ASSIGNMENT DONE

English 105 2017-2018

CONTRACT AND LITERATURE REVIEW

For all group projects, it’s common to feel as if you’re doing more work than other group members. Sometimes this is the case, but more often other people’s work is simply less visible than your own. Making everyone’s work visible helps. Another tip is to plan to do your share, and gracefully a bit more than your share. When everyone puts in a bit more effort/time/energy than they think they should have to, the project and the group benefit immensely.

CONTRACT

For the collaborative research project, you’ll begin by working with your group to create a contract. Determine together:

· What will your group be called? Take time to make that group identity.

· How will you get started—who will do what first?

· When can you physically meet together, and where? Set up some meetings now.

· What can you get done via Google Docs or another online space? Plan ahead.

· Create a tentative-but-specific daily timeline for every required element of the project.

· Make a plan for how you’ll communicate—will you text one another? Call? Email? What is the expected timeframe for a response to texts/phone calls/emails? Create contact sheets and put all of the information you’ll need in your phones, etc.

· Try to anticipate potential problems and figure out ways to maturely, responsibly handle them within your group. How will you handle instances of someone missing a meeting or missing a deadline? What will you do if someone does work the group doesn’t think is strong? How will you respect one another and make it work? How will you sort out revision responsibilities so everyone in the group has a chance to see and revise all drafts before each deadline? When will it be time to seek help from your teacher?

· Include, too, how you will support and encourage one another as a group.

LITERATURE REVIEW

A literature review is a standard element in most academic genres. It often comes early on in a piece to let the reader know what conversation the authors are joining.

· Explore what various experts have written about your issue. Take notes. Look for common ground and differences.

· Consider how they’re focusing their research and how that focus affects its relevance for your research question(s).

· Synthesize what they have to say—consider where they agree and where they don’t.

· Use that synthesis work to describe each source’s research and to start to put your sources in conversation with one another. Here’s one quick [made-up] example of how that might work:

Anderson argues that rabbits carry diseases and should not be considered pets (45-6). However, Jindal and Syverson, writing in The Journal of Veterinary Science, offer evidence that diseased rabbits are not dangerous to humans (173). Jindal and Syverson’s study suggests that Anderson’s position may be overly cautious. Other researchers, such as André Dupont, a French psychologist, focus on the benefits of pet rabbits, rather than potential for harm. Dupont conducted a study in which rabbits…

Questions?

Ask in class or visit my office hours: Tu/W 10:00-11:30 Peterson 301