Portfolio
Table of Contents:
Section One: Cover Letter
Section Two: Key Concepts
Section Three: Proposal and Outline. Rough Draft and Final Draft
Section Four: Peer Review Feedback
Section Five: Reflective and Final Letters
Section Six: Anno. Bib and Presentation Handout
First Section:
Second Section:
Part One: What is Research Writing?
The website that I used defined research writing as a “sum of sources.” These sources can be found using books, articles, websites and many more. A research paper also analyzes different perspective and opinions of the people writing them. Therefore, a research paper is made up of not only sources such as books and articles, but also the writer’s knowledge of the topic. When writing a research paper the writer should put their own perspective in the paper, their own opinions, and have proven facts to back that research up.
(http://www.esc.edu/esconline/across_esc/writerscomplex.nsf)
I believe that research writing is another way for someone to tell a story about a topic that they are passionate about. When writing a research paper the writer needs to have background knowledge of the topic, but they also need to find actual facts to support what they already know. Research questions are developed when someone explores a topic, learns about it, develops questions, and eventually answers these questions and explain and answers these questions in their paper.
When writing a research paper my goal is to define my objective and purpose of what my paper is about and what I want my readers to get out of my paper. I want to grasp the reader’s attention and keep it throughout the whole paper. When people are done reading my paper I want them to be able to walk away having learned something new. Knowing that someone has learned something new will make all the hard work and time that I put into the paper worth it because I got to teach someone something new about a topic that they might have ever thought of until then.
Part Two: Genres of Research Writing
After looking at a few websites about the different genres of research writing the website that I decided to use talked about how there are two different types of genres: when it comes to research writing. The two types of genres are “argumentative and analytical,” (Purdue). An argumentative style research paper is a persuasive paper. The topic chosen by the writer should be “debatable or controversial,” (Purdue). The second type of genre is analytical. An analytical paper will begin with the writer “asking a question on which they have taken a stance,” (Purdue). Throughout the paper the writer is responsible for evaluating the topic of choice.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/658/02/
I have narrowed my topics down to two. They are culture and societies. I have chosen these two topics because I want to learn more about how cultures affect personal relationships between two people. How people who are in a relationship with someone who come from two different cultures make it work despite their differences. I also want to learn more about what society thinks about integrated relationships and how the judge the people who are in those types of relationships.
When writing about these two topics I will probably use an argumentative style genre. I chose to use argumentative because I want people to realize that it is ok for people who are of different cultures to be in a relationship. That just because someone chooses to be with someone from a different culture does not mean they should be judged or treated any differently.
Reference List
Baker, J. R., & Brizee, A. (2010, January 08). Genre and the research paper. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/658/02/
Part 3: Reading Critically & Evaluating Sources
The first article “Critical Reading for Critical Writing” described critical reading as “being able to make judgments’ about how a text is argued,” (Knott). Critical reading allows the reader to look past the non-important information and focus on the important information related to your topic. When reading the document as the reader it is your job to examine what you are reading and “evaluate” the evidence. You want to make sure the document has “supporting evidence,” (Knott) that pertains to your topic.
The Second article that I found defined critical reading as when you are able to “read something with a goal and find a deep understanding of the material,” (Critical Reading). When reading something you want to analyze the content. You want to be able to “determine what the writer means, as opposed to what the written words actually say,” (Critical Reading). After you are done reading the document you want to be able to look back and reflect about what the writer was trying to tell say.
The next document was called “Writing for an Audience” written by Linda Flower. In this article Flower explained that as the writer you have you have “to be able to adapt your knowledge to the needs of the reader,” (Linda Flower). The writer has to be able to describe and explain what they are talking about with great details. This will help the reader better understand and visualize the point that you as the writer are trying to get across. The writer also has to keep in mind that the “needs” of the reader changes with every person. One reader might know more about the topic than the other. So as the writer you have to go into enough explanation to keep both readers interested.
The fourth document that I found pertaining to writing for an audience defined stated that it is important for the writer to determine who their audience is going to be. That “knowing your audience helps you to make decisions about what information you should include,” (Effective Writing Center). By knowing your audience it will allow the writer to know what kind of “supporting details,” (Effective Writing Center) they need to include in their paper. The audience will also be the influencing factor in the “tone” of your paper.
Reference List
Effective writing center: writing for an audience. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.umuc.edu/ewc/students/writ_aud.shtml
Fleming, G. (n.d.). Critical reading: what does it really mean. Retrieved from http://homeworktips.about.com/od/homeworkhelp/a/criticalreading
Flower, Linda. “Writing for an Audience.” Language Awareness: Readings for CollegeWriters. Ed. by Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000: 139-141.
Knott, D. (n.d.). Critical reading towards critical writing. Retrieved from http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/reading-and-researching/critical-reading
Part 4: Understanding Formatting (MLA/APA/CMS)
APA (American Psychological Association)
- Three main challenges:
- Supporting a thesis
- Citing your sources and avoiding plagiarism
- Using proper quotations.
- Used in most social science classed.
- When writing out your headers make sure to use the short version of your title.
- One inch margins.
- Double space throughout whole paper.
- If a quotation is longer than forty words make sure to indent one-half inch.
- Include abstract right after the title page. (Only if instructed to have one by the professor.)
- If you are including visuals make sure to label them with an arabic number and a clear title.
- Make sure you place the caption below the figure.
- When writing out the reference list use a “hanging indent.”
- Make sure the references are in alphabetic order.
Reference
Hacker, D. (2007). A Writer’s reference. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins.
APA Style Essentials
– Times Roman numeral size 12 font.
- Should include a title page, abstract and body.
– When a quotation is less than 40 words should be enclosed in quotations and put in the formal structure of the sentence.
- Double space after every punctuation mark.
- The abstract should be between 150-250 words.
- All sourced must be included in the reference list.
Reference
Degelman, D. (2009, November 21). Apa style essentials. Retrieved from http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.aspx?doc_id=796
After learning more about APA formatting I am starting to become more comfortable with it. It is definitely going to take some practice to get used to correctly citing my sources, but I feel more confident now than I did before. One thing that I learned was that when writing out a header for my papers; I need to use the title of my paper or at least a shorten version of my title. Learning how to properly cite the sources used when writing is very important because you have to give credit back to the author. It is important to give them credit because they are the ones the research about the topic that you are learning about.
Part 5:Creating a proposal and outline for a research paper
The purpose of a research proposal is to “convince others that you have a worthwhile research project,” (Personal Meaning). In the research proposal you need to outline what you are going to write. Making sure to put enough information in your proposal about what the readers can expect. This will give your audience a chance to gather insight about what you intend to write about and what they can expect to learn from it. All research proposals should answer the following questions: “ what you plan on accomplishing, why you want to write this paper, and how you plan are doing it,” (Personal Meaning). You want to make sure your ideas come across in a clear fashion and explain fully about what you plan on accomplishing by writing this paper.
http://www.meaning.ca/archives/archive/art_how_to_write_P_Wong.htm
“An outline is formal system used to think about and organize your paper,” (Univ. of Washington). There are two different kinds of outlines. The first outline is a topic outline. A topic outline is composed of short phrases. This type of outline is handy when you are dealing with a “number of different issues,” (Univ. of Washington). The second type is a sentence outline. When writing a sentence outline you use complete sentences. This outline is useful for when you are trying to “focus on a complex topic,” (Univ. of Washington). Both outlines consist of the same basic thing. They both need to identify the topic and identify the categories. Once you have identified the categories you want to identify the subcategories to provide support.
http://depts.washington.edu/psywc/handouts/pdf/outline.pdf
Reference List
How to make an Outline. (2005, April 06). Retrieved from http://depts.washington.edu/psywc/handouts/pdf/outline.pdf
Wong, P. T. (n.d.). How to Write a research proposal. Retrieved from http://www.meaning.ca/archives/archive/art_how_to_write_P_Wong
Part 6: Writing an Annotated Bibliography
An annotated bibliography allows the writer to “provide specific information about each source they have used,” (Annotated Bibliographies). It allows the writer to point out some information that will catch the reader’s eye and show them what they might want to look at when reading the article. By writing an annotated bibliography is will show the readers that as a writer you understood the research and what you were writer about. An annotated bibliography will explain the main points of the paper. It will provide the reader with “a point of view or prospective from which the work was written,” (Annotated Bibliographies).
There are five types of annotated bibliographies:
- Summary Annotations: They sum up the content of the paper. “They give an overview of the arguments addressed and note the conclusion,” (Annotated Bibliographies).
- Informative Annotation: Informative annotation summarizes “relevant” information.
- Indicative Annotation: Gives general information.
- Critical/evaluative: Evaluates not only the source, but also the author. It shows how the work may pertain to “particular field of study or audience,” (Annotated Bibliographies).
- Combination: Combines all elements of the four types of annotated bibliographies.
Annotated bibliographies summarize what you have written in your paper. They can help you with the introduction and literature reviews for your papers because they provide you with the necessary information that you are using from your research. Someone can tell if the sources for their annotated bibliography is useful by evaluating them. When researching a topic you always want to evaluate your sources to make sure they come from a reliable author.
Reference
Annotated bibliographies. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/annotated_bibliographies
Part 7: Understanding Audience
The first document was called “Writing for an Audience” written by Linda Flower. In this article Flower explained that as the writer you have you have “to be able to adapt your knowledge to the needs of the reader,” (Linda Flower). The writer has to be able to describe and explain what they are talking about with great details. This will help the reader better understand and visualize the point that you as the writer are trying to get across. The writer also has to keep in mind that the “needs” of the reader changes with every person. One reader might know more about the topic than the other. So as the writer you have to go into enough explanation to keep both readers interested.
The second document that I found pertaining to writing for an audience defined stated that it is important for the writer to determine who their audience is going to be. That “knowing your audience helps you to make decisions about what information you should include,” (Effective Writing Center). By knowing your audience it will allow the writer to know what kind of “supporting details,” (Effective Writing Center) they need to include in their paper. The audience will also be the influencing factor in the “tone” of your paper.
Reference List
Effective writing center: writing for an audience. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.umuc.edu/ewc/students/writ_aud.shtml
Fleming, G. (n.d.). Critical reading: what does it really mean. Retrieved from http://homeworktips.about.com/od/homeworkhelp/a/criticalreading
Flower, Linda. “Writing for an Audience.” Language Awareness: Readings for CollegeWriters. Ed. by Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000: 139-141.
Part 8: Drafting and Revising
Shitty First Drafts (Link Attached)
After reading this article is helped me out a lot when writing my paper. It let me realize that they paper does not have to be perfect the very first time that I write it. That it is ok to go back and rewrite and fix things. It calmed me down by telling me that whenever anyone writes a paper they always go back and rewrite it because no on can write a perfect paper the first time.
Part 9: Peer Review and Feedback
After completing the peer review projects I learned when editing a paper it is easier to have someone else read it for you. Whenever I read over and edit my papers I miss things, but when I have someone else read it they catch the things that I had missed. It’s nice to get someone else’s opinion on your paper. They are able to point out things that do not sound right or give you their opinion on what they would change if they were writing it.
When I got my paper back after it was peer edited I was happy with the feedback that I had received. The peer editor pointed out some mistakes I had made with grammar and some citation mistakes. It was nice to get someone else’s perspective about my paper. It was also nice to get some positive feedback and reassurance that I was on the right track.
I also enjoyed peer editing for someone else. It was nice to take a break from my paper and read someone else’s paper. I really liked reading about their research and what they were doing and it also once again reassured me that I was on the right track with my paper by reading what the other person was doing.
Part 10: Publishing Research
This article helped me out a lot when I was learning about how to publish my research to a journal. It explained everything that I needed to do before I published my paper. It told me everything that my paper should cover and what it shouldn’t. After reading this article I felt more comfortable about having to send in my research paper to a publication.
Publishing a Research Paper (Link Attached)
Section Three:
Proposal and Outline (Link Attached)
Rough Draft (Link Attached)
Final Research Paper (Link Attached)
Section Four:
Going into the first peer review I was a little nervous. I didn’t want to make the person that I was reviewing mad if I tried to fix things in their paper that i had found wrong. After reading through their paper a finding some mistakes I realized that I shouldn’t be nervous. The whole point of peer reviews is to point out mistakes or make suggestions about what they should change. I realized that in the long run it will only benefit the person. After all I was hoping that the person who was peer editing my paper would point out what they thought I shoud change or the mistakes that I had made.
Once I got my paper back from my peer reviewer I was pleased with the reponses I had gotten. Their were a couple grammatical errors, which is what I was expecting. My peer editor also pointed out some things in my paper that they thought I should switch around or take out to make my paper better. Overall my experience with peer editing was a good one. I was glad with the feedback that I got and it made me have more confidence in my paper.
Section Five:
Mid-term Refelctive Letter (Link Attached)
Final Relective Letter (Link Attached)
Section Six:
Anno. Bib. (Link attached)
Presentation Handout (Link Attached)
