ENGL 101, COL 101 Learning Community: Butler, M. & Crook, L. (Fall 2024): Home

This guide provides links to the most useful databases and resources for your work in in your Caring for Self and Others Learning Community. Use the tabs above to navigate the guide.

The following video provides and introduction to the library website, as well as to your class research guide:

The following is copied and pasted directly from your research description (your librarian has highlighted some sections for emphasis). If you have questions about your assignment, please check with Professor Butler.

Research Project Overview:

Introduction:

One of the main goals of Eng. 101 is to help you advance your literacy skills that will support your academic, personal, and professional journeys. This means knowing how to find good, reliable information and how to synthesize that information with your own experiences and ideas. To do this, you will practice critically thinking about what you read, what you see, and what you think. Throughout the rest of the quarter, you will embark on an inquiry exploring a topic that you care about that could be related to our theme [Health and Wellness] or outside of our course theme. There are three phases to our inquiry process.

Phase 1- Exploration:

What? 

We will 1) generate ideas for research topics together and 2) to develop and practice academic writing skills and strategies. We will also consider how class texts can be used as models for our own writing. 

Why?

Real research is messy! Developing a thoughtful research question and a topic appropriate for your research paper takes time. The main point of this phase is to use writing as a tool to conduct inquiry by critically reading and evaluating a variety of texts. This will help you build schema, develop a clear research question, and practice essential academic reading, writing, and thinking skills. 

Phase 2- Focused Research:

What? 

Research Journals- Find 2 sources from the library databases and complete a Research Journal for each of them. 

Why?

During this phase, you will zoom-in on your research topic and questions to find 2 credible sources. Your research journals will help you discern the important ideas and evidence from your sources, critically evaluate the credibility of your sources, and prompt you to record your own thinking based on the information you read.   

Phase 3- Synthesis, A.K.A Putting it all together:

What? 

Find at least 3 more credible sources (you will not create research journals for these) 
Write an MLA or APA expository (research) essay using the sources you worked with during Phases 1-3 (at least 5 sources total). 
Create and present your research with a visual that presents your thesis and 3 key pieces of evidence from your paper in a science-fair style format in class.

Why?

The MLA or APA essay and presentation are the final steps of your research project. You will pull information from your sources together with your own ideas to create a claim that you will defend using evidence from at least 5 sources. We will look at and learn about APA citations in addition to MLA, so you can choose either format for your essay. You will present your research in the form of an essay, and then you will create a visual through which you will share your research with the class. By presenting your research, you will have the opportunity to show what you learned in a way that works best for you. It also allows you to practice public speaking skills and allows our class community the chance to learn from each other.
 

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