Rethinking Undergraduate Research Writing: Suggested Strategies for Creating Effective Assignments and Supporting Students in Writing Research Papers By WAC Writing Fellows Nazik Dinctopal Annabel Dsouza Hilal Erkovan Kevin Moran Hallie Scott Debbie Su And WAC Director Shereen Inayatulla

Workshop Agenda  Research paper assignment activity  Rewrite paper assignment activity  Scaffolding strategies  In-class research writing activities  Assessment: Grading student work

Research Paper assignment  How would you improve this assignment? What information could be added?

Rewrite Sample Assignment

Scaffolding in Research Projects

What is Scaffolding?  Scaffolding is a temporary structure used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures.  A supporting framework.  In WAC, it is a technique that helps/ supports students to formulate complex research projects step by step.

Why Scaffold?  It breaks up a complex cognitive task into smaller and more manageable tasks.  It allows for more intervention when it’s useful.  It promotes global revision.  It shows more clearly the relationship between in-class and out-of-class work.  It improves students overall performance.

Think, Write, Share  What would be the scaffolding components of a research paper in your discipline?

Sample  Writing Process:  Topic Selection  Research/ Outline  Evaluation of Sources  Preliminary Draft  Revision  Final Draft

References  Assignment Scaffolding, Allyson Skene and Sarah Fedko, Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Toronto. df df  Scaffolding Student Writing Projects, Deborah Schlacks, University of Wisconsin WAC.

Teaching the Research Process in Class

 What are the aims of this mini-lesson?  Would you use it in your class? Explain. Teaching the Research Process in Class

Grading student writing  Rubrics during the research writing process  Rubric for peer editing

Why use rubrics?  Rubrics help instructors…  Rubrics help students…

Tell us what you thought How has this workshop changed how you will structure undergraduate research paper assignments in your discipline and support students in writing effective research papers?

Next steps  Update your calendar with this important date: April 10 workshop on Academic Integrity by WAC Writing Fellow Kevin Moran