Bedford Researcher Ch.4- Reading Critically

    Reading critically entails thinking about what your source means & questioning what it says. To use your research question to read critically The Bedford Researcher suggests that you come up with a rough "position statement." They first suggest that you either brainstorm or free write a response to your question & come up with a vague thesis statement that will be your position statement. The position statement will help you question your sources & focus on specific things in your sources.
    The Bedford Researcher tells us to read a source with "an attitude." Attitudes will develop & change as you read. At first you should be curious, noting new information & marking key passages. Then as you begin to draw conclusions about the conversation be skeptical, becoming more aggressive in challenging arguments & not being afraid to defend your position. No matter where you are in the writing process be critical, accepting nothing at face value, asking questions, comparing, contrasting, being on alert for unusual information, examine implications of what you need for your project, note relevant sources & information. At all time you should be open minded to ideas & arguments, even if you don't agree with them, give the ideas a chance to affect how you think about the conversation you've decided to join.
    Reading actively is the next step in reading critically. This just means corresponding with sources & examining them in the light of the conversation you're joining. To do so, you should: identify key information, ideas, & arguments, write questions in margins, record your reactions to different things, take notes of quotes, paraphrases, & summaries, jot down how you could use the things you're reading, link one part of the source to another, & identify important passages for rereading later.
    To pay attention as you read The Bedford Researcher tells us to identify the type of source you are reading, primary & secondary sources, main points, reasons, consider use of evidence (appeals to authority, emotion, principles, values, beliefs, character, logic, & reasoning based on empirical evidence), identify interpretive frameworks in the form of trend analysis, causal analysis, data analysis & text analysis, identify new information, hard-to-understand information, and similarities & differences.
    The Bedford Researcher tells us we should read a source that could offer good information in a "three-pass approach" to gain as much knowledge as possible. The first pass is skimming the source, reading just enough to understand the generic concept the source is talking about. The second pass is reading actively. Again, reading actively is jotting down notes, highlighting or underlining key words or phrases, and annotating the source itself. The third pass is rereading important passages that you've highlighted or you've identified as important.

Bedford Researcher Ch.2- Exploring and Focusing

    Research projects begin with exploring the topic you've chosen, finding all the different points of view that are apart of the topic, & then choosing the one that interests you the most. Exploring your topic includes: creating a plan, discussing your topic with others, conducting preliminary observations, & finding and reviewing sources.

    The Bedford Researcher highlights a few key elements in creating a "research plan:"

• a list of people with whom you can discuss your topic . . .
• a list of questions to ask people . . .
• a list of setting you might observe to learn more about your topic
• a list of resources to search & browse, such as library catalogs, databases, web search sites, & web directories
• a system for keeping track of the information you collect

    After you're done exploring you topic it's time to target a distinct issue. By doing this you're joining a conversation within a community that highlights "points of disagreement, uncertainty, concern, or curiosity." Once you've concentrated your topic into a particular issue you'll start identifying conversations about issues in your topic: finding central concepts repeated in sources, broad themes discussed, disagreements, & recurring voices. You'll then assess your interest on the issues. After your interest is established, you move to choosing an issue, or "framing your argument." When doing this The Bedford Researcher tells us to ask ourselves these questions:

• Will selecting this issue help me achieve my purposes as a writer?
• Will my readers want or need to read about this issue?
• Is this issue appropriate for my project's context?
• Is this issue appropriate for the type of document I plan to write?
• Is this issue compatible with my requirements & limitations?
• What opportunities do I have if I choose this issue?

Bedford Researcher Ch.1- Getting Started

    Getting started on your research paper is highlighted in The Bedford Researcher by writing with confidence. They encourage us to "have a personal investment in your project, an understanding of the processes involved in research writing, a willingness to learn how to work with sources, & an interest in taking a position on an issue."
    To have a strong personal investment in your project, your goal should be to feel like you have an important part in this topic because of your special interest & the appeal it has.
    Understanding the research writing processes involves acquiring useful information about your topic, having a personal perspective on that topic, & sharing your perspective with you readers. These processes will help you consider your readers needs, interests, values, & beliefs, & will help you achieve your objective.
   Working with your sources is just being able to take what you learned, read, or saw in your source & implementing them into your paper to support your position.
   Developing your position is the most important part of the paper. One of the hardest parts is deciding how to convey your point of view to your readers in a way they'll accept it & associate with it.
   You'll also need to be able to understand genre & design & be able to distinguish between the two. Also, being able to understand the importance of readers & context, being aware of new technological opportunities & challenges, & time management. 
   When choosing an appropriate topic, The Bedford Researcher brings to light ways in which we should focus on when choosing a topic. Analyzing your assignment: recognizing who your readers are & considering their interests, thinking of ways to influence them, realizing the type of document you're writing, what role you will "adopt" toward your readers, & think about your requirements, limitations, & opportunities. Generating ideas about topics: brainstorming, free writing, looping, & clustering. Consider your writing situation; framing your argument.
    

Group Work

Found Voices – Smith MLA essay #2

	0  -  F	1  -  D	2  -  C	3  -  B	4  -  A
Be your own work;					X
Be 3,000+ words in length		X
Employ correct gram, punct, & MLA-style		X
Employ parenthetical citations, a Works Cited page, & employ copious signal phrases			X
Convincingly argue your thesis					X
Refer to 10 or more highly credible sources			X
Conclusively demonstrate 102 level		X

Group work

Farming - Angeli MLA essay

	0  -  F	1  -  D	2  -  C	3  -  B	4  -  A
Be your own work;					X
Be 3,000+ words in length					X
Employ correct gram, punct, & MLA-style				X
Employ parenthetical citations, a Works Cited page, & employ copious signal phrases				X
Convincingly argue your thesis			X
Refer to 10 or more highly credible sources				X
Conclusively demonstrate 102 level					X