ENG 701: Methods and Materials of Research

Date	Topic	Assignment
Tue 9/9	Pre-quiz. Overview of research writing. Library reserve list. Introduction to bibliography. Online library orientation (1). Finding a topic and argument. Distribute handouts. Distribute Ungraded Exercise #1 (library materials). Discuss Ungraded Exercise #1. Discuss study group. Discuss course reserves. Distribute "MLA Handbook: New in the 6th edition" Distribute and discuss Graded Exercise #1 (Keats library resources). Distribute Graded Exercise #2 (on miscellaneous library materials). Distribute guidelines on short paper Course objectives. Note: You must have a WSU password account to gain full access to online tutorials and to many library resources. See the Help Desk (025 Library) to set up your account if you have not already done so.	Readings in Harner are listed by item number, not page number. Maner xvii-28. Since you will be drafting material for your course papers almost immediately, please note that you may download MLA templates from my web site. Using one of my templates will prevent many common mistakes in page format.
Tue 9/16	Online library orientation (2). Collect and discuss Ungraded Exercise #1 (library materials). Distribute guidelines on long paper. Discuss Graded Exercise #2 (on miscellaneous library materials).	MLA 1-30, Harner 325-525; Maner 47-114. Scan the listings on 85-95, noting especially the items under "General" (89-91), "Humanities" (91), and "Literature" (92-93). Before coming to class, take two online research tutorials ("Finding and Evaluating Sources" and "Gathering Information Online" ). Just browse through the tutorials; don't prepare anything to hand in from these two tutorials, such as detailed evaluations of web sites.
Thu 9/18	Collect Graded Exercise #1 (Keats library resources). Leave work in my mailbox (469 Millett) by 4:30 PM.
Tue 9/23	Gathering information. Evaluating sources. Identifying texts. Surveys of research. MLA bibliography format (I)--basics Discuss prospectus. Do follow-up discussion of Graded Exercise #1. Discuss "Ode on a Grecian Urn." Distribute sample prospectus Discuss Graded Exercise #2	Maner 115-52; Harner 410-430, 745-765, 1376, 1377, 1385, 1410, 1425, 1805, 1825, 1830, 1840, 1950, 1990, 1995, 2010, 2015, 2035, 2150, 2240, 2245, 2255, 2425, 2480, 2485, 2490, 2495, 2500, 2505, 2710, 2715, 2720, 2780, 2785, 2950, 2965, 3180, 3265, 3275, 3715, 3735, 3820, 4240, 4270.
Fri 9/26	Last day to drop a class without a grade of "W."
Tue 9/30	Organizing, developing an argument, outlining. Quoting, paraphrasing, citing (I). Copyright law and the ethics of research. MLA typescript format. MLA documentation format. Documentation using endnotes or footnotes. Avoiding the bad habits of academic writers. Discuss sample paper by Jill Colak Collect Graded Exercise #2 (on miscellaneous library resources). Do follow-up discussion of Graded Exercise #2. Distribute one sample MLA bibliography item for discussion next week. Distribute and discuss Graded Exercise #3.	Maner 29-46, 153-92, 268-78, 293-94, 355-59, 361-70; MLA 30-105, 231-53, 291-93.
Tue 10/7	MLA bibliography format (II). Editing research writing (I). Collect and discuss Exercise #19 (ungraded) in Maner, page 350. Collect and discuss Exercise #21 (ungraded) in Maner, pages 373-74. (Photocopy the sample page and correct it using standard editing marks, please.) Collect prospectus for long paper. Do sample bibliography item.	Maner 301-50; MLA 111-202. (Note that some support for the exercises in The Research Process can be found on the text's CD disk.)
Tue 10/14	Collect short paper preliminary draft. (With the preliminary draft you must hand in photocopied pages from at least three sources you paraphrased in your paper and one source you quoted directly. Mark the paraphrased and quoted passages on the photocopies, and be sure to indicate on what page of your paper you used each passage.) Peer evaluations. During most of this class period you will be working in pairs, doing detailed evaluations of each other's papers. One object is to simulate the peer review process that scholars go through when submitting their work for publication; another object is to shift your attention away from grades and toward the pursuit of excellence for its own sake; another is to cultivate your sense of audience; another is to help you spot the pitfalls you need to avoid when writing the long paper. Workshop on miscellaneous problems: documentation, style, etc. (time permitting).	Bring The Research Process and the MLA Handbook to class, along with a couple of pencils.
Thu 10/16	Collect short paper final draft. Leave work in my mailbox (469 Millett) by 4:30 PM.
Tue 10/21	Editing research writing (II). Quoting, paraphrasing, citing (II). Collect long paper preliminary draft. (With the preliminary draft you must hand in photocopied pages from at least three sources you paraphrased in your paper and one source you quoted directly. Mark the paraphrased and quoted passages on the photocopies, and be sure to indicate on what page of your paper you used each passage.) During part of this class period you will be doing detailed evaluations of each other's papers. The object is to improve the quality of the final draft. N.B.: "preliminary draft" does not mean "rough draft." You must have a finished, polished, well edited draft, complete with parenthetical citations and bibliography, to hand in. Your peer evaluators will provide detailed responses. I will provide, by next week, a critique focusing on strengths and weaknesses. Keep a copy of the preliminary draft so that you can work on it while I evaluate it.	Harner 615-805, 6375-6425. Bring The Research Process and the MLA Handbook to class, along with a couple of pencils.
Fri 10/24	Last day to drop a class with a record of "W."
Tue 10/28	Publishing research writing. Textual study and analytical bibliography. Editing research writing (III). Return preliminary drafts with comments. Collect Graded Exercise #3 (on using sources).	Harner 5190-5325.
Tue 11/4	Books and book-making. Rare books and archives. Other aspects of English studies. Catch up on missed material Question-answer review for final exam. Course evaluation.	Harner 275-310, 5340-5425.
Tue 11/11	Veterans' Day WSU closed
Thu 11/13	Collect long paper final draft. Leave work in my mailbox (469 Millett) by 4:30 PM.
Tue 11/18	Final Exam: 8:00-10:00 PM.
Evaluation
	3 graded exercises Prospectus for long paper Short paper (4 pp. minimum) Long paper (10 pp. minimum) Final examination	15% 10% 15% 40% 20%
	I compute the course grade by multiplying weighted percentages times the numerical value of letter grades. A=4.0, A-=3.8, B+=3.2, and so on.
Class Policies
1.	Late work will be subject to the following reductions: Papers or exercises that are due on a class day but are turned in after 6:05 PM but before 9:30 PM will receive a grade reduction of 1/2 letter grade (or 5 points on a 100-point scale). Papers or exercises that are due on a class day but that are turned in after 9:30 PM will receive a grade reduction of one letter grade (or ten points on a 100-point scale) for each day or portion of a day the paper is late. Papers or exercises that are due on a non-class day but that are turned in after 4:30 PM will receive a grade reduction of one letter grade (or ten points on a 100-point scale) for each day or portion of a day the paper is late.
2.	Papers shorter than the assigned minimum length will receive grade reductions. "Page" is defined as a normal typed MLA-style page with one-inch margins and 27 lines of 10-character-per-inch New Courier type. "Four pages minimum" means at least four full pages.
3.	No make-up quizzes or exercises will be given. The final examination may be rescheduled if you must miss because of illness, but I must receive notification of the need for a make-up before the final exam is given.
4.	Papers and exercises are individual assignments. You may not collaborate with other class members on any of the graded assignments except during the scheduled in-class peer evaluation sessions. On the exercises you may seek help from the instructor and from library reference personnel. On the papers you may also seek help from tutors in the Writing Center.
5.	The automatic penalty for any form of academic dishonesty or plagiarism (defined as passing off the work of someone else as if it were your own) is an F for the course, along with notification of the English Department Chair and Wright State University's Department of Judicial Affairs. Recommended reading: WSU's Code of Student Conduct.
6.	Your papers for this course must be exclusively your own and exclusively for English 701. You may not submit a previously submitted paper, nor a paper simultaneously submitted for another course. The penalties outlined in Policy #5 apply here, too.
7.	I normally do not grant "I" grades. If you miss an assignment, your grade will be computed on the basis of the work you completed, with the missing assignment counted as zero.
8.	Please do not ask what you missed. You are responsible for making arrangements with a classmate to supply you with information about classes you did not attend.
9.	I take attendance at the beginning of the hour. If you arrive late, your attendance will not be recorded unless you see me after class to have me mark you as present. Absences and late arrivals can affect your course grade, particularly in marginal cases.
10.	Since the early weeks of the course are focused mainly on getting started in library research, you will have accumulated only a few percentage points of graded credit by the time the first drop date arrives. Probably the best way to estimate your likely performance in this course is to ask yourself the following questions: a) Have I spent at least 8 to 12 hours of well directed work for this course during the opening weeks? b) Have I become familiar with the essential research tools such as bibliographies, indexes, online resources, and library catalogs? c) By the time the drop date arrives, have I found and listed virtually all the available English-language sources relevant to my topics? d) Has a diagnostic quiz over basic English skills indicated that my grade is likely to be limited to C or lower?
11.	A computer is your essential academic tool, and you are expected to know how to use it. You should protect your work by making backup copies after every work session. Note: backup copies on your C drive do NOT adequately protect you. Backup copies should be stored on an external device such as a flash memory stick, and NOT on the same external device as the original copy. Mechanical computer failures (such as a disk crash, a malfunctioning printer, a dead printer ribbon, or an accidental overwrite) are NOT acceptable excuses for late work. The only computer-related excuse that I will accept is written documentation from the Help Desk indicating that you have been the victim of a computer virus.
Resources
	Correcting Faulty Citations from EBSCO Databases: http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/correct_ebsco.htm Correcting EBSCO's Incorrect Instructions on Citations: http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/EBSCO_instructions.htm Online syllabuses http://www.wright.edu/cola/Dept/eng/maner Guide to Essential Tools for Research in English Literature http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/essential_tools.htm Course Objectives http://www.wright.edu/cola/Dept/eng/maner/mm701ob.htm Online Updates to Harner http://www-english.tamu.edu/pubs/lrg/ Using Search Engines to Find Web Resources http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/search_engines.htm Online Resources for Research Writers http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/eng344.htm Downloadable Templates for Research Papers http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/rptemp.htm Links to Resources in Literature and the Humanities http://www.wright.edu/cola/Dept/eng/lit_links.htm E-Mail Links Martin Maner Erica Clay (Humanities Librarian)

Syllabus: Term: Time: Room: Instructor: Office: Office hours: E-mail: Web site: Discussion group:	English 701 [Methods and Materials of Research] Fall 2008 Tuesday, 6:05-9:35 PM 002 Millett Martin Maner 441 Millett Tuesday 4:00-5:00 and by appointment at other times martin.maner@wright.edu http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner wright.eng.english701-01
Required texts:	1) Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: MLA, 2003. 2) Harner, James L. Literary Research Guide. 5th ed. New York: MLA, 2008. 3) Maner, Martin. The Research Process. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000.