ENGL135 Week 3 Discussion (dq1+dq2) Latest 2020 December

ENGL135 Advanced Composition

Week 3 Discussion

DQ1 EXPLORING RESEARCH AND CHOOSING A COURSE PROJECT TOPIC

This discussion explores two key ideas for this week:

Exploring the purpose of research

Brainstorming a topic for your course project problem-solution essay

Let’s look at each of these topics in your discussion posts this week.

POST 1

For your BY WEDNESDAY post, read the contextual material and follow the directions below.  Post by Wednesday for 2 post-by-Wednesday points and 6 points for quality and timing.

Starting this week and continuing through Week 6, you will be writing a problem-solution course project essay. Your essay will rely mainly on researched material.

Some students think the research process is about finding support for already formed thoughts and opinions, but true research is genuine exploration. You open your mind to new ideas presented by and in your sources and then you have to figure out what to do with that new information.

 You may ignore the new information, try to incorporate it into your existing world view (this may be easy or hard), or you may realize that this new information is so different, but so compelling that you have to completely alter your original world view.

For now, let’s explore the importance of opening yourself up to learning more during the research progress.

When you are ready, click on the Reply button, label your post as a BY WEDNESDAY post and answer the following questions.  Sign your post with your preferred name when you are finished.

Download Week 3 Exploring Research Exercise Preview the documentand SAVE it AS Your Last Name Research Exercise.

Complete the exercise by following the directions in the document and by working in the document itself. Save your file and attach it to your post.

Reflect on this exercise:

Think of your first design with all gray shapes. Then think what happened when you added more shapes and colors to the design. Did you add to your original design? alter it? Scrap it altogether and start over?

When you added the colored shapes, did you focus more on the shape or the color to create your design?

 Note: Remember to have fun with this assignment! There are no right answers. And no one will be judged for their artistic ability!

POST 2

For your FOLLOW UP post, follow the directions below.  Post on a second day for up to 6 points.

Let’s start your course project by reviewing the assignment carefully and brainstorming possible topics.

Read the course project assignment prompt—Dr. Hagemann’s Course Project—carefully, so you are familiar with the assignment. Pay special attention to the Suggested Topics section.

 When you are ready, click on the Reply button, label your post as a FOLLOW UP post and answer the following question. Sign your post when you are finished.

Brainstorm at least three possible problems in your family, your community, or your profession that you want to solve. For each topic, explain why this topic is meaningful to you. For each topic, explain why this topic is a problem and who is most impacted by it. Also explain why this topic is meaningful enough to you to make the effort to try to solve it.

 Remember to choose a topic

that lends itself to a problem-solution format

that you have a personal connection to

that you are passionate about

that you want to share with your classmates

that you will not easily grow tired of.

 POST 3

For your CLASSMATE RESPONSE post, follow the directions below.  Post on a third day for up to 6 additional points.  You may respond to as many classmates’ posts as you would like and have time for.

When you are ready, find the classmate who posted immediately below your FOLLOW UP post, click on the reply button under their post, label your post CLASSMATE RESPONSE, address him/her by name, and answer the following questions.  Sign your post with your preferred name when you are finished.

Read each topic your classmate listed. What questions would do you as a potential reader would like to know about this topic?  (Asking questions is a helpful brainstorming technique. Asking the writer questions encourages him/her to think through the topic to come up with some answers.)

DQ2 “REVERSE ENGINEERING” A PROBLEM-SOLUTION ESSAY

You will get full credit for this discussion if you…

attend this week’s live lesson stream and participate fully in the discussions and activities

OR

watch the live stream recording and make at least one post, addressing the prompt below.

 Documents hyperlinked below can also be found in the following folders under the FILES Tab:

Weeks 3 -7 Course Project Folder

Starting this week and continuing through Week 6, you will be writing a problem-solution course project essay. (In Week 7, you will “translate” your essay into a narrated slide deck.)

So let’s explore what a problem-solution essay is here in this discussion and brainstorm some possible topics for your course project essay in the Getting Started discussion.

A problem-solution essay describes an important problem and recommends at least one solution.

POST

For this discussion post, read the contextual material and follow the directions below.  Post for up to 10 points.

Read Lesson 3 and the SmartBook Reading assignment

Download and read carefully one the following student examples:

Problem-Solution Essay Student Sample MUSIC BUSINESS Preview the documentby Jake

Problem-Solution Essay Student Sample TRAFFIC Preview the documentby Joe

“Reverse engineer” the student example you read.  What do you see in this example?

 When you are ready, Click on the Reply button and answer the following questions. Sign your post when you are finished.

Which essay did you analyze?  What is the student author’s name?

What is Jake’s / Joe’s thesis? What is the purpose of the essay?

How does Jake / Joe organize his overall essay?

In how many of Jake’s / Joe’s paragraphs does he incorporate source material?

Focus on recommendations sections of Jake’s / Joe’s essay (Jake = para. 7 – 11; Joe = para. 4 – 7). Does Jake / Joe come up with his own solution or does he identify solutions that are already being tried?

Does Jake / Joe use a casual tone or an academic tone?