Research all the way downHow I Learned to Teach Writing Like a Researcher

Tracy Hamler CarrickSenior Lecturer, The Knight Institute for Writing in the DisciplinesDirector, The Writing Walk-In ServiceCornell University

Case Study

Progam Development• Should we offer more sections of the research-

intensive First-Year Writing Seminar, Writing 1420?

Curricular Development• What can we take from the Writing 1420 experience to

build research into First-Year Writing Seminars and enrich student proficiency in information literacy?

First-Year Writing SeminarsWriting 7100: Teaching Writing

For first-year students, the Knight Institute offers First-Year Writing Seminars in one of the country's largest and most diverse programs in writing in the disciplines: each semester, over 100 different courses are taught in more than 30 departments and programs located in the humanities, social sciences, expressive arts, and sciences. Through introductory work in each seminar's particular field of study, students learn to write in a range of genres and in ways that emphasize clarity, coherence, intellectual force, and stylistic control.

Guidelines:• Seminars should require at least six—and at most nine—formal essays on new topics, totaling

ca. 25 – 30 pages of polished prose. • No fewer than three of the 6 – 9 required essays should go through a process of development

under the instructor’s guidance (e.g. revision, peer review, responses to readings, conferences). • All seminars spend ample classroom time (about half) on work directly related to writing.• Reading assignments in the course subject are kept under 75 pages per week to permit regular,

concentrated work on writing.• All students meet in at least two individual conferences with the instructor.

Course Sequence

Writing 7100: Teaching Writing

• WEEK 1: Teaching Writing in a Discipline: What is it? Why do it?

• Week 2: Writing Process I: Preparatory Writing/Sequencing Within a Single Assignment

• WEEK 3: Responding to Student Writing: Writing, Conferencing, and Collaborating

• WEEK 4: Looking at Language: Sentences, Paragraphs and Style

• Week 5: Writing Process II: Sequencing Assignments Across the Course

• WEEK 6: On the Brink of Day One

Cross-Disciplinary Challenges

Writers as

Teachers of

Writing

Researchers as Teacher

s of Writing

Writing 7100: Teaching Writing

Reverse Engineering the Research Project

Writing 7100: Teaching Writing

Formal Writing• Research Proposal• Single Source Evaluation• Source Variation• Annotated Bibliography• Analytic Research Essay• Reflective Essay

Informal Writing• Research Worksheet• Synthesis Matrix• Summary to Synthesis Exercises

• Visual Material• Textual Material• Electronic Material

Preparatory Work• Library Session(s)• Ciitation Management• Grammar and Rhetoric of the Quotation

Cross-Disciplinary Challenges

Writers as

Teachers of

Writing

Researchers as Teacher

s of Writing

Writing 7100: Teaching Writing

Pedagogical Challenges

FEAR

Time

PlagiarismExpertise

Pedagogical Opportunities

Building Reading Skillswith research

Building Writing Skillswith research

Building Research

Skills

Opportunities

Writing Course +1Library Orientation

Writing Course +4Library Orientation

Library Workshop: Building Reading SkillsLibrary Workshop: Orientation Redux

Library Workshop: Building Writing Skills

Writing Course +2Library Orientation

Library Workshop: Building Reading Skills

Fully Supported Writing Course, ModifiedShared Sessions with Librarian

Undergraduate Peer Mentors in WritingCourse Leadership

Learning Outcome:Information Literacy

Writing Course +2

Building Reading Skills

1. Library Orientation2. Library Workshop on Building Reading Skills

• Researching Authors (Learn what else this person has written or how she or others characterize her work)• Google• Library Catalog

• Researching Books• Book Reviews (Learn how other scholars/experts have responded to book.)

• Library Catalog• Book Review Digest• Google

• Researching Websites• WHOIS.com (Learn about the sponsoring person or organization)

• Researching Articles• ISI Web of Knowledge database (Learn how often has article has been cited and where it has been cited.)

• Researching Key Concepts or Topics (Learn background or general information)• Reference Universe• Gale Virtual Reference Library• Sage Reference Online• Wikipedia

Single Source Evaluation

Building Reading Skills

READING• Select ONE source • Read it carefully • In three separate paragraphs, compose a:

• Summary (what is this source about?)• Structural Analysis (how is this source arranged?)• Rhetorical Analysis (how does this author make meaning and/or persuade?)

RESEARCHING• Conduct some research about this source or its author • Compose an additional paragraph that describes your research strategies

REVISING• Compose three additional paragraphs that detail

• what you learned about the source and/or author, and • what you need to add, omit, or revise from your summary, structural or rhetorical analysis

paragraphs.

Writing Course +4Building Writing Skills

1. Library Orientation2. Library Workshop on Building Reading Skills3. Library Re-Orientation

• All publication formats• Cornell Library Catalog (Subject Heading Searches)• Google

• Articles• Academic Search Premier• Google Scholar• Web of Science• Summon• ProQuest• JSTOR• Browse by Subject or Name for Discipline-specific databases

• Newspapers• Lexis/Nexis

4. Library Workshop on Building Writing Skills• Interpreting bibliographic citations• Reading abstracts• Conducting Subject Heading searches• Refining search terms and phrases

Source Variation Scavenger Hunt

Building Writing Skills

Imagine that the editorial cartoon, “Girls Suck at Math,” recently appeared in The Cornell Daily Sun. Many members of the Cornell community are outraged. Is their anger justified? How should readers make sense of this cartoon? What commentary does it offer? You and your groupmates are members of the Editorial Board, and you must release a public statement on your decision to publish this controversial cartoon. Why did you publish it? What conversation did you hope to inspire about current scholarship and opinion on the topic of gender and cognition? As you develop ideas for this position statement, you should consider the kinds of research you could use to support your claims. Go on a scavenger hunt to to find sources to help you build your response.

Source Variation Scavenger Hunt

Building Writing Skills

Rhetorical Features• points of view• disciplinary perspectives • cultural perspectives• genre• methodologies• audiences• dates of publication• publishers

Publication Format• Background resources/reference materials• Books• Scholarly articles• Popular periodicals• Websites• Multimedia items

Writing 7100: Teaching Writing

Writers as

Teachers of

Writing

Researchers as Teacher

s of Writing

Opportunities

Writing Course +1Library Orientation

Writing Course +4Library Orientation

Library Workshop: Building Reading SkillsLibrary Workshop: Building Research SkillsLibrary Workshop: Building Writing Skills

Writing Course +2Library Orientation

Library Workshop: Building Reading Skills

Fully Supported Writing Course, ModifiedShared Sessions with Librarian

Undergraduate Peer Mentors in WritingCourse Leadership

Learning Outcome:Information Literacy

Teaching Artifacts@http://www.arts.cornell.edu/knight_institute/staff/Tracy.htm

Email @thc33@cornell.edu