Mondays, 4:00 - 6:30 p.m., 7105 Helen C. White Hall
 Coordinator |
Assignments |
| Aims of the Course |
Assessment and Grading |
| Course Outline |
This course is jointly managed by the English Language and Linguistics faculty and the students enrolled in the course. Faculty include specialists in second language acquisition, language socialization, syntax, phonology, research methods, historical linguistics, language variation, discourse analysis, and critical applied linguistics. It is coordinated by Professor Young.
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Professor Richard F Young 7163 Helen C White Hall Office hours: Thursdays, 12:00 - 2:00 p.m., or by appointment E-mail: rfyoung at wisc dot edu Home Page: www.wisc.edu/english/rfyoung Phone: 263-2679 |
Use the class e-mail list as a public bulletin board for discussions about the class. You may send e-mail messages to faculty instructors and to all students registered for this course through this e-mail list. Send your messages to english713-1-f08 at lists dot wisc dot edu.
An important part of graduate student training is socialization into the practices of researchers in the academic field in which the student will become a member. In English 713 students will be given guided experience in a practice integral to their field, namely, preparing and delivering a paper to an academic audience. Activity in the course involves developing plans for, writing, and presenting a paper on one’s research or theoretical interests. The event will be a symposium, organized by and consisting of presentations by the participants in English 713. It will be held here on campus on Thursday, January 29. Students are encouraged to ask fellow students and faculty in their area to attend.
English 713 is organized as a seminar in which several of the English Language and Linguistics faculty participate. Prof. Young serves as coordinator in the planning of the symposium and the presentations, and other members of the faculty serve as readers, where relevant, of your written paper on which your presentation is based. English 713 is student-centered with input from the faculty participants.
During our first few meetings, we will develop a friendly but serious seminar environment. Students will choose and commit to a goal for the semester. Goals may include developing research begun in other courses, engaging in a literature review, and/or writing a research paper that supports preparation for a comprehensive examination.
The symposium, to be held on Monday, November 17, will be planned and run by members of the class. Toward that end, students will take the following responsibilities/roles:
General coordinators. These people will be the contact persons for any questions or problems that come up, and will be in charge of ensuring that the planning schedule that we come up with proceeds on time. They will be in touch with all of the others in the planning process and will contact people (including the advisor) whenever necessary.
Abstract coordinators. While everyone will write and submit an abstract, the coordinators will arrange the process of who reads which abstracts, what criteria and means of feedback will be asked of readers, and will distribute revised abstracts to members of the class. Additionally, coordinators will assemble the short summaries which accompany the abstracts and give them to the program committee for inclusion in the symposium brochure.
Program committee. This committee will be responsible for determining the symposium program organization and schedule, determining (in consultation with everyone else) the date and time, title, room/s, any necessary A/V equipment, and advertising.
Rehearsal coordinators. Responsibilities include scheduling of rehearsals of presentations (1-2 rehearsals), determining whether to provide videotaped feedback sessions and/or written feedback forms
In addition to the specific responsibilities above, all class members will be involved in the symposium process in these additional ways, as:
Abstract readers and responders (as guided by the abstract coordinators and the advisor). When/if relevant, faculty members may be asked to read and respond to specific abstracts.
Audience members during rehearsals and during the symposium
Moderators/Session chairs during the symposium
A written proposal outlining your research question and methodology, including a bibliography of no more than 12 relevant previous studies is due on Monday, October 13. LATE PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
The written paper on which your symposium presentation is based (15-25 pages not including title page, abstract, references, or appendix). The research paper is due on Monday, December 22. LATE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Both proposal and final paper should be formatted using the conventions of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition, 2001), which is available in the University Book Store and in the ELL Library.
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Letter grades will be awarded for the Research Paper Proposal (20%), for the final written Research Paper (50%), and for the Symposium Presentation (30%).
1. Style |
Is the report formatted in a consistent and appropriate style (e.g., APA)? |
2. Title |
Is the title informative and memorable? |
3. Abstract |
Has the author correctly summarized the paper? Are the following items included? Statement of the topic and purpose |
4. Introduction |
Is the framework of the study clear?
Literature Review. Can you tell where the study fits in?
Definitions. Are key terms defined and are these definitions used consistently?
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5. Method |
Is the study replicable?
Participants
Materials
Procedures
Analyses
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6. Results |
Are all the statistical tests previously listed represented as results? Is there a prose explanation? |
7. Discussion/Conclusion |
Is the original research question, or questions, answered? Is there an explanation of why the results were as they were? If the conclusion is based on previous research, is it well supported and reasoned? If the conclusion is speculative, is it qualified as such and well reasoned? Are suggestions for further research provided? |
8. List of References and Endnotes |
Are all the references cited in the test included? Are any pertinent references missing? Is the list of references in APA style? |
9. Appendixes |
Are the appendixes necessary? Are they complete? |
| 1. Introduction | Did the introduction capture the audience’s interest? Was necessary background given? Was a clear purpose conveyed? |
| 2. Organization | Was there a clear organization? Were transitions between sections clear and effective? Did the organization lead to a clear conclusion? |
| 3. Content | Did the speaker support their points? Was the supporting material relevant and up to date? |
| 4. Visual Aids | Were visual aids used effectively and appropriately. Were they carefully prepared? |
| 5. Conclusion | Were key points reinforced? Was a sense of closure provided? If appropriate, was a course of action proposed? |
| 6. Delivery | Was the speaker natural, enthusiastic? Did they speak clearly? Were appropriate gestures, posture, expressions used? |
| 7. Discussion | Were questions from the audience answered accurately, clearly, effectively? |
The grade of "Incomplete" will only be used for a student who has carried the course with a passing grade until near the end of the semester and then, because of illness or other unusual and substantial cause beyond his/her control, is unable to complete the research project.
| Date | Activity |
| September 8 | The first meeting of the course will be an introduction to the course, a brief discussion of the course goals, and a preliminary schedule for the semester. |
| September 15 | Informal oral presentations of research interests |
| September 22 | Informal oral presentations of research interests |
| September 29 4:00 - 5:15 |
Presentation of first drafts of research proposals |
| October 6 4:00 - 5:15 |
Four students meet informally in 7105 HCW to present second drafts of research proposals. |
| October 6 5:15 - 6:30 |
Three students meet informally in 7105 HCW to present second drafts of research proposals. |
| October 13 | DEADLINE! All students submit copies of Research Paper Proposals to faculty mentors and to all the other members of their interest group. All students make oral presentations of their Research Paper Proposals at a plenary class meeting in 7105 HCW. |
| October 20 | No class meeting. Meet with your faculty mentor during the week. |
| October 27 4:00 - 5:15 |
Four students meet informally in 7105 HCW to discuss how their work is progressing. |
| October 27 5:15 - 6:30 |
Three students meet informally in 7105 HCW to discuss how their work is progressing. |
| November 3 4:00 - 5:15 |
Four students meet informally in 7105 HCW to discuss how their work is progressing. |
| November 3 5:15 - 6:30 |
Three students meet informally in 7105 HCW to discuss how their work is progressing. |
| November 10 | No class meeting. Meet with your faculty mentor during the week. |
| Wednesday, November 12 | Rehearsal for Graduate Student Symposium |
| November 17 | Graduate Student Symposium |
| November 24 | No class meeting. Meet with your faculty mentor during the week. |
| December 1 | No class meeting. Meet with your faculty mentor during the week. |
| December 19 | DEADLINE! All students submit final written Research Papers. |
This page last revised October 22, 2008 .