1. Research Question
The purpose of this assignment is to get students to consider the scope of the term “discourse” as well as situate themselves within a conversation that interests them. I want the students to understand that writing, and writing about writing, exists in every community. Writing is not limited to the traditional 'academic' fields. The student is tasked to come up with a question that, if answered, would broaden or deepen the conversation within a community of their choosing. In many aspects, this is an exercise of thought. I want students to understand that “discourse” and “conversations” happen in every single community.
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The students are then tasked with visualizing how they might go about answering their own question. This gets them thinking about the ways in which knowledge is created within a particular community.
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This assignment serves as the foundation for the final project, as well as a grounding for students to relay the lessons back to. Students will be asked how a particular reading or concept relates to their chosen community.
2. Annotated Bibliography
The next assignment asks students to complete an annotated bibliography. The purpose of this assignment is to get students to become aware of and familiar with the other research and discussions that are happening in their discourse community. The idea is to build upon and deepen the knowledge that they gained during the first assignment. Hopefully, by completing an annotated bibliography the students will be able to approach their original research question with a sharper focus, ultimately priming them to execute a more effective paper.
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I also want students, through their reflections, to understand how to find credible and relevant information, and how much work goes into proper research and presentation.
3. Revised Question
This assignment builds directly off of the annotated bibliography assignment, which asked students to reflect on how their research has impacted and shaped their original research question. This assignment’s goal is to get to the student to really zero in on the direction that their research will take, where we begin to move out of the abstract, “brainstorming” phase of writing, into the “work” phase.
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Before giving out this assignment, I would want to spend some time in class discussing different research methods for students who may not have had the instruction before. For the revised question assignment, they will roughly outline how they plan on conducting their research. I ask them to write about their process to get them to think through the steps, to visualize what materials they might need to conduct their research.
4. Final Paper
After the students have turned in their outlines, I will give feedback and then they will begin on their final drafts. It is critical that by this point the students understand that this assignment will ask them to pull together all of the skills they’ve developed, as well as synthesizing the work they’ve already completed. I believe that the perceived difficulty of the project can and will be directly influenced by how well I’ve communicated these ideas.
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To reinforce the idea of writing as a constant process with no "final" product, I will also allow students to revise and resubmit this assignment much like the other assignments. As such, this assignment would serve as the final for the course, but will be turned in early enough that students will have time to review my comments, revise, and resubmit.
5. Portfolio
The portfolio is where students gather their materials and reflect on their process. Throughout the semester, students will be asked to complete mini reflections after an assignment or a group of readings. The goal is to get them to be mindful of their learning and writing processes. What is standing out to them? Why?
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I want to stress to students the importance of mindfulness and reflection, not only in their writing lives but in their outside lives as well. The final portfolio is where the student will reflect on the class as a whole. What have they gained? How might they bring these skills out into the world with them?