Cover Letter or Abstract Postponed

Instead of Friday, your cover letter or paper abstract is now due when you present your panel paper. Good news for you.

However, this week you all need to send me your conference panel presentation schedules and topics as no one submitted them last week. So, plan amongst yourselves and send me an email with dates, conference participants, and panel names.

Good luck with writing and revising.

Literature Review, Due November 12

This week, as we head to the library, you should be knee-deep in the writing process. As it says on the schedule, you are to post your Literature Review (instructions/main idea of this section included in the actual assignment sheet for the research proposal). For those of you that are writing a conference paper, you will post the context or introductory section(s) of your paper where you will introduce and explain the theory you will use to make your argument.

I will not read your draft. Instead, I will look to see that you have posted your draft and that you peer reviewed at least one other classmates by Sunday November 14th at midnight. By peer review, I mean that you have read (along side the assignment sheet) your peer's paper and have commented on ways that he/she might be able to improve:

organization-paragrpahs follow in logical order and are connected by transitions that link ideas together
argument- makes a reasonable claim that he/she supports
support-- unpack ideas, uses evidence

AND

that you have pointed to the areas where he/she is doing something effectively so that he/she may use that as a model.

Use your classmates comments to help you formulate the questions for our individual meeting next week. And, don't forget to sign up for a meeting if you haven't already!

Instructor Conference Sign Up

Next week we are meeting in the archives at the library. Next week you will also need to choose your conference times for our instructor sessions. Please respond to this post with your time slot, making sure to check to see what others have already chosen. First come, first serve.

Monday, November 15

• conference #1- 12:00-12:45
• conference #2- 12:45-1:30

Wednesday, November 17

• conference #1- 12:00-12:45
• conference #2- 12:45-1:30

Essay "Outline" Due Friday, November 5th

Instead of an essay outline that details what you plan to accomplish in each section of the essay, we are going to take a less formal approach to the first stage of writing.

We are moving from focused research into the write/read/revise stage of the process, also know as drafting. In order to begin writing, the first thing I want us to do is reflect on what we have found in the research. This week, your assignment is to answer the following questions as best you can, given the research you have already done:

1. What did I find out about my topic?
2. What does what I found about my topic mean?
3. Which of my original thoughts or ideas on the topic are supported by data? How?
4. How does this research answer my research question(s)?
5. What additional questions or data must I ask or find in order to answer my research question(s)?

These questions, and your answers, should help give form to your ideas, provide you with a basis of what you still need to collect, and start the initial writing process.

Once you have answered these questions, use them to propel you into an actual draft of your proposal or paper. Then, when you get stuck, hate your topic (school, your professors for assigning this evil project, and your dog for breathing too loud), and want to give up you will know it is time to go find new answers or revise your ideas again.

Whatever you do this week you must write. Write your way out of the research fog and start forming your ideas into words.

Happy drafting!

Annotated Bibliography Due 10/29

The annotated bibliography actually houses the bibliographic information for your sources with an annotated source summary. You must include four outside sources  with an annotation for each that clearly summarizes the main arguments of the source, critically evaluates the source by placing it into the larger scholarly discourses surrounding the topic, addresses issues of credibility and bias, and offers a suggestion for how this source might be used to further an understanding of your research process.

Writing the Annotated Bibliography

1. Critically evaluate your sources. Are the sources essential to research on your topic? Does the source provide NEW information or an approach that is not covered by your other sources? Is the text a scholarly source? If the answer to any of these questions is NO, then delete the source and begin researching again. Once you have evaluated the sources individually, step back and look at the larger collection of sources you have compiled. Does your annotated bibliography offer a diverse range of media or types of sourced? Does the overall research present a well-rounded understanding of the topic? If the answer to any of these questions is NO, then begin researching again. You should end up with four seminal texts for your topic—all scholarly.
2. Next, write your annotations. Your annotation should summarize the main arguments of the source. It should critically evaluate the source by placing it into the larger scholarly discourses surrounding the topic and within the context of your research. It should address issues of bias and credibility. Finally, the annotation should further the larger argument you are making. You should end up with four annotations that summarize, assess, and reflect on the sources individually and your larger research project—these annotations should be clear and concise, and should generate YOUR claim about the research topic.
3. Finally, edit your draft for errors in mechanics and style. Does your draft include an original and specific title? Are your annotations categorized and logically organized? Have your revised awkward passages and error patterns? Does your paper adhere to MLA (or other style) guidelines for citations and format? Have you met all of the assignment guidelines?

Article Abstract Canceled, Annotated Bibliography Due by 10/29

Scholars,
    As you know this week I have been feeling under the weather. I am also hearing from many of you that you need more time to really get more out of the research process. Spend this week fine tuning the research, narrowing down sources, and really reading/re-readiing.
    Next week your annotated bibliography of 4 sources is due. By then, you should be transitioning from research into drafting, research, and revision. Next week the time for library tunnel vision is over! So, spend this week flexing those brain muscles.

Oral History Videos and Resources

Research Methods:

Oral History Research Methods: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX1odZDA0gk

UCF Oral History "How To" Videos with RICHES project: http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/videos.php

Samples:

Suffragist Oral History Project, transcripts only: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/projects/suffragist/
UCF oral history project (Honors College): http://www.nevisoralhistory.org/the_oral_history_centre.htm
Call to Duty, Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW9Hd9rWCh8 

Laurette Jackson, Part 1/3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oWmN4tEgqI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2gbvG9PuBM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4BD30qAvnE