WRTG391 all Writing Assignments and Discussions – 2017

DISCUSSIONS

 

<pstyle=”box-sizing: border-box;=”” margin:=”” 0px=”” 10px;=”” color:=”” rgb(51,=”” 51,=”” 51);=”” font-family:=”” “helvetica=”” neue”,=”” helvetica,=”” arial,=”” sans-serif;=”” font-size:=”” 14px;=”” background-color:=”” rgb(255,=”” 255,=”” 255);”=””>Week 1 discussion

 

DQ1 Preparing for the Summary of Research Findings

Your first writing assignment in WRTG 391 will be a Summary of Research Findings. Please watch the video– How to Read and Comprehend Scientific Research Articles: Summary of Research Findings. The video is linked to in the Content for this week. In addition, please read over the Template for Taking Notes on Research Articles.

Respond to this discussion topic by answering the following questions.

1. Name three strategies that you use to motivate yourself to overcome difficulties when learning and researching.

2. In your opinion, what is the most important step to take when reading research articles? According to the material you’ve watched and read, what is the most important step to take when reading research articles?

3. What obstacles make finding “meaning” difficult when reading a research article? What suggestions from the video and the template will help one to overcome these obstacles to meaning?

4. After reviewing the topics possible to work with in the Proposed Literature Review Topic Discussion Post, please reply here what research topic as specifically as possible do you think that you will focus on for this semester’s work (If you are in the process of obtaining approval on your topic please just do your best to state what topic at this time you are most interested in) ? Why?

5. After watching the first two library tutorials in the Week 1 submodule, please find two articles on your chosen research topic for the literature review and all coursework in the class (please be sure I have approved it first which will be provided in the “Proposed Literature Review” discussion in Week 1) that review and give the findings of a research study. In responding to this discussion topic, give the author(s), the title of the article, and a brief one- or two-sentence description of the research study and its findings.

The activity in this last task will help you get started on your Summary of Research Findings, which is writing assignment #1.

 

DQ2

Welcome to WRTG 391! Please introduce yourself to the rest of the class. In your introduction, please state why you are taking WRTG 391, something about your hobbies, where you live, and a little bit about why it is important to you to develop research and writing skills better.

First impressions are very important so be sure to proofread your work before posting, I will start things off by stating a few basics about myself.

 

I am from Vienna/Oakton, Virginia originally. I rode horses competitively growing up through college which was a big passion for me. I love London and would live there if possible. I am working on a PhD focusing on the successes and challenges of 40 and above-age learners who are pursuing their four-year degrees. I live in Burtonsville, , have a husband and two spoiled cats, and have been teaching writing and English in higher education for the past 15 years.

Please post your introduction here by Friday, March 17 by midnight, and respond to one classmate by Sunday, March 19 by midnight and among the information you provide in that post, please ask them one question regarding their posting which will help foster the getting acquainted process all the more.

 

DQ3 Proposed Literature Review Topic

Please review the Assignment #3 information below and post a short paragraph that states which topic and subtopic. For example, if interested in #1(a)) for your literature review you would want to provide a couple sentences about what your topic is of interest and what you hope to learn through your research about this topic overall.

Choosing a Technological Transformations Topic:

Below are the four main topics for the literature review.

1. Review the literature on the impact of the Internet on information literacy

and library skills.

For example, you might review the literature on one or more of the following.

These are just examples. Many approaches are possible for this topic.

a. The impact of the Internet on plagiarism in student papers.

b. The impact of the Internet on research methods among students.

c. The impact of Wikipedia and other web 2.0 applications on the use of

information.

2. Review the literature on the impact of technology on the health care field.

For example, you might review the literature on any one or more of the

following. These are just examples. Many approaches are possible for this topic.

a. The impact of a particular technological development on health care costs.

b. The implications of maintaining a nationwide health care electronic database

of every patient’s medical records.

3. Review the literature on the impact of assessment and measurement on

education.

For example, you might review the literature on any one of the following. These

are just examples. Many approaches are possible for this topic.

a. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and the use of measurement in its

assessments.

b. The use of placement exams for entrance into colleges and universities.

c. The use of placement exams for enrollment into entry-level writing and

mathematics courses in colleges and universities.

d. The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) movement in

education.

4. Review the literature on the impact of technology on a field of study or topic

of your choice.

This option represents a more general approach to the assignment.

Some examples might be the following. These are just examples. Many

approaches are possible for this topic.

a. The impact of mobile devices on cybersecurity

b. The impact of the Internet on the field of advertising

c. The impact of cloud computing on a particular business field

d. The impact of the Internet in an area of communication studies

e. The impact of the Internet on global marketing strategies

f. The impact of a particular type of technology on health care

g. The impact of technology on education in a particular field of study

h. The impact of technology at a particular time in history for a particular

country or region.

You will be following this topic throughout the course, using it to develop a Summary of Research Findings, to create a critical Annotated Bibliography, to synthesize a Literature Review, and to write a final Niches and Gaps essay.

 

 

 

Week 2 discussion

DQ1 An Outline of the Writing Assignments in WRTG 391

In the Week 1 checklist, you found a link called, “Video–On WA#1 Summary of Research Studies,” which outlines and provides directions for completing the first formal writing assignment.

The video will also discuss methods for assessing sources critically. You will use your analytic, critiquing skills to develop a Summary of Research Findings. The Summary of Research Findings assignment asks you to look closely at several sources and to assess them using specific criteria: source citation, definitions/key terms, focus of study, methodology, findings, and personal reflections.

Please watch the video introducing the WA#1: The Summary of Research Findings and read the description of the WA#1 formal assignment.

After watching the video a few times, please answer the following questions:

1. What aspect of the WA#1 assignment strikes you as the most challenging? Why?

2. What skills will a student have to employ to successfully complete WA#1?

3. How will those skills benefit a student when completing the rest of the formal writing assignments in WRTG 391: WA#2 Critical Annotated Bibliography, WA#3 Summary of Research Sources, and WA#4 Niches and Gaps Essay? (You may need to read the descriptions of those assignments to help you to answer this question.)

If not, please describe why you think there is not a logical progression between two or more assignments.

Please write a paragraph of 5-10 sentences in responding.

 

 

DQ2 Practice in Writing a Critical Annotated Bibliography

Your second writing assignment in WRTG 391 will be a Critical Annotated Bibliography.

After you have watched both of the following videos:

-Video on WA #2 — Approaching the Critical Annotated Bibliography

and

-Video tutorial — How to Write an Annotated Bibliography

Please perform the following tasks:

Please access the article, “The CSI Effect at University: Forensic Science Students’ Television Viewing and Perceptions of Ethical Issue,” by Roslyn Weaver, Yenna Salamonson, Jane Koch, and Glenn Porter. Here is the article also also: “The CSI Effect”

This article is in the e-reserves section of your class. You can access the article by taking the following steps:

Click Content

Select Class Resources

Select eReserves

Select the icon for eReserves in the middle of your page.

In the list of items that appears, locate the article and download it.

After accessing the article, imagine that this is one of your articles for your Critical Annotated Bibliography. Please complete the following in responding to this discussion thread:

1. List the article in APA format, as the second video describes.

2. Write a 150-to-200-word summary/critique of the article in which you not only summarize the article but also note what is scholarly and strong about the source. Please refer to the article “How to Write an Annotated Bibliography” here King-How to help you in evaluating the strengths in this source, using two terms from the list we will have reviewed in class from this article in the latter sentences of your annotation.

Here is a good sample of correctly formatted annotated entries as well: Sample Critical Annotated Bibliography 2017 to help give you a boost.

In addition, mention whether it will be a possible article for Writing Assignment #3.

Again, you are not necessarily using this article in your Critical Annotated Bibliography. However, this exercise is designed to help you become familiar with listing a source in APA format and with writing a critical annotation for it.

Please also respond to one classmate using 1+1 feedback which is explained in the Week 0 submodule by Sunday, March 26 by midnight, providing one compliment on one aspect of the student’s post that is noteworthy and one question on an aspect of the post that you feel would help to inquire about more or make a suggestion on some aspect of the post that you feel you can make a suggestion about to help in some way (i.e. APA format of the student’s citation).

 

DQ3 Library Exercise #1

This discussion thread is designed to help you become familiar with OneSearch. OneSearch is a service that is available through ’s Library and Information Services website. It allows a user to locate scholarly articles and other resources through a single search engine.

Please watch Library Tutorial #1.

Then respond to this discussion thread by answering the following question and completing the following task:

1. What topic are you considering for your Critical Annotated Bibliography (and all the coursework in 391)? In other words, on what general area of interest are you going to locate 12 scholarly articles?

2. Find one article for your Annotated Bibliography using the tips mentioned in the tutorial. Then list the source in APA format and write your summary/critique of 150-200 words using the format overviewed in class with the “How to Write an Annotated Bibliography” article to provide two terms at the latter end of the annotation that assess its scholarliness. Here is a Sample Critical Annotated Bibliography 2017 also to help with the format.

 

 

Week 3 discussion

DQ1 Library Exercise #2

This discussion thread is designed to help you become familiar with OneSearch. OneSearch is a service that is available through ’s Library and Information Services website. It allows a user to locate scholarly articles and other resources through a single search engine.

Please watch Library Tutorial #2.

Then respond to this discussion thread by answering the following question and completing the following tasks:

1. Now that you have perused various articles on a topic using OneSearch, has your topic changed or become more focused in any way? If so, please describe how it has changed. If not, please state what your topic is again.

2. Find another article for your annotated bibliography, this time using subject terms, as Tutorial #2 describes. List the subject terms you used.

3. List the source in APA format and write your summary/critique of 150-200 words using the format reviewed in class providing two terms from the list in the “How to Write an Annotated Bibliography” in the latter sentences of the annotation to assess the scholarliness of the source. Here is a Sample Critical Annotated Bibliography 2017 as well to help with the format needed overall. Please do not attach a document but type in your entry into the discussion box.

After completing this exercise, you will have completed two annotations for your critical annotated bibliography. You are on your way to writing a successful critical annotated bibliography.

 

DQ2- Library Exercise #3

This discussion thread is designed to help you become familiar with OneSearch. OneSearch is a service that is available through ’s Library and Information Services website. It allows a user to locate scholarly articles and other resources through a single search engine.

Please watch Library Tutorial #3.

Then respond to this discussion thread by completing the following tasks and answering the following questions:

1. Select two different additional databases on the right-hand side of the OneSearch interface, as the video tutorial describes. What additional databases did you choose? Why did you choose these particular databases?

2. Did you find any additional potential articles for your research? If so, please post the name of the article and why you feel it is useful to you. If not, please describe the types of articles you found through this new method and why you did not feel they had the potential to add to your research.

Please also provide one response to one of your classmates by Sunday, April 2 by midnight using 1+1 feedback (making a suggestion on their annotated bibliography format for improvement in a helpful way is a good idea here).

 

 

 

Week 4 discussion

DQ1 Analyzing the Results of Two Research Studies

This discussion task is designed to help you analyze some research studies on the topic on which you will be writing WA #3.

To complete this task, you will read over the following two articles:

Dante E. Mancini, “The “CSI Effect’ in an Actual Juror Sample: Why Crime Show Genre May Matter.”

Janne A. Holmgren and Judith Fordham, “The CSI Effect and the Canadian and the Australian Jury.”

To access the articles, please take the following steps:

click Content

select Class Resources

select eReserves

select the icon for eReserves in the middle of your page.

in the list of items that appears, locate the articles and download them.

After you find these two articles, please read them over and complete the following for each one:

List the source in APA format

List key terms in the article

Describe the focus of the study

Describe the methodology the author(s) used

Summarize the study’s findings

Write your reflections on the article itself. Comment on whether you found the study difficult to interpret, whether you understood the methodology, or other items that might be of interest to your fellow classmates.

This task will help you become more familiar with finding research studies on your topic, reading them over, gleaning the main points of them, and summarizing their findings. These skills will be helpful as you continue to research for WA#3.

 

DQ2 Preparing for the Literature Review

Your third writing assignment in WRTG 391 will be a synthesis of sources essay, often called a literature review.

 

Please watch video on WA #3 — approaching the synthesis of sources essay. Then complete the following task.

Imagine that you are working for department within a large company. The manager of your department is considering allowing workers in your department to telework, in other words, to work from home.

However, your manager is not sure what to expect from this possible change.

She is not sure what the advantages, pitfalls, unexpected issues, etc. are of allowing teleworking. For example, she is not sure whether workers become less productive because they will be working from home and not supervised. She also considers the possibility that workers will become more productive because they won’t have to worry about traffic and parking. They won’t have to take large amounts of time off to get children to a doctor’s appointment, to see a doctor themselves, to take care of errands, etc. It is possible that working from home will improve productivity.

Other questions abound in her mind. For example, how many days a week should the workers be allowed to telework? Should they be limited to one day? Two days? Or should they be unlimited to telework as many days as they would like per week?

In addition, she is not sure if everyone should be allowed to telework or if perhaps only people in certain positions should be allowed to telework. For example, she knows that the janitor cannot telework. His job could not be done at a distance. But some individuals could telework, as their jobs involve meetings and other functions that could be accomplished at a distance.

Overall, your manager is somewhat at a loss on this issue.

Your manager has asked you to review the literature on teleworking. She has asked that you submit a literature review to her next month on the topic of teleworking.

From what you have gleaned in this class about what a literature review is, what is your manager asking you to do?

Does she want a proposal that supports a new teleworking arrangement?

Does she want a persuasive paper that takes a stand against teleworking?

Or does she want something entirely different from those two options?

 

 

 

Week 5 discussion

DQ1 Developing Categories for the Literature Review

Here are lots of resources to help students understand the Literature Review. Please browse these resources and then complete the discussion post below.

The article by Ted Zorn and Nittaya Campbell, “Improving the Writing of Literature Reviews through Literature Integration Exercise” — this article is available in the e-reserves section of this class (and for those of you in the Week 4 Face-to-Face class I handed this out). To access the article, please take the following steps:

click Content

select Class Resources

select eReserves

select the icon for eReserves in the middle of your page.

in the list of items that appears, locate this article and download it.

The tutorial from The University of North Carolina on writing literature reviews. It is linked to at the top of the Content for this week.

The tutorial from ‘s Effective Writing Center on writing the literature review. It is linked to at the top of the Content for this week.

Task:

After reviewing the material on the Literature Review posted above, please return to your annotated bibliography and begin developing “categories” to help you to organize your sources. Post one category below and list several sources that might fill that category. Remember that some sources may fall into more than one category.

Please respond generously to at least one of your fellow classmates using 1+1 feedback format of providing one compliment on an aspect of the post that is strong or noteworthy and why and providing one suggestion on how the content in the post could be stronger perhaps in some way with the possible themes the student is brainstorming about their topic.

 

DQ2 Visual Mapping — Applying the Spider Diagram

You can use a “ Spider Diagram” to help you to structure your discussion of sources in The Literature Review as well as to brainstorm the niches and gaps in the research literature. A spider diagram is a visual tool usually used for planning your writing. However, you can also use it for evaluating and thinking about a topic in detail.

 

NOTE: Embedded here below are some excellent examples of previous Spider Diagrams for a boost.

Lindahl_visualmap

Sample Student Spidergram

Print out your Literature Review notes and grab a blank piece of paper.

For more information on the Spider Diagram, please visit the link at the top of this week’s Content, Spider Diagrams: How and Why They Work.

Task :

Write your idea/title/topic/thesis in the center of a piece of paper. Draw a circle around it. For the purposes of this exercise, you will use the topic of your Literature Review.

Draw a “leg” from the central “body” of your Literature Review topic towards the top right hand corner of the page. Label this “leg” with the first topic/category that you dealt with in your Review.

Add more legs moving clockwise around the page until all the sections have been included, with the final one being somewhere near the top left of the page.

Now divide each “leg” up into smaller “legs” with all the points that you made in each section. (Again work clockwise from the top left so that the sequence of ideas is maintained).

Finally, please be sure that one section is devoted to identifying any gaps or niches in the research literature in your synthesis of sources essay (literature review), or WA#3.

You may have to redraw your spider diagram several times until you find a structure that works for you. Make sure that you find a proposal structure that suits the needs of your Niches and Gaps paper. Please post your spider diagram below.

Respond to this discussion topic with one paragraph describing how this task might have helped you or why it did not help you in organizing your thoughts for WA#3.

 

Week 6 discussion

DQ1 Synthesizing Sources — Four Movie Reviews of “Steve Jobs

* After you complete your post due this Friday, April 21 by midnight, please be sure to post to one classmate of your choosing (preferably who has not received a response) and provide feedback explaining what is noteworthy about their post and why in a sentence regarding the classmate’s synthesis process overall.

This week , you are reading four movie reviews of the movie Steve Jobs. The reviews are from Ann Hornaday, Rex Reed, Benjamin Lee, and Anthony Lane.

 

After perusing the four movie reviews, please complete the following tasks:

The four reviewers do not agree on their evaluation of the acting in the film.

1. First, analyze all four reviewers and, for each reviewer, write at least one summary sentence describing what the review says about the acting in the film. In addition, for each reviewer, quote the reviewer at least one time to demonstrate the sentiment he or she expresses about the acting.

Ann Hornaday-

Summary statement:

Quote from this reviewer to support the summary statement:

Rex Reed-

Summary statement:

Quote from this reviewer to support the summary statement:

Benjamin Lee-

Summary statement:

Quote from this reviewer to support the summary statement:

Anthony Lane –

Summary statement:

Quote from this reviewer to support the summary statement:

2. Then, write three or four short paragraphs that synthesize all four reviewers and the points they make on the acting in the film. Remember, when synthesizing, you don’t simply list what each author says about the topic. You write about the issue of acting in the film and integrate the points of all four reviewers into that analysis.

You could group authors into categories, if possible. For example, consider the reviewers that tend to praise the acting and write about them in a paragraph or two. Then consider the reviewers that did not like the acting and write about them in a paragraph or two. Following this analysis, you might write a concluding paragraph that summarizes all four reviewers’ views on the acting.

 

DQ2 Analyzing a Literature Review, Part I

This discussion thread is designed to help you see how a synthesis of sources essay, or literature review, is organized.

 

Please download the article, “Beyond Frequency: Perceived Realism and the CSI Effect,” by Evelyn Maeder and Richard Corbett. The article is available in the e-reserves of your class.

On pages 84-85, the authors provide an introduction to the research study they conducted. You can read this section if you would like to. However, for this discussion thread, please read from page 85 “(“The CSI effect defined”) to page 94 (up to the section entitled “Method”).

Then answer the following questions:

1. In the first section (“The CSI effect defined”), do the authors ever give you their opinion on the CSI effect? How do they support their definition and their expansion on the definition? How many different sources do they cite in this section?

2. From pages 86-88, the authors discuss lawyers, police officers, judges, and community members. In this section, do the authors ever give you their opinion on any of the issues discussed?

3. Examine the section entitled “Verdicts” (pp. 90-92). How do the results from the study by Shelton et al. differ from the results of the study by Kim, Barak, and Shelton? How do the results of the study by Baskin and Sommers differ from the results of other studies?

4. As a result of having read this article, please write a few sentences about what you might have learned about a) synthesizing sources or b) the CSI effect.

 

Week 7 discussion

Analyzing a Literature Review, Part II

This discussion thread is designed to further help you see how a synthesis of sources essay, or literature review, is organized.

Please download the sample literature from the 100-level psychology class.

Sample_Lit Review_with Notes_391.docx

Please note that this literature review is more informal than the one on the CSI effect by Maeder and Corbett that you read last week. You will notice a level of informality in its tone and language. In addition, it is not perfect in its synthesis of sources. Moreover, the author cites only six sources throughout the review. Overall, this is a literature review written for a 100-level class.

Please keep in mind that you literature review might not be as sophisticated as the one by Maeder and Corbett. Nonetheless, it provides a helpful demonstration of how one can analyze studies, synthesize sources, and divide a review into categories.

Please answer the following questions:

1. In the introduction, what is the thesis statement for this paper?

2. In this section, the author mentions limits to the study by Oliver and Wardle. What are the limits of this study, according to the writer?

3. In the section “Influence of Eating Behavior on Later Moods,” the writer cites only one source. If you were to give her advice on this section, what advice might you give her to help her develop it more effectively? Feel free to search in the library databases for articles on this topic or to suggest key words for her to search on.

4. As a result of having read this article, please write a few sentences about what you might have learned about synthesizing sources.

Please provide one response to one classmate using 1+1 feedback (please refer to the Week Zero folder in the main Content if needed on correct use of this response format) by Sunday, April

 

Week 8 discussion

share your gaps and unanswered questions

We are now in our final week of class. This discussion thread is designed to help you focus your thoughts for WA #4 and to share your points with your fellow classmates.

As you prepare to write WA #4, the short essay describing gaps and unanswered questions, please respond to this thread with the following:

Share you gaps and unanswered questions that you plan to write about for WA #4.

You can write a short paragraph to share your points

 

 

ASSIGNMENTS

 

Writing Assignment #1

WRTG 391

Summary of Research Study Findings

Instructions:

In WRTG 391, you will eventually write a synthesis of sources essay. In writing this essay, you

will conduct significant research for scholarly sources through the Library and

Information Services interface.

In many cases, scholarly articles report the findings of a research study. The article will provide

an introduction to the topic, review previous literature on the topic, and then explain the

methodology, findings, and conclusions of the study.

The first assignment for this class, the Summary of Research Study Findings, helps get you

started in finding scholarly articles and, specifically, research studies. In this assignment, you

will find four articles from scholarly journals. Each of them will report on a research

study.

You will show the findings of your studies in a format given to you. When you complete the

form, the information will provide a summary of your research in locating the four articles.

Please use the format on the following page. You can copy and paste the information on the

following pages into a Word document and then fill the information in.

Using the guidelines provided by the video and the template, please post a rough draft of your

Summary of Research Findings as your instructor directs you. After receiving feedback from

your instructor on your Summary of Research Findings, please use the comments from your

instructor in revising the draft.

Your Topic _________________________

Article #1:

Author(s) and title of the article and the name of the journal:

Key terms in the article (list at least 5 terms):

Focus of study: This can be 3-4 sentences.

Conclusions of the author(s): This can be 1-2 sentences.

Your observations of what you learned about your topic from this article and from this research study.

Please write 100-150 words for each article.

Article #2:

Author(s) and title of the article and the name of the journal:

Key terms in the article (list at least 5 terms):

Focus of study: This can be 3-4 sentences.

Conclusions of the author(s): This can be 1-2 sentences.

Your observations of what you learned about your topic from this article and from this research study.

Please write 100-150 words for each article.

Article #3:

Author(s) and title of the article and the name of the journal:

Key terms in the article (list at least 5 terms):

Focus of study: This can be 3-4 sentences.

Conclusions of the author(s): This can be 1-2 sentences.

Your observations of what you learned about your topic from this article and from this research study.

Please write 100-150 words for each article.

Article #4:

Author(s) and title of the article and the name of the journal:

Key terms in the article (list at least 5 terms):

Focus of study: This can be 3-4 sentences.

Conclusions of the author(s): This can be 1-2 sentences.

Your observations of what you learned about your topic from this article and from this research study.

Please write 100-150 words for each article.

 

 

 

 

WRTG 391: Writing Assignment #2 The Critical Annotated Bibliography

Writing Assignment #2 will be a critical annotated bibliography of 12 scholarly sources.

In this assignment you will write a list of at least 12 references in alphabetical order in APA format. In addition, each reference willbe followed by a short analytical summary of 150-200 words.

At the end of the short summary, you will include a sentence or two that critically analyzes the source and that mentions distinctive features about the article and why it may or may not be useful for you in writing a literature review.

You will use the topic you proposed and I approved in the “Thinking About Topics” ( “Exercise Can Cut Risk of Pregnancy-Related Diabetes”) discussion. Keep in mind that your topic should be a topic on which a number of studies or scholarly articles have been published.

Examples of topics students have chosen in the past or that would be workable for this assignment are the following:

· The impact of the Internet on research methods of students and plagiarism in student papers

· The impact of The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act on primary school education

· The impact of mobile devices on cybersecurity

Overall, in considering a topic, you might consider your major, topics that will be covered in future classes you plan to take at , and your interests.

For example, please examine the following ideas:

· If your major is criminal justice, you might consider researching criminal behavior among homeless individuals, criminal behavior among youth, society’s perception of law enforcement, etc.

· If your major is psychology, you might consider researching counseling strategies, consumer behavior in online shopping, decision-making in upper-management positions, etc.

· If your major is history, you might consider researching theories on the Civil War, studies on labor patterns in the United States, an aspect of military history, etc.

· If your major is social science, you might consider researching community responses to health care threats, co-parenting patterns after divorce, etc.

· If your major is graphic communication, you might consider researching different categories of graphic communication technology, trends in graphic communication through the years, etc.

Whatever topic you consider, keep in mind that it should be a topic on which a number of studies or scholarly articles have been published. You will conduct all or most of your research using ’s OneSearch function in finding scholarly articles.

This assignment will be an analytical/critical annotated bibliography. The difference between the descriptive/informative annotated bibliography and the analytical/critical annotated bibliography is explained in the following video:

http://www..edu/library/tutorials/bibliography/bibliography.shtml

The transcript is at http://www..edu/library/libhow/bibliography_tutorial.cfm#transcript.

The following are some links to sample Annotated Bibliographies. Some of them give examples in APA format. You may want to observe these examples and perhaps model your work after them.

· A variety of samples from The University of North Carolina Writing Center, including these specific examples of APA-style annotations.

· Some instruction from Cornell University. The website also provides more information on the process of writing an annotatedbibliography.

· Some samples from Memorial University in Newfoundland. Some instruction from East Carolina University.

The following is a suggested rubric for this assignment. Your instructor may modify this rubric.

12 sources are listed in alphabetical order by last name

5

Sources are articles from scholarly journals or chapters from scholarly books

20

Summaries are thorough with each source’s thesis/argument identified

40

Evaluative sentences are clear and effective

5

Grammar and mechanics are accurate

20

APA format is used

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WRTG 391

Writing Assignment #3

Synthesis Essay

(sometimes called a Literature Review)

Writing Assignment #3 will be a synthesis essay, a format that is sometimes referred to as a literature review.

Please click here for a video that briefly describes and outlines this writing assignment.

Organization:

Your synthesis essay should be organized in the following manner:

•Introduction: Write one or two paragraphs in which you introduce the reader to your topic.

•Body-the categories into which you are dividing the literature: Divide your sources into a few

categories. A suggestion is that you divide them into three to five categories.

•Conclusion: Summarize what the literature says on your topic.

Approach:

This semester, you have constructed a table of research findings of four articles that discussed research studies.

You have also critically evaluated several articles in the annotated bibliography. In this assignment you will

synthesize the ideas of several authors in a synthesis essay, or literature review.

For your annotated bibliography, you selected a topic based on your interests and, possibly, your major. You

constructed a list of 12 references and summarized and critically analyzed them in 150-200 words each.

Through this process, you may have seen patterns in the scholarly literature in the topic on which you conducted

research. For example, consider the following examples:

•You may have researched studies in criminal justice and found that there are varying opinions on

how to respond to criminal behavior among youth.

•You may have researched studies in psychology and found that counseling strategies for victims of

domestic abuse tend to fall into four categories.

•You may have researched graphic communications and discovered that the integration of graphics in

business report writing has evolved from the 1970s to the present because of advancements in

technology.

•You may have researched articles on gerontology and found studies that answered three basic

questions on how older adults respond to training for physical performance.

In the synthesis essay, you will focus your research efforts in a particular area, perhaps as a response to what you

found while writing the annotated bibliography. You will then conduct more research and synthesize your

findings in this synthesis essay.

Please note that the annotated bibliography was the beginning, not the end, of your research. You might decide

to disregard several of the articles you analyzed in the critical annotated bibliography because they don’t speak

to the specific area on which you have decided to write your synthesis essay. You might select one article that

you analyzed in the critical annotated bibliography, look up the articles cited in that article, and “snowball” your

research in that way.

In other words, this process is a recursive one. You might find reasons to hone in on and narrow your topic even

further after you have written the annotated bibliography.

How to organize the synthesis essay:

When you have focused on your topic, determine how you will divide the literature. In other words, consider the

following examples we described above:

You may have researched studies in criminal justice and found that there are varying opinions on how to

respond to criminal behavior among youth.

You might divide the paper as follows:

Introduction

Body

•Category 1: “A” view on responding to criminal behavior.

•Category 2: “B” view on responding to criminal behavior.

•Category 3: “C” view on responding to criminal behavior.

•Category 4: “D” view on responding to criminal behavior.

Conclusion

You may have researched studies in psychology and found that counseling strategies for victims of domestic

abuse tend to fall into four categories.

You might divide the paper as follows:

Introduction

Body

•Category 1: “A” counseling strategy for victims of child abuse

•Category 2: “B” counseling strategy for victims of child abuse

•Category 3: “C” counseling strategy for victims of child abuse

•Category 4: “D” counseling strategy for victims of child abuse

Conclusion

You may have researched graphic communications and discovered that the integration of graphics in

business report writing has evolved from the 1970s to the present because of advancements in technology.

You might divide the paper as follows:

Introduction

Body

•Category 1: graphics in business report writing in the 1970s

•Category 2: graphics in business report writing in the 1980s

•Category 3: graphics in business report writing in the 1990s

•Category 4: graphics in business report writing from 2000 to the present

Conclusion

You may have researched articles on gerontology and found studies that answered three basic questions on

how older adults respond to training for physical performance.

You might divide the paper as follows:

Introduction

Body

•Question 1

•Question 2

•Question 3

Conclusion

In order for you to see this concept with a real-life example, you can access a sample synthesis or literature

review from a psychology student by clicking here. The student writes her paper on the following topic:

Emotional Eating: The Perpetual Cycle of Mood-Food Influence. She divides her literature into the following

categories:

•Influence of Mood on Eating Behavior

•Gender Differences

•Influence of Eating Behavior on Later Moods

•Chronic Stress Response Network

Notice how she synthesizes and integrates the research into the different categories.

Approach and Requirements

Your synthesis essay, or literature review, should be 2000-2500 words, not including your “references” pages at

the end of the review. In other words, the text of the paper should be 2000-2500 words.

In addition your synthesis essay should include at least 10 scholarly sources in the “references” section. As

stated above, this means that you may decide not to use all 12 sources that you summarized in your annotated

bibliography. You are free to use all 12 of them. However, it is possible that your experience in writing

summaries of the 12 sources led you to conclude that a few of them will not be as helpful to your topic as you

had originally thought. You may decide not to include such sources in the synthesis essay. This is totally up to

you. Moreover, you might find other sources that you would like to include in your synthesis essay that were not

included in your annotated bibliography. You may use such sources in your synthesis essay as well.

Some helpful tutorials and guides from ’s Effective Writing Center:

• Click herefor a tutorial that features two short videos on writing a literature review.

• Click here for a tutorial on principles in synthesizing multiple sources.

In synthesizing your research, you are analyzing the topic on which you have conducted research. Click here for

a helpful tutorial on analyzing a topic.

Some helpful guides from other universities:

• Some very systematic advice from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill can be accessed

by clicking here.

• Some helpful advice from the University of Wisconsin-Madison can be accessed by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing Assignment 4 WRTG 391

Final Project

Statement of Research Gaps or Unanswered Questions

The final project for WRTG 391 will be a statement of research gaps or unanswered questions.

In this assignment you will describe the topic on which you wrote your synthesis essay, or literature review.

You will then state what gaps you found in the research on your topic, areas in which further research

might be appropriate on the topic, or any questions have opened up for you or remained unanswered as a

result of having researched this topic.

This paper will be approximately 500-750 words.

Organization of the Paper

Introductory paragraph:

In this paragraph, you will explain the topic which you researched. The final sentence will be a thesis statement

arguing for further research in specific areas.

Body section of 2-3 paragraphs:

This section would describe any one of, or a combination of, the following. You would want at least two areas in

which you felt there were gaps, needs for further research, or new or unanswered questions as a result of your

research.

-gaps you saw in the research

For example, let us imagine you wrote a literature review on the effectiveness of one-on-one laptop programs in

high schools. You may have noticed that little research has been done on how non-native speakers of English

respond to one-on-one laptop programs. No studies analyzed the effects of such programs on the writing, reading,

and critical thinking development of non-native speakers of English. This could be a gap in the research that you

would point out in your paper.

-areas in which further research could be conducted that would shed more light on an issue

For example, let us imagine you wrote a literature review on the effectiveness of one-on-one laptop programs in

high schools. You may have noticed that research has been conducted on the impact of such programs on the

writing skills of non-native speakers of English. However, the studies did not focus on particular language

groups. You feel that further study specifically on Chinese speakers and further study specifically on Spanish

speakers is warranted. This could be an example of an area in which further research would be warranted that

you would point out in your paper.

-questions that remained unanswered for you or new questions that opened up for you as you read the

current literature on your topic

For example, let us imagine you wrote a literature review on the effectiveness of one-on-one laptop programs in

high schools. You noticed that, as you were reading through the literature, you had questions on how schools

determined what types of laptops to purchase. Did they purchase Hewlett-Packards computers, Dell computers,

Toshiba computers, Acer computers, or computers from some other vendor? You found yourself wondering how

business decisions with vendors are made when implementing a one-on-one laptop program. This could be an

example of a question that opened up for you as you read through the literature. You could note this question in

your paper.

Conclusion:

In one paragraph, summarize your points in the body section. Re-state and succinctly explain any gaps, areas of

further research, or unanswered questions.

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