A Sense of Doubt blog post #3032 - Things to Keep in Mind When Drafting a Research Project part two
As I wrote yesterday, for now, I am out of my anger phase, purged by yesterday's "Breather" by Afterlife, which seems appropriate.
This post, like yesterday's, are posts I created a couple of years ago and have revised several times in my online Canvas shell. The first versions were pre-pandemic. I feel the content may need some re-organizing. Or perhaps, I should just make separate posts for key lessons that expand on the content here and are linked here as this page (like tomorrow's) are good guides to research project writing with a wealth of resources and some solid advice.
Thanks for tuning in.
I think it's funny to have two images to start about mental distress or nervous breakdowns.
SUBJECT: ENG102: THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN DRAFTING: PART TWO
AN IMPORTANT MOTTO: Quote rarely, summarize, sometimes, paraphrase often.
Right now, you may feel like Spider-Man as seen here in an early issue of The Amazing Spider-Man drawn by Steve Ditko and written by Stan Lee.
The project may feel overwhelming, like a crushing weight you can barely hold up, but there is hope, there is process, there is time, and there is help. Engage, think, learn, practice, work, draft, brainstorm, research, get help, think more, work more, succeed.
Spider-Man is not still under this immense weight. He got out of it. The issue ended. He moved on.
PREVIOUSLY IN EPISODES OF ENGLISH 102:
Things to Keep in Mind When Drafting
A Sense of Doubt blog post #2530 - Various Research Project Preparation Yummy Goodnesses
HOT TIPS from the Reading Period
For now these are just listed in the order in which they became apparent, I will try to organize them later.
- LAZY READER: I am a lazy reader. I am going to skip over your quoted research unless you give me a reason to read the quotes. Take me through it like a toddler. Set it up. Follow it up. Explain it slowly. Make me see how it fits your overall plan and argument, the narrative you are building and the purpose you have.
- COMMON KNOWLEDGE varies by person. Though all "non-common knowledge" information must be cited, we do cut you a little slack for things you obviously know and some general information you learn as you work with your subject matter. When in doubt, cite information.
- THIRD PERSON ONLY - "we" and "us" are not third person. Remove all. Remove "you." Limited first person for personal experience or observations.
- DO NOT PIGGY BACK SOURCES - you, the author of the rhetoric, should write connective tissue between all source material. Even if weaving multiple sources together in the same paragraph, which we want to see you do many times in your projects, follow up source material and set up the next. Quotes or paraphrases. Doesn't matter. Connect, unpack, set up, follow up, explain, slowly, as if to a toddler.
- UNPACK TOPICS before launching into source material. After setting up your point in the first sentence of a paragraph (that will likely also contain a transition), unpack the idea. Explain it. Add to it. Expand it. Once sufficiently unpacked then set up a source and deliver information. Source use should neither lead or end paragraphs nor should it immediately follow topic sentences or other source material.
- STRONG, EXPLICIT TRANSITIONS. All ideas are linked together by you the writer. The best place for these links is part of a topic sentence that leads a paragraph. Sections with labels are not substitutes for transitions. Good writing still leads the reader from one idea to the other from paragraph to paragraph, from section to section, from sentence to sentence, from idea to idea.
- BASIC DETAILS - 6 Ws. Think critically about your subject. What are all the basics? What information does the reader need to understand your content, your sources, your ideas, your purpose, your argument. Have you missed anything obvious? Get help with this as you may not be able to see it yourself.
- STATEMENTS NOT QUESTIONS. Questions are weak sauce. Readers want statements. You could have a very good project that contains zero questions. If you choose to write rhetorical questions, answer them immediately. And don't over use the question thing. However, regardless, questions ARE NOT good ways to introduce ideas.
- CITE EVERYTHING. Missing cites are considered plagiarism. See other comment on "common knowledge." When in doubt, cite it out. That's supposed to rhyme.
- BE REAL: Readers want real people and real things. Avoid abstraction. Give real examples full of specifics and details. Examples full of vivid detail make your writing come alive and get the reader to care about your content. SHOW ME. This SHOWING OF REAL PEOPLE AND THINGS is in large part the true meaning of PATHOS.
- OVERVIEW: An introduction fully overviews your entire project in good detail.
- FOLLOW UP: always follow up source use. Never end a paragraph on a cited source. This guidance deserved being repeated.
- DID YOU OPEN THAT? If you open a can, you have to deal with what's in the can. Do not open cans of ideas that you do not expand upon and explain and connect to your purpose. ALL OF YOUR content serves a purpose and how it serves the purpose must be made clear by you in a way that is not narrating: "I am writing about this because..." is ugly and unnecessary.
- SPELL CHECK. Even the first draft. Running that takes like five minutes.
- IT or THIS what? See below.
A Sense of Doubt blog post #1789 - The IT Phenomenon and good sentence rules
- JUSTIFY ALL PARTS. Worth repeating. All parts of your project serve your purpose. Show me how.
- FULL CITES are required. Signal phrases are not enough. (author pg#) (Price 6) or para # = (Price, para 6). Look up what to do when you do not have an author, though try to have very few of those sources as they do not count toward your required minimum.
- DO NOT lead or end paragraphs on sources. Worth repeating.
- GRAPHICS are not content - explain and analyze all graphics. Why are using it? What does it show us? If it's data, unpack and analyze, explain, the data.
- Sentences should not start with "that" and never with "which."
- SOURCES DO NOT "talk."
- General reference sources do not count toward the minimum required sources EVEN if they have human authors.
- BETTER DEFINITIONS - the dictionary is the worst way to define something in a research paper. There are ALWAYS better sources for that definition than a dictionary. NO DICTIONARIES!
- NO INFO DUMPS! If you find yourself dumping information, find your topic, figure out your purpose and rework it. No page long paraphrases. Break those up WITH YOUR WRITING. Always Info-exp and info-exp.
- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - cite each visual (you may also want to number them fig. 1 etc.)
THE NEW STUFF FOR PART TWO
As you write and revise and finish
A Sense of Doubt blog post #2445 - GROWTH MINDSET - part one
OVERVIEW
In the conference process in previous quarters, I found myself telling many student writers that early in their drafts that they needed to overview the subject for the reader. What’s the focus? What’s the key research?
Most projects need all the basics of context early on in the paper. The content then sets up the declaration of the project’s purpose.
For instance, in a project about AI, I would need some sense of the basic definition of AI, weak and strong AI, current AI, the Turing test, key individuals in the research and development of AI, and the work going into the future. All of which sets up the student’s argument, which may be that conscious AI is inevitable (or it isn’t).
PERSONAL STATEMENT OF BELIEF
Some essays need a personal statement of belief in the early going, possibly before the overview. For example, if the writer ultimately will be arguing for rights for LBGTQ people that cys-hetero people enjoy, but does not establish the argument right away, then a statement of belief along with a personal connection to the subject matter and relevant experiences will help orient the reader to the rest of the material that follows.
INITIAL purpose or thesis declaration
Regardless of the structure, as explained in the next section, the student writer must establish either the purpose of the project (“this project investigates”) or the thesis (“all people should enjoy the same rights of marital union equally”) at the end of the introductory section. Not the use of the word “section” here and not paragraph.
STRUCTURE
- the whole project is an argument
- delayed thesis-structure - later section is the argument
DEEP AND COMPLEX
How does one achieve this?
https://lemiere102.weebly.com/ethos.html
Expand with sources by...
- CORROBORATING: You can use multiple sources to say the same thing; as in, they said this thing, and they ALSO said the same thing, so isn't that more convincing?
- COMPLICATING: You can also use multiple, DIVERSE sources (and you should) to look at a thing from various angles before you move along. This means that you deepen what is already on the page.
Check EACH point to see if you corroborated/complicated and make note if you think a paragraph could use more of one or the other.
ALSO, GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES can function as a LENSE.
STASIS THEORY
https://prezi.com/2oae7iimd4sq/stasis-theory/
Stasis Theory in Critical Thinking
Argumentful
OPENING
- Do you have the best opening you can have?
- A strong hook in an extended introduction
- appropriate context (overview)
- personal statement of belief if needed
- declaration of purpose or thesis
- STRONG ENDING
https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/conclusions/
https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/ending-essay-conclusions
TOULMIN ARGUMENT
PROPOSED ARGUMENT: attempting to prove that violent media kindles violent action in the consumer in some cases.
- CLAIM - Your claim (thesis) must appear at the beginning of your argument; if the whole project is an argument, then thesis appears early in the draft; if the project builds to the thesis, make clear where the argument begins.
- WARRANT - The warrant is common ground with your intended audience. Though often Toulmin descriptions suggest that the warrant is implicit, it’s best for our work that you establish the common ground explicitly. See pages 194-195 as well as additional research into “common ground persuasive essays.”
- REBUTTAL - Have you devoted a section to the opposition’s arguments and have refuted these effectively?
A Sense of Doubt blog post #2366 - ARGUMENTS - Toulmin Model
Toulmin Model for Creating an Argument - Dr. Hanlon
106. The Toulmin Method of Argumentation | THUNK
Toulmin Method - tamuwritingcenter
SIMPSONS LOGICAL FALLACIES
- Colburn Classroom
- 22 video playlist (don't freak 0 they are all short)Links to an external site.
SOME MORE STUFF HERE
A Sense of Doubt blog post #2825 - Counter Argument and Logical Fallacies video via the SIMPSONS (and more)
A Sense of Doubt blog post #2823 - Ethos, Pathos, and Logos - The Nature of Writing
A Sense of Doubt blog post #2241 - What's a Rhetorical Decision?
ON WRITING AN ELEGANCE OF WRITING...
A Sense of Doubt blog post #2221 - 10 Ways to spot bad writing
BONUS VIDEO - just for fun
A Sense of Doubt blog post #2438 - Your Essay Shows Promise But Suffers from Demonic Possession
peace and love, chris tower
"The vacuum created by the arrival of freedom
And the possibilities it seems to offer,
It’s got nothing to do with you, if one can grasp it."
~ "Up the Hill Backwards" - David Bowie
#DisciplineIsAVehicleForJoy
“Always look on the bright side” - from THE LIFE OF BRIAN
#WritingIsRewriting
"An open mind is a curious mind ready to learn!"
Just for fun, from 2021: (some images from here)
Thursday, February 25, 2021
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2306.07 - 10:10
- Days ago = 2896 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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