Assignment 3: Investigating a Research Question and Illustrating Inquiry Process

Overview:  In the past few weeks, we’ve seen how several authors are immersed in an on-going conversation about environmental concerns, and we’ve asked: what is the rhetoric of green?  As you’ve become more familiar with the conversation, certain questions have likely arisen. The class will now begin to develop a list of these questions within the rhetoric of green that we’d like to find answers to.  You’ll begin by choosing and narrowing an interesting research question. Next, you will go about answering your research question alongside a group of your peers who will be asking similar questions within a guiding topic. Then you will combine your research with your topic group’s, creating a research document that the community can continue to use as a resource throughout the semester. Finally, you will write an inquiry essay which explores in detail the development of your research process, from the seed that began the question, to your informed discovery of the issue’s complexity.

Annotated Bibliography (AB) Overview:  You will be working with a group of classmates to compile an annotated bibliography.  Prior to the formation of groups, you will ask a question you are genuinely curious about that stemmed from the conversations we’ve listened to closely and critically.  Once all students have asked an inquiry question, we will form groups of three-four students whose questions all fall under a similar topic.  Each group member will be responsible for finding sources that best answer their research question. You will document your sources with an annotated bibliography entry, consisting of an MLA citation, a summary of the source, and a response to the source. Once you have found six pertinent sources, you will compile your annotations with your topic group’s to create a community resource.  

AB Process:  Once the topic groups are formed, group members will share their particular research questions with each other.  The group should have a clear understanding of how/why their questions are related.  Each group member will be responsible for finding six sources related to their research question, keeping in mind that they will also need to connect the source to the overarching topic of the group. 

Group Tasks:

Individual Tasks:

Requirements for the Annotated Bibliography:

Materials to Hand In:  Inquiry Essay and Annotated Bibliography: 

Purpose:  The main purpose of the annotated bibliography is to keep track of and share your research with your topic group; the secondary purpose is to demonstrate your research skills as well as your ability to closely read and critically evaluate the sources you find. The purpose of the inquiry essay is to contextualize yourself within the conversation surrounding your issue.

Audience:  Yourself, your group members (who are investigating the same topic with you), your classmates (who may be interested in investigating the topic themselves), and your instructor (who will evaluate your research and reading). 

Inquiry Essay: This will present the story of your research process thus far.  An inquiry essay differs from other traditional academic essays in that its purpose is not to argue for a specific idea, but rather to illustrate your research and thinking process. The essay will help readers understand how you came to chose your questions and discover your position on an issue.  Since it tends to focus more on your thinking process and less on developing a response, this essay will not begin with a thesis claim that you seek to prove.  Instead, your inquiry essay will start with a discussion of your research question.  It will explain why you chose this question and where you stood on the question before you researched it.  Then, your essay will trace your inquiry process by summarizing and responding to three of the most influential articles you encountered during your research (these could be ones you found or ones found by a fellow group member).  At the end of your inquiry essay, you will explain where you currently stand on the issue by stating the claim you are likely to argue in the academic argument.

Requirements for Inquiry Essay:

Details:

Submitting Assignment:

Percentage Value:  20% of semester grade
Due: 

Assignment 3 (Annotated Bibliography and Inquiry Essay):  Assessment Rubric (Instructor)


Excellent (5)

Satisfactory (4)

Unsatisfactory (3)

WT.

AB:
Bibliography as a whole:  Presents collection of high quality sources that provide enough relevant information about and various perspectives on the inquiry topic/issue to develop an informed position about the issue.  The information comes from reliable research, including library databases.

AB:  Bibliography as a whole
The bibliography presents sources that provide information and opinions on the inquiry issue but it needs more perspectives to help develop an informed position.  There may be some question about the reliability of some sources, but for the most part research is reliable.  Research may benefit from searching other databases and/or resources that are equally or more so reliable. 

AB:
Bibliography as a whole:  The bib does not have enough sources to develop an informed position because it lacks key sources of information, does not represent key perspectives, and/or is comprised of lower quality sources.  The bib may have sources that are unreliable and/or have sources from only one database and/or only from the web.

X10

AB:  Annotations:  Demonstrate critical reading accurately and objectively summarizing.  Author tags should be implemented.  A balance of paraphrase and direct quote should be used.  Annotations should also effectively evaluate each source’s credibility, authority, and usefulness to the project. 

AB:  Annotations:
Annotations do a good job of summarizing the source, but need to develop the evaluations more.  Author tags may need to be used more frequently to keep ideas accounted for. 

AB:  Annotations:  Annotations have weak summaries and/or do not provide support for source evaluations.  Or summaries may be adequate but evaluations are missing.

X12

AB:  Citations:  MLA style is followed precisely.  The correct format was used for the type of source being portrayed.

AB:  Citations:  Minor citation errors are present

AB:  Citations:  Citation does not follow MLA style and/or citation errors are prevalent

X3

Inquiry Essay:
It will include all elements listed on assignment to accurately represent and explain your research and thinking process based on close and critical reading of group’s sources.  The summaries of three articles will clearly show how your thinking about the issue was influenced.  Your essay will conclude with your current thinking about the issue and a tentative thesis for an academic argument.

Inquiry Essay:  The inquiry essay shows you have a general understanding of the issue, but does not trace your thinking and/or research process.  The elements of the essay may be underdeveloped and/or incomplete. 

Inquiry Essay:  After reading the essay, readers are not convinced that you understand the issue or have investigated it well because of missing or significantly undeveloped elements.

X12

Conventions and Style:  The AB is correctly formatted:  double-spaced, entries listed in alphabetical order, aligned left except the hanging indent after first line of citation, no extra spaces between entries.  Both the AB and the essay have few editing errors; grammar, punctuation, spelling.

Conventions and Style:
Minor editing errors are present in one or both texts.  In general, the format is followed (for the AB), but one requirement may be overlooked.

Conventions and Style:  Repeated, distracting editing errors in one or both texts that interfere with the readability.  The AB may have multiple format errors and/or does not follow format.

X3

 

Assignment 3 (Annotated Bibliography and Inquiry Essay):  Assessment Rubric


Excellent

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

AB:
Bibliography as a whole:  Presents collection of high quality sources that provide enough relevant information about and various perspectives on the inquiry topic/issue to develop an informed position about the issue.  The information comes from reliable research, including library databases.

AB:  Bibliography as a whole
The bib presents sources that provide information and opinions on the inquiry issue but it needs more perspectives to help develop an informed position.  There may be some question about the reliability of some sources, but for the most part research is reliable.  Research may benefit from searching other databases and/or resources that are equally or more so reliable. 

AB:
Bibliography as a whole:  The bib does not have enough sources to develop an informed position because it lacks key sources of information, does not represent key perspectives, and/or is comprised of lower quality sources.  The bib may have sources that are unreliable and/or have sources from only one database and/or only from the web.

AB:  Annotations:  Demonstrate critical reading accurately and objectively summarizing.  Author tags should be implemented.  A balance of paraphrase and direct quote should be used.  Annotations should also effectively evaluate each source’s credibility, authority, and usefulness to the project. 

AB:  Annotations:
Annotations do a good job of summarizing the source, but need to develop the evaluations more.  Author tags may need to be used more frequently to keep ideas accounted for. 

AB:  Annotations:  Annotations have weak summaries and/or do not provide support for source evaluations.  Or summaries may be adequate but evaluations are missing.

AB:  Citations:  MLA style is followed precisely.  The correct format was used for the type of source being portrayed.

AB:  Citations:  Minor citation errors are present

AB:  Citations:  Citation does not follow MLA style and/or citation errors are prevalent

Inquiry Essay:
It will include all elements listed on assignment to accurately represent and explain your research and thinking process based on close and critical reading of group’s sources.  The summaries of three articles will clearly show how your thinking about the issue was influenced.  Your essay will conclude with your current thinking about the issue and a tentative thesis for an academic argument.

Inquiry Essay:  The inquiry essay shows you have a general understanding of the issue, but does not trace your thinking and/or research process.  The elements of the essay may be underdeveloped and/or incomplete. 

Inquiry Essay:  After reading the essay, readers are not convinced that you understand the issue or have investigated it well because of missing or significantly undeveloped elements.

Conventions and Style:  The AB is correctly formatted:  double-spaced, entries listed in alphabetical order, aligned left except the hanging indent after first line of citation, no extra spaces between entries.  Both the AB and the essay have few editing errors; grammar, punctuation, spelling.

Conventions and Style:
Minor editing errors are present in one or both texts.  In general, the format is followed (for the AB), but one requirement may be overlooked.

Conventions and Style:  Repeated, distracting editing errors in one or both texts that interfere with the readability.  The AB may have multiple format errors and/or does not follow format.