In our "discussion" tonight, what about "form" or "arrangement" was new or different to you? How did you work with questions help you think about the research question you are considering?
Are there any larger or more general questions you have at this point about your research paper, as we proceed semi-slowly toward it?
The one thing that I learned about form or arrangement is that a paper is pretty much dead without it. This is an idea that the discussions helped me to really expand upon. As writers, we must think about what we are thinking about and it must show to our readers.
The only question that I have is whether we should show samples to our students. In the Prewriting Techniques article, Lindemann mentioned that, "Students cannot value the strategies a model illustrates if their own writing projects are not yet very far along." (p. 127). However, in the Rhetorical Theory and Practice article, Lindemann mentioned that, "...they should be analyzing arguments in editorials, professional publications, textbooks, and other materials." (p. 138).
I would like anyone's opinion on the subject. Thanks for listening :)
Thanks for pulling out these contradictions, Pam. I think this might be a chicken-and-egg situation: the more we are aware of the possibilities of arrangement (analyzing them in readings, looking over lists of possibilities), the more we can use them in our own writing -- but often we don't know of the necessity of form (and so of analyzing it) until we struggle with our own writing.
ReplyDeleteSome of this might also be developmental, too. At what age do you think students are old enough to start using different forms in their writing?