Unit 2.1 - Types of Research Paper and Developing a Research Question

Students will be able to:

• Recognize different types of research paper (e.g., primary vs. secondary, argumentative vs. analytical research papers)
• Describe a general process of writing a research paper and analyze the order and interdependence of the steps of research process
• Generate tentative research questions that are appropriate for length, purpose and audience to guide their research (through preliminary research)

Part 1: Informal Early Feedback Survey

Please fill out the informal feedback survey. This survey is important for improvement the class in the short term and for future students. At the end of the term the survey will be offered again for extra participation marks.

Part 2: Warm Up

Think about the types of research papers that you have seen previously. Name three kinds.

Part 3: Types of Research Papers

Look at the Types of Research and Developing a Research Question powerpoint and observe the types of research papers that we will be looking at in this class and decide what design of research question is most applicable to your field.

Part 4: Types of Research activity

Once you have completed Part 1 of the powerpoint, open up the activity and determine which type of question falls in line with the design of research. Once you have completed this, finish looking at how to create an effective research question in Part 2 of the Types of Research and Developing a Research Question Powerpoint. Then, complete part 2 of the funtivity in a group to create 6 different types of questions from the same topic.   If you have extra time, read through the new questions from the other groups and (1) point out where they met the criteria well for creating a research and (2) make a suggestion for improvement about anything they noticed that could be better. (key)

Unit 2 - Overview

Overview of Annotated Bibliography

Student Outcomes: As a result of this unit and assignment, students will be able to:

• Choose an appropriate, focused research paper topic and questions and create a working thesis and rough outline for their research paper
• Collect sources for a specific research paper topic using the online library database.
• Evaluate sources for their relevance to the topic and reliability for research
• Create reference page citations and in-text citations to give credit to the author of the source, avoid plagiarism, and make locating the source later much easier Write an annotated bibliography for their 6+ sources including the 4 parts below for each source annotation:
• Citation information of the source (in APA or another citation style that is widely used in the students' disciplines)
• Summary of the source
• Evaluation of the source in terms of reliability (e.g. authorship and/or sponsorship, purpose, bias, currency and scope of information, research methodology)
• Evaluation of the source in terms of relevancy (e.g. how the source is related to other sources in the bibliography, how it helps answer your research question)

Assignment Description:

The annotated bibliography assignment is designed to help students choose reliable and relevant sources from the library database and organize them with annotations on their contents, reliability, and relevancy so that students can use these sources more easily when writing their upcoming research paper

Assignment Prompt &Grading Rubric:

Sample Assignments:

Sample 1

Sample 2

Unit 1.7 - Coherence, Cohesion and Unity.

Students will be able to:

• Achieve coherence (meeting the readers' expectations for organization and development of ideas with logical flow of information) both within and across paragraphs
• Use cohesive devices (e.g., pronouns, parallel structure, transition signals, and repetitions) and old/new information pattern appropriately for different audiences and purposes
• Evaluate presence/absence of coherence and cohesion in their own writing and propose revisions based on new knowledge from lesson

Part 1: Paragraph Analysis

• Study the paragraphs presented. What do they lack, cohesion, coherence or unity?
• What characteristics signal to you that the paragraphs are missing cohesion, coherence or unity?
• How would you change them to make them better?

Part 2: Lecture

• Follow the powerpoint on cohesion, coherence and unity. Answers any questions asked by the teacher and take notes on particular issue or questions you may have on the topic material

Part 3: KNO activity

• Open the KNO activity worksheet. Establish a key. Pick a different color for known, new, and old, and highlight those words in the color you select for that word. These are the colors you will use to highlight the corresponding parts of the paragraph in the worksheet.

Part 4: KNO activity: Diagnostic essay analysis

• Open the KNO activity II worksheet. Using your knowledge of KNO and word chains, pick 3 highlighter colors, and create a key at the top of your paper: three colors for KNO. Once you have finished the highlights, in 1-2 paragraphs, write an analysis of your original diagnostic paragraph. How did you do with respect to KNO and word chains? Did you have trouble with this concept? How, specifically, would you suggest improvements to your paper?

• Finally, write a revision of that paragraph, with the goal of making it as coherent as possible, using KNO and word chains to get you started.

Unit 1.6 - PIE Structure

Students will be able to:

• Describe the three parts of PIE (point, illustration, explanation) structure and their interrelationship which facilitates clarity and coherence of a paragraph
• Identify and use PIE structure variations within paragraphs (e.g., PIEIE, PIIE, PIE-C)
• Evaluate the effectiveness of PIE structure and variations in a sample and their own writing and propose revisions based on new knowledge from lesson

Part 1: Class Discussion

As a class discuss these following questions:

• What does PIE stand for?
• Why is PIE structure important?
• What aspect of PIE is the most difficult for you?

Part 2: Lecture on PIE Variation

Listen to the lecture on PIE Variation. Follow the instructor’s lecture by downloading the PPT provided on the website from Slide 25.

Look at the examples of the kinds of variations you instructor is talking about by looking at Part 2 of the PIE Structure Worksheet.

Part 3: PIE  Structure Activities - Part 1

Download the worksheet provided on the website entitled PIE Structure Worksheet. Practice identifying PIE based on Task 1 on the worksheet. Complete Task 1 with a partner. Discuss the answers as a class.

Part 4: PIE  Strucutre Activities - Part 2

Pull up your Diagnostic Essay. Complete Task 2 of the PIE Structure Worksheet on your own.

Part 5: PIE  Structure Activities - Part 3

Keep your Diagnostic Essay up on the computer screen. Swap seats with the person sitting next to you and complete Task 3 of the PIE Structure Worksheet on your own.

Unit 1.5 - Introductions and Conlcusions.

Part I : Warm-Up

In small groups students will discuss the following questions:

1. When you begin an essay do you start with your introduction or do you start with some other part? Are there advantages to starting somewhere else?
2. Do you think introductions are difficult to start? Why?
3. After you write your conclusion do look back at your introduction and make changes? Do you revise the conclusion as well?

Part II: Inductive Learning Activity

Students should open the INTROS AND CONCLUSIONS HANDOUT. Read through all the intros and conclusions and, with a partner or small group, discuss whether each set is effective or not and then find the 3 sections of in each paragraph and try to name them.

Part III: Lecture on Intros and Conclusions

Listen as the instructor goes through the INTROS CONCLUSION PPT.

Part IV: Paragraph Analysis

Go back to the INTROS AND CONCLUSIONS HANDOUT. Now look at all the paragraphs and see if they meet the criteria students learned about in the PPT. Fix any of the paragraphs that do not meet the criteria. Copy & Paste your rewrites into the GROUP GOOGLE DOC.

Part V: Class Discussion of Paragraphs

Students should discuss with the class what mistakes they noticed in the paragraphs and what kinds of hooks and broader implications are in the paragraphs.

Part IV: Peer Reviewing

In pairs, students should pull up their diagnostic essays. Students should use the INTROS CONCLUSIONS PEER REVIEW HANDOUT to peer review their partners’ diagnostic essay introduction and conclusion. If finished early, they should spend time revising and editing their papers.

Unit 1.4 - Logic, Argument & Counterarguement

Students will be able to:

• Identify and describe the main parts of the argument (e.g. claim and evidence).
• Identify and describe steps to refute an opposing argument: introduce opposing argument, mark it as strong/weak/true/false, provide counter-claim and evidence.
• Construct reasonable arguments from collected sources and respond to potential counterarguments
• Identify logical fallacies in arguments and evaluate sample arguments for such fallacies

Warm up discussion

In groups, please discuss the following questions before coming together as class to summarize your group discussion.

1. What components make for a strong argument?
2. Conversely, what components makes for a weak argument?
3. Are some types of evidence stronger than others? If so, why? If not, why?

Argument design - Inductive pros and cons.

Make a copy of the ARGUMENT/COUNTERARGUMENT WORKSHEET and fill in the box of part one. Please find both the pros and cons to the statement provided.

Lecture on argument design and counterargument.

Open the ARGUMENT & COUNTERARGUMENT LECTURE PPT.  Follow along as the teacher lectures on argument characteristics, evidence types, counter argument techniques and provide a framework for future argumentative essays.

Argument Design - writing activity

Open the second part of the ARGUMENT/COUNTERARGUMENT WORKSHEET. In this section, your group will expand on either the pro or the con side of the argument and write a full paragraph summarizing the side your group supports and present a counterargument to the other side.

Argument Design - editing the writing activity

Open the third part of the ARGUMENT/COUNTERARGUMENT WORKSHEET. In this section, your group will edit their paragraph from section II to include various specialized vocabulary to help guide the reader thought your argument. Once completed, share your paragraph with the instructor,

Logical fallacies - info gap activity

Open the LOGICAL FALLACIES TBI WORKSHEET & LOGICAL FALLACIES PPT. Each question corresponds to a logical fallacy and your group must look through the LOGICAL FALLACIES PPT to identify the fallacy and then write the type of fallacy in provided section in each question of the LOGICAL FALLACIES TBI WORKSHEET.

Unit 1.3 - Thesis Statments

Objectives: Students will be able to...

• Identify the criteria of a strong thesis statement
• Practice revising weak thesis statements
• Identify types of introduction hooks
• Understand the parts of an introduction
• Understand the parts of a conclusion
• Practice identifying parts of a conclusion

Part I - Warm up

In groups, draw a picture representing the ideas of what is a good thesis. Present your picture and ideas to the class.

Answer the questions and be prepared to discuss them as a group:

• What are the main components of a thesis?
• What separates a good thesis statement from a bad one?

Part II - Introductory lecture

Open the Thesis commandments powerpoint. Follow along the presentation as your instructor lectures on the components of a thesis statement.

Part  III - Thesis critique

Open the diagnostic exam that you wrote in Google docs. Find your thesis. Copy and paste it directly into the thesis-statement critique worksheet and the group thesis sharing worksheet. Please do not edit your thesis yet. If you aren't sure which sentence was your thesis, copy and paste the most likely sentence or two. Follow the instructions in the worksheet and provide feedback on your group members thesis.

Bonus: If there is time rewrite your thesis (based on your experience in the group activity) in the same box as your original in the group thesis sharing worksheet.