FInal Thoughts

I am about done grading and wanted to post some thoughts I've been having too. I agree with everything Dr. Rogers posted about the second literature review. More time and some way of requiring them to work with sources seems important.

I also have many papers with only a few sources, not cited well, and all one-sided. I've written the same comment on at least 4 papers from each class, that they have written an argument paper and not a literature review and that they need to find what the other sides are saying.

I have lots of little changes that I want to make about how I handle the class and how to get them thinking about things, but the big change I want to make is to avoid the dumbfounding lack of workshop attendance at the end of the semester. Many of the big problems I have with the second Lit. Review could have been addressed if they had brought papers to the last workshop day. So, I think I'm going to include the workshop points into the paper.

My initial thought is that 40% of each paper grade will come from workshop points with the rest coming from the final draft of the paper. My hope is that this will help them realize how important the workshops are to the success of the paper and how important the editing and re-writing phase is to improve the writing.

I also think that having a list of pre-approved topics is needed and will look at Weber Writes for ideas over the summer.

Parting Thoughts & Notes for Next Time

1. I did not leave enough time for the second literature review. Consider fewer texts on the front end of the course. 
2. I need to force them to work with their sources earlier. Perhaps some sort of assignment throughout the semester where they are conducting a little research.
3. I need to force them to narrow topics much earlier than they are. Some of them still had massive, massive topics.
4. Some of them really blew it on this last assignment by only using a couple of sources. This connects to #2.
5. I need to consider limiting their options for topics.  Or perhaps providing them with a variety of topics they can choose from if they are having difficulty thinking of one.
6. There should be some kind of mechanism in the workshopping of lit review 2 that forces the students to identify the debate that is being discussed.
7. Perhaps use Weber Writes and force them to choose lit review topics out of it.