Start by immediately identifying the Visual Writing Prompts (Weebly)

Start by immediately identifying the Visual Writing Prompts (Weebly) you are most interested in exploring from a topical standpoint. However, your task is to then propose from this first sentence how this much more general question relates to your own field of study, developing your own unique GUIDING RESEARCH QUESTION (GRQ) and related inquiry questions.

Start by immediately identifying the Visual Writing Prompts (Weebly)

Start by immediately identifying the Visual Writing Prompts (Weebly) you are most interested in exploring from a topical standpoint. However, your task is to then propose from this first sentence how this much more general question relates to your own field of study, developing your own unique GUIDING RESEARCH QUESTION (GRQ) and related inquiry questions.

See the Weebly prompt as a topic of discussion starter See your own GRQ as a more specific question of subject matter that is within that topic Therefore, you will be transforming the question or guidelines in the Weebly prompt to fit a more specific set of inquiry within your field of study.

 

Weebly prompt

For instance, if I was a Sociology major and chose the Weebly prompt, “Is it important to know where your food comes from? Defend your answer”—I may turn that question into a specific inquiry into “food deserts” and the impact they have on lower class communities. My GRQ may then be:

Firstly, How are food deserts impacting health and economic ability of lower class communities?

Secondly, Your GRQ is to be thought-provoking, not an open and shut/yes or no.

Thirdly, Your GRQ is to illustrate your own desire to critically think about these topics and pursue data and information that can help you make a debatable argument.

Also, Your GRQ allows you to ask more specific questions, too, so that you don’t feel “stuck” thinking you have to find predetermined answers.

Further, Your GRQ is a start to researching for argument, not the answer and the analysis.

Also, other important contextual details to include in your intro: Identify your field of major and summarize topics covered that reference the question (foreshadow the question) Identify, concisely, your personal main interest in this prompt’s topic. Restate the prompt question, and then: Identify if the question is empirical or ethical based, at its heart. What are possible answers that you have at the outset? State at least two “opposing” broadly specific answers. Then, state your original answer, along with a justifying reason.

 

Second section: Background Knowledge

 

One to two paragraphs in length. Answer the following questions bullet point questions without restating the questions. Integrate the key words into your explanations.

Make cohesive transitions, rather than being robotic about answers. Be descriptive, and cite sources if you are citing data or “facts”. Contextualize your beliefs and “opinions” with where they are rooted. What do you already know or think about the subject matter/question asked in the writing prompt? Where does that knowledge come from? What are similar interests?

What confuses you, and how does that relate to your Guiding Research Question?

 

Third section:

Methodology/Disciplines and Databases | One to two paragraphs in length Based on the GRQ that you have developed.  The questions that relate to seeking answers that support that question’s inquiry, which academic disciplines (Musicology, Sociology, History, Gender Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Mental Health, Biology, Criminology, Etymology, and more) are the most logical places for you to start off your research? In your answer, identify at least two different academic disciplines you want to find scholarly articles within. Additionally, explain how either the GRQ or one of your questions that spawns from it relates to an identified discipline. Express your thinking—make inferences based on what you know or believe. For instance, let’s revisit how are food deserts impacting health and economic ability of lower class communities?

Sociology, of course, is important because I am looking into community impact. So, I will need to state how important it is to search sociology databases for sources that discuss food sources and community.  I think it must be harder for those in poor communities to get affordable quality natural foods.  Which then makes it harder to save money, etc.

Health field databases are important—though it seems obvious—because I want to figure out how “food deserts” impact health. I think—think!—food deserts may lead to more obesity and disease, so I must inquire! In your methodology, you may also explain specific types of sources you hope to find. To help you both imagine and descriptive those “types of sources”—read chapters 6-10 of Principles of Sociological Inquiry: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods (Blackstone). These chapters outline various kinds of qualitative and quantitative secondary sources you will most be looking for within the disciplines to provide support for your essay.