WRTG112 2018 December Week 2 Discussion (dq1+dq2) Latest

WRTG112 Introduction to Academic Writing II

Week 2 Discussion

DQ1 Your Research Topic and Question

The Issue Exploration assignment helps students to select a research topic and begin to moving toward a more specific research question. In this discussion, work with your classmates on identifying a research question that is neither too broad nor too narrow.

Initial post (by Wednesday):

After reviewing “Your Research Question,” consider potential questions you may want to answer with your research. Post your topic and possible research question(s) here.

DQ2 Making Choices About Sentence Boundaries

In every paragraph we write, we make choices about sentence boundaries: Where will we place a period and start a new sentence? Where might we consider using semicolons to connect related independent clauses? Where will we join ideas together in a compound sentence? In this week's grammar discussion, along with your peers, you will think about these questions in relation to your own writing.

Initial post (by Wednesday):

Post a draft of a paragraph for your first assignment. Identify at least one sentence boundary choice you made, and comment on the reasons for that choice and possible alternatives.

Example of an initial post:

When I was seventeen years old and a senior in high school, I had an experience that deeply affected my learning for many years to come: I failed a paper for the first time. Okay, I didn't exactly fail, but I got a D, which felt like failing. The grade was unexpected, it affected me like a slap in the face. It was only through the encouragement of the very teacher who gave me the D that I was able to persevere with a more determined attitude than ever.

I made a choice to use a colon after "an experience that deeply affected my learning for many years to come." I did that because the next sentence describes that experience, and the colon lets readers know that description is coming. I could have used a period instead, but I think that seems choppier. It would look like this: "When I was seventeen years old and a senior in high school, I had an experience that deeply affected my learning for many years to come. I failed a paper for the first time."