TORDA'S SPRING 2021 TEACHING SITE
  • Home
  • ENGL102
    • ENGL 102 Class Discussion Board
    • ENGL102SYLLABUS
    • ENGL102 PORTFOLIOS/Research Notebook
    • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Class Profile Page
    • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENTS: Reading Journals
    • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH PROJECT >
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: POSITIONING YOURSELF
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Locating & Evaluating part I
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Locating & Evaluating part II
  • ENGL389
    • ENGL 389 CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD
    • ENGL 389 CLASS PROFILE PAGE
    • ENGL 389 SYLLABUS
    • ENGL389 Reading Journals
    • ENGL389 Writer's Notebook.
    • ENGL389 WORKSHOPPING
    • ENGL389 Author Presentation
  • ENGL 513
    • ENGL 513 MONDAY UPDATE
    • ENGL 513 DISCUSSION BOARD
    • CLASS PROFILE ENGL 513 COMP T&P
    • SYLLABUS ENGL 513 COMP T&P
    • PORTFOLIOS ENGL 513 COMP THEORY & PEDAGOGY
    • ASSIGNMENTS ENGL 513 COMP THEORY & PEDAGOGY: READING RESPONSES
    • ASSIGNMENTS ENGL 513 COMP THEORY & PEDAGOGY: Literacy History
    • ASSIGNMENTS ENGL 513 COMP THEORY & PEDAGOGY: Pedagogy Presentations
    • ASSIGNMENTS ENGL 513 COMP THEORY & PEDAGOGY: Reverse Annotated Bibliography
    • ASSIGNMENTS ENGL 513 COMP THEORY & PEDAGOGY: ETHNOGRAPHY/CASE STUDY
    • ASSIGNMENTS ENGL 513 COMP THEORY & PEDAGOGY: final project
  • Previously Taught Classes
    • ENGL 102 CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD
    • ENGL 301 policies >
      • ENGL 301 CLASS UPDATE
      • ENGL 301 SYLLABUS
      • ENGL 301 PORTFOLIOS
      • ENGL 301 READING JOURNALS (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 BOOK CLUB (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 INTERVIEW WITH A TEACHER (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 FLASH MENTOR TEXT MEMOIR (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 RESEARCH IN TEACHING DIVERSE POPULATIONS (assignment) >
        • ENGL 301 RESEARCH IN TEACHING DIVERSE POPULATIONS (instructions & sample annotations)
      • ENGL 301 ASSIGNMENT DESIGN (assignment)
    • ENGL 202 BIZ Com >
      • ENGL 202 Business Writing SYLLABUS
    • ENGL 227 INTRO TO CNF WORKSHOP
    • ENGL 298 Second Year Seminar: This Bridgewater Life
    • ENGL406 RESEARCH IN WRITING STUDIES
    • ENGL 493 THE PERSONAL ESSAY
    • ENGL 493 Seminar in Writing & Writing Studies: The History of First Year Composition >
      • ENGL 493 Assignments: Annotated Bibliography & Presentation
    • ENGL 511 Reading & Writing Memoir
    • DURFEE Engl101
  • BSU Homepage
  • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Locating & Evaluating part II

 ENGL102 Writing Rhetorically with Sources

ASSIGNMENT: positioning self as researcher/formulating a research question

Need to be in touch with me? 
LEE TORDA
310 Tillinghast Hall
Bridgewater State University
508.531.2436
ltorda@bridgew.edu
www.leetorda.com
Attend Zoom Class (when told to on the syllabus) by clicking on this link. ​
All office hours for students will be held on Zoom until further notice.
Attend Any Zoom Office hours by clicking on this link. 

M&W 12:30-1:30
T 4:00-5:00
and by appointment
Schedule a time to meet with me, during office hours
​or otherwise, by clicking on this link. 
​
Overview
For the first part of your research project, it is important to consider who you are--what do you bring to this project? What is your interest in this question? What are you seeking to understand? What biases do you perhaps hold as you try to answer this question? What do you already know about it--or think you know about it? What do you not know about your subject? 

Knowing who you are and why you are asking this question is an important first step in the research project. In the real world, researchers make decisions about what they research this way. In the classroom, lots of times, your research topic is picked for you. In our classroom, your research topic is guided but, in many ways up to you. 

As the introduction to our class states, we are looking at the value of a college education in the 21st Century. That is the broad topic of research, your specific question is up to you. Here is what I wrote on the "policies" page of our class about this: 
​"The thematic focus of our course will be a topic that should be of interest to you: attending university in the United States. What it means to attend college in the United States means different things to different people. For US citizens attending US colleges and universities, they must weigh the cost of attending university with the benefits of a college degree. A college degree seems to be required for more and more jobs, and yet a college degree is no guarantee of getting a job you want or a job that pays you enough to pay back college debt. And what about attending the right school? What even makes a school the right school? 
For more general information about the research project, read the Research Project Overview on this website. Links to the other parts of the research project are or will be available from that overview page and from the drop down menu at the tope of this page. 
Details
In order to complete the first section of your draft you must answer the following questions in 750 words. Prior to producing this draft, we will do work in class to help you develop your research question, determine if your questions is a valid question, and hash out what you think you already know about your topic--and how that can be a good and a bad thing.

In 750 words, please answer the following question:
  1. What question do you want to try to answer with your research? Keep in mind that this is a tentative question. It might change through research over the course of the semester.
  2. What smaller questions will you need to answer in order to answer your main question? 
  3. How do you your smaller questions guide your possible research? In other words, where will you start to look for answers? Where could you look besides books or the library?
  4. What do you feel like you know about your subject?
  5. What do you feel like you don't know about your subject?
  6. Finally, what kinds of experience have you had in your life that could affect your attitude toward your question and towards the research? In other word, what experiences might create bias either for or against certain kinds of information that you will find as you research the answer to your question?

How you will be evaluated
Positioning yourself as a researcher is worth 10% of your final grade. In order to earn an "A" for that 10% you must:
  • Answer as completely as you can all 6 questions above
  • Keep your answer to 750 words
  • Participate in a Draft Workshop and complete any worksheets or reflections that are required of you.
  • Turning in your draft to me when required to do so.

If you do not complete all of the requirements for the "A" grade: 
  • you will earn a "C" grade if you answer less than 6 questions and/or do not participate in the workshop with a draft and/or complete the workshop worksheets or drafts. 
  • you will earn an "F" grade if you answer less than 3 questions and do not participate in the workshop. 
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • ENGL102
    • ENGL 102 Class Discussion Board
    • ENGL102SYLLABUS
    • ENGL102 PORTFOLIOS/Research Notebook
    • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Class Profile Page
    • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENTS: Reading Journals
    • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH PROJECT >
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: POSITIONING YOURSELF
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Locating & Evaluating part I
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Locating & Evaluating part II
  • ENGL389
    • ENGL 389 CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD
    • ENGL 389 CLASS PROFILE PAGE
    • ENGL 389 SYLLABUS
    • ENGL389 Reading Journals
    • ENGL389 Writer's Notebook.
    • ENGL389 WORKSHOPPING
    • ENGL389 Author Presentation
  • ENGL 513
    • ENGL 513 MONDAY UPDATE
    • ENGL 513 DISCUSSION BOARD
    • CLASS PROFILE ENGL 513 COMP T&P
    • SYLLABUS ENGL 513 COMP T&P
    • PORTFOLIOS ENGL 513 COMP THEORY & PEDAGOGY
    • ASSIGNMENTS ENGL 513 COMP THEORY & PEDAGOGY: READING RESPONSES
    • ASSIGNMENTS ENGL 513 COMP THEORY & PEDAGOGY: Literacy History
    • ASSIGNMENTS ENGL 513 COMP THEORY & PEDAGOGY: Pedagogy Presentations
    • ASSIGNMENTS ENGL 513 COMP THEORY & PEDAGOGY: Reverse Annotated Bibliography
    • ASSIGNMENTS ENGL 513 COMP THEORY & PEDAGOGY: ETHNOGRAPHY/CASE STUDY
    • ASSIGNMENTS ENGL 513 COMP THEORY & PEDAGOGY: final project
  • Previously Taught Classes
    • ENGL 102 CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD
    • ENGL 301 policies >
      • ENGL 301 CLASS UPDATE
      • ENGL 301 SYLLABUS
      • ENGL 301 PORTFOLIOS
      • ENGL 301 READING JOURNALS (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 BOOK CLUB (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 INTERVIEW WITH A TEACHER (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 FLASH MENTOR TEXT MEMOIR (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 RESEARCH IN TEACHING DIVERSE POPULATIONS (assignment) >
        • ENGL 301 RESEARCH IN TEACHING DIVERSE POPULATIONS (instructions & sample annotations)
      • ENGL 301 ASSIGNMENT DESIGN (assignment)
    • ENGL 202 BIZ Com >
      • ENGL 202 Business Writing SYLLABUS
    • ENGL 227 INTRO TO CNF WORKSHOP
    • ENGL 298 Second Year Seminar: This Bridgewater Life
    • ENGL406 RESEARCH IN WRITING STUDIES
    • ENGL 493 THE PERSONAL ESSAY
    • ENGL 493 Seminar in Writing & Writing Studies: The History of First Year Composition >
      • ENGL 493 Assignments: Annotated Bibliography & Presentation
    • ENGL 511 Reading & Writing Memoir
    • DURFEE Engl101
  • BSU Homepage
  • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Locating & Evaluating part II