
    • Make note of at least one direct quote from the author that you feel exemplifies the document’s claims or interpretations. Or, choose a sentence you really agree or disagree with. You don’t need to repeat something you’ve quoted earlier, this is just a place to take note of quotations you may want to use. Use quotation marks and don’t forget the page number, if applicable.

Conclusion ( at least 400 words):

• Summarize what you found in your research
• Tell readers what surprised you, or how your understanding of the question deepened or change (if the answer is “not at all,” you likely haven’t done enough research)
• Explain why what you learned is important
• Explain who you think needs to know about this information and why (be specific: the answer should not be everyone. If you need further guidance, think about who needs to hear it first)

In summary, your RAB should have the following sections:

• Introduction
• Source Entry 1
• Source Entry 2 
• Source Entry 3 
• Conclusion