English 104 is all about applying the fundamentals of rhetoric you learned in English 103 to the research process. In this course, we’ll first learn about close, critical reading of texts – literary, legal, pop-culture, judicial, commercial. We’ll apply rhetorical analysis to better understand how texts socially construct gender, racial, and class identities. Then we’ll use those close reading skills to develop a research question and learn about methods of advanced research. We’ll examine the rhetorical nature of research and try our hands at qualitative and quantitative research strategies, and conventions common to research writing. Finally, we’ll use video-making software to practice methods of multi-modal circulation of the knowledge we’ve made. Sound awesome? It should.
Here are our 104 Course Goals:
- Create and complete research projects. This involves generating a research question, engaging in critical/analytical reading, developing an argument with evidence collected from both primary and secondary research, and documenting sources appropriately.
- Align research questions with appropriate research methods
- Employ critical thinking in evaluation, speculation, analysis, and synthesis required to evolve and complete a research project.
- Use a variety of strategies to gather and organize information appropriate for the context and persuasive to the intended audience.
- Use the university research library to forward their research agenda.
- Engage in collaborative research.
- Employ format, syntax, punctuation, and spelling appropriate to various rhetorical situations in a stylistically sophisticated manner.
- Collect, analyze, and organize research information in verbally and visually compelling ways.
- Take initiative for the development and completion of individual and joint research projects.
English 104 