Course Sequencing

Proposal

The proposal is the foundation for the student’s research paper in the class. It’s also a way for them to scaffold their rhetorical inquiry in order to build their knowledge of writing studies. Starting with the proposal gives the students a personal lens to explore the material with, and provides a course sequence starting from an egocentric origin. This is to give the writer a familiar environment to learn threshold concepts before moving them into the unfamiliar territory of the discourse. The process of selecting their inquiry gives them the opportunity to explore the genres of writing within a real-world experience. The end of the proposal has the students begin researching for their annotated bibliography, to help students transition from one assignment to the next. It also helps the student take a look at the discourse content that they will be working with during the semester, which can help shape their inquiry. My version of the proposal helps teach primary and secondary sources clearly before the annotated bibliography, so that when they do start working on it, they have a better grasp and more confidence in their research. To this extent, there’s a definition of some of the vocabulary necessary for the assignment, in order to help reinforce those connections to the language of rhetoric they’ll be working within during the course. This also plays a role in demystifying the course materials and threshold concepts. The proposal also gives the student a point of comparison in their writing development, for later reflection. In order to give them a frame of reference for these assignments and the way they interact with each other, I use the metaphor of building a house. The portfolio works as the blueprints and the foundation. Using this metaphor, I try to highlight how a specific genre of writing can build upon itself in a discourse.

Annotated Bibliography

Next assignment is the annotated bibliography. This project is meant to help the students build on their skills of exploration and organization of information while continuing the necessary groundwork for their research paper. They should be using this assignment so they can explore research and annotation through the personal lens of their inquiry. An annotated bibliography is one of the ways that educators can prompt their students to analyze complex texts, and develop their own responses methodically. It also teaches students to organize their research, building an effective argument for their discourse as well as helping to ease the difficulty of shaping the research paper. It will include the research that they’ve been working on during the semester, and is where they can demonstrate what they’ve learned about structuring, collecting, and analyzing their own research. By using the frameworks of genre, activity systems, and discourse theory, it helps them explore a complex genre that they’ve worked with in their discipline. The research analysis helps teach them skills to analyze their own writing later, and provide examples of discourse conversation.  Turning back to the metaphor of building a house within my sequencing, this assignment works as the “walls and roof” or as I explain in the assignment, “the structure of the house, which determines how the research paper (your house) is shaped.”

Research Paper Rough Draft

The rough draft of the research paper is a good way to begin approaching a larger project in this class. This project facilitates the growth of a response to an inquiry in the form of a claim, argument, or counterargument. In the assignment description, I stress heavily that students are encouraged to disagree with sources. This is in order to lessen the illusion of infallibility that students tend to view an academic source with, because I think it helps build their own academic autonomy, and encourages a more open discussion. I also emphasize that this is a rough draft, because there will be a need for revision and self-reflection through having the two drafts of the research paper as two distinct assignments. It also gives them an opportunity to incorporate the vocabulary and core concepts that they’ve been learning in the class. At the end of the assignment, the students are instructed to write a “rough draft statement”, which highlights the sections that the student thinks need the most revision. This also gives them an opportunity to ask me questions, and we can continue working in this environment which stresses the importance of questions and self-reflection. Part of the assessment section of the assignment states that I’m looking for the student’s voice, and not a facsimile of an academic tone, so that they can work authentically in the essay, instead of self-consciously. In the house metaphor, I tell them that the point of the research paper draft is to  “make the house yours” by “placing your furniture, painting the walls, etc.” I also give another analogy to highlight the nature of a draft: “This is also your rough draft, so think of it as putting sand in a sandbox before you start to make a castle. I am not looking for perfection.”

Research Paper Final Draft

The final draft gives students a chance to practice revision and self-reflection, to tighten up their work and provide a finished product. An examination of their research methodology is also due here, so they can explore why they picked this method originally to what unforeseen effects this method had with their research. By discussion of the stakes that surround the inquiry, the student demonstrates their knowledge of rhetorical studies. Grammatical or syntactical correctness is not something that I count in the assessment of the paper’s grade. This is because I’m more interested in building how they can build their rhetorical skills, and not their ability to navigate subtle nuances of the English language. The student does, however, need to make substantial changes in their work in order to demonstrate an ability to revise, hopefully teaching mindfulness surrounding their writing. This final draft is where they need to illustrate that they can use this reflection of their writing to organize their essay and create a natural flow. This is more about being able to show me how they can transition from one thought to the next, making connections, or rearranging their thoughts until they can. The research paper works in the house metaphor as painting the walls, placing furniture, etc. It’s finishing the house and getting it ready to move in, essentially.

ePortfolio & Presentation

This is a chance for students to present their work to a group of their peers. It gives them a chance to show their development as writers as well as giving them something to keep that represents that growth and exploration. This is an opportunity for the student to gain experience working on a portfolio, and on a presentation of their ideas or arguments.  In the portfolio, there’s the chance to reflect on their work over the course of their semester, and the presentation portion gives them an outlet in which they can conference. The use of the questions in the presentation, and the necessary involvement in the presentation is supposed to give the student experience in conferencing, and in navigating an argument with inquiry. They are required to peer review, to help teach habits of collaboration, and to understand how to critique in order to critique themselves. The reflection they conduct is a way to teach mindfulness in their writing, and to help catalyze the development of transfer skills. Students can employ the tactics of analysis and rhetorical studies that they’ve been taught in the course when they watch other presentations. By presenting each of their portfolios, the class can synthesize a discourse community, as well as practice conferencing. This final assignment is the accumulation of a semester-long inquiry, and is meant to be a rewarding experience for the students. By giving them the ability to explore something they personally enjoy, allowing them to craft their own unique writing voice without the need for a false academic tone, and stressing the importance of imperfection in education, I want to give these students the ability to work confidently outside of their comfort zone after they leave my class.