ENG101 Research Paper Body: Asking questions (in-class, 5 pts)

For the whole class to think about and briefly discuss: What makes a question good? 

Learning objective: This gives you some practice in pursuing lines of inquiry by using these questions while writing your research paper after you have completed your first paragraph. It also shows you how to use a source text for your own thinking and writing. The aim is to help you move from the first paragraph into the body and from one section of the body to another. When you get stuck, try asking one or another of these questions. You are not supposed to know the answers right away and you may have to sit and think or review your sources (or add to them).  “Blind alleys,” “red herrings,” and “straw men” are to be expected and recognized. A research question is just a preliminary step. The thesis as an answer to it must be demonstrated by asking more questions and following them up. The questions should be those an intelligent interlocutor might ask. So you must keep your reader/audience in your head.

1. You have seen a video: Paper Body Question Kit where I gave you a “question kit”, with the purpose of showing you questions that you can ask to develop a research paper. Remember, our answers are just the ground for better, more sophisticated questions. All students can access the slides with the questions.

2. We will break up into groups of 5. Each group will get a different short reading (2-3 par) taken from the required reading assignment. Using the Question Kit Slides:Paper Body Question Kit, each group has 10-12 minutes to write at least 5 questions they would ask of a) the topic generally, b) the reading[s] you have completed, and to, c) write a follow-up question on at least 2 of these questions.Yes/no questions are not allowed and any about simple facts must include a second part. When complete, someone from the group will write them on a dedicated section of the whiteboard.

3. We will discuss this as a class and see how we might use some of these questions and sources for your papers.

4. Each of you should copy all the questions your group designs and post them on this sheet in Google classroom.

A.

B.

C.

D.

F.