Day 43: LAST DAY OF CLASSES!

We made it!
Now you'll be able to catch some sleep on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Today:
1. We will listen to Mengxi's presentation.
2. Have a class wrap-up
3. You'll evaluate the class and my teaching performance

Make sure both the final draft for your Individual Research Paper and the Reflective Paper have been submitted on Dropbox.

I will be working in grading your IRPs and Reflective Papers this week and hopefully sometime next week I will be able to send you your final grade through email.

As always, you are welcome to ask me anything you feel doubtful about by sending me an email.

 Have a wonderful summer!

Day 42: Oral Presentations (cont.)

Today we will listen to the presentation of the following students:

9:05-9:12  Luxi
9:13-9:20  Xiao
9:21-9:28  Yiqi
9:29-9:36  Jignu
9:37-9:44  Xu

Day 41: Oral Presentations (cont.)

Today we will continue with the presentation of IRP reserach:
9:05-9:12   Yitao
9:13-9:20   Bofan (Changed requested by Xiao)
9:21-9:28   Hejun
9:29-9:36   Shilin
9:37-9:44   Judy

Day 40: Oral Presentations on the IRP

Today we will listen to our first five presenters:
9:05-9:12 Ryan
9:13-9:20 Xin
9:21-9:28 Bryan
9:29-9:36 Xueyi
9:37-9:44 Kedao

Please, do not be late because we need to start as soon as possible.

Day 38 and 39: Individual Conferences

Objective: To have an individual meeting so students can ask questions related to their individual IRP drafts or about other aspects of the course.

I will be conducting this meetings on Thursday, April 19, Friday 20, Monday 23, and Tuesday 24.
Please come to the day and time scheduled for you (Check the Individual Conference Sheet I sent you as an attachment yesterday).

We will meet as a class again until next Wednesday, April 25, when we will listen to the first five oral presentations.

Day 37: Preparing Oral Presentations

Objectives
* To identify what elements make an oral presentation successful.

Please present your Peer Review sheets.
Quick review of what we have been doing, where we are and what is coming.

I. Don't forget that your IRP's second draft is due Friday, April 20th.
A. When revising your first draft don't forget to check if you have
1. followed the assignment instructions
2. followed your outline
3. used at least three sources
4. written your in-text citations correctly following the APA format
5. written a Reference page
6. complete conclusions

II. On April 19th, 20th, 23rd and 24th I will having individual conferences with all of you. Please select a day, a time, and prepare for the conference.

III. On Wednesday, April 25th, Friday April 27, and Monday, April 30th, we will have the oral presentations of Individual Research Papers. Prepare carefully, it is 10% of your grade.

IV. Preparing your Oral Presentations

What is important about an oral presentation? Discuss and write down your ideas.

Rubric: These are points in which your presentations will be evaluated.

Death by PowerPoint

Presentation Skills

V. Write a brief outline of you presentation (you can use your IRP outline as a reference). Talk to a partner about your plans for your oral presentation.

Decide when you will be presenting. First, I will take volunteers, then the next positions will be filled out through a raffle.

Assignments:
1. Work on your Individual Conference Sheet.
2. Bring Peer Review Sheet to present to me on the day of your individual conference.
3. Friday, April 20th, midnight: Upload IRP's second draft.
4. Oral presentations will start on Wednesday, April 25.
5. Reflective Essay is due the last day of classes.
6. Individual Research paper is due last day of classes (upload and hard copy)

Day 36: REVISING

Today you will stop being writers and become readers. You will read what one of your peers' first draft and comment on his/her writing.

What are some goals of peer reviewing:

1. To see how others are writing

2. To help students think critically about their own work and others'

3. Identify a gap between writer and reader (is everything clear? Did the message get sent?)

4. To gain strategies for interactions with others and texts

5. To practice revision strategies

Peer Review Training

What to say when you give feedback

Exchange papers with someone you feel comfortable with and proceed to read their IRP. Read it once before you make any comments.


Homework:
It is time to write your IRP second draft. This draft should be as complete as possible. Please, go over the revising done by your peer and make changes accordingly. This second draft should contain a title page, a reference page, correct in-text citations, should be written in Times New Roman, 12 font, double space. It should be no less than six pages.
Dateline for the presentation of 2nd draft is Friday, April 20, 12:00 midnight. I will go over your drafts on the weekend and give you some feedback.

Final draft will be presented on last day of classes, Wednesday, May 2, 9:00 AM. Upload on Dropbox. This final draft must be complete and exhibit revision based on feedback given by peers and instructor.

Day 35: Drafting the GRP: Using PIE to Build Up Body Paragraphs (cont.)

Objectives: Students will be able to
a. Write three important points for the GRP.
c. Identify the elements in a PIE structure.
b. Use PIE structure to develop body paragraphs.

I. Review: We have been working on developing the first draft of the GRP. We already have an introduction and now we are trying to develop the body paragraphs. In order to do so, we are using PIE structure.
PIE = POINT
ILLUSTRATION
EXPLANATION

The POINT is an important statement about the topic.
The ILLUSTRATION is a quote, paraphrase, or summary from a source used to back up, support, explain, exemplify the point.
The EXPLANATION is a comment to extend what has been said in order to establish its relevance in the discussion.

This is the example I created for you during last class.

Added to the introduction we wrote together, we are beginning to write the first draft for the GRP.

Continue developing your outline in this way.

II. At the same time you work on your first draft, try to build your REFERENCE PAGE. This will save you a great deal of work at the end.

III. Today we will continue working on the structure of the body paragraphs for the GRP.

A. Individually, go over the sources for the GRP. Think about points that can be included in the first draft. Write them down on the sheet provided.

B. Please, go to your respective corners and get together with your group peers.

1. Rethink the points you produced last class.

2. Share the points you just wrote about.

3. Discuss as a group and come up with three points.

4. Once you have a minimum of three points, fill up the sheet provided.

5. Select one of your points. Look for information in the sources to support, exemplify, illustrate, explain in more detail, etc., these point. Write an APA citation of the material. Enter this information on the sheet provided. Discuss possible ways you would explain this to your reader.

Assignment
Apply these notions we have been working on to develop your IRP first draft. Dateline: Monday, April 16, 9:00 AM. Upload it to Dropbox (IRP_first draft). In addition, bring a hard copy to class.

Day 34: Drafting the GRP (4): Using PIE to Write Body Paragraphs

MAIN POINTS AND PIE STRUCTURE

Today we will continue working on the points we will develop in the GRP.


I. What are the main points we want to discuss in our paper? Let's discuss some examples.
(10 min)
Outline
Using PIE to build up your body paragraphs.

II. In three groups the class will try to come up with the main points of the paper:
(25 min)
a. Make sure you have the sources at hand.

b. Name two writers. These students will record the discussion.

c. Discuss and decide what are the points you will be presenting. (You can use the outline or come up with other points that are not there.)

d. Post these points in the Class Google document

e. Find information in the sources that will help you support each point. Underline, highlight, make annotations on the margins, etc.

f. Provide an explanation of the point.

Group A: EXAMINATION OF THE PROBLEM (Mingzhu, Yiki, Shilin, Hejun, Mengxi)

Group B: EXAMINATION OF THE ORGANIZATION (Xu, Xueyi, Luxi, Ryan, Xianghu,)

Group C. EXAMINATION OF THE SOLUTION (Xiao, Yitao, Bofan, Kedao, Xi, Jingnu)


III. Check the use of sources in the introduction. (10 min)
Begin a REFERENCE PAGE for your IRP. Open a folder in Dropbox entitled

IRP_Reference Page

Homework:
Start writing the body paragraphs of the IRP. Go over the sections of your IRP and decide on the points you want to discuss. Find support for these points in the sources you have. Look for more sources (remember you need a minimum of five).

Remember to keep a Reference Page. Every time you use a source in your text, make sure you write on your Reference Page.

Next Friday, we will be discussing CONCLUSIONS. If you have questions about your IRP first draft please bring them on Friday. I will try to have some sort of workshop to discuss potential problems with the first draft.

Day 33: Drafting the GRP (3): Writing Body Paragraphs/Establishing the Points and Using PIE

Objectives
* Finish the introduction for the GRP.
* Start working on the points that the GRP will address.


I. These are your initial ideas for the introduction of the GRP. (10 min)

II. Presentation of the first draft for the GRP introduction.

III. Now we need to start working on the body. Check the GRP outline and tell me what is next. Le's work for a little while on developing the points for the evaluation of HCEF's solution.

Homework
Check your IRP introduction, using the notions we have discussed today.
Start brainstorming and working on the points your IRP will develop. Check your sources for points you want to make.

Day 32: Drafting the GRP (2)/Writing the Thesis Statement

Today we will finish writing the introduction to the Guided Research Paper.


Get in groups of two and open a Word document to write a first draft for the GRP introduction.
Write your names on the document.

The introduction should contain:

a) a hook (a general statement about the topic, a surprising fact or statistic, a quote, an anecdote, a question related to the topic, etc. In a few words, a statement that grabs the reader's attention.)

b) background information (Check the articles read and the organization website and decide which information you would include in the introduction. Remember one of the functions of the introduction is precisely "to introduce" the reader to the topic, to what aspects of the topic the paper will be dealing with, etc. You also need to present the organization you are investigating and briefly tell the reader what they are doing to solve the problem.
Keep in mind this is an introduction, don't give all the information at once; just introduce it.

c) thesis statement (tell the reader what the paper is about, what are you going to do with the topic, how you are conducting this analysis.) Write this in 2-3 sentences.
This thesis statement is tentative; it may change or vary as you write the body of the paper.

Send your document to my email address as an attachment: torresx2@illinois.edu

ASSIGNMENT
Write the introduction for your IRP. Dateline: Monday, April 9, 12:00 midnight.
I will be answering questions regarding your introduction in class on Monday, April 9; so, make sure you write it before class if you want some feedback on it. I will not give feedback on line, please do not send me introductions via email.

Day 31: Drafting the GRP (1)

Objectives:
Students will be able to:
a. examine and reflect on the sections of their GRP outline.
b. briefly write down five sections/ideas to include in their IRP outline.
c. recall and understand the parts of an introduction.
d. write an introduction for the GRP.

I. GRP OUTLINE: Taking into consideration the outlines you produced last class, and the sources we have on the topic, I have written a working outline that we could use to start the drafting of the GRP. Take a few minutes to go over the sections listed. Go over the articles and the HCEF website and see how we can use that information to develop these sections. (5 min)

II. Take a few minutes to think about the topic and purpose of your Individual Research Paper. List ideas you are including in your IRP. (10 min)

III. WRITING THE INTRODUCTION FOR THE GRP (5 min)

• Check Day 7 and what we learned about introductions then.

• Think about the parts of an effective introduction:

a) The hook/attention grabber to introduce the topic (general statement, question, quotation, anecdote, surprising statement, historical review, famous person, etc.)

Almost every time you turn on the television you will find a number of shows which are extremely violent.

Are you bothered by the excessive violence on prime time television?

A recent article in Time Magazine states that the viewing of extremely violent television shows is the number one cause of violence in our inner cities.

b) Provide the context/background information on the topic (brief statements). This part of the introduction gives the reader an initial idea of what the topic is.

c) Present the thesis statement. Tell the reader what the research paper will do and how this will be done.

III. PRACTICE (15 min)
Get in groups of two and open a Word document to write a first draft for the GRP introduction.
Write your names on the document.
Send your document to my email address as an attachment: torresx2@illinois.edu

HOMEWORK

These are your assignments:

1. IRP OUTLINE is due on Friday, April 6 at 12:00 midnight. Please open a folder and label it: IRP_Tentative Outline. Upload your outline on this folder.

2. INTRODUCTION FOR THE IRP is due on Monday, April 9. Please open a folder on Dropbox and label it IRP_Introduction. Upload your introduction on this folder.

3. Start writing your IRP first draft following your outline. Next week we will be working in developing body and conclusions. This first draft will be presented in class on Monday, April 16.

4. Choose one of your classmates to be your peer reviser. This person will read your written work and give you their opinion as a reader. You will be asked to listen to this revising carefully and try to improve your paper based on comments made.

Day 30: Writing an Outline

Today we will write a TENTATIVE outline for our Guided Research Paper.

a) Take a few minutes to remember what you did when you wrote the outline for your revised diagnostic paper a few weeks ago. (3 minutes)

b) What is an outline? What is the purpose of writing an outline during the pre-writing stage?
What sections does the outline contain? Are there subsections to these big sections? What sub-sections should we include in our GRP outline? (5 min)

c) Individually, go over the materials and sources you have gathered for the GRP. Try to write a tentative outline that follows the purpose of the assignment and the findings of the research you carried out. (5 min)

d) Forms groups of 4 and go to the corners of the classroom. Each student presents his outline to the rest of the group. The group writes a tentative outline to be presented and explained to the rest of the class by all members of the group. (15 min)

e) The class will vote for the two best outlines. (5 min)

HOMEWORK:
Think about a TENTATIVE outline for your Individual Research Paper. Think about your research, what ideas you think fit to be included in your research paper. Write this down.

Day 29: Annotated Bibliography Worshop (cont.)

The scheduled topic for today's class was WRITING AN OUTLINE. However, because there are many questions regarding the writing of the annotated bibliography, we will take today to go over these questions and go over questions of APA format.

Day 28: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY WORSHOP

Objectives:
Today we will
a. study what is an annotated bibliography.
b. write an annotated bibliography for our GRP.

1. Write a source entry for the third article (GRP). In your Dropbox file for the GRP, open a folder for this third source and write a source entry that contains all elements we have studied: APA information, a summary, a relevancy statement, a reliability statement. (10 min)

2. You should have done the same for the third source for your IRP. Check that in Dropbox.

3. Annotated Bibliographies
What is an annotated bibliography?
An example

4. Practice.
Write the annotated bibliography for our GRP. Open a Word document and, following the format and examples posted, write the entries for each of the three sources examined for the GRP. You have the rest of the class to do this. When you finish, upload the document on Dropbox in your GRP file. Make sure you open a folder entitled: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Assignment:
On Monday, April 2, you will present your IRP Annotated Bibliography. You will upload it on Dropbox and also bring a hard copy to present in class. This assignment is 10% of your grade. No late work will be accepted. Make sure you start working on this assignment tonight so, if any question arises, you can ask me on Friday's class.

Day 27: Taking Notes from Sources/Writing Source Entries

Objectives: Students will:
* read third article for the GRP and write a source entry.
* learn how to take notes effectively.
* use specific strategies to avoid accidental plagiarism.

I. Review: (5 min)
What we have done so far . . .

II. So, where do we go from here . . . (5 min)
PPP

III. Learning to take efficient notes (10 min)
Taking notes
Ckeck handout.

IV. Practice.
a. Read the third article for the GRP, Attracting and Sustaining Youth Participation in After School Programs. (5 min)
Remember: You are reading fully. Make sure you underline or highlight information you think may be useful for your paper. Respond to what the author says by writing on the margins.

APA bibliographic entry for this source:
Lauver, S. (Spring, 2012). Attracting and Sustaining Youth Participation in After School Programs. The Evaluation Exchange. Vol. 10, No. 1. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Family Research Project (eds.) Retrieved from
http://www.hfrp.org/evaluation/the-evaluation-exchange/issue-archive/evaluating-out-of-school-time-program-quality

http://www.hfrp.org/

b. In your Dropbox file for the GRP sources, open a folder for this entry: (10 min)

• bibliographich information (APA)
• summary
• relevancy
• reliability

C. Now, let's decide what we will be useful to include in our paper. (12 min)

Check the example.

Get in pairs and decide what information you would like to use. Refer to handout to write some notes about this source. Don't forget to include bibliographic information for each note.

Homework:

1. Read third article for the IRP. Write a summary. Open a folder and write an entry: bibliographic information (APA format), summary, 2-3 statements about the relevance of the article, 2-3 statements about the reliability of the article.

2. In your entry, include information you feel you may want to include in your paper. Remember to write correct APA bibliographic information next to your quotes, paraphrases, and summaries.

Sources:

Lauver, S. (Spring, 2012). Attracting and Sustaining Youth Participation in After School Programs. The Evaluation Exchange. Vol. 10, No. 1. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Family Research Project (eds.) Retrieved from
http://www.hfrp.org/evaluation/the-evaluation-exchange/issue-archive/evaluating-out-of-school-time-program-quality

Lloyd, N. (2012). Taking Notes Effectively. ESL 115 TA Resources. Retrieved from
http://esl115ta.blogspot.com/

Day 26: Getting ready for the writing of an Annotated Bibliography/ Learning to Write Source Entries

Objectives:

* To understand the concept of relevance
* Write a 2-3 relevancy sentences for the two sources chosen for the GRP
* Organize all Dropbox folders both for the GRP and the IRP.
* Take a look at the Homeless Children Education Fund (HCEF)'s solution and discuss it.

1. Let's continue with the organization of the Dropbox folders: (10 min)
a. For the GRP
Check you have your two sources, each with its bibliography information, summary, and reliability statement, (if possible, post the article or add a link for easy location.)

b. For the IRP
Check you have your two sources, each its APA bibliographic information, summary, and reliability statement, (if possible, post the article or add a linf for easy location.)

2. RELEVANCE (10 min)

What is the meaning of RELEVANCE?
The Merriam Webster Dictionarary (2012) defines RELEVANCE as "a relation to the matter at hand." or "the ability to retrieve material that satisfies the needs of the user."

Take a look at the summary you made of the first article we read, Wang's article: Horizons for Homeless Childlren: A comprehensive service model for homeless families.

Do you think the article is relevant to our topic? to our purpose?
Write 2 - 3 sentences stating why this article is relevant at the end of your summary and save it.

Do the same for the second source we read, HCEF's website.

Very important: When you finish reading a source you are planning to use in your research paper, it is important that you write an entry that contains:
a. the APA bibliographic information
b. a summary of the most important ideas
c. a relevance statement
d. a reliability statement

3. Go to HCEF website. (10 minutes)
Form groups of three and discuss what you found that can be used in the paper.
For example: How many solutions have they designed to help with the education of homeless children? Which is exactly the solution that we are going to analyze, evaluate, critique? What are its strengths? What are the problems (weaknesses)?

Each group will render a report on their findings.




Homework:

It is important that at this time you understand clearly what you should have done regarding your INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PAPER:

Before our next class, Monday March 26, you should have already done for your IRP:
(This is not a dateline, but it will save you a lot of work and pain to have all this ready by this date.)

a) chosen the topic (a problem that affects a specific group of people).
b) narrowed the topic to a manageable size (for a 6-7 research paper).
c) chosen an organization that has attempted/implemented a solution (solutions) to the problem posed by your topic.
d) researched and chosen three sources (two articles and the organization's website).
e) evaluated your sources for reliability and relevance.
f) read one article and the information in the organization's website (with especial emphasis the information provided about the solution(s) you are going to critique/evaluate/analyze).
g) written a summary for each of these sources stating the main ideas found.
h) organized your sources for the IRP the same way you have done for the GRP.
* In Dropbox, open a file named SOURCES.
+ In this file, open a folder for each source you have for the IRP. This folder should contain: the article, or link to the article, the bibliographic information (in APA format), 2-3 statements that explain how this source is relevant for your reserach paper, 2-3 statements that tell why this source is reliable.

Note: As soon as we come back from Spring Break, we will start writing the annotated bibliography for the GRP in class. At home, you will be writing the ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THE IRP. This assignment is 10% of your grade and is due on Friday, March 30, 9:00 A.M.

Day 25: Reflection Day/ An introduction on ANNOTADE BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Objectives
*to reflect on what we have done, both for the GRP and for the IRP.
*to take a look at what is coming next in the course.
*to check source files for the GRP and the IRP.

1. Review
What have we done so far?
PREWRITING
* We are writing a source-based paper
* Purpose: analyzing a solution to the problem we are investigating
* Found a subject and narrowed it
* Tentative research question: What are the strengths and weaknesses of creating an-after-
school program that includes learning centers and a resource library for homeless children.
Our analysis will analyze and evaluate this solution and provide suggestions for improvement.
* Audience: Homeless Children's Education Fund
* Conducted preliminary research to find reliable sources
* We have chosen three sources (HCEF and two articles on the topic)
* We are doing focused research and writing summaries on the sources.

2. What lays ahead
* Finish reading our three GRP sources and the writing of summaries for teach.
* Finish reading the three IRP sources you have selected and the writing of summaries for each.
* Search for more sources for the IRP. (There should be a total of five sources.)

* Write annotated bibliographies for both the GRP and the IRP.

* Write outlines for both the GRP and the IRP.

DRAFTING
* Start writing first drafts for both the GRP and the IRP.

* Submit first draft for the IRP for Peer Review.

* Write second draft for the IRP for feedback from instructor.

* Get ready for oral presentation on the topic of your IRP.

REVISING

* Considering peer and instructor's feedback, write a final draft of the IRP.

* Oral presentation of IRP.

PROOFREADING

* Final presentation of the IRP.


3. Open your Dropbox file for the GRP
Open your file for GRP_sources

Make sure every source you have read contains the following information:
a) APA bibliography
b) a complete summary
c) reliability sentence (the one you wrote on the reliability guideline)

4. Do the same for the IRP

5. An annotated bibliography.
revised

Homework
Go over the example of an annotated bibliography provided.
Work in your reading of IRP sources.

Day 24: Writing Summaries

Objectives
Today we will review how to
a) write a good summary.
b) take useful notes when doing research.


A. Consider the following:
As you conduct your research for your research paper, don't forget:

a) The PURPOSE of the Guided Research Paper

Problem-Solution Paper Assignment: Choose an issue that affects a specific group of people (i.e. children, teenagers, women, etc.) in your local community, state, country, or region. Then choose an organization or a policy maker that has addressed or tried to solve that problem in the past. Write a problem-solution paper that either 1) critiques 1-2 of the current solutions and recommends 1-2 other ideas or 2) critiques 3 current solutions and recommends how to improve them.

b) The Organization: HOMELESS CHILDREN'S EDUCATION FUND

c) and the solution this organization has proposed and you decided to analyze:

CREATING LEARNING CENTERS AND LIBRARY RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITY TO HELP IN THE EDUCATION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN.

d) Open a folder where you keep each of the sources you are reading for the GRP (do the same for the IRP as well.) This folder should include all the articles you read plus: the bibliographic entry (APA format), the reliability statement, the summary, specific quotes and notes you think you may use, etc. Keeping this file updated will save you a great deal of time once you have to write the annotated bibliography, the research paper, the reference page, etc.

e) Open a folder for a tentative outline for the GRP (and the IRP as well). The different sections of this outline will come from the sources you read. This outline will go through several changes as your research progresses.

B. Writing a good summary

a. Open Dropbox and have your summary on the screen.

b. Answer the following questions about the article using your summary.
Pop quiz

c. What is a good summary?


C. Homework

a) Make sure you have a folder in Dropbox where you keep your sources (articles and APA bibliographic information for both the GRP and the IRP).
Title your folders: GRP_sources; IRP_sources

b) Carefully explore the Website for Homeless Children's Education Fund. Write a summary of its contents; upload this on Dropbox by next class.

c) Read second article for the IRP. Write a summary.


Sources

Behrens, L. and Rosen, L. (2012). A Sequence for Academic Writing. 5th ed. Pearson.

Owl Purdue On Line Writing Lab

Day 23: Evaluating Sources (Follow up)

Objectives:
* Today we will finish our evaluation of sources for the GRP and choose one article to read intensively.
* We will also finish evaluating the sources for the IRP

If your group has not submitted the articles for the GRP on the Google doc yet, please do so.
If you did, please go over the articles proposed, skim through as may as you can.

I will be reading these articles today and send you one of them for you to read over the weekend.

2. Go over your IRP sources and, after making sure your sources are reliable and academic, please select one article to read.

Homework

a) Read the article for the GRP I sent by email. Write a summary that states the most important ideas presented and upload it on Dropbox by 9:00 AM, Monday, March 12.

b) Choose the first article you will read for the IRP. Start reading it this week, you will be asked to upload a summary by next Friday.

c) As you read your IRP articles, you should have at least two, it is necessary to check the reference pages so you may access other sources; you will need a minimum of five sources for your IRP. Right now you have three (two articles and the organization website, thus, you will need to find other two). This does not have any dateline yet.

Day 22: Evaluating Sources (Follow up)

Objectives
* To finish evaluating sources for the GRP
* To start evaluation sources for the IRP
* To look ahead in the process of writing a RP: annotated bibliographies, outlines


1. Evaluating sources for the GRP

a) Check this handout on Evaluating Academic Sources and answer the questions to the best of your ability.

b) Now check the answers. Reflect on your own search for sources and on the sources you actually have.

c)Go over the evaluation you made of your sources as a homework. Make sure you have taken into consideration all the different aspects on reliability and validity. It is important that you remember you will be reading this source entirely, not only to get acquainted with the topic but to obtain specific information that you will include in your paper.

d) Forms groups of two. Present each other the sources you found and explain why you think each particular source is reliable.

e) Choose two sources to present on the GRP Google Doc. Make sure you indicate:
* names of students posting the information
* title of article
* for what type of information this article will likely be used (background, solution, organization)
* link to the article
* a statement of reliability ( 2-3 sentences)


2. The same procedure should be applied to the sources for your IRP.

Homework
Present your three sources the same way for your IRP. Upload them on Dropbox by next Friday, March 9, 12:00.

Day 21: Evaluating Sources for the GRP and IRP

Objectives:
Students will be able to
*evaluate the sources they researched for the GRP.

Remember, always keep in mind as you go through this process of writing a research paper:

PURPOSE FOR THE GRP AND THE IRP

Choose an issue that affects a specific group of people (i.e. children, teenagers, women, etc.) in your local community, state, country, or region. Then choose an organization or a policy maker that has addressed or tried to solve that problem in the past. Write a problem-solution paper that either 1) critiques 1-2 of the current solutions and recommends 1-2 other ideas.

1. Let's take a look at what you propose as the solution to investigate and at the sources you research to learn more about that solution.
Solutions
sources

2. Review the characteristics of academic writing. Check on the class blog, click on Features of Academic Writing.

3. Evaluating the reliability of a source:

Definition: The quality or state of being dependable.
Synonyms: dependability, responsibility, solidity, sureness, trustability, trustworthiness.

Open the PPP on reliability of websites and go over the information.
After checking each website decide if you would use it for a research paper or not. Say why.
Briefly write what makes a website reliable.

Tips on evaluating a source for reliability:

a) Think about how reliable you need the information to be.
Writing a research paper in university? You need to be strict about sources.

b) Consider the medium with which you are working.
Generally, the more that is invested in the creation and publishing of the material, the more
likely you are to find reliable information.
Peer-reviewed journals

c) Research the author
Who is he/she? Where does he work? What is her education background? Does he have
experience in the field? Has she been cited by other authors?

d) Check the date (publication and revision)

e) Investigate the publisher

f) Evaluate the source's sources (bibliography?)

g) Identify bias (objectivity)


4. Individually, quickly evaluate the two sources you proposed using the criteria you have review today.

a) Decide if the sources you submitted provide information you can use in your paper for:

*the purpose of the paper you are writing
*topic background (providing education to homeless children)
*organization (Homeless Children Education Fund)
*Solution we will investigate (creation of learning centers and resource library to provide homeless children with a place to study and socialize)

If not, you need to keep researching for more appropriate sources. Try to do it today in class, otherwise you will have to do it as a homework.

b) Write 2 - 3 sources justifying the reliability of the source for the GRP.

5. In groups of two, present each other your sources and discuss their reliability. Choose one source, from the four you together will have, and do the following:

a) On the class Google doc, please write
b) your name
c) the title of the source
d) the link (check that it is easy to access it from the document)
e) the explanation to justify this source's reliability

Homework:

1. If you could not finish the submitting of your sources for the GRP, do so on the Google doc by tomorrow Tuesday, March 6, at 10:00 AM. I will look at the sources submitted and choose three we will read for the GRP.

2. Choose a solution for your IRP. (Due Tuesday, March 6, 12:00 midnight)

3. Evaluate the two sources you have for the IRP. Check if they meet the requirements for the writing of your paper (purpose, background, organization, etc.) Write 2-3 sentences justifying their reliability.
Go to Dropbox, click on your IRP file, open a new folder and name it
solution__ source reliability
Upload here: a) a brief statement explaining the solution you will investigate.
b) two sources (with a clear title and link that is easy to follow)
c) a 2-3 sentence statement justifying the realibility of each sentence.
(Due: Tuesday, March 5, 12:00 midnight)



Sources
1. PPP on reliability was taken from
Hewitt, K. (2011). Evaluating Source Reliability. ESL 115 TA Resources.
http://esl115ta.blogspot.com/2012/01/evaluating-source-reliability.html

2. Tips to evaluate a source's reliability were taken from
WikiHow. How to Evaluate the Credibility of a Source. Retrieved from
http://www.wikihow.com/Evaluate-the-Credibility-of-a-Source

Day 20: Researching the chosen organization for solutions provided

Objectives
Today we will
* narrow down the choices made for organizations for the GRP.
* investigate solutions for the GRP.
* research for sources to analyze the chosen solution(s).
* ropose organization, solution, and sources for the GRP.




1. Narrow down choices of organization.

Please examine the two most voted organizations:

a) National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth

b) Homeless Children Education Fund

Get in groups of 2. You have 15 minutes to browse the websites for these two organizations.

• Why is this a good organization? (reliable, valid, mission, etc.)

• Find solutions this organization has proposed. How many solutions does this organization have proposed/executed?

• Examine each solution. Do you think that you would be able to analyze, evaluate, propose ways to improve this solution?

• Choose one organization and one solution. Post it on the Class Google doc. (Write both your names at the beginning of the entry.)
  

2. SEARCHING FOR SOURCES

You have 15 minutes to provide two sources for the solution you have proposed to investigate:

One of these sources must come from the UIUC Library Website. Remember what you learned during our library day.

The other source should come from a quick search on-line.

Post these sources on the Google Doc.

Important:
Keep a folder with the sources you will select for your paper. This folder should include:
a) The article/portion of information that will be used.
c) complete, accurate bibliographic entry (using the APA format)
d) your comment on the source (a summary, an evaluation, a reflection on the source's possible uses for the project at hand)



Homework
Both assignments are due on Sunday, March 4, 5:00 PM.

For the GRP: Upload your choice of organization, the solution you propose to analyze, and the two sources you found today.

For the IRP: Follow the same procedure we have done today to narrow down the organizations you have researched for your IRP. Choose a solution to analyze and begin research, both in the Library website as well as on-line. For your IRP you are asked to have more than two sources. You can also visit the Research Section in the Undergraduate Library where they can give you a hand with your research.
Upload your final choice of organization (name, website address), a summary of the solution you will be analyzing and list at least three sources, with bibliographic information and comment (see above on Important)

Day 19: Choosing the Organization/Policy Maker for the GRP

Objectives
Today we will
* agree on the narrowed topic we will tackle for our GRP.
* research for an organization or policy maker to investigate for the GRP
* choose an organization or policy maker for the GRP.


1. Review: What have we done so far?
Take a look at the handout you received last Monday.

2. The narrowed topic for the GRP is:
voting sheet

3. a. Now that we have a manageable topic, we need an organization/policy maker that has tried to solve or reduce this problem. Individually, conduct a quick research on this area. Check reliability of organization, policies and solutions it has proposed, etc. Use the handout provided on Monday.
b. Get in groups of three and present your organization to your peers. Explain why you think it is a good choice for research. Listen to the proposals from your classmates, evaluate their organizations. As a group, choose one of the organizations. Write it down on the Google doc, make sure you write your names on the proposal. You will be asked to tell us why do you thing that is a good organization to investigate

4. Beginning the search for sources:
a. Individually first, conduct a quick research for ACADEMIC sources on the subtopic you are assigned (problem background, organization, solutions proposed by the organization). Evaluate the source according to validity and reliability. Check the document for this on the class website.

Homework

1. Research for an organization for your IRP. Check the solutions this institution has proposed to solve the problem you have decided to investigate. Upload your organization and a tentative solution you plan to investigate. Due date: Thursday, March 1, 12:00 midnight.

2. For the GRP. Go on the Googledoc and study the different options for organizations. Vote for TWO organizations. Write why you chose each. Thursday, March 1, 12:00 midnight.

Day 18: Narrowing the topic for the GRP

Objectives:
* To discuss the narrowing of of a topic
* To choose the narrowed topic for the GRP
* To choose the organization we will analyze for the GRP.

1. These are the suggestions you made for a narrowed topic and organization for the GRP.

tips for narrowing a topic

narrowed topic

Let's vote on a tentative narrowed topic.

2. In groups of three we will look for information on
a. background information
b. organizations
c. solutions given to the problem

3. Now we need to decide the organization we are going to investigate. Take a look at the handout Guidelines for the Guided Research Paper. Go to the websites of the organizations proposed and answer the questions.

4. We need to decide what solution to the problem this organization has devised we are going to analyze and evaluate.

In your folder GRP, open a new folder where you write:
a. the narrowed topic
b. the organization
c. a tentative solution to analyze/evaluate


Homework:
1. For the GRP, go to the Googledoc we worked on in class today and go over the proposed narrowed topics again. Choose two, you can choose your own of course. Write them down and upload this on Dropbox by Tuesday 29, at 6:00 PM.

2. Narrow the topic for your IRP. Use the same procedure we have used for GRP. Upload it on Dropbox by Wednesday, March 1, 8:00 AM.

Day 17: Purpose, Audience, and Tone

Objectives:
* To narrow our chosen topic for the GRP
* To choose the audience (organization) for our GRP

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.

Guidelines for the GRP


Homework:
1. Go to Dropbox and upload your suggestion on a narrowed topic for homelessness. Write the name of the organization you propose and its website email address. This is due Saturday at 12:00 midnight.
2. If your topic was approved, start your pre-research and proceed to narrow it to a manageable size. Next, conduct a research for an organization/policy maker whose solutions you can analyze. Follow the same guidelines we did today for the GRP.
Once you have this information, create a new folder on Dropbox and label it:

IRP_topic and organization

Upload it by next class (Monday, Feb. 27).

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

Day 16: Library Day today!

Objectives:
Students will be able to see and hopefully learn to use the UIUC Library resources to conduct their research for the GRP and the IRP.

Students please go to Room 291 in the Undergraduate Library. Try to come a little before 9:00; I will be waiting for you at the library entrance but we need to be inside the room at 9:00 A.M.

HOMEWORK
For our next class you need to do the following:

1. Most of you voted for"The increasing number of homeless people" as the topic for our Guided Research Paper (10 votes). They way it is now, this topic is too general and we need to narrow it to a more specific focus. Please think about narrowed ideas for this topic. We will brainstorm this in class.

2. This research paper assignment your are about to embark calls for analyzing and evaluating the solution(s), policy(ies) of a organization that has tried to solve the problem in the past. Therefore, we need to find an organization that has addressed the issue of homelessness and proposed or implemented solutions to eradicate it. Please, research organizations in this area. We will brainstorm this in class as well.

3. You should have a tentative topic for your Individual Research Paper by now. If you don't, please choose one by Wednesday. Start your research for articles about your topic; it is important to learn about the topic first doing some extensive reading about it.

Now that you know about some of the resources our library offers, it is important that your research is conducted in the library more than on Google or Wikipedia. Your sources will have to be truly academic and exhibit all the characteristics this type of sources require.

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

Day 14: Choosing a Topic for the Guided Research Paper

Objective:
* To start the process of research by choosing the topic of our investigation.


1. Choose an issue that affects a specific group of people (i.e. children, teenagers, women, etc.) in your local community, state, country, or region of the world.
Example: Topic/problem: Endangered Species
website 1
website 2

2. Choose an organization or policy maker that has addressed or tried to solve that problem in the past.
Example of organization that deals with the problem of endangered species:
The World Wildlife Fund

3. Brainstorm a list of problems you are interested in or that you know affect you or other in your community. Select one or two.

4. Begin your search o the web. (Don't forget: you need a problem and an organization or policy maker that has been working on solving the problem.

5. Once you have a topic and an organization, please submit your proposal in writing:

1. Your name:

2. The topic/problem you propose to research:

3. Submit a couple of websites for background information on this topic.

4. Organization or policy maker which has tried to deal with/solve the problem:

5. Website:

Give proposal to instructor.


Homework:
Remember that the final draft for the diagnostic essay is due Monday, February 20, at 12:00 midnight.

Day 13: Writing a Problem Solution Paper

Objectives:
* We will take a look at what we are doing the next few weeks.
* We will discuss the importance of research and the writing of a research paper
* We will be able to list the steps in the process for writing a research paper.


I. Warm-up: Let's watch a short video on what Sponge Bob thinks about writing research papers.
Sponge Bob video
How difficult is it for you to write a paper?
We need to understand what research is and understand the process to follow so that we don't end up like Sponge Bob.

II. What is ahead...

Interview with Professor Janelle Scott
Watch this video of a professor talking about her research.

• What is the topic of her research?
  
• How does she define her research interests?
  
• What does she hope her research will do?

III. Research Paper Overview
A. In pairs, open up the RESEARCH PAPER OVERVIEW (ORDERING ACTIVITY). Rearrange the steps into the order that you feel is correct. Add 1-2 sentences for each step as to what it means, why it is important, or how you should complete it.

B. Whole Class Application
What did everyone put for their first step? Second?... Any discrepancies? Do you think that more than one ordering is possible?
Now you will be given a RESEARCH PAPER OVERVIEW (HANDOUT). Compare the list here with what you have done yourselves--any major differences?

Can we apply all these steps to the topic of child obesity?

Example:

• Choosing a topic: I heard about this problem form a commercial and on the news. I wonder if anything is being done about this?

• Pre-search: I look it up on CQ Researcher and I listed a bunch different ideas related to it--food in schools, false advertisements, high prices on healthy foods, fitness programs, an organization advocating for healthier school lunches, etc.
  

• Develop a research question: Hmm, I am definitely more interested in the school lunch advocate groups because I always remember having bad food in school and I never liked eating it. I wonder what different policies have been proposed for healthier lunches? So maybe my research question is: How can a school make healthier lunches available to their students and will this really affect child obesity?
  

• Formal Source Search: On the library database, I do a lot of searching related to school lunch programs and find some helpful, reliable sources. Now I am ready to take notes. OR I don't really find anything I am interested in but while I was searching I found a lot of neat things related to fitness programs. So I am going to revise my research questions to evaluate the effectiveness of child fitness programs instead of school lunches.
  

• Note-taking: I print out the articles, start highlighting, etc. and making notes in the margins about what I might be able to use. With the help of my instructor, I will write an annotated bibliography to organize my information.

• Outline: Now I can synthesize all my notes and start building an outline with a thesis, supporting point, and illustrations from which I will write.

• Presentation: I put together a PowerPoint presentation with m y sources, thesis, and key pints and p resent them to the class.

• Writing: draft after draft after draft and with APA style, I will actually write my paper as the last step!

Homework:
Think about topics you are interested in. In the next class we will decide on the topic we will use to develop our Guided Research Paper. For Monday, you will decide on the topic of your Individual Research Paper.