15a Analyze the research assignment.
In an introductory writing course, you might receive an assignment like this one:
Choose a subject of interest to you, and use it as the basis for a research essay of approximately two thousand words that makes and substantiates a claim. You should use a minimum of five credible, authoritative sources.
Topic
If your assignment doesn’t specify a topic, consider the following questions (see also 5c):
- What subjects do you already know something about? Which of them would you like to explore more fully?
- What subjects do you care about? What might you like to become an expert on?
- What subjects evoke a strong reaction from you, whether positive or negative?
Be sure to get responses about your possible topic from your instructor, classmates, and friends. Ask them whether they would be interested in reading about the topic, whether it seems manageable, and whether they know of any good sources for information on the topic.
Situation
Be sure to consider the rhetorical situation (see Chapter 5) of any research project. Here are detailed questions to think about:
AUDIENCE
- Who will be the audience for your research project (5e)?
- Who will be interested in the information you gather, and why? What will they want to know? What will they already know?
- What do you know about their backgrounds? What assumptions might they hold about the topic?
- What response do you want from them?
- What kinds of evidence will you need to convince them?
- What will your instructor expect?
Reaching an Audience
TALKING THE TALK
“Isn’t my audience just my teacher?” To write effectively, you must think of your writing as more than just an assignment you have to complete to get a grade. Recognize that you have something to say—and that in order to get others to pay attention, you have to think about who they are and how to reach them. Of course, your instructor is part of your audience. But who else will be interested in your topic and the unique perspective you bring to it? What does that audience need from you?
PURPOSE
- If you can choose the purpose, what would you like to accomplish (5d)?
- If you have been assigned a specific research project, keep in mind the key words in that assignment. Does the assignment ask that you describe, survey, analyze, persuade, explain, classify, compare, or contrast? What do such words mean in this field?
YOUR POSITION ON THE TOPIC (STANCE)
- What is your attitude toward your topic? Are you curious about it? critical of it? Do you like it? dislike it? find it confusing?
- What influences have shaped your position (5d)?
SCOPE
- How long is the project supposed to be? Base your research and writing schedule on the scale of the finished project (a short versus a long paper or presentation, a brief oral report or a longer multimedia presentation, a simple versus a complex Web site) and the amount of time you have to complete it.
- How many and what kind(s) of sources should you use (16a)? What kind(s) of visuals—charts, maps, photographs, and so on—will you need? Will you do any field research—interviewing, surveying, or observing (16e)?
Here is a sample schedule for a research project:
Watch and respond to the video Researching something exciting.