Gretchen Flesher Moon
Creating Good Assignments
June 2000 workshop, Gustavus Adolphus College



A Bibliography of Sources for Background, Context,
Suggestion, Imitation, and Adaptation,
selective, incomplete, even capricious
(the composition of which perhaps suggests the search strategies of its compiler)


Two books whose usefulness to faculty in all disciplines I cannot exaggerate:

Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. (The Jossey-Bass higher and adult education series). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 1996.

Could also have been subtitled: The Professor’s Guide to Transforming the Classroom to a Site for Problem-Solving. This is the Dr. Spock or PDR (understood correctly, even The Joy of Cooking) of writing-across-the-curriculum guides.

Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.

Intended as a textbook for student researchers, from the newest beginners to graduate and professional students, this text will also serve faculty well as a model of how to teach their students the intricately related processes of research and writing.

And one I discovered in preparation for this workshop:

Lutzker, Marilyn. Research Projects for College Students: What to Write Across the Curriculum.

Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1988.

Very useful, designed as a kind of teacher’s guide in three parts: designing useful research assignments and ideas about teaching components of those assignments, alternatives to term papers (short section), and research prospects for undergraduates in primary sources (much longer section).

 The locus classicus of discussion on the enshrined position of the "research paper" in writing instruction is a pair of articles in College English 44 (1982):

Larson, Richard L., "The ‘Research Paper’ in the Writing Course: A Non-Form of Writing," 811-16, defines research generally

as the seeking out of information new to the seeker, for a purpose . . . [which] the researcher usually has to interpret, evaluate, and organize . . .before it acquires value. (812-13) He summarizes his complaints about assigning the "research paper," in which a student is told that for this one assignment, this one project, he or she has to go somewhere (usually the library), get out some materials, make some notes, and present them to the customer neatly wrapped in footnotes and bibliography tied together according to someone’s notion of a style sheet. . . . Teaching the generic ‘research paper’ often represents a misguided notion of ‘service’ to other departments. The best service we can render to those departments and to the students themselves, I would argue, is to insist that students recognize their continuing responsibility for looking attentively at their experiences; for seeking out, wherever it can be found, the information they need for the development of their ideas; and for putting such data at the service of every piece they write. (816) Schwegler, Robert A. and Linda K. Shamoon, "The Aims and Process of the Research Paper," 817-24, recognize differences between student and instructor views of the purposes for writing research papers: Students view the research paper as a close-ended, informative, skills-oriented exercise written for an expert audience by novices pretending to be experts. No wonder then that students’ papers often roam freely over the subject area, are devoid of focus, and loaded down with quotes. Academics, on the other hand, view the research paper as open-ended and interpretive, written for an audience of fellow inquirers who have specific expectations of logic, structure, and style. Academic research papers reflect this view by being narrowly focused, aware of the scholarly audience, and frequently tentative in advancing a conclusion. (820) And they find room for useful teaching of the "academic research paper" upon analysis of distinct processes in presenting research: These then are the underlying aims or features of the research paper: awareness of scholarly content; method of investigation; specific subject (data); conclusion about the nature of the subject; and relationship of specific subject to broader subject area. And these underlying features manifest themselves in research papers as essential textual features, that is, as conventions. They appear at the beginning of a paper as indicators of the range and perspective of the study, in the body as guides to the rhetorical strategies, and in the conclusion as a restatement of the point of view of the study and a statement about its implications. (821-22) They distinguish four organizational patterns, representing four research aims:

1) Review of research
2) Application or implementation of a theory
3) Response to prior research
4) Testing a hypothesis (822-23)
They conclude that

in an appropriately simplified form they should be made part of instruction in the research paper, both as patterns of thought and patterns of expression. Care should be taken, however, to distinguish between standard exercises in evaluating source material, which are appropriate to argumentative and informative writing, and the development of an awareness of research patterns, which is an exercise in understanding academic discourse. (823)

Ford, James E. and Dennis R. Perry, "Research Paper Instruction in the Undergraduate Writing Program," College English 44 (1982): 825-31.

Surveys practices of assigning research papers in freshman and advanced writing courses. In 1981, the practice was widespread (84% freshmen, 40% advanced comp), as it had been in 1961 (83%). And attitudes toward the practice were as diverse and troubling as ever.

North, Stephen. "Teaching Research Writing: Five Criteria." Freshman English News 9.2 (Fall 1980): 17-19.

 North identifies five problems with teaching the "research paper" in freshman composition and proposes five criteria for courses, preferably in the disciplines, where research is assigned. The problems: 1) Research writing will not solve or erase students’ existing problems with writing. . . . [It] will more likely just deepen their confusion, cognitively and rhetorically. (17)

2) Students have a difficult time making their research material their own. . . . At best, writing from such a position produces reports, with the author serving as little more than a referee for the sources; and at worst, plagiarism. (18)

3) Students cannot write well in a form they have seldom seen and never studied. (18)

4) Students get too few chances to make mistakes in research writing. . . . students are expected to succeed at research writing after a little instruction and one or, at most, two attempts. In the traditional composition course, the term paper is usually weighted heavily in the students’ overall grade, but it is not supposed to present major difficulties because it is ‘assembled’ stp by step. We know, however, that learning is not promoted so much by step-by-step instruction as by trial and error. . . . Students need repeated practice writing whole pieces of discourse. (18)

5) The research paper, as it is [traditionally] taught, is alien and even harmful to our students’ developing composing processes. . . . it makes no concession to the students’ existing composing habits. (18)

 And the criteria: 1) Research writing should be taught only to students certifiably ready to learn it. (18)

2) Students should do research writing only on material that enables them to establish a conceptual framework in which to work. This takes time. . . . It takes time to become involved in reearch writing, to absorb and sort through reading, to seek out a direction, to do more reading, to draft and redraft. Most often one doesn’t know what the research is for until a draft or two has been written. (18)

3) The course must focus on carefully limited kinds of research writing in specific disciplines: the biology lab report, the literary research paper using primary sources, the reading case study, etc. . . . Students need to study real examples of such writing. . . . Hence, the text for any research writing course would include a collection of pieces of research writing of the desired kind. (18-19)

4) The course must provide students with repeated opportunities to attempt each kind of writing. (19)

5) The course must present research writing as a natural step in the students’ writing development, calling forth their existing composing skills as far as possible. (19)

 The following articles discuss student processes in writing and research: Fister, Barbara. "The Research Processes of Undergraduate Students." Journal of Academic Librarianship 18 (1992): 163-69.

Analyzes what students say about their own search and research processes and develops a more complex and problematic model of novice work. Emphasizes the central problem for undergraduate students of finding a focus. Remarks on the likely relevance of composition theory to teaching search and research skills—and to my mind, uncovers evidence that writing across the curriculum at Gustavus has taken hold! Besides informing our understanding of what it is that students do, identifies a number of points in process where I think writing might be useful to students.

Mellon, Constance A. "Process Not Product in Course-Integrated Instruction: A Generic Model of Library Research." College & Research Libraries 45 (1984): 471-78.

Model looks linear, talks recursive. In any event, a very useful reminder that writers "loop" rather than "line" in planning, conducting, rethinking, revisiting, library research just as they do in writing.

Nelson, Jennie. "The Research Paper: A ‘Rhetoric of Doing’ or a ‘Rhetoric of the Finished Word’?" Composition Studies: Freshman English News 22.2 (Fall 1994): 65-75.

 Surveyed 238 freshmen about goals and processes for writing research papers. Analyzed their responses and delineated four categories: 1) Compile Information Approach (74%)—simple linear process (get topic, collect info, sometimes take notes and/or develop outline, and write paper); no described point at which student identified questions, formulated thesis or focus

2) Premature Thesis Approach (11%)—simple linear process (develop thesis, sometimes outline, then do research, then write)

3) Linear Research Approach (10%)—simple linear process (form thesis or controlling idea after completing research and before writing)

4) Recursive Research Approach (5%)—complex process ("involving exploratory research and reading on a topic, formulating a tentative focus, and completing additional research to refine and extend their focus or thesis prior to writing a draft"). (67)

Stoan, Stephen K. "Research and Library Skills: An Analysis and Interpretation." College & Research Libraries 45 (1984): 99-109.

Distinguishes between library skills and scholarly research methods, finding that bibliographic instruction more commonly focuses on the first while practicing scholars behave differently. Two important implications for undergraduate assignments: scholars rely extensively on following up the notes of books and articles (rather than major indexes); learning to use major bibliographic tools may be useful to undergraduates as a "way in" to subject matters—and perhaps to faculty as a way in to less familiar fields and disciplines.
 
 

 The following articles describe specific assignments in research and writing that could be adapted to a number of different courses. See also the bibliography to Lutzker. Aspaas, Helen R. "Integrating World-Views and the News Media into a Regional Geography Course." Journal of Geography in Higher Education 22.2 (July 1998): 211-27.

Describes how she teaches students to gain insight in African world-views by analyzing what African media say. Provides lists of readings and internet sources as well as the series of assignments she makes, beginning with two in-class sessions and progressing to more independent research projects and a paper.

Capossela, Toni-Lee. "Students as Sociolinguists: Getting Real Research from Freshman Writers." College Composition and Communication 42 (1991): 75-79.

Engaging students in applied field research with a more or less simulated library component (i.e., assigned text to all students). Very adaptable to real library research, however.

Coon, Anne. C. "Using Ethical Questions to Develop Autonomy in Student Researchers." College Composition and Communication 40 (1989): 85-89.

Series of assignments (she taught first-year students) beginning with library research and continuing in new primary research. Structures recursivity.

Gredel-Manuele, Zdenka. "The Study of Family History: Research Projects in a Senior Seminar." Teaching History. 16.1 (Spring 1991): 27-32.

Detailed description of a semester-long project in collecting, analyzing and evaluating primary documents in family history and relating them to library research on ethnic groups’ immigration history, etc.

Horning, Alice S. "Advising Undecided Students through Research Writing." College Composition and Communication 42(1991): 80-84.

Probably not useful in most regular courses, but perhaps adaptable to some GAC situations: she describes a series of assignments based on career searching. Combines text and real-world searches. Dated somewhat by self-consciousness about word-processing.

Krest, Margie and Daria O. Carle. "Teaching Scientific Wriitng: A Model for Integrating Research, Writing and Critical Thinking." The American Biology Teacher 61.3 (March 1999): 223-227.

Detailed, even charted, description of assignments for a freshman course, Introduction to Scientific Writing. Perhaps adaptable to FTS or to Level 3 courses? Moves students through a series of assignments from abstracts and sections of lab reports, to reviews and proposals, research articles—all keyed to goals for writing, research, and critical thinking skills.

Sommers, Elizabeth. "Can Anybody Play? Using the World Wide Web to Develop Multidisciplinary Research and Writing Skills." In Sibylle Gruber, (ed.), Weaving a Virtual Web: Practical Approaches to New Information Technologies. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2000. 59-77.

Describes the old research writing course of freshman comp in the new WWW environment. Suggests many assignments and web-based activities. The article has not a single example suggesting the kinds of problems students write about, or even topics or disciplines—it’s content free! But if one wants a general model for teaching electronic searching, might be useful.

Articles from notes to the Fister and Fuhr proposal with implications for assignment design:

 Gresham, Keith. "Electronic Classrooms: Linking Information Concepts to Online Exploration." RQ 36 (1997): 514-20.

Identifies five stages in exploring online sources—access and navigation, database selection, database searching, online evaluation, source retrieval—each of which seems likely to be enhanced by writing for learning exercises (notes, worksheets, diagrams, etc.).

Martorana, Janet and Carol Doyle. "Computers On, Critical Thinking Off: Challenges of Teaching in the Electronic Environment." Research Strategies 14 (1996): 184-91.

Doesn’t address assignments which would prompt critical thinking, but has some very useful ideas about how to control the distractions and disturbances presented by electronic search environments. Might want to adapt their worksheets for scope, access, and search revision techniques to specific sources for your discipline. Writing for learning exercise?