Academic Research and Writing

Academic research and writing are difficult tasks that take learning, time, and skill to master. This course examines the foundations that are necessary to conduct good academic research that can be utilized for accurate written communication. Students will be introduced to the important canons of persuasive prose—Invention, Organization, Style, and Revision—and will work through important questions like: What are the differences between primary and secondary sources? What makes something a good resource? How is a thesis statement crafted? How is a paper formatted? How are sources properly cited? By the end of this course, students will have conducted research on their chosen topic and will have worked step-by-step on writing a persuasive academic paper that properly utilizes Turabian formatting and style guidelines.

Course Objectives:

1. To name and discuss the various steps in the research and writing process.
2. To understand what makes a topic acceptable for academic research and writing.
3. To be able to utilize various resources to include both physical and digital resources.
4. To understand what makes a source reputable and determine if it is primary or secondary.
5. To be able to organize and analyze information that will be utilized for the writing process.
6. To be able to develop a well-crafted research essay with a clearly stated and thoroughly argued thesis statement.
7. To be able to properly format a research paper as dictated by the guidelines in A Manual for Writers by Kate Turabian.
8. To be able to properly cite resources and avoid plagiarism.
9. To demonstrate the ability to proofread with accuracy.

Texts:

• A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations 9th Ed. by Kate Turabian
• How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler
• On Writing Well by William Zinsser