disction #2 and with homework # 2

Before participating in this second discussion board, read (or re-read and annotate, ideally) the three articles you will be focused on in this assignment (by Banaji and Greenwald, Klein, and Pollan). 

Write 600-800 words or more total and discuss what you find to be interesting, problematic, compelling, curious, or engaging about each of the three required readings. As you discuss each reading, try to focus more on developing an analysis instead of relying on summary (we’ve all read the articles, so there is no need to rehash them for us). As you find points to focus on, explain what you found interesting and why. Be sure to develop a sufficient amount of discussion on each reading, instead of allowing your conversation to be dominated by one reading (you need to show you’ve read and thought about each reading). Consider (re-)reading “Academic Writers See Writing as a Conversation,” on pp. 8-10 of From Inquiry to Academic Writing.
For one reading, in addition to your comments, pose an an analytical question for your readers to respond to. See the attachment for some ideas for asking such a question (compare these two questions, for example: 1) What is an analytical question? and 2) In what ways do analytical questions stretch students’ thinking? Only one of these seeks to start a conversation, which is what we want).
After you make your first post, please then respond to two or more students’ analytical questions (100-150 words each or more) . Additionally, you are strongly encouraged to reply briefly (50-100 words or more) to responses to your initial post.
Since this is a discussion board, I’m not concerned about MLA Style, though please do use in-text citations to indicate page numbers if you quote or paraphrase a reading.
Asking Analytical Question-1-1.docxSearch entries or author

Homework # 2

Article Analysis_Topic Proposal.docx
English 201: Article Analysis/Research Topic Proposal Essay
Primary text(s) for this paper: one of the six articles (by Turkle; Gillam and Wooden; Kilbourne; Banaji and Greenwald; Klein; and Pollan) or a different article in From Inquiry to Academic Writing, 3rd Ed.

Important Requirements for this Assignment:

The article you analyze in this essay (one of the six articles or a different one from the textbook that you select) will serve as the “base” essay for your research this quarter. The topic you choose will be related in some way to this article and you will write on this topic in each of the major assignments this quarter. Therefore, choose carefully so that you can focus on a topic that is of high interest to you.
Word-processed, double-spaced, in Times New Roman font size twelve, with one-inch margins.
Two and a half (2.5) full pages or more, no less (-10% deduction per one half page for not meeting this basic minimumrequirement). Therefore, make sure to use correct font and type size, correct line spacing and margins, and to write no less than two and a half full pages. For a successful essay, aim for three to four or more pages.
Write in MLA Style and cite sources accordingly (MLA Style 8th Edition). In English 201 Cite sources in-text and in a list of works cited at the end of the paper. The Purdue Online Writing Lab can provide answers to many MLA formatting questions, as can the MLA’s website at www.mlastyle.org (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. If you prefer APA Style and feel confident about using it, please message me on Canvas or email me and let me know your background using it.
Successful college-level writing typically requires multiple drafts and revising. This means working on essay structure and paragraph organization and development, thesis development and support, sentence style, word choices, and proofreading and editing (all the things students work on in English 101, prior to this class). Please be advised that sloppy, unedited writing will damage a grade significantly.
Peer Review is required for this assignment. Be sure to bring printed copies of your paper on Wed. Oct. 11

Instructions for Writing:
There are two essential parts to this essay:

Part 1: Article Analysis: in this significant section of the essay (one and a half to two pages), develop an analysis of the “base” reading that you are stemming your research from, whether it is one of the six essays listed at the top of this assignment prompt or one of the other readings in our course textbook. First, include an introduction and thesis statement, and then as you analyze the article, focus on three or more of the following criteria (it would be an excellent idea to review pp. 29-39 first):

Situation (see p. 36): this is what motivates the writer to write. What are the reasons the writer writes? What issues, problems, or circumstances have prompted the writer to write? In this assignment prompt, for example, I am motivated by a desire to have students analyze rhetoric and pose a topic for research because English 201 students should demonstrate skills of analyzing rhetoric and do independent research.
Purpose (see pp. 36-37): this is what the writer wants to accomplish in the writing. In this assignment prompt, for example, my purpose is to provide clear instructions for students to follow as they analyze an article.
Claims (see pp. 37-38): what is the writer’s thesis (the main claim) and how successfully, extensively, or convincingly does the writer support this claim with evidence and reasons (minor claims)?
Audience (see p. 38): what does the writer’s language or use of sources and research tell us about the writer’s audience (i.e. readers)?
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Appeals (https://www.bhsu.edu/Portals/32/Rhetorical%20Appeals.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.) Writers use the appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos (Aristotle’s “Rhetorical Triangle”) to construct arguments, each decision in the rhetorical process affecting the other. Comment on one or more of the appeals to credibility (ethos), emotions (pathos), and logos (logic).

Part 2: Research Topic Proposal: in this second part of the essay (one to two or more pages), you will discuss the topic you wish to focus on in your research this quarter. As you propose your topic, focus on doing the following (first, read or re-read pp. 91-97 in the textbook):

Issues: As you consider choosing a topic for research this quarter (one directly or indirectly inspired by your base article you focused on in the article analysis section), explain what you know about the issue or what you still need to know and who you see as your potential audience (see pp. 92-93).
Refine Your Topic: What is the specific topic you want to write about? (see p. 94).
Explain Your Interest in the Topic: Why are you interested in this topic? (see p. 94)
Identify an Issue: Which specific issue interests you? (see p. 95)
Formulate Your Topic as a Question: What question do you hope your research will answer? (see p. 95)
Acknowledge Your Audience: Reflect on what your readers already know about this issue and what you hope your research will teach them (see p. 96)

Don’t Forget: In academic writing, we must cite sources in-text (any quotes, paraphrases, summaries, uses of facts and information that are not common knowledge) and list bibliographic sources in an MLA list of works cited (see the Appendix to Citing and Documenting Sources, starting on p. 883).

Assessment:
This essay is worth 10% of the course grade, so be sure to turn in your best work. As I read and grade essays, I will consider the following key areas:

Organization: is your essay clearly organized, with an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion, with clear, logical transitions between ideas and paragraphs? Are paragraphs organized coherently, with a topic sentence, secondary support, and a transition/conclusion?
Support: is your writing focused on supporting a main idea/central thesis with clear, logical ideas, assertions, and evidence from sources?
Development: is your writing developed adequately, investigating ideas in the depth required in college writing assignments? Are your paragraphs developed adequately, with enough sentences to support a topic sentence?
Proofreading and Editing: is your writing competently proofread for errors such as typos, spelling errors, or punctuation? Are you paying adequate attention to sentence lengths and variety, sentence construction and style, vocabulary, and word choices?
Use of a style sheet such as MLA Style 8th Edition
Assignment Requirements: is the writer following all the various requirements outlined in this assignment prompt and demonstrating satisfactory or better levels of applying knowledge required to do this assignment?

Each of these criteria will be considered as follows:
Excellent     Good     Satisfactory     Needs Work     Unacceptable
Grades will consider all these criteria holistically and will be determined on the 0-4 scale and converted to a percentage (a grade of 87% converts to 3.2, for example).
Using Inquiry to Start Your Research:
In Part 2 of the prompt, I ask you to form a question to ask what your research could answer. A research question, sometimes called a question for inquiry, is a kind of question that is complex enough to inspire research in order to answer it.
Writing this kind of question can be tricky because the question should be one that you do not yet already know the answer to or have a preexisting bias about. The question should be one that you will be willing to follow no matter where it leads.
For example, if I am interested in studying the topic of college study abroad, I would want to think of a question that will help guide my research and that will require a complex answer. If, for example, I ask “Why do students choose to study abroad?” my research will result in listing reasons but not in investigating much else. But what if I ask instead, “In what ways does socioeconomic status play a role in determining student participation in study abroad programs?” I have no idea what I will find, but I want to find out. This gives me something specific to go on to get me started.
Question for Inquiry Worksheet:
List five or six or more questions that interest you right now:
Work on developing a question that is…

Answerable but unanswered (that is, it is definitely possible to find out the answer, but you do not know yet what it will be).
Not a Yes/No question (that is, it cannot be answered with a simple yes or no)
Not a question of motive or hypothetical (that is, the question does not presuppose someone’s motivation or speculate a hypothetical, like presuming that a problem is caused by X without first investigating if this is so, or wondering what would happen if X happened).
Specific and in context (that is, the question focuses the research in a specific direction: consider the difference, for example, between “What are challenges faced by undergraduate college students?” to “What challenges do first-generation, low socioeconomic status, or undocumented students face in achieving a higher education in the United States?”
Potentially challenging to your perspectives, depending on the results it uncovers (the answer could prove to be something that might cause you to change your thinking or, gasp, learn something new)

Write several possibilities below: