ENGL 1110

Research Writing Methods

3 Credit Hours

Course Information

Course Description:
Assists students in completing research projects in any content area course by providing assistance in writing effective research papers using a step-by-step process approach.  Course content includes selecting and narrowing topics; writing thesis statements; outlining; locating and documenting sources; taking notes; writing introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions; and writing rough and final drafts. Students work with projects already assigned in other content area courses.

Course Objectives:

After completing the course, students will be able to:

  • Select and narrow a research topic
  • Formulate, evaluate, and revise thesis statements
  • Organize and write a preliminary outline
  • Locate and evaluate sources
  • Correctly document sources
  • Take different types of notes
  • Write and revise introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions
  • Write and revise a rough draft
  • Write a final draft
Prerequisites:
DSPW 0700 and 0800
Course Topics:
The course covers the process of writing the research paper from topic selection to final paper.
Specific Course Requirements:
No specific software is needed.
Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements
Required Textbooks:
Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:
http://rodp.bkstr.com
Supplementary Materials:
None
Hardware Requirements:
The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. 
Software Requirements:
The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm.  Real Player, Media Player, and Acrobat Reader.
Instructor Information
Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.
Assessment and Grading
Testing Procedures:

Syllabus Quiz

  • At the beginning of the course, there will be a quiz on the "Syllabus" page.
  • Read this page carefully before you take the quiz.
  • Click here to "Begin Quiz."
  • Grades will be recorded in the grades feature of the course.
  • Late quizzes will not receive a grade.
  • The quiz is worth 2 points.
Grading Procedure:
 
Activities Completed in the Textbook
Submitted Activities 
Syllabus Quiz
Discussions and Responses
Other Activities  
Final Research Paper 		46 Points
14 Points
2 points
21 Points
17 Points
100 Points
 
Grading Scale:

 

Points
 180-200

A

Points
160-179

B

Points
140-159

C

Points
120-139

D

Below 120 Points

F

Assignments and Participation
Assignments:


 

Activities Completed in the Textbook

 

  • The Weekly Schedule will direct you to complete activities in the textbook.
  • For example, if you look the row titled Activities in the Textbook, the first entry will be 1G.  
  • You should read the activity's directions and then fill in the blanks in the textbook for the activity. 
  • It is extremely important that you do these activities each week.
  • Your instructor will ask you to submit these activities several times during the course. When the instructor requests an activity to be sent, you should type the answers and sent them through course mail.  Each activity must be titled with the number and the letter of the activity and the page number of the textbook.  You have 24 hours to send the activity.
  • The textbook activities are worth a total of 46 points.

Submitted Activities 


 

  • Some activities are to be completed and turned in using the computer through "Submit Activities" in the course.
  • The Submit Activities link is located on the left navigation bar. To turn in an activity, click "Submit Activities" on the left navigation bar. Click "Begin Quiz". On the next screen, scroll down until you find the activity title and click it. Paste your answer in the box, click "save", and click "finish. (Keep all of your answers on a word processing program file.)
  • Submitted activities are due during the week specified on the Weekly Schedule.  See the course calendar for due dates.
  • Late activities will be penalized 5 points for each day they are late. 
  • If you complete an activity before the due date, please feel free to turn it in early.
  • Grades will be recorded in the grades feature of the course. 
  • Each submitted activity is worth 2 points for a total of 14 points. 

Other Activities

  • You will turn in your rough draft through course mail as an attachment in Word.
  • This activity are worth 17 points total.

Final Paper

  • At the end of the course, you will turn in your final paper through course mail as an attachment in Word. .
  • The final paper is worth 100 points. See the Evaluation Sheet on page 149 of your textbook for details.
Class Participation:
Class participation is based on your participation in discussions . A discussion question is posted on the Bulletin Board for each week except finals week. The question is based on one of the readings for the week. You have until noon on Friday of each week to respond to the week's question
Punctuality:
Assignments are due on the dates listed on the course calendar.  Late assignments will be penalized 5 points for every day that they are late. Grades will be  recorded on the grade feature of the course. If you complete a part of the course before the due date, please feel free to turn it in early.
Course Ground Rules
Learn how to navigate in WebCT. Keep abreast of course announcements in the course mail. Use the assigned college or university e-mail address. Address technical problems immediately. Observe course netiquette at all times
Guidelines for Communications
Email:
  • Always include a subject line.
  • Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. 
  • Use standard fonts.
  • Do not send large attachments without permission.
  • Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
  • Respect the privacy of other class members
Discussion Groups:

Discussions

 

  • The Weekly Schedule will direct you to complete Discussions which will be posted on the discussion board.
  • For example, if you look at Week 1, Discussions, you will see that you need to complete Activity 1G No. 3 p. 9. 
  • You will post your answer on the discussion board by the due date. (See the course calendar for due dates.) 
  • In Activity 1G No. 3 you will post your preliminary thesis statement. 
  • Then you will make suggestions to two other students for improving thesis statements by the due date. (See the course calendar for due dates.)   
  • For example, to make these suggestions about a student's thesis statement, you will click on one student's original posting of his thesis statement. Then click "Reply." Type your suggestions in the post and then click "Post."
  • You will be given credit for your original posting and your two responses.
  • Late answers or responses will not receive credit.
  • Each discussion is worth 2 points and each response is worth 1 point for a total of 21 points.
  • Click to view all of the Discusssions.
Chat:
N/A
Web Resources:

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses. 

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the left to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Technical Support

 
If you are having problems logging into your course,
timing out of your course, using your course web site tools, or other technical problems, please contact the AskRODP Help Desk by calling

1-866-550-7637 (toll free)

or go to the AskRODP website at:

http://help.rodp.org