11.15 Introduction + Literature review workshop

Overview of the sections in a research paper

In class we analyzed the organization of the introduction & literature review for Glynda Hull's essay.Our analysis showed the following sequence of 'moves.'

Introduction
starts with an example
explains what the example in terms of the essay's focus
states what the essay will do ( what the essay is about in general)
re-states what the essay will show in terms of the specific content of the essay's discussion
States why discussion of this content is importnat
Point by point discussion of what the essay will do (how she will analyze/study the content)
detailed statement of the importance of this kind of analysis/study

Literature review
Set up
- why the sources you are reviewing are relevant/important to your research question
similar topic
similar problem
widely cited as the authority on your topic
point out the importance of how/what your work adds to the study of this topic
- idenntify/define specialized language

For the discussion of the partucilar references, Hull discussed one idea at a time.  She introduced the idea, provides quotes from the literature, and then discussed what the quoates show.

In this part of your literature review, you can organize your discussion by  ideas, by the points you will make, or by researcher.  Again - include a discussion of what your project will add for each section.

For next class:
Blogs 19/20:  In light of today's discussion of introductions and literature reviews = revise the post that was due for today (your draft intro + literature review) and re-post along with replies to points listed below:

1.  What are the strengths your writing for the introduction?  What do you need to work on? 
What are the strengths of your writing for the review of the literature?  What do you need to work on?

2. What is the research problem identified in your introduction?  How do you point out what your research project will contribute toward resolving this "problem"?  In other words, what have you written about  the importance of your project for writing studies?

3. What have other researchers found out about your topic that is relevant to your research project?

4.  How do you connect findings from question 3 to the purpose of your project?

5.  What is your plan for finishing/revising your introduction and literature review?

6.  What feedback do you want from me?

I will provide feedback/comments for introductions/literature reviews and notes posted by Saturday, noon, November 17.  

I will be grading the Short Analysis projects and will return them before class November 20.  We will spend the first part of class talking about your projects, what you learned, and how to apply that learning to the final project.  

We will also spend some time talking about transcription - and making sure you are all ready to move forward with your research projects.