Module 7: Drafting a Research Paper Recommended Readings

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These recommended readings offer an opportunity to deepen students’ engagement with the module through coherent, topical essays. The essays are all Creative Commons licensed, which means they can be downloaded and presented directly in the LMS. (Note: The assumption is that not all of these readings would be assigned. The instructor could pick one to assign to the class, or students could be given a choice if the class format allows.)

The readings listed here pair well with the material in the module “Drafting a Research Paper”

 

Starting a Draft

  • Reading: Finding Your Way In: Invention as Inquiry Based Learning in First Year Writing
  • Author: Steven Lessner & Collin Craig
  • Source: Writing Spaces
  • License: CC BY-NC-ND
  • Short Summary: Includes helpful activities to help students brainstorm ideas. Quotes Gloria Anzaldua’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” and Remembered Rapture: The Writer at Work by bell hooks. (Both texts, though not openly licensed, would also pair well with the material from this module)
  • Discussions and Approaches: There are discussion questions at the end of the chapter.

Writing in the Age of Distraction

  • Reading: Writing in the Age of Distraction
  • Author: Cory Doctorow
  • Source: 88 Essays / Locus Magazine
  • License: CC BY-SA
  • Short Summary: Doctorow argues that the Internet is helpful for writers rather than being a distraction. This short essay shares helpful tips for maintaining a writing practice.
  • Discussions and Approaches: Have students do a think-pair-share about the topics covered in this essay. What does their writing routine look like? Where could they make improvements? The essay could also be a jumping-off point for a broader discussion of the internet and distraction. Is the internet more of a blessing or a curse for writers?

Writing with Awareness

  • Reading: Writing toward Racial Literacy
  • Author: Mara Lee Grayson
  • Source: Writing Spaces
  • License: CC BY-NC-ND
  • Short Summary: Grayson gives student writers advice on how to examine topics of racism, oppression, and marginalization.
  • Discussions and Approaches: There are discussion questions at the end of the chapter. You might also want to have students work in groups to summarize the key points from each section.

Multiple Drafts

  • It’s not openly licensed, but we’d be remiss not to mention Anne Lamott’s famous essay “Shitty First Drafts” from Bird by Bird (1994).