This package includes Achieve and Loose-Leaf. This package includes Paperback and Spiral-Bound. This package includes Achieve and Spiral-Bound. Look Inside. Complete coverage of the research writing process Part 1, Joining the Conversation , introduces the concept of research writing as a social act. It helps students understand that research writing involves exploring conversations among writers and readers, narrowing their focus to a single conversation, and developing a research question to guide their inquiry.
Part 2, Working with Sources , establishes the importance of reading critically, evaluating sources, taking notes, engaging with and managing information, and avoiding plagiarism. Part 3, Collecting Information, helps students search for information using digital resources, print resources, and field research methods. Part 4, Creating Your Document , guides students as they develop their thesis, organize their information and ideas, frame their argument, develop an outline, draft their document, integrate source material, revise and edit their drafts, and design and present their work.
New to This Edition. Gary Leising, Utica College. Digital Options. E-book Read online or offline with all the highlighting and notetaking tools you need to be successful in this course. Achieve Achieve is a comprehensive set of interconnected teaching and assessment tools that incorporate the most effective elements from Macmillan Learning's market leading solutions in a single, easy-to-use platform.
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Instructor Resources You have a lot to do in your course. Acknowledgments With each edition of The Bedford Researcher, I have offered my thanks to my family — my wife, Jessica; my daughter, Ellen; and my son, Reid. I do so again, knowing how much easier it has been to write with their support, their patience, and their willingness to share their reactions to my ideas. I remain deeply grateful for the guidance and support I received from David Kaufer, Chris Neuwirth, and Richard Young, who helped me, in graduate school and in the many years since, to think critically and carefully about the relationships among rhetoric, pedagogy, and technology.
I offer thanks as well to my colleagues Sue Doe, Will Hochman, Lynda Haas, and Nick Carbone for their willingness to share ideas and offer support as I worked on this book. Their reactions, observations, and good ideas led to many of the improvements in this edition.
My development editor, Sherry Mooney, has offered steady and useful feedback during the planning and drafting of this edition and served as a brilliant organizer as we worked through copyedits and page proof.
I am grateful, once again, for the extraordinary design work of Claire Seng-Niemoeller. I am indebted as well to Karen Henry for her good advice and able leadership of the editorial team. And I am grateful for the hard work and good ideas of associate editor Jennifer Prince.
I am grateful as well to Edwin Hill, Leasa Burton, and Molly Parke for their support of The Bedford Researcher and for their thoughtful suggestions about the directions this new edition might take. Finally, I offer my thanks to the seven student writers who shared their work, their time, and their insights into their research writing processes with the readers of this book: Alexis Alvarez, Nicholas Brothers, Elizabeth Leontiev, Lauren Mack, Cori Schmidtbauer, Brandon Tate, and Josh Woelfle.
As I worked on this edition, their work served as a constant reminder that research writing is a process of continuous discovery and reflection. You surf the Web, text your friends, download music and videos, use e-mail, send instant messages, carry a mobile phone, watch television, read magazines and newspapers, listen to podcasts, view advertisements, attend public events, and meet and talk with others. Understanding how to work with information is among the most important writing skills you can have.
The primary goals of The Bedford Researcher are to help you learn how to: choose and learn about a topic read critically, evaluate, and take notes develop a research question, thesis statement, and line of argument collect and manage information develop, write, revise, and design an effective document 17 document sources of information Meeting these goals requires thinking about research writing in a new way.
Research writing is more than simply searching for and reporting information; it is a process of inquiry — of asking and responding to key questions. Instead of thinking of research writing as an isolated activity, think of it as a social act — a conversation in which writers and readers exchange information and ideas about a topic. Chapters 4 through 9 address reading critically, evaluating sources, taking notes, engaging with information and ideas, managing information, and avoiding plagiarism.
Chapters 10 and 11 discuss searching for information with digital resources, print resources, and field research methods. Chapters 12 through 18 focus on developing your thesis statement and line of argument; organizing and drafting your document; integrating sources; writing with style; and revising, editing, and designing your document.
As you read about these activities and carry them out in your own research project, keep in mind that they reflect a typical writing process — not a step-by-step recipe. Also keep in mind that the writing process seldom follows a straight line from choosing a topic to producing a polished document; most writers move back and forth among writing processes, rethinking their steps and revising their ideas as they work on their writing projects.
Whatever your process turns out to be, remember that the order you follow is far less important than adapting these 18 processes to the needs of your particular project. In the Text The textbook you are holding provides step-by-step guidance for writing research documents.
It includes clear descriptions of research writing strategies, examples, activities, documentation guidelines, and model citations. Color-coded tabs help you find information quickly. Key Questions begin each chapter and enable you to match your research writing needs to the material in the chapter. Checklists offer at-a-glance views of a specific research or writing process. Framing My Argument sections help you construct your argument one step at a time and use evidence skillfully.
They show how your argument is developed over the course of the entire research writing process, not just at the moment you compose your thesis statement. Information Literacy sections offer suggestions and identify opportunities as you find, evaluate, and integrate information from print, digital, and field sources. They address important, but lesser-known, facts about research and provide tips for using advanced resources.
Annotated examples make it easier for you to learn from the many illustrations and screen shots throughout the text. Annotations point out the features and processes at work in a document or tool to help you get the most out of the resources at hand. Tutorials in the book provide you with extra help for important research writing issues, such as developing a research question, evaluating websites, and integrating quotations. Quick Reference boxes at the end of every chapter give you a brief overview of steps to take before you move on.
Visit launchpadworks. Think of writing as a form of conversation Understand the rhetorical nature of writing situations Understand and manage your research writing processes 1b How can I approach an assignment? Consider your writing situation Generate ideas about potential topics Choose an appropriate topic 2 Exploring and Focusing 2a How can I explore my topic? Step 1: Create a plan to explore your topic Step 2: Discuss your topic with others Step 3: Conduct preliminary observations Step 4: Identify useful types of sources Step 5: Find sources 2b How can I focus on an issue?
Step 1: Identify conversations about issues in your topic Step 2: Assess your interest in the issues Step 3: Choose an issue 3 Developing Your Research Question 3a How can I develop my research question? Read with an attitude Distinguish between critical reading and evaluating Approach a source with your writing situation in mind Read promising sources more than once Develop a position on your research question 4b What strategies can I use to read actively? Skim for organization and content Mark and annotate sources Take notes 4c What should I pay attention to as I read?
Identify the genre Note illustrations Identify primary and secondary sources Identify main points Identify reasons and evidence Identify interpretive frameworks Identify new and hard-to-understand information Identify similarities and differences 5 Evaluating Sources 5a What factors should I use to evaluate a source? Evaluate relevance Evaluate evidence Evaluate the author Evaluate the publisher Evaluate timeliness Evaluate comprehensiveness Evaluate genre 5b Should I evaluate all types of sources in the same way?
Evaluate the relevance and credibility of digital sources Evaluate the relevance and accuracy of field sources 22 6 Taking Notes 6a Why should I take notes? Quote directly Paraphrase Summarize 6c How can I use my notes to improve my understanding of an issue?
Record your reactions and impressions Compare sources Classify sources Plan your document 7 Engaging with Information, Ideas, and Arguments 7a What should I know about academic writing?
Create a working bibliography Create an annotated bibliography 7c How can I summarize sources? Write a main-point summary Write a key-points summary Write an outline summary 7d How can I respond to sources? Explore ideas through informal writing Create a review of literature 7f How can I create a research proposal?
Unintentional plagiarism Intentional plagiarism Plagiarism in group projects 9b What are research ethics? Review your research plan and proposal Identify keywords and phrases Plan basic searches Plan advanced searches 10b How can I locate sources using digital tools? Search library catalogs Search databases Search the Web 24 Search media sites 10c How can I locate sources using print resources? Discuss your search plan with a librarian Visit the library stacks Browse periodicals Check reference works 11 Collecting Information with Field Research 11a When should I use field research methods?
Plan your interview Conduct your interview Analyze your results 11c How can I conduct an observation? Plan your observation Conduct your observation Analyze your results 11d How can I conduct a survey?
Plan your survey Conduct your survey Analyze your results 11e How can I engage in other forms of field research? Review your position statement Review your notes Consider your purpose and role Reflect on your readers 12b How can I develop an effective thesis statement? Choose reasons to support your main point Select evidence to support your reasons Decide how to appeal to your readers Decide how to address opposing arguments Check for logical fallacies 13b How can I organize my argument?
Choose an organizing pattern Review and arrange your evidence Create an outline 14 Drafting 14a How can I help my readers follow my argument? Work from an outline Create paragraphs that focus on a central idea Create paragraphs that use appropriate organizing patterns Create transitions within and between paragraphs Provide cues to keep your readers on track Integrate information from sources effectively 14b How can I write with style and engage my readers?
Call attention to an aspect of the issue Choose an appropriate strategy for your introduction 14d How can I use my conclusion to frame my issue? Reinforce your argument Select an appropriate strategy for your conclusion 15 Using Sources Effectively 15a How can I use sources to accomplish my purposes as a writer?
Introduce an idea or argument Contrast ideas or arguments Provide evidence for your argument Align your argument with an authority Define a concept, illustrate a process, or clarify a statement Set a mood Provide an example Amplify or qualify a point 15b How can I integrate sources into my draft?
Identify your sources Quote strategically Paraphrase information, ideas, and arguments Summarize Present numerical information Use images, audio, video, and animations 15c How should I document my sources? Quote, paraphrase, and summarize accurately and appropriately Distinguish between your ideas and ideas in your sources Check for unattributed sources in your document 16 Designing Documents 16a What role does design play in my document?
Understand design principles 27 Design for a purpose Design for your readers Design to address genre conventions 16b What design elements can I use? Use fonts, line spacing, and alignment Use page layout elements Use color, shading, borders, and rules Use illustrations 16c How can I design my document? Design an academic essay Design a multimodal essay Design an article Design a website 17 Revising and Editing 17a What should I focus on as I revise my document?
Consider your writing situation Consider your argument and ideas Consider your use and integration of sources Consider the structure and organization of your document Consider genre and design 17b What strategies should I use to revise? Save multiple drafts Highlight your main point, reasons, and evidence Challenge your assumptions Scan, outline, and map your document Ask for feedback 17c What should I focus on as I edit my document?
Focus on accuracy Focus on economy Focus on consistency Focus on style Focus on spelling, grammar, and punctuation 17d What strategies should I use to edit? Read carefully 28 Mark and search your document Use spelling, grammar, and style tools with caution Ask for feedback 18 Presenting Your Work 18a How can I make an oral presentation? Consider your purpose Consider audience expectations about design View a multimedia presentation 18c How can I create a poster presentation?
Consider your purpose and audience Consider audience expectations about design View a poster 18d How can I develop a portfolio? Consider your writing situation Select your materials Choose a publishing tool Design your portfolio V Documenting Sources 19 Understanding Documentation Systems 19a What is a documentation system and which one should I use?
Before you contribute to the conversation, listen carefully to what others are saying. By reading widely, talking with knowledgeable people, and making firsthand observations, you can gain the knowledge you need to add your voice to the discussion. How can I research and write with confidence? Think of writing as a form of conversation Understand the rhetorical nature of writing situations Understand and manage your research writing processes 1b.
How can I approach an assignment? Consider your writing situation Generate ideas about potential topics Choose an appropriate topic Getting started can be the hardest part of a research writing project. It explains how you can use your experiences in spoken and online conversations to gain confidence as a writer.
It provides an overview of research writing processes and project management strategies. And it discusses how to select, reflect on, and take a position on an appropriate topic. Even writers who are new to research writing can approach it confidently. That confidence is founded on the recognition that research writing is similar to something you already do well: engage in conversations with people who share your interests in a subject.
Your confidence will increase as you learn about the processes involved in research writing and the situations in which it takes place. It will grow as you gain an understanding of the role technology plays in writing of all kinds.
And it will become even stronger as you take ownership of your research writing projects. Think of Writing as a Form of Conversation Throughout this book, writing is treated as an activity similar to engaging in conversation. As a writer, the conversations you might join will vary widely, from discussions of popular and political issues to conversations about your profession or discipline to exchanges about historical and cultural issues.
Reflect on Your Experience in Conversations Think about the last time you were at a party, reception, or some other public gathering.
When you arrived, you probably walked around, said hello to friends, and listened in on several conversations. Before long, you likely joined a group that was talking about something you found interesting.
Instead, you listened for a few minutes and thought about what was being said. Perhaps you learned something new. Eventually, you added your voice to the conversation, other members of the group picked up on what you said, and the conversation moved along. Thinking of writing as a form of conversation allows you to build on skills you already possess.
In addition, because written conversations take place over much longer periods of time than spoken conversations do, you can use your conversational skills to far greater advantage. And you can explore the contexts — physical, social, and cultural — that will shape how your document is written and read.
Use Your Understanding of Conversations to Write Confidently Much like a spoken conversation, a written conversation involves an exchange of information, ideas, and arguments among readers and writers.
Instead of spoken words, however, the people engaged in the conversation communicate through written documents. Then they contribute to the conversation by writing their own document.
In turn, that document will be read by other participants in the conversation. If these participants are interested, concerned, or even offended by what another writer has added to the conversation, they might write their own documents in response. In this sense, a conversation among writers and readers becomes a circular process in which the information, ideas, and arguments shared through documents lead to the creation of new documents.
A research log can take many forms: a notebook a word processing file or a folder on a laptop or desktop computer a folder or binder a set of note cards notes taken on a smartphone or a tablet a voice recorder Although it might seem like extra work now, creating a research log as you begin your project will save time in the long run. You can also use Web resources to make progress on your research writing project, keep track of 35 sources, and decide how to use sources to develop and present your argument.
Yet it is. Of course, there are differences between the writing you do online and the writing you do in an academic essay. Despite these differences, you can build on your experiences as a writer in a wide range of settings. Some focus on politics, others on sports, and still others on issues in an academic discipline. Spend some time locating a conversation about a topic that interests you.
Use the following prompts to find the conversation. List a topic that interests you. Choose a newspaper or magazine or search for sources. Browse a newspaper or magazine or search for sources on a Web search site p. Identify sources that seem to address the topic. Skim each source p. Decide whether the sources are engaged in the same conversation. Ask whether the sources are addressing the same topic. Identify any agreements, disagreements, or differences in their approach to the topic.
Reflect on the conversation. Consider whether you might need to locate more sources to give you a fuller picture of the conversation. A writing situation is another name for rhetorical situation, a concept that has been studied for thousands of years.
The ancient Greeks, and in particular Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, contributed in important ways to our understanding of rhetorical situation. Viewing writing as a rhetorical act helps us understand how writers or speakers pursue their purposes, consider the needs and interests of their audiences, adapt to the conditions in which they address their audiences, and present, organize, or design their documents or speeches.
This book is based strongly on a rhetorical approach to writing. They will help you consider and reconsider your purpose throughout your research writing process. Writers Have Purposes, Roles, and Biases As is the case with spoken conversations, writers join written conversations for particular purposes: to inform, to analyze, to convince or persuade, to solve a problem, and so on.
In many cases, writers have more than one purpose, such as learning something about a subject while earning a good grade or a promotion. To accomplish their purposes, writers adopt roles within a conversation. A writer might explain something to someone else, in a sense becoming a guide through the conversation. Another writer might advance an argument, taking on the role of an advocate for a particular approach to an issue.
As in spoken conversations, these roles are not mutually exclusive. For example, a writer might create a website to inform readers about the potential benefits of geothermal power. In addition to providing information, that writer might also argue for increased reliance on this form of power.
Your purposes will be informed by a set of interests, experiences, knowledge, attitudes, values, and beliefs that shape your understanding of the conversation. Sometimes characterized as biases, these factors are better understood as the reasonable influence of knowledge and experience on your reactions to the information, ideas, and arguments you encounter.
As you consider your purposes and roles, reflect on the interests, experiences, and background you bring to your writing project. TABLE 1. Persuading involves getting them to take action. Mediating involves bringing readers into agreement on how to address an issue.
Readers Have Purposes and Biases Just as writers have purposes and biases, so do readers. Among other purposes, readers often want to learn about a subject, assess or evaluate ideas and arguments, or understand opposing perspectives. And like writers, readers are strongly affected by their own needs, interests, knowledge, experiences, values, and beliefs. As you craft your contribution to a written conversation, ask who your readers are likely to be.
Then reflect on their values and beliefs, determine what they probably know about your subject, and take into account their likely experiences — if any — with the subject. Ask what your readers need to know about a subject and what they might be interested in 39 knowing. Most important, ask why readers might want to read your document — and what might cause them to stop reading.
In short, attempt to understand and connect with your readers. Writing Builds on the Work of Others One of the most important ways in which writing situations resemble spoken conversations is their reliance on taking turns. In spoken conversations — at least in those that are productive — people take turns sharing their ideas. To move the conversation forward, speakers build on what has been said, often referring to specific ideas or arguments and identifying the speakers who raised them.
They show respect for the contributions made by others and help speakers align themselves with or distance themselves from other members of the conversation. Written conversations also build on earlier contributions. Writers refer to the work of other authors to support their arguments, provide a context for their own contributions, or differentiate their ideas from those advanced by other authors.
For example, a blogger concerned with new developments in the health care industry might conduct research on trends and use what she learns to inform readers about their implications. When writers use sources in this way, they provide citations to indicate that the information is provided by other authors and to help readers locate the sources should they wish to review them. Contexts Shape Writing Situations Writing is affected by shared social experiences, shared knowledge and history, work within particular disciplines and professions, and the physical and technological contexts in which documents are written and read.
Social contexts shape the relationships between writers and readers. Are they friends? Supervisor and employee? Instructor and student? Whatever the social dynamic, social context will influence how writers and readers approach the writing situation. The attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, , is one example of a historical event that has strongly affected the people of the United States, influencing much of what has been written in the popular press, in professional journals, and on the Web.
Disciplinary and professional contexts are the shared experiences of members of particular disciplines, such as chemistry or sociology. As disciplines develop over time, members of a discipline develop consensus about the kinds of documents, such as journal articles or grant proposals, that are best used to share information, ideas, and arguments.
Agreements also develop about how to document sources of information see pp. Physical and technological contexts include physical and temporal factors shaping the writing and reading of a document. Will your readers have time to read your document carefully? Will they read it in a quiet room, on a train, or in a coffee shop?
Will they read it in print, on a tablet or smartphone, or on a large computer screen? The answers to these questions 41 will affect both the kind of document you choose to write and the design of your document. Writing Situations Influence Genre Choices and Design Decisions Writers make choices about the genre — or type of document — and the design of their documents largely in response to physical, social, and disciplinary contexts.
Genres are general categories of documents. Opinion columns, academic essays, and blogs are all genres. So are scholarly articles and posts on social networking sites. Typically, genres develop to help writers accomplish a general purpose. Informative essays, for example, help writers demonstrate their knowledge to an instructor, while informative articles in newspapers, magazines, and newsletters help writers share information and ideas with their readers.
In most cases, genres are social inventions, shaped by the social, cultural, and disciplinary contexts from which they emerge. When writers and readers form a community — such as an academic discipline, a professional association, or a group that shares an interest in a particular topic or activity — they begin to develop characteristic ways of communicating with one another.
As the needs and interests of a community change, genres evolve to reflect those needs and interests. Academic essays, for example, might begin to make greater use of color and illustrations. In other cases, a single genre, such as websites, might evolve into several more specialized genres, such as blogs, social networking sites, and news sites.
Design — or more specifically, document design — is the use of visual elements such as fonts, colors, page layout, and illustrations to enhance the effectiveness of written documents. A well-designed chart, for example, can be far more effective at conveying complex information to a reader than even the most clearly written paragraph can. Similarly, the emotional impact of a well-chosen illustration, such as a photograph of a starving child or a video clip of aid workers rushing to help victims of a natural disaster, can do far more than words alone to persuade a reader to take action.
Writing Situations Present Limitations and Opportunities Each writing situation presents a writer with limitations and opportunities. You might be required to use a particular documentation system or expected to produce a document of a specific length. You might also find yourself presented with opportunities, such as access to useful databases or experts on your topic.
Recognizing the limitations and opportunities associated with your writing situation can help you work more effectively, efficiently, and confidently.
Understand and Manage Your Research Writing Processes Research writing involves learning about a topic, taking a position on that topic, and sharing your position with your readers. Understanding how to carry out and manage the processes involved in research writing will help you write with confidence. Working Together Analyze a Writing Situation Work together with your classmates to analyze a writing situation. Generate a list of documents that members of the group have written recently.
Then choose one and analyze its writing situation. To conduct your analysis, respond to the following prompts. Describe the document in enough detail to allow other members of the class to understand its main point. Identify the genre and describe its design features.
Why did he or she write it? What did he or she hope to gain by writing it? Describe the people who might have been expected to read the document, and list their purpose or purposes for reading it. How would their reading of the document have been shaped by their needs, interests, knowledge, experiences, values, and beliefs? Identify the sources of information, ideas, and arguments used in the document. Reflect on the potential requirements the writer might have faced.
View Research Writing Processes as Flexible and Overlapping Writing processes are best understood as a set of related activities that writers engage in over the course of a writing project. It is rare to see writers carrying out these activities in precisely the same way. In fact, few writers use exactly the same process each time they work on a project.
Instead, they assess their writing situation and adapt their writing and research processes to fit that situation. To make that judgment, however, requires a thorough understanding of your options. Figure 1. Project management strategies include setting aside time to work on the project, deciding when and in which order you should carry out various research writing processes, deciding how to manage the information you collect see Chapter 8 , and monitoring your progress on the project.
Time management is particularly important to the success of a project. As you begin thinking about your research writing project, consider creating a project timeline. A timeline can help you identify important milestones in your project and determine when you need to reach them. The steps in your process might be different, of course, but many research writing projects follow this general process. As you create your timeline, keep in mind any specific requirements of your assignment, such as handing in a first draft, revised drafts, and so on.
The number of apps, software programs, devices, and services that are relevant to research writing grows at a steady pace, offering new ways of accessing information, composing documents, and designing and distributing our work.
These new writing resources are likely to have an effect on how and what you write. You can identify them by the Information Literacy icon. Sometimes this investment comes naturally. You might be interested in your topic, committed to achieving your purposes as a writer, intrigued by the demands of writing for a particular audience, or looking forward to the challenges of writing a new type of document, such as a website or a magazine article.
At times, however, you need to create a sense of personal investment by looking for connections between your interests and your writing project. To take ownership, ask yourself how your project might help you pursue your personal, professional, or academic interests. Think about how the project might help you meet new people or learn new writing or research strategies.
Or look for unique 47 challenges associated with a project, such as learning how to develop arguments or use document design techniques more effectively. Your goal is to feel that you have a stake in your research writing project by finding something that appeals to your interests and helps you grow as a researcher and writer. Research writers in academic and professional settings often work in response to an assignment. To get started on an assignment, consider your writing situation, generate ideas about potential topics, and choose the most promising topic.
Featured Writers Discussions throughout this book are illustrated by seven featured writers — real students who crafted a variety of research projects, including traditional essays, a multimodal essay, and a website. You can learn from these real-life examples as you plan and conduct your own research and draft and revise your own document. She explored the general topic of competitive sports and women before refining her topic to the use of steroids by female teenaged athletes.
You can read her essay on p. He supported his analysis and argument with published sources and interviews. You can read his essay on p. War on Drugs on Coca Farmers in South America Elizabeth wrote an argumentative research essay for her composition course. She explored the general topic of the war on drugs and then joined a conversation about the effects of U.
You can read her research essay on p. You can see slides from her essay on pp. You can read her essay in the Palmquist LaunchPad Solo. Widely known as fracking, its use had become an important topic of discussion in his community.
You can view his website in the Palmquist LaunchPad Solo. Consider Your Writing Situation Your assignment will provide important clues about what your instructor and your other readers will expect. To uncover those clues, ask yourself the following questions about your research writing situation. Who are my readers and why would they read my document? Your assignment might identify your readers, or audience, for you. If you are writing a research project for a class, one of your most important readers will be your instructor.
You are also likely to have additional readers, such as your classmates, people who have a professional or personal interest in your topic, or if your project will be published in print or online, the readers of a particular newspaper, magazine, or website. If you are writing in a business or professional setting, your readers might include supervisors, customers, or other people associated with the organization.
In some cases, you might be asked to define your own audience. As you consider possible topics, ask yourself which subjects these readers would be most interested in learning about. Featured writer Cori Schmidtbauer, for example, would probably not have written about the work of William Shakespeare if her target audience had been the readers of a magazine such as PC World or Street Rod. Your topic should interest you.
An appropriate topic will keep you motivated as you carry out the work needed to complete your research project successfully. One of the most important things you can do as a research writer is to make a personal connection with the topic. To make that connection, look for topics that can help you pursue your personal, professional, and academic interests.
Readers are influenced by their interest in a particular topic, their knowledge of the topic, and their values and beliefs. Assignments often specify the type of document — or genre — you will be writing. You might be asked to write essays, reports, websites, articles, letters to the editor, multimedia presentations, or any of a number of other genres.
The genre that is assigned will have an impact on the kinds of topics you choose. For example, consider the differences among the topics addressed in articles in newsmagazines such as Time, the topics addressed in scholarly journals in biology, and the topics addressed on websites published by the U.
Department of Education. Genre will also affect your decisions about the design of your document. To better understand the relationships among genre, design, and topic, review the research essay written by featured writer Alexis Alvarez, the website developed by featured writer Brandon Tate, and the multimodal essay written by featured writer Lauren Mack.
As you reflect on potential topics for your research writing project, keep in mind the type of document specified in your assignment. Assignments often give important clues about the contexts — or settings — in which a document will be read. Contexts range from the immediate shared experiences of readers and writers to shared cultures, histories, and disciplines to the physical settings in which documents are written and read p. For students, one of the most important social and cultural contexts shaping their written work is academic life itself, that complex mix of instructors, fellow students, classes, tests, labs, and writing assignments that you negotiate on a daily basis.
A role is a way of relating to your readers. The roles you take on will reflect your purpose, your understanding of your readers, and the type of document you plan to write. As you consider which topics might interest you, think about how you plan to relate to your readers.
Some topics will be more appropriate for an 53 assignment that asks you to interpret an object, an event, or a process for your readers, while others will be more appropriate for assignments that ask you to inform or persuade or solve problems. For a list and explanation of the roles you might adopt, see Table 1. The requirements of your assignment, the limitations you face as you work, and the opportunities you can capitalize on will affect your ability to work on your research project.
Requirements and Limitations If you are writing your research project for a class, examine the requirements of your assignment: type of document required length due date number and type of sources digital, print, and field suggested or required resources, such as a library catalog or database requirements about the organization and structure of your document title page, introduction, body, conclusion, works cited list, and so on documentation system such as MLA, APA, Chicago, or CSE intermediate reports or activities such as thesis statements, notes, outlines, and rough drafts Tutorial How do I analyze the audience for a research writing assignment?
Learn about your readers by looking for clues about their needs, interests, and expectations. In this essay, you will write a public response — an article or essay directed to a specific publication — for readers who are interested in the issue you analyzed in your last portfolio.
To accomplish this goal, you will: a assess the writing situation surrounding the issue; b collect information from a variety of sources, including written texts, personal experience, and, if appropriate, field research; c evaluate your sources to choose those that best support your argument; and d make a sufficiently narrow argumentative claim and support that claim with sound reasoning and evidence.
You should address your article or essay to readers of a publication that has published work about your issue. You will need to analyze the publication, its readers specifically, their needs, interests, knowledge, experiences, values, and beliefs , and the writing situation that has shaped discourse about this issue. In general, your audience is likely to expect you to thoroughly explain the points you are making and to support your argument using appropriate forms of evidence.
In addition, it is likely that your audience will expect you to use a reasonable tone, to respect your readers and sources, and to avoid slang. Your readers are also likely to expect you to acknowledge and cite your sources in a manner consistent with other sources published by your target publication.
You might also face limitations, such as lack of access to information or lack of time to work. Determining your requirements and limitations will help you weigh the potential drawbacks of a topic. You might find that you need to narrow the scope of your topic significantly given your time and page limit. Opportunities Sometimes writers get so wrapped up in the requirements and limitations of the assignment that they overlook their opportunities.
As you think about your topic, ask yourself whether you can take advantage of opportunities such as: 55 access to a specialized or particularly good library personal experience with and knowledge about a topic access to people who are experts on a topic For example, Alexis Alvarez thought about her personal experiences and those of her friends before deciding to focus on the impact of competitive sports programs on adolescent girls.
Generate Ideas about Potential Topics You can use prewriting activities such as brainstorming, freewriting, looping, clustering, and sentence starters writing prompts in which you fill in the blanks to generate ideas about potential topics. Brainstorm Brainstorming involves listing ideas as they occur to you.
This list should not consist of complete sentences; in fact, brainstorming is most successful when you avoid censoring yourself. Brainstorming sessions are usually conducted in response to a specific question. Some of my connections from my internship at the New England Aquarium would be great resources for my research. The documentary film about the ocean that I worked on last summer also sparked my interest in the topic and would also provide good background information.
My Research Project 56 Generate Ideas by Brainstorming In your research log, brainstorm responses to the following questions. What do I want to accomplish with this project? What interests me personally about this project?
What interests me academically about this project? Who are my readers?
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