Eric Drown, editor, Writing Advice From GWU Faculty

7/29/2019 Eric Drown, editor, Writing Advice From GWU Faculty

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HowTo!

AdvicefromtheGWUWritingFaculty

reprintsfrom:

gw

uw20.blogspot.com

1.HowtoStartUW20ontheRightFoot!..12.HowtoGenerateOriginalIdeasEvenasanEmergentScholar..7

3. HowtoMakeKeyRhetorical&IntellectualMovesinExpertWriting104.HowtoGetStartedonResearchasanEmergentResearcher..14

5.HowtoRevise(NOTJUSTEDIT!)YourWriting&GetBetterResults..186.HowtoUseSourcesEffectivelyinExpertWriting..21

7.TopTipstoFinishUW20Strong!..24

ContributingAuthors: EricDrown,DeborahGaspar,MarkMullen,RachelRiedner,PhyllisRyder,RobertRubin,DolsySmith,PhilipTroutman,ChristyZink. Individualauthorsretainallrightstotheircontributions.


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How t o Start UW20 on the Right Foot!

Every semest er some st udent s needlessl y underper f orm inUW20. And not because t hey're i l l -prepared or "bad wr i t ers."Prof. Eric Drownexplai ns why t his happens and what you cando t o get t he most out of UW20.

In my view, st udents perf orm bel ow t heir abi l i t ies because

t heir expectat ions of w hat t he course is meant t o accompl ishfor t hem don't mat ch the Universi t y s expectat ions of t he course s funct ions.

Confronted with a course that 's more challenging, less rule-bound, and lessfocused on grammar, st y le, and t echnique t han expect ed, some student s resignt hemselves t o simpl y get t ing t hrough t he course wit h minim um eff ort . They notonly r isk having t o ret ake the course, but also miss out on a maj or educat ionalopport uni t y that t he Universi t y values so highly t hat i t s t he only course t hatt he Universi t y requires of every single f i r st -year st udent.

Approaching UW20 wit h the r i ght at t i t ude is v i t al to m aking t he most of t hecourse. So let 's dispel some myt hs about t he cour se and off er you some successstrategies.

One last t hing befor e we get on wi t h i t : I 'd love to hear what you think aboutal l t his. Please leave a comm ent by c l icking on the l ink at t he end of t his post .

UW20 is not remedial. It's not the Universit y's way to ensure that you canwri te competent ly or proficiently. I t 's t he Universit y's w ay to int roduce you t ot he intel lect ual pract ices and comm unicat ion convent ions of an inst i t ut iondedicated t o creat ing new and product ive knowledge. Think of UW20 as t heUniversi t y s way to invi t e you to become f ul l part ic ipants in our most impor t antmission.

UW20 does not teach good wr it ing according to some arcane universaland t imeless standards (li ke concision or one-idea-per-paragraph ). Comm unit ies of people w ho create and use pieces of w ri t ing to do w orkest abl ish local st andards of what counts as good wr i t ing, good argument ,


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good st y le, good research, and so on. As you might expect , w hat counts as good in one locale might be deemed bad wr i t ing in another , depending ont he needs, custom s, and p urposes of t he local di scourse comm unit y. SinceUW20 is designed t o int roduce st udents to t he ways of w ri t ing and the habits ofmind of academics and publ ic expert s, you l l need to expect a c lass where t he

ru les for wr i t ing wel l are cont ingent , f lex ib le, and dependent on idea,audience, and purpose.

Accordingly, UW20 is not an extension of t he kind of writ ing required ofstudents in High School or other first-year University classes. The wr i t ingt asks assigned t o you in UW20 are not sim ply l onger, m ore comp licat ed, andmore int ense t han what youve d one in HS and other f i rst -year c lasses. In themain, t hey wi l l be qual i t at i vely and purposively di f f erent . In UW20 you re not

j ust w orking on developing clear an d l ogi cal expressions o f ideas. More t hanany othe r course earl y in your GW career, t his one asks you t o t hink of yourself

as an emerging scholar, capable of creating new knowledge. With this changecome new st andards, new mot ives for w ri t ing, new analyt ical andargument at i on t echniques, and new r esponsibi l i t ies t o readers.

Our best advice: EMBRACE CHANGE!

Don't t rust t hat what worked in HS wi l l work t o t he same degree or a t a l l i n UW20. Expect t hat you'l l probably have t o change your bel i efs about yoursel f asa wri t er, as wel l as about what wr i t ing is and does. You l l def ini t ely have tochange your w ork pr ocesses, and t he st andards by w hich you evaluat e your

achievement.

Change your self - im age wi t h r egard t o your r ole i n UW20. When you think ofyoursel f as an emerging scholar, not a f i rst -year st udent learning a ski l l , you l l expect m ore of yoursel f and see wri t ing bot h as part of t he way youlearn somet hing new, and t he way you teach that new t hing t o other people ina way that enables t hem t o do somet hing wi t h the knowl edge.

Develop ef f ect ive st udy met hods f or doing more t han memorizing andrepr oducing facts or expert opinion. Ask your peers, prof essor, or l i brar ian for

help.

Expect more f requent , more complex, and more in t erre la t ed homeworkassignments, ones t hat w i l l di rect ly shape your abi l i t ies t o do the maj orproj ects of t he course. Poor w ork on t he support ing assignments wi l l makesuccess on t he larger assignment s f ar mor e dif f i cult .


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Reali ze that grading wi l l be more process/ result s-ori ented and less rel ated t oamount o f e f f o r t .

Develop a convict ion t hat responsibi l i t y f or passing t he course rest s pri mari lyw i t h you , al t hough your inst ruct or and your l ibr ar ian are t here t o help you do

your best.

Work on t he course fr equent ly, d i l igent ly, and consist ent l y. Don't t hink youcan fal l behind b y a couple of we eks and catch up i n a marat hon session t henight bef ore t he paper is due. Al l you l l do is lose sleep, miss t he deadl ine, andhave to re-do the pro j ect .

Use off ice hoursear l y an d of t en, an d not j ust w hen you re exper iencingproblems.

Go along wi t h t he l earni ng processes your pr of essors have designed f or you,even i f you don't ful ly underst and them (but do ask lot s of quest ions t o bet t ercompr ehend w hat 's being asked of you and why).

Try t o do t he t asks assigned at t he level of complexit y wit h whi ch t hey'represented t o you. Don't subst i t ut e what you know how t o do f rom high schoolf or w hat is being asked of you. Don't reduce "int erpr et ive synt hesis" t o"comp are and cont rast " or "wri t e a persuasive argument " t o "have an opini on."

Expect revision t o be more about t est ing and developing ideas, r at her t han

sim ply correct ing err ors in st yle, grammar or w orking on clar i t y of expression.Revision w i l l be ongoing thr oughout t he w ri t ing process. Edit ing for grammar,st y le, and c lar i t y wi l l come at t he end of t he pro ject .

Don't bel ieve in t he myt h of wr i t ing as a talent. I t 's a craft somet hing t hat canbe learned t hrough pract ice and r esponse. No one is inherent ly a "bad" wr i t er.Everyone can impr ove their abi l i t y to comm unicate complex, i nt erest ing, anduseful ideas more per suasively. But you have t o work w el l and ef fect ively at i t .

Don't be l ieve t hat proper wr i t ing inst ruct i on should f ocus pr im ar i l y on sk i l l s,

t echniques, st yle or gramm ar. Because academic and expert publ ic w ri t ingseeks t o provide i ts communit ies wit h r ich, pr oduct ive, and t ransfor mat iveknowledge, t ime spent working on reading, interpretat ion, idea-developmentwi l l enhance your wri t ing.

Don't qui t on t he coursewhen: a) i t gets d i f f icu l t , b) i t gets confusing, c) theinst ruct ion you re get t ing doesn t m atch what you learned in ot her set t ings, d)


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you don't get t he grade you wanted, e) you real ize t hat you re going to have t ochange your approach t o academic or exper t publ ic w ri t ing. Inst ead, get helpFast . Form a st udy group, ask a peer for help, visit your l i brar ian or pr ofessor.

Don't browse the internet, check your e-mail, update your Facebook page,

t weet or t ext i n class or w hi l e you re wor king on your UW20 homework.Recent scientif ic research shows that mult i tasking strongly disrupts learning,part icular ly t he kind of complex analyt i cal and logical operat ions you re set t ingout t o learn in t his class (h t t p : / / www.w ebmd.com/ balance / gu ide / 20070201/ mult i tasking-hurts- learning). So whi l e you might have been able t o l ist en t omusic, chat wi t h a f r i end, w atch YouTube, do some algebra problems, andwr i t e your hist ory report in HS, your e very l ikel y t o be sabotaging your chancesof success if you apply t he same st rat egies t o your UW20 w ork.

Expect t o wor k on UW20 out side of class, bet ween 8 t o 12 hour s a week.

Expect t o be pushed wel l beyond your curr ent capacit iesno m at t er w hat levelof pr of ic iency you br ing to t he course.

Go t o class, every t ime.

Be wel l prepared f or class, every t ime.

Do assigned wor k t o t he best of your aspir at ions, no t t o meet m in imumexpectat ions.

Part ic ipate f ul l y and act ively in every class.

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Posted by GW Univ. Writ ing Program at 11:42 AMLabels: advice, Drown, t i ps


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How to Generate Original Ideas:Even as an Emergent Scholar

The Fir st Year Writ ing facult y st rongly bel ieve t hat UW20st udent s are emergent scholars. By t his we mean t hat wesee our st udent -coll eagues as wr it ers capable ofproducing ideas and insight s t hat are wor t h r eadingbecause t hey are bot h ori g inal and si t uat ed in exist ingscholarship. Not sur pr isingl y, one of emer gent schol ars'

(of al l ages!) great est anxiet ies is t he problem of how t ocome up wi t h and develop ori ginal i deas t hat ot herscholars wi l l f ind int erest ing and product ive. In t h is post ,

Professors Mark Mullen and Robert Rubinof f er shocking and usef ul advice t oemer gent scholars on how t o generat e ori ginal i deas. Tr y t hese st r at egies,t hen come back and leave a comment on how t hey worked f or you!

Prof. Mullen wri tes:

One goal of a lo t of argument-dr iven wr i t ing, par t icu lar ly that assoc iat ed wi t h

academic w ork, i s t o of f er new ideas, or at l east new w ays of l ooking at ol derconcept s. Unfort unately, most of w hat w e have rat t l ing around in our headsrepresent s t he exact opposit e: i t 's t he prevai l ing wisdom, bel ief s about t hest atus quo, a f i nely t uned sense of w hat i s accept able. . .exact l y t he sort oft hing that makes for t edious and point less reading.

This is a technique t o help c lear your head of t he accumulat ed cul t ural drossabout any given subj ect and focus on somet hing that you might f i nd wort hsaying and someone else mi ght f ind wort h reading. First , pick t hree ideas t hatyou might l ike t o wri t e about f or t he part icular essay that you are working on.

Wri t e a short paragraph for each that at t empt s t o make an argumentconcerning that idea. Now t ake t hat p iece of paper , ro l l i t up into a t ight l ywadded bal l , and throw i t in t he nearest t rash can. The f i rst t hree ideas you'vecome up wit h are more t han l ikely the m ost obvious t hings t hat w ould haveoccurred t o anyone wri t ing about t his t opic and you have j ust voiced them anddisposed of t hem in a way that won't t empt you to t ry and cajo le t hem intosome kind of t hesis.


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Now l ist t hree complet ely new ideas. By t his point you'l l f eel t hat you areget t ing a l i t t le st uck. You'l l st art put t ing down random st uf f , ideas out of lef tf ield , i deas t hat don't seem as if t hey w ould ever have a snowb all 's chance inhel l of making for a credible paper. . .and t here's a good chance that at l astyou wi l l have st umbl ed upon somet hing interest ing and wort h wri t ing about.

In a book he's curr ent ly w orki ng on, Prof. Rubin offers this advice:

In business, successf ul cr eat ive t eams oft en hol d a br ainst orm ing sessionwhere t hey br ing people t oget her and get t hem t o st art t ossing out i deasgood,bad, and crazy. One per son s crazy idea sparks someone else s good one, andso fort h. I f done r i ght , everyone leaves t heir skept i c ism at t he door and no oneworr ies about saying anything st upid; t en people come into a meet ing wit h t enideas apiece, but instead of 1010=100 ideas, brainstorming mult ipl ies theeff ect ; i t s more l ike 101010=1000. St at i st ical ly speaking, your e more l ikely

t o f ind a r eal ly good idea f r om a pool of 1, 000 than 100.

Wai t a minute! you say. There aren t n ine other people in the room wi t hme t ry ing t o f ind a good idea. I m al l by mysel f !

Don t be so sure. You mi ght l ike r aunchy jokes, beaut i f ul sunset s, bad puns,soap operas, chocolate, Mozart s concertos, Ult imate Frisbee, and hackingcomput ers. You might l i ke being sweet t o chi ldren and being naught y whenf l i r t ing dur ing a dat e. But , w hen you si t down t o wr i t e, t yp ical ly you t ry t o shutout al l t hose ot her sides of your personal i t y and j ust l ist en t o t he one that

t urns inform at i on into elegant sent encest he Edit or, w e l l cal l i t .

Sadly, t he Edit or lacks imaginat ion. I t knows to leave the hyphen out of analre ten t ive and t o add i t t o anal-re t ent ive proof r eading. But don t ask your innerEdit or t o dream up a good Hal low een cost umeor a good paper t opic, f or t hatma t t e r .

When you re bra inst orming, forget about t hat Edi tor ! Wr i te f or yoursel f .Record as many specif ics as possibl e. Don t wor ry about spell ing or gramm ar.Explor e as many avenues as your im aginat ion opens up bef ore you. Let al l t hedif fer ent voices speak. Lat er, you can t hink about t hem mor e ful l y and t urnt hem over t o the Edi t or for c leanup.

In th is cont ext , bra inst orming doesn t mean si t t ing in f ront of a computerscreen, racking your brain for somet hing to wr i t e about. I t m eans wr i t ing foryourself , w hen t here s no one else looking, as a way of generat ing ideas.[snip. . . ]


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Try a var iat ion of t he o ld game of t went y quest ions wi t h your subj ect . Thefol l owing technique, know n as a heur is t ic (adapted f rom Twent y Quest ions f ort he Wr i t e r , b y Jacqueli ne Berke), is a good way of l earning somet hing aboutyour subj ect X ; i t can be appl ied t o everything f rom a paragraph t o theent ire essay. Ask t he quest ions, and j ot dow n answ ers quickl y. When you get

t hrough, you l l have a l ist of ideas and thoughts t o work int o your f inishedwr i t ing .

1. What does X mean? (Def init ion)2. What are t he various feat ures of X? (Descrip t ion)3. What are t he com ponent part s of X? (Sim ple Analysis)4. How is X made or done? (Process Analysis)5. How should X be m ade or done? (Direct ional Analysis)6. What is the essent ial fu nct ion of X? (Funct ional Analysis)7. What are the causes of X? (Causal Analysis)

8. What are t he con seque nces of X? (Causal Analysis)9. What are t he t ypes of X? (Classif icat ion)10. How is X li ke or unl ike Y? (Compar ison)11. What is the present st at us of X? (Comp arison)12. What is the signif icance of X? (Interpretat ion)13. What are t he f act s about X? (Report age)14. How did X happen? (Narr at ion)15. What k ind of person or t hing is X? (Character izat i on/ Prof i le)16. What is my per sonal r esponse t o X? (Ref lect ion)17. What is my m emor y of X? (Remi niscence)

18. What is t he value of X? (Evaluat ion)19. What are t he essent ial p oint s or f eat ures of X? (Summ ary)20. What case can be m ade f or or against X? (Persuasion)


Posted by GW Univ. Writ ing Program at 12:01 AMLabels: advice, generate ideas, How to, Mullen, Rubin, t i p s


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How to Make Key Rhetorical andIntellectual Moves in Expert Writing

In UW20 st udent -w ri t ers are asked t o make compl exin t e l lectua l , analyt ical , and rhet or ical moves in t he i r t h inking and wri t ing. Of t en our everyday language for msare not part icularl y wel l sui t ed t o such tasks as handl i ngmul t ip l e perspect ives at once, t o for ging connect ionsbet ween abst r act ions and exampl es, synt hesizi ng ideas

f rom a mat r i x of sources.

Fort unatel y, d iscourse communit ies ( l ike discipl i nes,pr of essions, and f iel ds of st udy) develop speciali zedt radit ions of language used t o do t his kind of compl excommuni cat ive wor k. Part of what UW20 st udent s learn i s how t o recognize,appropri ate, and r evise t hese special i zed l anguage f orms for t heir own expert wr i t ing si t uat ions.

The fol l owi ng post pr ovides sampl e language t empl at es developed byUW20

ProfessorsEric Drownand Rachel Riedner ( inspir ed by and in dialogue wi t hGr af f 's and Bir kenst ein'sThey Say/ I Say) t o handl e som e of t he mor ef requent ly encounter ed rhetor i ca l si t uat ions t hat w i l l ar ise in argument at i vewr i t ing .

Not e: Some inst ruct ors may be concerned t hat such templ ates mi ght st i f lest udents or ig inal i t y or do t oo much of t he hard work of t h ink ing f or t hem. Wedisagree. Professor Drownagrees t hat st udents should t hink f or t hemselves,but I don't t h ink t hese templ at es do the t hinking for t he st udents. I 'mpersuaded by my experience that t hese t emplat es help st udent s in t he ways

described by Bir kenst ein and Graf f : whi ch is t o help t hem bri ng out aspect s of t he i r t hought t hat t hey wouldn 't have recognized wi t hout t he templat es' prompt . I t h ink t hese sentence-f orms give order t o st udent 's ideas, i nvi t est udents t o quest ion t heir bel i efs, and to si t uate t heir i deas in rel at i onship t ot he ideas of ot hers. What t he t emplat es do is make key rhet ori cal movesavai lable t o st udent s in w ay that enables t hem t o develop t heir ideas in mucht he same ways mor e seasoned scholar s do.


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Professor Riedneruses these templates in her UW20 classes not as formulasbut as exercises t o begin t he wr i t ing process. The t emplat es get st udents t orecognize moves of academi c wri t ing and t o make expl i c i t how t hey're w orkingwi t h t he wr i t ing of ot her aut hors. Prof essor Riedner st resses t hat as st udents

develop their ideas and develop their own language, they should move beyondt he templat es.

Arguing for an approach to your material and sett ing up an argument (thatwil l emerge in the paper). These sent ences could be wor ked i nt o anint roduct ory sect ion of a r esearch paper, helping you set up what t he paper isdoing, what your approach adds to exist ing knowledge on your subject, andwhy your approach is import ant. A st rong argument makes a claim t hatrequir es analysis t o support and evolve and of f ers some point about t hesignif icance of your evidence. I t promot es t hinking, prompt s f urt her quest ions

and draws at t ent i on to specif ics. I t of t en tends t o push back against ad i f f e rent v iew o f t he t opic.

Describing your topic: I am st udying __________, in order t o learn/ explain___________, w hich is si gn i f ican t becau se _________ . NOT: I m doing X.

Just if ying your approach: I approach [my mater ia l / object of st udy]___ [ in t h isspecif ic way] _______ to support and expand points about the signif icance of

________. My ap proach al low s us t o see evidence __________, prompt ingfurther questions about _________ and drawing attention to ________. As a

result , my work expands/ chal lenges/ argues against _______ view of evidence,and allow s us t o see ________ [t hat may have not been consider ed orunderst ood before] .

Developing your ideas and claims: These st r at egies all ow you t o produceanalysis and devel op ar gument s based on your analysis. These st r at egies canhelp you work r i gorously w it h your evidence, help you explain how you reint erpr et ing i t , how you re adding t o exist ing analysis, how you re developingkey ideas and concept s, how you r e cont r ibut ing t o exist ing scholarship andknowledge on your subject.

Complication: This expl anati on gets us __ [only so far ] __ as we t ry t o explain[w hat ever i t is we re expla ining] . ___ [Key p ieces of ev idence] __ don t f i t t h isexplanat ion in ___ [ t his part icular way] __. Consequent l y, [ Reform ulat e t heargument in l ight of t his] . Repeat.

Complication: Unfort unately, what I have j ust said is not enough t o explain


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_______. To adequat ely underst an d _____, w e l l have t o consider ________. Or, The case isn t so sim ple, rat her _______.

Querying key terms: [These key ter ms in my argument ] __ need t o be queriedbecause ___ . Having developed t hese t erms, [ r eform ulat e t he argument and

ret est against evidence analyzed in t he new t erms].

Considering argument as part of something larger: While i t m ay appear t hat_________ ar e insign i f icant , w hen underst ood as________, t hey [ sign i f ican ce ofnew underst anding] .

Reformulate argument by refusing to go along with t he convent ional wisdom: Most commentators on ______ tend towards [their understanding] ________. I fwe consider i t in [d i f f erent ] _________ term s, i t becomes possible t o generatesuch new insight s as _________.

Clarification: Although it might appear that I am saying ________, I reallymean ________. Or, Said anot her way, _________.

Definition/Redefinition: Alt hough t his t erm is usual ly underst ood in t his[simpl e] w ay __________, in t he cont ext of m y work i t means t his [m orecomplex, nuanced, specif ic, special ized thing] __________ . This more subtlemeani ng is impor t ant because ____________.

Introducing and exit ing a quote: Accordi ng to X, a scholar of [source of

authori t y] , ________ [paraphrase of t he larger argument of t he quoted piece] .In ___t i t le___ she wr i t es: _____________. What she means in t he context oft his paper is _______. I f X is r ight about ______, t hen __[ret urn t o your ownideas considered in l ight of t he quote or as a way to r edirect t he insights of t hequote] ___.

At t r ibut ing Sources: Accordi ng t o X, ________. In hi st orian X s view , ________.In t i t le of piece, essayist X argues t hat __________.

Revealing an implication: [Follow ing a discussion of specif ic det ails in a

wr i t er s piece] These det ai ls add up t o t he unst ated assumpt ion t hat _________.Or, Alt hough X doesn t say so expl icit ly, she appears to m ean t hat ___________.

Revealing a questionable assumption: X s claim t hat _____ rest s on t hequest ionable assump t ion t hat _______.


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Context uali zing a specifi c insight: [This speci f ic t hing I m t alk ing about] isbest understood as part of _______ . Or, [This speci f ic t hing I m t alk ing about ]is specif ic example of ___[this larger pattern] ___. By seeing this thing incontext , w e discover t hat _______.

Specific insights confirm a more general claim: So as w e can see fr om t heseaspect s of _________, t hat X mor e generall y t ends t o ________.

Moving from a general claim to a specific piece of support: [A f t er making t hegeneral claim ]. For instance, ________. To t ake a case in poi nt , ________.

Representing the state of dialogue in a field: Such scholars as X and Y haveargued recent ly t hat ______. This v iew stands as an import ant corr ect ion t ot hat of Z who classical ly argued that ______. This shi f t has enabled t he f i eld t o

______, producing a bet t er underst anding of _______. In l igh t of my ow n

research, ________.

Extending and developing a point of agreement: I agree t hat _________, andwoul d even add ________. This extension of t his idea is product ive because

________.Using summary of someone else s work t o develop a point : In l ight of whatI ve been arguing, i t s inst ruct ive t o consider w hat X has t o say about a simi lart opic: _______. As s/ he argues __________. I f X is r i ght/ wr ong about ______,t hen my i deas __[need t o develop; should al t er w hat X t hinks]__.

Allow a counter-argument to develop your point: Some people obj ect t hat______. Al t hough I concede __________, I ________[ ref orm ulat e my point t oaccount f or t he apt cr i t ic ism] ______.

ConclusionGett ing at the signifi cance of your work [ NOT just summarizing what you vealready said]: At stake in t his argument is _______. Or, While most otherscholars have argued _______, my wor k r eveals ______. This new i nsight issignificant because _______.

*Developed i n response t o Gerald Graf f s and Cat hy Bir kenst ein s wor k in TheySay/ I Say: The Moves t hat Mat t er in Academic Wri t ing(NY: W. W. Nort on,2006).


Posted by GW Univ. Writ ing Program at 8:25 AMLabels: advice, Drown, How t o, Riedner


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How to Get Start ed on Research as an Emergent Researcher

Most high schools and many col l ege w r it ing coursest each Research as a set of skil l s t o be mast ered,whi ch can be appl i ed t o any research problem Int he Fir st Year Wri t ing Program, w e bel i eve t hatr esearch is a met hodical, but organic andessent i a l ly t hought -dri venprocess. Sim pl y put

research are the si t uat ional but r i gorousst rat egies t hat i nt el l ect uals uset o observe t he

world(be i t in t he form of t ext , human behavior , socia l st ructur es, or nat ura l phenomenon) andt o develop defensible and product ive knowledge-claimsabout i t. The f acu l t y be l ieve t hat f i r st -year st udent s are not only r eady t o conduct real r esearch on aut hent i c probl ems, w e bel i eve t hat t heir f indings,analyses, and int erpr et at ions are wor t h reading. The t oughest probl em f oremergent researchers wor king t o develop met hodical but organic st rat egiesf or observing t he worl d in part icular r esearch si t uat i ons is knowing how t omanage mul t ipl e new concepts, pr ocesses, and t echniques at t he same t im e as

t hey are becoming expert s in t he subject and f ie ld o f t he i r pr o ject .

In t his post , Professors Phyllis Ryder & Eric Drown, and l ibr ar iansDolsySmit h & Deborah Gaspar of f er advice on how t o get st art ed on r esearch as anemergent researcher. Please, whether you're an emergent or experiencedresearcher, leave a comment or quest ion deri ved fr om your ow n r esearchexperiences.

According t o Prof. Drown, "emergent researchers have to embrace asubstantive mind shift as they make the move from doing research assignments

to rehearse research skil ls to conducting authentic research on open questionsof act ive int erest. In a 'research skil ls ' approach, stud ent s are t aught t o answ erquest ions def i ni t ively by seeking, evaluat ing, and present ing inform at i on. Thework of t he researcher is t o col late, j udge, and perhaps t o recommend. Incontr ast , researchers worki ng on authent ic r esearch problem s have toconstruct obj ects of st udy, f igure out t he appropri ate and meaningfulquestions to ask, locatescholar ly communit ies of int erest , determi ne or invent suppl e and rel iable m et hods of observati on and analysis, and test t he i r


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knowledge-claims for accuracy, suf f ic iency, and product iv i t y in part iculardiscourse comm unit ies. In t his model , t he researcher observes, exp lor es,creates, interprets, forges connections, persuades, serves and part icipates incommuni t ies of in terest . "

This al l sounds very compl icat ed, but l ibr ar ian Dolsy Smit h s very unl ibrar ian-l ike" approach t o his research-work capt ures t he spir i t of an organical lydeveloping matrix of essential ly curiosity-driven tasks that makes up a usefulre searc h p roce ss:

"Research never reall y begins (j ust as it never r eall y ends). You 'st art ' yourresearch by sort ing through what you already know or t hink or w onder about asubj ect , f r om t he assumpt ions and impr essions you br ing to i t , f rom w hateverin your experience has drawn you t o t his subj ect in t he f i r st place. But t his ishardly a l imit at i on. In fact , i f you neglect t his part of t he process, you'l l have a

hard t im e ident i f y ing your own st ake in t he subject mat t er , by w hich I meant hat once you st art j uggl ing what other s have already said about i t , you won' tknow w hat you yourself have t o say.

I st art my research in a very explorat ory mood: I spend a lot of t ime p okingaround, indul ging in f ree associat ion, fol low ing various angles and leads,look ing for the hook t hat wi l l cat ch my interest . Of t en I hop f rom foot note t ofootnot e unt i l I h i t on a t ext t hat a l lows me t o th ink about t he subj ect f rom anunexpected perspect i ve or wit h a vocabulary that I 'm not used t o. This k ind oft ext need not re late d i rect ly t o t he subj ect I 'm r esearching; i ndeed, i t can work

bet t er i f i t doesn't . That 's because t he point of r esearch and argument is t oint roduce f resh point s of v iew on [ even] fami l iar subj ects, and t he mostimpor t ant arguments are those that draw connect i ons bet ween t hings t hat noone had considered r elevant t o each other before. "Relevance" is not given; forany part icular subj ect , t here is not a f i ni t e set of relevant sources wait ing tobe discovered. The task of t he researcher i s t o construct t he relevance of whatshe f i nds. Somet hing I read m akes me t hink of somet hing else--I t est out aconnect ion-- i f i t doesn't c l ick, I have t o be prepared t o go back and look (andt hink) again. But t he key components of research are reading and w ri t ing andthink ing. "

Follow Mr. Smith's advice and you'l l end up developi ng the "sense of int erest inand cur iosi t y tow ards your subj ect" t hat l ibrar ian Deborah Gaspar says is a keyt rait of successf ul r esearchers. According t o Ms Gaspar, you can creat e t hatsense of curiosit y by using research skil ls that you alr eady have. In ear ly stagesof t he proj ect , she advises, researchers should "do a k ind of ment al invent ory--ask yoursel f what you already know about your subj ect . Make a l ist of w ords


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and look for l inks bet ween di f fer ent ideas. This wi l l set you up to t hink aboutwhat you want t o know or are cur ious about a subj ect . There's nothi ng wrongwi t h Googl ing your t opic t o help you in t his idea-generat i ng phase. Just use t heresult s l ist (and search suggest ions) t o see how t he search and summ aryalgor i thms connect word s, ideas, examples, events, and people t o one another

and to see what your brain-based algor i t hms ( int ui t ion, i nsight) m ake of t hemat er ial you've f ished up. "

Prof. Ryder's suggest ions aim at help ing emer ging researchers underst and w hatt hey're looking for and how t o work w it h what t hey f ind. She says:

"Don't research j ust t o f ind ' fact '; research t o f ind argument s. Whi le you mightf ind some ' fact s' usefu l f or set t ing up t he background of your essay, t he realheart of your work wi l l be t o f igure out t he many ways people argue about t heissue. I t 's rare t o f ind t wo people w ho def ine t he problem exact ly t he same way;

few er st i l l def ine i t t he same w ay and recomm end simi lar courses of act ion.More l i kely, you'l l f i nd t hat people disagree about what 's going on, aboutwhet her what 's going on is product ive or harm ful , about w het her a solut ion f i t st he problem and so on. Look for t he argument s and f igure out how you cangroup t hem. Who is t alk ing t o whom about w hat part of t he problem? Whichpart of this discussion wil l be most useful for you?

As you f ind some art ic les t hat real ly seem t o speak t o t he quest ion you've found,pause t o read t hem. Wri t e a "coming to t erms" (a l aJoe Harris in Rewri t ing)ident i f y ing t he overal l purpose of t he piece, how i t develops, and what i t s uses

and l im it s are. This k ind of c lose reading and wr i t ing as you go w i l l help youkeep t rack of t he conversat i on you're f ol low ing. You can st art seeing pat t erns;you'l l st art not i c ing when a lot of people agree on the same point and whent here is disagreement .

On a real pract ical l evel: Sign up f or a session on how t o use Refworks( the f reeci t at ion m anager GW l ibrar ies make avai lable) and t hen use i t t o capture al lt he art ic les and books you thi nk you might use. keeps t rack of what you foundand where you found i t , and wi l l lat er form at your bibl i ography for you. Usingi t f rom the star t wi l l save you t i me down t he road."

Whet her your research is in t he hum anit ies, social sciences, or sciences;wh et her you're seeking narrow answe rs t o specif ic quest ions, openi ng broadnew l i nes of inquir y, looking at fami l iar t hings in a new way, or c lear ing awayprevi ous wr ong answer s, r esearch is a creat ive act of knowl edge-makingsi t uated in t he needs, habit s, and int erest s of comm unit ies of int erest . Just aswhat counts as "good writ ing" varies in dif ferent discipl inary, professional,


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cult ural, or ci vic set t ings, so t oo does what count s as "good r esearch. " As youget m ore famil iar wit h the research pract i ces of t he comm unit ies of int erestyou seek to j oin, you'l l f eel more comf ort able wit h t he ways mem bers of t hosecommunit ies const ruct t heir obj ects of st udy, organize matr i ces of dat a, createfr ameworks of m eaning, and m ake knowl edge-claims. But, as Ms Gaspar

advises, " i f you t hink of yourselves as engaged in a conver sat ion w it h ot herwr i t ers int erest ed in simi lar concerns, and observe t he w ays t hey do t hings,you'l l quickly learn how t o cont r ibut e t o, ext end, and even change t hescholarly conversation."

Please, whet her you're an em ergent or experienced researcher, leave acomment or quest ion derived f rom your own r esearch experiences!


Posted by GW Univ. Writ ing Program at 9:43 AMLabels: advice, D. Smit h, Drown, Gaspar , How to, Ryder, t i p s


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How to Revise (NOT JUST EDIT!)Your Writing and Get Better Results

Every secti on of UW20 requir es st udent s t osubst ant ivel y r evise bet ween 25 and 30 pages ofwr it ing each semest er. We place so muchemphasis on revision because of our ownexperi ences wi t h using wr i t ing t o begin t o grasp

diml y perceived ideas and t o wrest le t hem int oshape. Revi si on, t he pr ocess of assessing,developi ng, and explor ing ideas pr oduced ingenerat ive draf t s, i s a crucial st ep in pr oducingpieces of wri t ing worth reading.

In this art ic le First-Year Writ ingProfessors Christ y Zink, Rachel Riedner ,Phil ip Tr out man, and Phyl l is Ryder t each you what you need t o know t orevise (NOT JUST EDIT!) like a pro!

1. It s crucial to make a mental adjustment and see revision as a normalpart of t he wri t ing process of even the best wr it ers. Prof. Zink t el ls herst udent s t o le t go of t he deeply held not ion t hat i f you were a bet t er , smart er ,more adept , savvier, m ore int el lect ual wri t er you wouldn't have to revise somuch. Just Let. It. Go. The most br i l l iant wr i t ers in t he wor ld are t he ones whodon't d oubt f or a moment t hat any piece wor t h anyt hing is going to t akerewr i t ing. In fact , t he bet t er , smart er , m ore adept , savv ier , more inte l lec t uala wr i t er you are, t he more l ike ly you are t o bui ld in t ime bot h for draf t ing andt he craf t of rev ision.

2. You need to make a distincti on between editingand revision. Both Prof.Riedner and Prof. Troutman draw f rom t he work of Joseph Harr i s (Rewrit ing:How t o Do Things wi t h Texts) t o making c lear t he d i f ference between ed i t ing and revision.

According t o Prof. Riedner , When you edit , you work at t he surf ace level of apaper. You f ix err ors, t inker wi t h sent ences, and f ine t une a document . Edit ingcan improve t he design and f low of a document . Revision, on t he other hand,


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rev isi t s wr i t ing in order t o ret h ink i ts aims, how i t works wi t h mat er ia l i tin terpret s, how i t develops ideas, etc . . . . Revisionret hink[s] t he ideas andexamples that drive your thinking in an essay.

Prof. Troutman points out that In revising, you are changing your mind,

shi f t ing your c laim, ant ic ipat ing new count er-c laims, br inging in new evidence,re-orderi ng your maj or point s; you are engaging your t ext , perhaps evenst ruggl ing wit h i t , w rest l ing i t i nt o a new shape. In ed i t ing , you are f ix ing yourt ext , both in t erms of correct ing errors (syntax, c i tat ion format , etc . ) and int erms of g iving i t f ina l form ( font choice, w ordsmi t h ing for st y le, et c . ) ; you arenow t reat ing i t l ike an object , a beaut i f u l t h ing you can now show.

3. You need a functioning process for making revision systematic. This wi l lprobabl y vary according t o your needs, but here are some suggest ions. All ofour exper t s suggest st art ing by analyzing your draf t .

Prof. Zink advises beginning revision by Figur ing out where you are moststuck. Once you've ident if ied t his idea, sect ion, passage, or even sent ence,f i nd someone who wi l l l ist en to you--peer f rom t he class, roomm ate, paramour,random-person-mut t er ing-to-sel f - in- local-park, or prof essor--si t t hat persondown in f ront of you, and t a lk about what t he t rouble is. Let t hat par tner knowall he or she has t o do is l i st en. Explain w hat 's not w orking and w hy you'reconfused and w hy al l of t his is giving you a ter r i f ic headache. Let t he personnod obli gingly as you st amm er t hrough your confusion. Chances are, in j ust afew minut es of t alk ing about t he issue out loud, you'l l come t o some degree of

c lar i t y and even a solut ion.

Prof. Ryder of fers a three-step process: A. Go through your draft and chunk i t - - ident i f y the main sectionsof t he paper. Look at each big chunk andt reat i t l i ke a mi ni-essay: Does it have a cohesive pur pose? Wil l reader s knowwhat i t 's doingin t he essay? How m ight you clari fy t he pur pose and argument asyou move int o that sect i on?

After analyzing your chunks (sounds gross I know!), B. Go through the draftand wr it e answers to the fol lowing quest ions in t he margins for eachparagraph: What i s my m ain point ? What i s t he pur pose of t his paragraph (is i tmaking an argument , p roviding an i l lust rat ion f or somet hing already said,int roducing a new sect ion of t he paper, descr ibing my m et hod?).

C. Then look at the overall structure. Are t hings in t he ri ght or der? Couldsect ions be combi ned? Is t here a logical progression? Finall y, be cr it ical about"f l ow. " Anything can f low int o anyt hing else, but t hat doesn't mean i t should.Can you describ e t he logic of w hy each part goes wh ere it goes?


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Like Prof. Zink, Prof. Troutman urges you to get someone to help youanalyze your draft , but has your interlocutor play a more active role. Peerresponses are key, since you can't alw ays see w hat ot her r eaders wil l . But youmust t rain your readers; ot herwi se t hey wi l l probably f ocus only on gramm arand spel l ing, and t hat 's edi t ing, not revision. Ask your peer t o read t he draf t

wi t h any of t he fol lowi ng purposesborrow ed f rom Pet er Elbow s & PatBelanof f s Sharing & Respondingin m ind (onl y one at t im e, t hough). Af t ert hey've read your draf t , ask t hem t o:

A. Write a descript ive out line of the paper, two sentences for eachparagraph in the paper: One sentence summarizing precisely what theparagraph says. One sentence describing what the paragraph doesand why--what i t s role is at t hat m oment in t he paper (e.g. , est abl ishing other scholar lyview s, laying out t he paper 's agenda, pr esent ing evidence, discussing acounter-c laim , connect ing tw o maj or sub-claims, speculat ing about possible

impl icat ions of t he claim, et c.) . This let s you f i nd out how your readerpercei ves not only al l t he t hings you are saying, but also why you are sayingt hose t hings in t he order you do. Does your reader see alt ernat e ways t oorganize it ? Do you, based on how he or she out l i ned it ?

B. Restate your central claim, but only in t he form of quest ions: E.g., Okay,so ar e you tr ying t o argue that . . . ? or is i t more about t he quest ion of . . . ?This gives you the chance to ref lect on your claims--and the question ofwhet her your reader saw t hem as you intended--rat her t han simpl y to defendt hem. Your peer mi ght even see a more int erest ing claim you couldbe m aking.

C. Believe everything about t he draft : i t s centr al c laim, i t s evidence, i t s useof scholars' work, i t s organizat ion, i t s st y le, i t s word choices, i t s t i t le, et c.Respond wi t h ideas t o fur t her w hat is already going on wit h t hese t hings.

D. Doubt everything about the draft: i t s centr al c laim, i t s evidence, i t s use ofscholars' work, i t s organizat ion, i t s st y le, i t s word choices, i t s t i t le, et c.Respond wi t h ideas for addressing t he obj ect i ons t hat ar ise out of t his doubt .

Change your m indset about revision and tr y out some of t hese t echniques.You re wr i t ing wi l l be r icher , smart er , more d isc ip l ined, and more int erest ing.You l l have learned m ore and so w i l l have your r eaders!

Let us know what you think!


Posted by GW Univ. Writ ing Program at 2:51 PMLabels: advice, How t o, Riedner , Ryder, t i p s, Troutman, Zink


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How to Use Sources Effectively in Expert Writing

Pr of . Phil i p Trout man says, "It 's not how m anysour ces you have, bu t how you USE t hem t hatcount s!" Read on as Pr of . Trout man expl ains asimpl e but e f f ect ive way t o t h ink about usingsources ef f ect ively in expert wr i t ing. He also of f erssent ence t empl at es t o help you signal t hese uses t oreaders.

Prof. Troutman says: "Having amassed a broadrange of sources, emergent research-wri t ers of t en

f i nd t hemselves a bi t confused as t o how t o use t hem. I recommend using the I -BEAM (f n1) heurist i c of sources t o f i gure out w hat work you m ean each sourcet o do in yourpiece of w r i t ing. I-BEAM stands for Instancing, Background,Exh ib i t , Argument , & Method."

Instancing is t he use of sources t o indicate t he context and nat ure of t hequest ion, or even i t s very exist ence. These m ight be scholar ly art ic les (e.g. ,demonstrat ing an ongoing dispute or consensus you f ind problematic). Or theymight be j ournal ist ic or web-based i t ems t hat simpl y point t o or ref lect somespecif ic aspect of t he probl em. These const i t ut ive sources wi l l probably showup in your in t roduct ion, help ing def ine your pro j ect in l ight of w hat has comebefore and est abl ishing a context in w hich your reader can see t he impor t anceof your pro ject . (Therefore, i f you l ike, you can subst i t ute t he term s Interest or Import here, since t hese sources are establ ishing t hese quali t ies.)

Background source use is for f acts or "obj ect ive" inform at ion. You expect yourreader t o simpl y t r ust t hese outr ight , so they must be widel y accepted i n yourf ield as credible sources for facts and information. This is the least signif icant

use of sources in a research essay; you m ight not even cit e some of t hese if t hefact s are comm only known. But you should c i t e any kind of special izedencyclopedias or other reposi t or ies of knowledge.

Exhibit sources are t hose you analyze in your essay, ult im at ely f or evidence t ohelp you sust ain your cl aims and deal w it h count er-cl aims. Your analysis oft hese sourcest hrough det ailed descri pt ion, qu ant it at ive analysis, or ot her


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met hodswi ll l ike ly const it ut e t he bulk of your research essay. These are yourmost impor t ant "pr im ary sources." Their genres wi l l be det ermi ned by yourcentral questions.

Argument sources are ones you draw on f or key claim s, concept s (w it h

st ipulat ed def ini t ions), and t heories you are using and responding to in youressay. In many f ields, these wil l be considered your most important "secondarysources. " Most of t hese w il l be academi c sources (academi c j ournal art icles,books or book chapters, essays in anthologies, dissertations, master's theses,etc . ) , t hough import ant non-academic t heor ist s may be more re levant t o t hequest ion or pr oblem you are addressing. Include here any w orks f r om w hich youare borrow ing key concepts or t heories, including those you are import ing f romanother f i eld or discipl ine. Your essay might be doing any combinat ion offo rward ing (apply ing, ext ending, revising) or countering( rebut t ing, refut ing,del ineat ing) these arguments ( fn2).

Method sources are t hose you use for t he met hods t hey model , especial ly incases where t he met hod i t sel f is unique, innovat ive, or part icular ly appl icablet o your proj ect . For example, you might c i t e and descr ibe a cert ainquant i t at ive m et hod, adapt ing i t for your own p urposes in your essay. Youmi ght also consider as "met hod" sources t hose fr om w hich you deri ve your ow nmode of quest ioning, way of t hinking, or st y le of w ri t ing. Sources inf l uent i al inthese more subtle ways are sometimes noted in acknowledgements orepigraphs rat her t han ci tat ions.

I-BEAM is usefu l especial ly i n t he dr aft ing st age. Ask a peer t o m ark I, B, E, A,or M next t o each source quotat ion/ ci t at i on, based on how he or she t hinks youare using that source at t hat m oment . See i f she or he can tel l what yout hought you were d oing ( i f you knew yet ). Discuss t o f i gure out exact ly w hatrole(s) t hat source is playing in your essay at t hat mom ent . This l i t t le exercisecan help you f igure out your own st ances as wel l , e.g. , whet her you agree ordisagree wi t h a part icular source's claim .

For example, i f you are quot i ng f r om an academic art ic le or book, are you areusing that source (at t hat moment) for i t s Argument (one you plan t o extend or

respond t o)? Or are you using it mer ely t o est ablish some f act ual Backgroundinf orm at ion t hat n o one has any reason t o quest ion? There is a big dif f erence inhow you use t he source, and how you signal your usage to r eaders.

Clear ly mar king your source uses wi t h rhet orical cues wi l l hel p your reader seet he di f f erence. For exampl e, what di f fer ences can you infer about a wr i t er 'suse of sources fram ed i n t hese w ays?


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As Z assert s, ". . . . . . " [Argument ] Z c laims that ". . . . . . " [Argument ] Z has clear ly est abl ished t hat . . . . . [Background f act ] Z's concept of . . . . . is useful here. [Method]

Exhibit use of sources wi l l be m arked by l anguage that signals your ow ninterpret ive voice:

I f w e look closely, w e can see . . . . . Whi le t h is could mean . . . . . , i t seems more l ike ly to m ean . . . .

Instancing is t he t r ickiest . Any t ime you use a source t o help est abl ish t hereason for you to w ri t e--and this of t en happens in t he int roduct ion--you areinst ancing. Note t hat t hese sources mi ght al so be serving anot her pur posesimultaneously, Background fac t or Argument , f or example.

Along these lines:

Convent ional wisdom holds t hat . . . . . [q uot i ng/ ci t ing, say Wikipedia, orj ournal ist ic coverage, or a recent sur vey] , but is t his r eal l y t he case? Thisessay wil l addr ess.. . . .

Scholars t end to f a l l in t o t wo camps on the issue of . . . . . [quot ing/ c i t ingacademic sources represent ing these t wo camps]. But what t hey seem t obe m issing is . . . . . , which t his essay wi l l expl ore.

The f i rst Instancing t emp lat e above is also est ablishing Background, and thesecond one i s an Argument use. But both cases also work as instancing:est abl ishing t he reason for t his wr i t er t o wri t e, t o f i l l some gap in ourknowledge or t o take an int el lect ual pat h overlooked.Instancing sources are cr i t ical t o giv ing your reader a sense of what mot ivatesyou to w ri t e t his essay in t he way t hat you do, and a sense of why t hey mightwant t o read i t .

(f n1)This heurist i c was f irst art icul ate d in Joseph Bizup, "BEAM: A Rhet orical Vocabular y forTeaching Research-Based Writing," Rhet ori c Review 27.1 (January 2008): 72-86. My colleagueMark Mul len and I have modif ied i t somewhat and added t he Inst ancing cat egory.

(f n2)These m oves are expl ained i n Joseph Harri s, Rewr i t ing: How To Do Things Wit h Texts(Logan: Utah St at e Univ. Press, 2006).


Posted by GW Univ. Writ ing Program at 9: 05 AMLabels: advice, How t o, Troutman


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Top Tips to Finish UW20 Strong!

St udent s and facult y give advice on how t o f i nish t hose pesky end-of- t he-semest er proj ect s.

13. Use t he Wri t ing Cent er! ! ! ! (UW20 st udent Ashley Dennee) .

12. Primar y sources are your fr iends! (UW20 st udent AlysonCorbett ) .

11. When you f ind sources, capt ure t he inform at i on. Wri t e i tdown; pr int i t out ; "pr int t o screen." Ot herwi se, you end up searching for anessay or a prim ary source f or hours w it hout any luck (UW20 st udent ,anonymously submit t ed).

10. Sleep en ough. Eat wel l. Minim ize sugar int ake. Avoid t he Red Bull! Getsome exer cise (endor phins are st ress-rel ieving). Have some f un--but not somuch t hat you can't work t he next day! (Prof. Drown) .

9. Give your wr i t ing, revising, and f inal r esearching t he t ime t hat i t needs. Do al i t t le b i t every day (Prof. Fruscione) .

8. Cont act your prof essor and l i brar ian. They can help you f ind valuablere sour ces (UW20 st uden t Ashley Dennee) .

7. Inst ead of t ry ing to w r i t e new mat er ia l at t he beginning of your wr i t ingsession, t ry t o st art a period of w ri t ing/ revising by rereading what you didduri ng the p revious session. This can be a helpf ul w ay of easing back in t o t hewr i t ing process, i nst ead of hi t t ing the ground running (Prof. Fruscione) .

6. Be rut hless wi t h yoursel f when i t comes t o revising. I f m ater ial doesn'tbelong, i t should be t aken out .

5. Give yourself a physical and m ent al br eak--t ake a short wal k, d o some yoga,go for a j og, or somet hing else t o get you away f r om t he computer for a bi t(Prof. Fruscione) .


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4. Somet imes, i t is good t o work on j ust one sect i on of t he paper, f or a coupleof hours, and t hen ret urn t he next day, t o work on another sect i on (UW20st udent, anonymously submit t ed).

3. You have many dif fe rent sources for sources available t o you, DON'T be

afraid t o use somet hing ot her t han the int ernet ! (UW20 st udent, anonymouslysubmit ted) .

2. Expect t hat your end-of - t he-semest er t asks wi l l t ake longer t han you t hink(Prof. Drown) .

1. Don't revise w hen your e t i red. You miss a lot of st uf f . Inst ead, t ake a napbeforehand. I t 's bet t er t o say up a l i t t le l ater revising and not be t i red becauseyou took a nap t han i t is t o rush t hrough revisions whi l e exhaust ed and get t obed earl y (UW20 st udent Joanne George) .


Posted by GW Univ. Writ ing Program at 11:45 AMLabels: advice, Drown, Fruscione, t i p s

Eric Drown, editor, Writing Advice From GWU Faculty

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