Day 15: Topics for the GRA and IRP

Objectives:
Students will be able to
1. decide on the topic for the Guided Research Paper (GRP).
2. discuss the importance of Audicence and Purpose.
3. research for an organization/policy maker for the GRP.
4. prepare for Library visit.


1. What will the topic of our Guided Research Topic be? Last Friday you researched topics/problems that interest you. Today we will decide on one from the topics you submitted.
Choosing a research topic.

2. CONSIDERING AUDIENCE AND PURPOSE

First, read the Audience and Purpose Discussion handout. Next, get together with one of your classmates and discuss the questions in pairs. Consider these two writing samples from the same student, Fatimeh Ghazi (Egypt), but with different audiences. One was written to a friend back home and the other was written for a class on social relations. Look how the emphasis changes depending on the author's relationship with the audience.

1. Consider the following differences between the two: vocabulary, examples used, sentence structure, use of pronouns, specifics mentioned, organization, tone.

2. What did the writer include in the first example that she left out in the second? Why?

3. What did she include in the second that she left out in the first? Why?

II. Important to remember:
Every paper needs a purpose and an audience. The audience needs to be decided early, before writing the first draft. Are you writing for the Ministry of Education of you country? for the government agency in charge of dealing with your particular topic?

For the Guided Research Paper we are going to choose an organization, analyze one of its solutions to the problem and then write our paper having the organization as our audience.
In pairs, google a couple of organizations that have tried to give a solution to the GRP problem. Each pair should submit at least one organization or policy maker and two or three solutions that the organization/policy maker is working on to address the problem preferably with their own detailed website.


HOMEWORK:
1. Choose the topic for your Individual Research Topic (IRP) today. Decide on the organization, agency, policy maker that will be your audience. Research on solutions given by this organization to the problem you have chosen to analyze. You need to submit your topic and the name of the organization/policy making by next Wednesday, at 12:00 midnight on dropbox. Name the file: IRP_choice of topic

2. Browse through UIUC Library Website. Prepare a few questions (about the GRP or IRP topics, about research advice, techniques, etc.).

Sources:
Faivre, S. and Rosado, C. (2012). Audience and Purpose. ESL 115 TA Resources.
http://esl115ta.blogspot.com/2012/02/audience-purpose.html