Research Planning--Part 1 Analyzing Your Assignment Authored by Ken Burhanna and Billie Reinhart The text only versions provide a linear presentation of the Hands-On flash modules.  The Hands-On modules often incorporate images and interactive presentations to help demonstrate and support the text.  These images and interactive features are lost in the text only format.  Users can supplement their reading of the text versions by going onto the World Wide Web and visiting the web sites and doing the searches that the text indicates.  This is most easily done by printing the text version and using it as a guide. After completing this module you will be able to identify your assignment's: 1. General Requirements 2. Writing Objective 3. Research Requirements Introduction Your assignment is like an order form that specifies what your instructor wants from you.  It provides the requirements and guidelines for you to follow in researching, writing, and formatting your paper.   Your assignment then is not surprisingly the place where the research planning process begins.  A good analysis of your assignment will ensure that you understand what you need to do and when and how long you have to do it. 1. The General Requirements of Your Assignment Carefully read your assignment as soon as possible after you receive it and try to find answers to the following basic questions about general requirements: - When is the paper due? - How long should the paper be? - What documentation style is indicated (e.g., MLA or APA)? - Are there instructions for formatting, such as line-spacing or     margins? A sample essay assignment appears on the next frame. Sample Essay Assignment: -Write a 3 to 4 page (800 to 1000 word) argumentative essay on a topic of your choice.  Your essay should persuade your audience to your position on a controversial topic. -In support of your thesis, refer to at least three credible sources (books, journal articles, web pages, etc.). -Cite your resources according to MLA Documentation Style. -Your paper should be double-spaced with 1 inch margins. -Your paper is due in class in six weeks. Take a few moments to locate the answers to the general requirements questions for this assignment (the answers will follow shortly after). Remember, you are looking for: 1. Due date 2. Paper length 3. Documentation style 4. Formatting instructions The due date is six weeks.  All of your planning will center around completing your work by this time. The requirement for length is 3 to 4 pages or 800 to 1000 words. Documentations style should follow MLA documentation style guidelines. Instructions for formatting require the paper be double-spaced with 1 inch margins. 2. The Writing Objective of Your Assignment By objective, we are referring to the goal of your assignment and the writing strategy your instructor is asking you to use in meeting this goal.   More simply put, your objective will explain what you are being asked to do in your writing assignment? Three major writing objectives or tasks dominate college writing: 1. Presenting Information with a Thesis First 2. Analyzing Information with a Thesis First 3. Going Way Beyond the Texts. Let's take a brief look at each of these writing objectives, but first a quick look at what a thesis is. Thesis First Your thesis is the most important sentence of your essay because it outlines your central purpose in one concise statement.   A good thesis will link the subject of your essay with a controlling idea.  Consider the following example: The prominent use of thin models in advertising has caused the rise in eating disorders among girls in the U.S. Subject:  the rise in eating disorders among girls in the U.S. Controlling idea:  The use of thin models in advertising can distort how a girl perceives herself. Another important point about theses (plural for thesis) is that all writing assignments demand one whether it is explicitly stated or not. Every essay or paper you write will need a thesis statement! Now back to our three writing objectives.  Consider the following thesis statement:  The prominent use of thin models in advertising has caused the rise in eating disorders among girls in the U.S. You could write a paper in support of this thesis using any of the three writing objectives, but each objective requires an additional layer of information. Presenting Information with a Thesis First -- This paper would present factual information about eating disorders and the effects of advertising. Analyzing Information with a Thesis First -- This paper would require you to explain why advertising influences girls negatively.  It's not a mere retelling of facts, but an analysis of them. Analysis requires thinking and writing. Going Way Beyond the Text -- This paper would address the big "so what."  It would explore what this problem means to society and who's responsible for it.  Most of this paper comes from the student's own thoughts.             Presenting Information with a Thesis First This is the most basic objective asked of college writers.  This objective requires two things of the writer: 1. Formulate a thesis about the quality of information you were asked to consider. 2. Then present an organized discussion of the information. Words like summarize, narrate, describe, explain, discuss, present, and outline that appear in your assignment are indicators that your instructor is asking you to present information with a thesis first. The following writing objective asks for the presentation of information with a thesis first: Describe the view of life held by the lead character of Albert Camus's The Stranger. Analyzing Information with a Thesis First This writing objective instructs writers to take a step further by asking them to analyze or look closely at how the information under consideration works. Analysis is the process of breaking a thing into smaller parts to examine it more closely. Words like analyze, compare, and contrast that appear in your assignment indicate that analysis is needed. The following writing objective asks for the analysis of information with a thesis first: Compare and contrast the poetry of Robert Frost and T.S. Eliot. Going Way Beyond the Texts This objective represents the highest level of college writing.  It asks you to synthesize the source information (the texts) you read, establish a position in relation to it, and persuade your reader to accept your position or way of thinking. This objective will require you to consider the larger issues surrounding your topic.  The bulk of your paper will come from your own thoughts. Words like argue, persuade, evaluate, and synthesize that appear in your assignment indicate that you are being asked to accomplish this writing task. The following writing objective asks for the writer to go way beyond the texts: Review the issue of Internet music piracy and write an essay arguing your point of view. Look at the following phrases and identify which of the three writing objectives (presentation, analysis, or going way beyond) is being indicated.    E1.Describe the author's approach.... E2.Synthesize our diverse immigration policies into.... E3.Compare and contrast the themes of.... E1=Presentation with a thesis first. E2=Going way beyond the texts. E3=Analyzing information with a thesis first. Take another look at our sample assignment.  Look for key words and other clues that may tell you what its writing objective is.               Now which writing objective or task does our sample assignment indicate?   1. Presenting information with a thesis first. 2. Analyzing information with a thesis first. 3. Going way beyond the texts. The phrase: ...persuade your audience to your position... implies that you will need to argue and go way beyond the texts. Also, the writing objective of the assignment is directly stated in the phrase "argumentative essay", which appears earlier in the assignment. 3. Research Requirements of Your Assignment Assignments often require that students do a certain amount or type of research. For example, an assignment might say:  cite five scholarly articles about your topic. Instructors include these requirements to make sure that students don't skip research and that they make the effort to support and supplement their work with the views of others. It is smart to identify these requirements early on so that you can plan accordingly.  Identify the research requirements of the sample assignment. The sample assignment asks that you cite "at least three credible sources (books, journal articles, web pages, etc.). This concludes Analyzing Your Assignment