Weekly Research

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Each week I’ll ask you to research beyond the class in order to practice the skill of academic research.  Your research will be posted to the course’s Wiki site.  Your practice is graded both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Formal Requirements

You must make a page for one source each week, with the page performing specific tasks:  (1) A correct and full citation of the source in the source section; and (2) a descriptive summary/overview of the source, including an identification of the theoretical perspective and relevant points (3-5 sentences); and (3) links to the source itself and something else on the wiki.  

For this assignment, the week begins on Monday at 12:00am and ends on Sunday at 11:59pm; all work must occur within this time frame. Your work will receive credit if it appears on the wiki, contains all of the three required elements, and is on time for that week (before 11:59pm on Sunday).    

Content Requirements

The content of your research should be either (a) Theory:  peer-reviewed articles (and chapters of books) that advance and detail a theoretical approach to texts in English studies; and/or (b) Applications of theory: peer-reviewed articles (and chapters of books) that use theoretical approaches to texts in order to advance interpretations of texts in English studies.  Your sources should all be excellent artifacts of these two categories, drawn from work within the last 25 years.  You should avoid quoting more than a word or two; paraphrase is the rule.

Grading

Half of the grade for Weekly Research is based on quantitative requirements (on time, correct format, correct guidelines) and half of the grade is qualitative assessment.  At the end of the term, I will ask you to identify three representative moments of your engagement in weekly research from the term.