(Sample Assignments) Whole Semester Assignments: Forum Analysis, Topic in Field, Etymological Study, Group Paper, Research Paper, Self-evaluation
Whole Semester Assignments: Forum Analysis, Topic in Field, Etymological Study, Group Paper, Research Paper, Self-evaluation
Paper One: Forum Analysis--
In this paper they were to examine a scholarly journal in their field. They used a series of questions in their course guides on which to model their papers. With this assignment, they also were required to turn in a summary and response to one article.
Paper Two:
Topic in their field. This assignment was to simply choose a topic or issue within their field and write an analytical paper on it. This required the scholarly journals they hopefully became familiar with in their first assignment.
Paper Three: Etymological Study.
For this assignment they were required to find a word or term in their field and go from there. Some were able to use the term as a catalyst for the entire paper, while others used it as a point to go off into analysis of an aspect of their field.
Paper Four: This assignment required them to work together.
I paired up different fields (as well as strong and weaker writers). From this point, they were allowed to find a topic that could incorporate both their fields. Some used psychology and education to examine how each field uses the other; while other groups, with fields that were not so close, chose to write on their preconceived notions of the other's field. Along with this section, they were required to do an in-class writing that provided me with a synopsis of their papers (I did this to see how each perceived the point of the paper, as well as make sure they both wrote it). In addition, they were required to turn in an evaluation of their participation as well as their partner's(these were kept confidential).
Paper Five: Research Paper.
Again, this paper let them chose a topic or issue within their fields and explore it. We read a chapter on analysis in the Critical Strategies book, and I put great emphasis on them really using analysis in this paper and going deeper into their topics. The assignment you saw me give them was an assignment on comparing, in response to another chapter in Critical Strategies. Again, I stressed comparing as it leads to analysis.
Paper Six:
This paper will have them use the first six chapters in Critical Strategies to have them analyze their own writing over the course of the semester. For example, they must write about how they used analysis, comparing, serializing, classifying, defining, and summarizing, or how they didn't use them and why.
**Note to anybody who cares: I left these assignments open-ended and a little vague so that each student can do what works best for them. For example, papers three and four were very different depending on the student. In paper three, I had one student use the word they chose as a major part of their paper, while others merely used it as a starting point, all of which depended greatly on their fields and the topics they chose for their papers.
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