During the first half of the semester, you have had the opportunity to explore one or more issues, problems, or topics that interest you and relates to your major. Your goal in this ongoing exploration is to "learn more" and to develop your information literacy, as knowledge practices and as dispositions / habits of mind.
By mid-term, after consultation with me, with classmates, and with others, you made some preliminary choices about how you want to focus your research / inquiry for the second half of the semester. As part of that preliminary decision, you identified a particular situation / ongoing conversation (topic) in which you wish to participate, to which you want to contribute. You began to identify elements of this situation / conversation: an understanding of the issue / problems / situation; a need for action; specific interest groups / individuals; and possible ways you might contribute / participate in filling the need, using writing and information.
As you also learned during the first part of the semester (and continue to learn), you have numerous choices to make as you decide how to use writing in this situation. Further, you have begun to understand that your choices about how to use writing depend on the numerous ways that elements of a situation intersect with one another and with your choices about how you will use writing. One of the more important decisions you will make will be choosing the most effective recognizable forms (genres) you might use to accomplish your specific purpose, with specific audiences (and given the other variables in the situation).
For the second half of the semester, you will begin to refine your proposal decisions about how you will use writing to create at least three different "recognizable forms" of communication (genres) to address the issue / problem that is the focus of your participation in the situation you have identified. Obviously, your work during this part of the semester will require ongoing consultation with me, with classmate, and with others, as you learn more, consider choices, make final decision, and work through careful processes to plan, design, compose, and revise the various kinds of documents you are creating as a way to accomplish your purpose.
A note here: You are NOT "writing a research paper." Instead, you are using writing (multi-media, multi-modal) and using some of what you have learned through extensive and ongoing research to connect with readers, to achieve a specific purpose, in a specific situation.
Challenges:
Assume I want others to join me in advocating for change in how student aid or debt is handled--interest rates, repayment, eligibility, etc. My research has helped me to understand these issues in greater detail and has helped me to identify specific possible ways that action might lead to change.
For your three different genres, one genre will be composed as a TEAM. This genre will be from your LEARNING COMMUNITY INTEGRATED RESEARCH PROJECT. This will count as only one of the genres for my class.
Your other two genres will be composed on your own. To do so, think specifically about the particular situation / ongoing conversation (topic) that you have been researching this semester and think about who should know about this topic. With a specific audience/situation in mind, you will compose a genre that shows research and a purpose. You will be using writing to DO something.
Also important! The two genres you submit for my class must be a result of the work you've done throughout the semester on a specific topic for my class.