Skip to Main Content

RWS 100/200

Your Assignment

Topic Suggestions: 

  • Strouse, Watkins, and Greenfield advocate for linguistic diversity in the classroom, but they present a problem without really offering solutions in their essays. What are some possible ways for teachers to expand this? 
  • Watkins, Glavee, and Anzaldua speak to the injustices inherent in linguistic monocultures and linguistic superiority. You could explore arguments related to greater linguistic justice or educational strategies that address this. 
  • Vershawn Ashanti Young responds to Stanley Fish’s argument for Standard English in “Should Writers Use They Own English?” This is a point of controversy in writing studies. Mapping out this argument, it’s pros and cons, could add nuance to the discussion\Amy Tan and Watkins speak to the challenges of non-native speakers in acquiring “standard English,” and Anzaldua adds that she was forced to take classes designed to eliminate her accent. Mapping different arguments about how to teach non-native speakers could be helpful as could exploring the various arguments related to this. 
  • Amy Tan also addresses Asian stereotypes, and how people made assumptions about her, trying to push her away from studying language and into a math or science field. Exploring the negative impact of demographic or racial stereotypes could also provide a great topic. 
  • Another option related to our exploration this semester is to arguments or strategies related to creating culturally related classrooms, in K-12 or college contexts. 
  • Language and identity are important, but there are other ways that education touches on student identity. Mapping arguments about identity affirmation or identifying strategies that do this could be very interesting. Anzaldua, Glavee, Greenfield, and Watson all touch on these ideas but there is more research out there.
  • Emphasized the power of story and personal experience in building arguments over the course of the semester. It would be possible to explore how this works and how story can be vital to effective communication.

Resource Types:

5+ sources 

  • Academic sources can be great,
  • podcasts, documentaries, newspaper articles, magazine articles can also be helpful 
     

3 Methods to Narrow & Focus Your Topic

Is your topic too vague?  Too broad? There are several methods to help you narrow and focus your research.  Explore the following three methods to develop a focused research question or thesis statement.  

1: Ask Questions
  • What is your topic? (i.e. social media, plastic waste, freedom of speech, sleep deprivation)
  • What is the context of your research? (school, hospital, community)
  • What do you want to achieve? (to discover, explore, explain, or compare)
  • What is the nature of your question? (is it a who, what, where, when, how, or why question)
  • Are there potential relationships between variables that you want to explore? (causes, correlations, increases, decreases)
2: Use a Topic Development Chart
Brainstorm ideas by writing 2-3 terms in one or more of the columns (hint: this will help you to come up with search terms later). 
 
Broad topic:
Artificial intelligence

 

Subtopics

(What?)

Person(s) 

(Who?)

Time Period

(When?)

Location/Place

(Where?)

Other ideas

(events, social issues)

Search engine algorithms

 

Facial recognition technology

 

Social media

 

Advertising

Teenagers

 

Women

 

African Americans

 

Doctors/physicians

Now (current)

 

Early 2000s

United States

 

China

 

Russia

 

 

Covid-19

 

Racial inequality

 

Sexism

 

Political polarization

Focused research questions: 
Does facial recognition technology perpetuate racial inequality?
What can be done about the negative effects of social media on teenage girls?

3: Try a Mind Map

You can draw your own, or explore the interactive mind maps on the Credo Reference database. 

Watch out for these common pitfalls when developing a research question/thesis:
  • Too narrow: a question that is so narrowly focused that there is probably no literature to be found on the topic- or very little. 
  • Too broad: a question that is so broad it would be impossible to cover in depth in one research paper.
  • Too vague/unclear: use of words like 'good' or 'bad' in your research question. It should be clear what exactly you are asking.  
  • Easily searchable: a simple google search gives you the answer.  Avoid questions that can be easily answered with one word, a number, or a list. 
  • Matter of opinion: a question that cannot be answered in some subjective manner.  

Databases

Evaluation Heuristics

Evaluation criteria will always depend on the source type and your information need, however it can be helpful for beginning researchers to have a checklist to get started. 
There are several methods for evaluating content. Here are a few examples:

 

1. 4Ws

What?

What type of article is this? Who is the intended audience? Is the information based on fact or opinion? Was it written to inform or persuade?  Is there a bibliography?

Article type (circle one):

  • Research/Primary
  • Review/Meta-analysis
  • Magazine/Popular
  • Trade/Professional
  • News 
  • Editorial (written by editorial board) or Op-ed
  • Other: 

Comments:

 

When?

When was this written?  Some topics require current information, while other topics value both current and historical information.   

Year published:

 

Comments:

 

Who?

Who is the author(s)?  What type of experience or education do they have? What else have they written?

 

Who published this article?  (hint: look for a journal or publication title)

Author(s):

Affiliation:

Education:

Journal, magazine, or newspaper name:

Comments: 

 

Why?

Why did you choose this article? Does it help to refute or support an argument? Provide additional examples or data?

Ask yourself if you chose this article simply because it confirms your previously held beliefs.

Does the author make any claims that need to be further investigated? Do they list references that you can follow up on?

Comments:

2. CRAAP Test 

Currency When was it written? Has it been updated or revised?
Relevance Who is it written for? Is it clear and easy to understand?
Authority Who is the author(s)?  What is their education and experience? 
Accuracy Is there evidence to support the information?
Purpose Is the information based on fact or opinion?  Is there evidence of bias?

Citation Style Guide