Transcript Tentative Unit 1 Schedule

Tentative Unit 1 Schedule
 Week 2
 1/20-Using library
databases (bring computer
to class)
 1/22- Intro to Exploratory
Narrative & Source
evaluations
 Week 3
 1/27-Research questions
and results
 Minor Essay 1 Due
 1/29-Strategies for
introductions
 Week 4
 2/3-Reflective writing and
body paragraphs
 2/5- Synthesizing sources
&First Draft peer review
 Week 5
 2/10- Strategies for
conclusions & grammar
 2/12-Editing, peer review,
& unit 1 wrap up
 2/15-Exploratory
Narrative Due
Today’s Goals
 Learn about the importance of and strategies for reflective
writing
 Understand the place of reflective writing in an exploratory
narrative
 Practice reflecting on your research experiences thus far
 Understand the theories behind synthesis writing
Reflective Writing as Experiential
Learning
Adapted from Using English for Academic Purposes
http://www.uefap.com/writing/genre/reflect.htm
Experiential Learning Cycle
 Concrete Experience- what you did or what happened
 Reflective Observation- think back on what happened in
the concrete experience, how it happened, how that made
you feel, and how you might do things differently next time
 Abstract Conceptualization- apply theories and concepts
(or ideas you learn in class) to your experience
 Active Experimentation- thinking about and planning
how you can take this knowledge to shape your future
experiences
Reflective Writing StagesExploratory Narrative
 Concrete Experience
 Performing your secondary research: finding sources, reading and
analyzing them
 Reflective Observation
 Thinking back on your research experiences. Writing about and
reflecting on your research findings.
 Abstract Conceptualization
 Apply theories we have learned in class. Consider how the authors
you read use rhetorical appeals and how you can use such appeals in
your own writing
 Active Experimentation Take what you have learned and what questions you still have
unanswered and use them to shape your subsequent research on
the topic
Reflective Writing Tips
 Use dialectic thinking: try to see and evaluate the issue from
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both sides. Try to empathize with viewpoints that would
normally be opposed to your own
Be honest: it’s ok to admit your mistakes or ignorance about
something or when something surprises you. This can actually
lead to better revelations or deeper understanding
Use first person voice: for reflective writing you need to write
about your own opinions, beliefs, proclivities, and prejudices.
This is a necessary part of reflective writing although many
students feel uncomfortable doing so at first.
Select the most important information; you do not need to
include every tiny piece of information you learned. Focus on the
most important points
Ask questions!
Journal Entry 7
 Focus: Reflect on research experiences
 At this point in the development of your exploratory narrative, you should have
selected a topic, formulated a research question, and evaluated at least two
sources on this topic.
 Take a few minutes to think about what this research experiences has been like
thus far. You may wish to consider:
 What did you know about your topic before conducting any research? Has this
knowledge changed at all?
 What was the experience of finding sources with the library databases like?
What about analyzing these texts?
 Was there any part of the experience you have found surprising or difficult?
Why?
 If you could start this research over from the beginning, what would you do
differently this time?
 What is your current viewpoint/stance on the issue? How have your past
experiences shaped this? DO you think further research will change it?
 Note: this entry is not asking you to focus on synthesizing your research results.
We will work on that next class.
Exploratory Narrative Body
Paragraphs
Each source should have one or more body paragraphs devoted
to it
1.
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You should explicitly name the article (and its author) that will
be evaluated
2.
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5.
This will be important for the structure and flow of the essay
Identify the thesis or main idea of each source
3.
4.
Do not feel limited to one paragraph per source. Most sources will
take 2-3 paragraphs
Quote this if possible
Sum up the most convincing, important, or rhetorically
significant point(s) of the source
Reflect on how that source has affected your own viewpoint or
understanding of the issue
Body Paragraphs
Closed Form Prose
Exploratory Narrative
 Clear topic sentences located
 Clear topics sentences near the
near the beginning of each
paragraph that summarize
what is to come
 Usually written in 3rd person
 Use sources in a rhetorically
effective manner to support
the topic sentences or thesis
 Transitions between ideas
from paragraph to paragraph
 i.e. “the second reason . . .”
beginning of each paragraph
that identify the source (and its
author) that will be evaluated
 Predominantly written in 1st
person (although some 3rd
person is acceptable)
 Summarizes the main ideas of
each source and how it has
affected your view
 Transitions follow and narrate
the research process
 i.e. “the next source I found in
my research . . . “
Group Activity- Reflective Writing
Analysis
 In your unit 1 groups
 Read through Accounts 1-4 of “The Park” and answer the
questions below:
1. Which of these accounts is a better example of reflective
writing? Why?
2. What questions does the writer ask herself in each
account?
3. How are the writer’s previous experiences (before the
event at the park) considered in each account?
4. How is the writer critical of her own actions and thoughts
in each account?
Source
 “The Park” passage adopted from
https://www.aub.edu.lb/ctl/activities/seminars/Docu
ments/2012-13/Reflearning.pdf
Synthesis
 What does this word mean?
 What experiences have you had with synthesis writing
in the past? In ENC1101?
Synthesis
 the combining of the constituent elements of separate
material or abstract entities into a single or unified
entity (opposed to analysis, ) the separating of any
material or abstract entity into its constituent
elements.
 the third stage of argument in Hegelian dialectic,
which reconciles the mutually contradictory first two
propositions, thesis and antithesis.
 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/synthesis
Hegelian Dialectic
 Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was an 18th-19th
century German philosopher.
 He believed that the pinnacle of human existence can
only be achieved through constant ideological conflict
and resolution.
 To him, this meant the struggle between opposing
ideals and the eventual synthesizing of those
opposites.
Hegelian Dialectic
 3 stages:
 Thesis: an idea or proposition
 Antithesis: the negation or opposite of the thesis
 Synthesis: the reconciliation of the thesis and
antithesis with a new idea that utilizes and considers
the truths of both. This will generate a new thesis and
start the dialectic over.
Synthesis in Writing
 Will usually have to work with more than two or three
ideas or texts at a time
 You do not have to change your stance to support an
opposing view. You should, however, look for common
ground or ideas that incorporate data/concepts from
both the thesis and antithesis
Group Activity: Synthesizing
Sources
 In your unit 1 groups, answer the following question:
What is your view on the government’s ability to
track people using their cell phones? When and why
should the government be able (or not) to do this?
2. If you consider your answer to question 1 to be your
‘thesis,’ what would the antithesis to this statement
be?
1.
Group Activity: Synthesizing
Sources
 Read through the articles “Mobile Phone Tracking
Scrutinized” and “Reach Out and Track Someone” on
A&B p. 219. Then answer the questions below.
3. What is the thesis or main idea of each article? Try to
take this directly from the text if possible.
4. What ideas do these texts have in common?
5. What ideas in these texts contradict or oppose one
another?
6. Generate a synthesis statement that takes in takes in
elements from your original idea and reconciles
(opposing) ideas from the two texts.
Homework
 Journal Entry 8: Source Evaluation 3
 Find the third source you will use for your exploratory narrative
 Read and analyze your third source; Sum up the argument it makes
in the journal entry as well as your reaction to reading the source.
Then play the Believing and Doubting Game to find the strongest
and weakest elements of the source. Finally, reflect on how the
source has changed your understanding of the research topic.
 Exploratory Narrative First Draft: (Due Thursday 2/5)
 The first draft of your Exploratory Narrative should include your
introduction as well as the body paragraphs for the first three
sources of your writing. It is strongly recommended that you rely on
your journal entries to aid you in writing these paragraphs.