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Library Instruction and IL in the Writing Program

WR 122 Argument, Research, and Academic Composition

WR 122, Argument, Research, and Multimodal Composition, continues the focus of WR 121 in its review of rhetorical concepts and vocabulary, in the development of reading, thinking, and writing skills, along with metacognitive competencies understood through the lens of a rhetorical vocabulary. Specifically, students will identify, evaluate, and construct chains of reasoning, a process that includes an ability to distinguish assertion from evidence, recognize and evaluate assumptions, and select sources appropriate for a rhetorical task. Students will employ a flexible, collaborative, and appropriate composing process, working in multiple genres, and utilizing at least two modalities. They will produce 3500-4500 words of revised, final draft copy or an appropriate multimodal analog for this amount of text. If the focus is primarily multimodal, students will produce at least one essay of a minimum of 1500 words, demonstrating competence in both research and academic argumentation.

WR 122 Information Literacy and Research Expectations

WR 122 Course Outcomes: Research and Documentation

  1. Incorporate appropriate sources using summary, paraphrase, and quotation.
  2. Document resource material using either MLA or APA citation style including attribution phrases, in-text citations, and a bibliography.
  3. Demonstrate ability to use library databases and search engines effectively and understand source evaluation

In WR 122, students work on developing more sophisticated relationships between sources. Students find scholarly and peer reviewed sources and become familiar with the sections of a research article (e.g., abstract, methodology, findings, conclusion). Students may practice using the works cited list to track down sources and analyze how the scholar uses source material (e.g., quote, summary, paraphrase). 

Subject specific databases are explored in conjunction with the Library Search

  • Science Direct
  • Education Research Complete
  • JSTOR
  • Library Search
  • (Topic Finder and Gale Search review from WR 121)

Possible Instructional Activities

Practice Bootstrapping 

  • Find one good source
  • Look at the references
  • Track down the references that look useful for the topic

Mind Mapping Video Exercise (depending on time of term)