TCC Library: Research assignment tips

WRRAC and librarians collaborating

The TCC WRRAC (Writing Reading Researching Across the Curriculum) members have identified several "best practices" when designing a writing assignment for your students where library research is required.

Here are just a few best practices:

• Ensure that your students have access to the necessary resources to successfully complete the assignment. Work with a librarian.
• Create a handout for your students describing the goals, objectives and requirements of the assignment. Include:
  • Clarification of your requirements regarding the types of sources you will accept. Example: If your require that your students use a book as a source, is an e-book acceptable as well?
  • Clarification about what your expectations are for the quality of sources you will accept. What do you consider "reliable" or "authoritative"? Work with a librarian.
• Ensure that your source requirements are appropriate for a wide variety of topics. Work with a librarian.
• In addition to giving your students a due date, consider adding incremental due dates where your students hand in assignment proposals, source annotations, reference lists, samples of their source integrations, rough drafts,...
  • ...or provide your students with a suggested timeline for when they should complete each stage of their research and writing assignment.
• Provide your students with the grading rubric you will use to evaluate their work. Include in that rubric grading criteria for the process and/or products of research. Work with a librarian.

How do you work with a librarian?

Contact us by using either the contact info on the right of this page, or by visiting our Staff Directory, linked below.

Image source: "029.5" by Michael Perez is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Two of TCC's Degree Learning Outcomes are directly applicable to the Library's instruction program and to student research/writing assignments:

• Critical Thinking & Problem Solving (CRT): Compare, analyze and evaluate information and ideas to solve problems.
• Information & Information Technology (IIT): Locate, evaluate, retrieve and ethically use relevant and current information of appropriate authority for academic or, as applicable, specific professional/ technical applications.