1020: Sample Writing Projects

ENGL 1020: Research and Argumentative Writing

31 1020: Sample Writing Projects

Below you will find sample ENGL1020 writing projects–from a range of course modalities (in-person or online) and classifications (Honors or Dual Enrollment). When deciding on assignment design, consider the purpose of each project. The unit breakdown and subseqeunt sample projects provided are also meant to be open to adaptation. You may design and organize the units as relevant for your course. Typically, there are 4-5 major projects throughtout the semester (often with presentations of the final project encouraged at the Celebration of Student Writing), and the examples provided follow that structure. Please refer back to the 1020: Course Objectives & Curriculum Summary page to incorporate the corresponding TBC objectives to your specific assignments.

Also, it is important to keep in mind that the True Blue Core program requires that all faculty incorporate one “Signature Assignment (or Assessable Assignment)” that meets all of the course objectives for assessment purposes. There must be one assignment (usually out of the suggested four projects) that is designed in a manner that shows evidence of all the True Blue Core objectives being reached. This assessment is done periodically outside of our department by the True Blue Core Program. Instructors will be notified by email with instructions about this process.

Project 1: Pose a Research Question

The purpose of this unit is to engage students in an authentic, exciting research project that draws their attention to related research processes such as asking questions, selecting appropriate methods, identifying critical conversations, and proposing a project. Faculty are encouraged to give students the opportunity to select a research project important to them. However, faculty may want to provide feedback on the proposed projects such that students research questions to which they do not already know the answer.

Example 1: Writing a Research Proposal (Dr. Kate Pantelides)

Example 2: Qualitative Reseach Lesson (Brian Dudak); along with Sample Survey

Example 3: The Project Proposal – PowerPoint (Candie Moonshower)

Project 2: Engage Source Work

In this unit, students are asked to deeply read, reflect on, integrate, and cite secondary research. Most students are familiar with citation broadly, particularly as a method to prevent plagiarism, but they are often not aware of the rhetorical and research purposes of citation and ethical source work.

Our challenge is to engage students in conversations about secondary research that go beyond defensive concerns regarding academic integrity. Many students misunderstand the role of opinion in research, often finding that a source is not credible because it expresses an opinion or a bias. Our role is to complicate and deepen student understanding of credibility and the purpose of attribution.

Example 1: Writing a Worknets Essay (Dr. Kate Pantelides)

Example 2: Annotated Researched Case File Dossier (Lauren Morgan)

Project 3: Intergrate Research

In this project unit, students are invited to put all of their work thus far together in a research essay. This integration asks students to attend to effective rhetorical argumentation, ethical citation conventions, and engaging in scholarly conversations. This usefully applies the focus on rhetorical genre developed in ENGL1010 and transferable to contexts beyond the English classroom.

Example 1: Writing a Research Project (Dr. Kate Pantelides)

Example 2: Researched Argumentative Magazine Article or Podcast Episode (Lauren Morgan)

Project 4: Remediate and Present Research

Research is meant to be shared! For this final unit of the semester, students share their research findings in a remediated presentation of their Project 3 work. Students might create a tangible artifact, poster, film, or podcast that shares their work in an accessible form meant to engage an audience of their peers. Students might share their work at the Celebration of Student Writing.

Example 1: Remediation and Artist’s Statement (Lauren Morgan)

True Blue Core Signature (Assessable) Assignment

Each ENGL 1020 course must include one “Assessable Assignment” featuring all True Blue Core course objectives (copied below for reference). The assignments here were crafted specifically to meet all of the True Blue Core objectives; however, keep in mind that all the above sample projects can all be configured in a way that meets the criteria of a Signature Assignment.

Objectives:

● Conduct secondary research that relies on recursive relationships between reading, writing, and reflection (Composing Processes)
● Practice flexibility and awareness of effective delivery across different audiences, contexts, and genres (Rhetorical Knowledge)
● Locate sources and analyze their relevance and credibility (Genre Conventions)
● Demonstrate rhetorical understanding of source attribution (Information Literacy)
● Interpret and respond to complex ideas in secondary sources (Reading Processes)
● Identify connections between coursework and other academic and external contexts (Integrative Thinking)

Example 1: Interactive Research Game (Dr. Ashley Quinn)