English 1101 Paper #2: Research Report

Due Dates

Proposal/Conceptual Outline:

First Draft:

Final Draft:

In this unit, we are reading about the community around us. More specifically, we are reading and analyzing issues that are relevant to New Yorkers. You will choose a relevant topic that interests you, and report on a specific question you’d like to investigate within that topic.

Since the Unit 2 and Unit 3 papers are closely linked, in order to explain Unit 2, I have to talk about Units 2 + 3 together, because you’re going to have to use some foresight in the research decisions you make; there will be planning, trial, error, planning again. It’s all part of the process.

In Unit 3, you’ll be writing a document in a new genre, one you haven’t written in before, about what you’ve decided to research in unit 2. For example, you might write a manifesto, or a comic book. Maybe you want to write a speech addressing a problem you outlined or discovered in your research for Unit 2.

You don’t need to know exactly what you’re going to be doing in Unit 3 yet. HOWEVER, you’ll be doing some things in Unit 2 that you’ll need for Unit 3:

1. Researching a question about a NYC community or issue that you are truly curious about. You will use some of your research from Unit 2 when you write Unit 3.
2. Researching a variety of different genres, which will inform what you write in Unit 3.

So, Unit 2 will be an investigation into and report on a specific question about a topic that interests you. You will conduct research into various genres (4 sources), gather and evaluate the information in those sources, and present a report on your findings. For this assignment, you will not need a thesis statement; rather, I am asking you think investigate, analyze, and report what you have learned from your investigation. You may arrive at an answer to you initial question, or you may find you’re asking the wrong questions and will need to rethink your approach.

1. Ask and develop specific question. This should be something you care about, something you’ve always wondered about – something that will keep you engaged, as you’ll be continuing this line of inquiry in Unit 3 as well.
2. Have your question approved by me (REQUIRED). If you change your question, your new question must be approved. Due (You cannot change your question past TBA).
3. Research, gather information on, and analyze 4 sources consisting of at least 3 different genres.
4. Read and annotate sources with your question in mind. Take notes on the relationship between the source and your question. Consider throughout: what did I learn from this source? About my own process of thought? About my reading process? My writing process?
5. Write your report. The best way to go about this is to write the report for each source, then write the intro and conclusion. Remember that format and appearance count, so give yourself time to proofread and make it look good!

Your analysis of each source must be at least 300 words – this is both content analysis AND rhetorical analysis, which we have discussed and will continue to discuss during this unit. In other words, you must analyze not only what the source says, but also who its intended audience is, what its history is, its purpose, etc. Remember, try to make this as interesting to your readers as possible. This gives you some leeway in choosing how you want to format your report, but make sure you consider what is best for your audience.

Example of how you might format this piece.

Intro

Summary and analysis of source #1. Be sure to mention the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece. You should insert your evaluation of the source. Also quote from the source.

Summary and analysis of source #2. Be sure to mention the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece. You should insert your evaluation of the source. Also quote from the source.

Summary and analysis of source #3. Be sure to mention the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece. You should insert your evaluation of the source. Also quote from the source.

Summary and analysis of source #4. Be sure to mention the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece. You should insert your evaluation of the source. Also quote from the source.

You might want to add a paragraph here addressing the problem you’ve uncovered while researching this question, and how you will address it in a new genre and why you chose that genre. You might still be deciding what genre you want to use, which is fine. You can also identify the problem and audience you might want to reach.

Conclusion.

The entire report, consisting of source analysis, introduction, and conclusion, should be at least 1800 words. 

Grading System

1. Is your document readable and informative? Does it teach us about what you’ve learned, as it relates to question? Does it teach us, not only about the content of the sources you’ve chosen, but also the rhetorical situation surrounding those sources? In other words, is it a “good” source? Good for whom? Why?
2. Did you do good research here? One of the main goals of the assignment is to learn something new about your topic AND to help you learn to find information on your own, to be applied to future situations. If you simply choose the first three options on Google, that’s not doing enough, and your topic will most likely not be as nuanced as it could be.
3. Did you find sources in at least three different genres? Do the genres you chose “gel” with the content – that is, do the genres you chose make sense for the goals of both Units 2 and 3?
4. Your report must look good, and must be organized in a way that makes sense to the reader you have in mind (and to me!).
5. Is your language appropriate to the audience you have in mind? No matter how you chose to write it, the type of language you use (how it is written) must be consistent and must be appropriate to your audience. You should be able to explain with a good line of reasoning why you chose the language you chose.
6. Cite your sources.

Paper #3: Writing in a New Genre

Proposal due:

First draft due:

Final draft due:

In this paper, you will be using your research from Unit 2 to compose in a new genre. You might want to write a declaration, a manifesto, a rulebook, a magazine article (from a particular publication), a comic book, a children’s book, short story, a video essay etc. The possibilities are virtually endless, except you must:

1. Have a rhetorical understanding of the genre you choose
2. Make use of the research you did in Unit 2

It would help you to have a specific example of the genre in which you choose to write. Perhaps you discovered the genre while you were doing research for paper #2. You might have written about this genre, in some form, so use the knowledge you already have, and the knowledge you will gain from further research, to craft the best version of a document in the genre you’ve chosen. If you are choosing to do something say in video or song, you must transcribe the words. Word Count: I want you to follow the rules of the genre and don’t want you to write to fulfill a word count. That said, the piece you write needs to be well-developed. I also want you to write at least a 500 word reflection on the paper. I will hand out a separate sheet with questions that need to be addressed in the reflection. Reflections are written and submitted once you receive a grade for the paper,

Some ways you might want to get started:

Question your intent. Think, “What do I have to say? Why do I care about this topic? What is the best genre for me to communicate what I have to say?”

Choose a genre you like and that you think best fits your intent. If you decide for instance that you want to talk about bodegas, or your bodega specifically, perhaps an exposé is best.

The point here is, the topic and genre should gel.

Steps

1. Consider again how your research and genre analysis in Unit 2 has addressed/influenced your line of questioning. What do you want to say? Why is your topic important to you and to the community at large? Which genre is best suited to communicating your message?
2. Once you’ve narrowed your focus/have chosen your genre, outline your argument. How will your support your general claim? What kind of sources would strengthen your argument?
3. Conduct further research, if necessary, to support your claims/vision.
4. Begin writing. Bring in research and the methodological knowledge you’ve gained from our investigation into genre and rhetoric. Look to your source/mentor text for ideas about structure.
5. Incorporate reflection and feedback in order to improve the final product.

How will this be graded:

• Accuracy of genre analysis-Did you identify the common elements of this genre?
• Care and creativity- Did you put time and effort into the project?
• Repurposing- The question/argument from your research paper is present

Paper #3: Writing in a New Genre

In this paper, you will be using your research from Unit 2 to compose in a new genre. You might want to write a declaration, a manifesto, a rulebook, a magazine article (from a particular publication), a comic book, a children’s book, short story, a video essay etc. The possibilities are virtually endless, except you must:

1. Have a rhetorical understanding of the genre you choose
2. Make use of the research you did in Unit 2

It would help you to have a specific example of the genre in which you choose to write. Perhaps you discovered the genre while you were doing research for paper #2. You might have written about this genre, in some form, so use the knowledge you already have, and the knowledge you will gain from further research, to craft the best version of a document in the genre you’ve chosen. If you are choosing to do something say in video or song, you must transcribe the words.

Word Count: I want you to follow the rules of the genre and don’t want you to write to fulfill a word count. That said, the piece you write needs to be well-developed. I also want you to write at least a 500 word reflection on the paper. I will hand out a separate sheet with questions that need to be addressed in the reflection. Reflections are written and submitted once you receive a grade for the paper,

Some ways you might want to get started:

Question your intent. Think, “What do I have to say? Why do I care about this topic? What is the best genre for me to communicate what I have to say?”

Choose a genre you like and that you think best fits your intent. If you decide for instance that you want to talk about bodegas, or your bodega specifically, perhaps an exposé is best.

The point here is, the topic and genre should gel.

Steps

1. Consider again how your research and genre analysis in Unit 2 has addressed/influenced your line of questioning. What do you want to say? Why is your topic important to you and to the community at large? Which genre is best suited to communicating your message?
2. Once you’ve narrowed your focus/have chosen your genre, outline your argument. How will your support your general claim? What kind of sources would strengthen your argument?
3. Conduct further research, if necessary, to support your claims/vision.
4. Begin writing. Bring in research and the methodological knowledge you’ve gained from our investigation into genre and rhetoric. Look to your source/mentor text for ideas about structure.
5. Incorporate reflection and feedback in order to improve the final product.

How will this be graded:

• Accuracy of genre analysis- Did you identify the common elements of this genre?
• Care and creativity- Did you put time and effort into the project?
• Repurposing- The call to action from your research paper is present