Establishing Authority (Project Three)

7/30/2019 Establishing Authority (Project Three)

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AKA Research

Paper Writing

Crash Course

ESTABLISHING YOUR

AUTHORITY


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Using your

collected

researchTHEY SAY


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You may find it helpful to begin your paper by explaining,

briefly, what others say about your topic.

Remember our reading of the Stuart Greene piece, Argument

as Conversationthrough writing a research paper about a

topic, you are entering a conversation and therefore it makessense to start with what others are saying in that

conversation.

You should summarize what others say ASAP to give your

readers a context for what is to followremember the CARS

reading model we learned last week. Part of establishing yourresearch territory comes from following the paths of

previous research.

HOW TO BEGIN


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You DONT want to explain every single thing youve found

while researching at the beginning of your textsummarize

briefly to start, and elaborate within the body of your text

when it is appropriate

WAIT! When is it appropriate to expand? You should consider your

readers (audience)what do they know? What dont they know? Thekey to a well-written paper of any kind is CLARITY.

Its especially important to ach ieve clarity early on in your

paper so that your readers understand what youre writing

about and why. Using the work of others (explaining the

existing conversation about your topic of research) allows you

to FRAME your topic and ESTABLISH AUTHORITY by

demonstrating that you have done your homework on this

topic.

Check out section 1 & 2

HOW TO BEGIN


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Some of you may have uncovered an ongoing debate with your

research topics. In this case you may want to summarize

multiple views of an issue. Th is will demonstrate your

awareness of conflicting approaches to your subject

awareness of multiple viewpoints establishes your credibility

and authority because it shows that youre well- informed. See section 3

MOVING ON: Once you have established what they say, dont

forget about them. Youve explained the general ideas youre

responding to, now keep responding to them You should periodically return to your initial summary (AND

YOUR THESIS) to ensure that your paper is a response to your

research, and not just a set of generalized observations and

facts.

HOW TO BEGIN:

INTRODUCING WHAT THEY SAY


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So you should

respond to other

peoples

ideas/research. How?

You need to map your

own claims in relation

to what youve found

out from others by

researching.

USEFUL TOOLS:

SUMMARIZING OTHER PEOPLES IDEAS

To summarize

something youve

reademphasize the

key points the author

made that are of

interest and relevance

to your topic.

Always keep your own

central claim (thesis)in mind when

summarizing.


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Put yourself in their shoes: Try to summarize without

obvious bias, even if youdisagree with the author youare summarizing. Yourdisagreement should come out

later, not in the summaryitself.

Make sure the summaryaccurately reflects the authorsintention, and is not simply areflection of your own beliefson the subject.

If you cannot present theclaims of others without bias,even if you disagree, you loseauthority/credibility.

Know where you are going: Summarize with your own

claim in mind. Do not alterwhat the author says, butpresent the authors claim in away that it supports your own

(if that is your intention) You must make sure that what

they say is relevant to whatyoure sayingdo not simplylist an articles key pointswithout thinking about whetherthose points really matter interms of the issue youreaddressing.

See section 4

USEFUL TOOLS:

SUMMARIZING OTHER PEOPLES IDEAS


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Sometimes they said it

better than you canand knowing when to

directly quote someone

lends you authority andcredibility becausedirect quotes act as

evidence that others

share similar ideas

about your claim andensure that your

argument is fair and

accurate.

USEFUL TOOLS:

QUOTING


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DO

Choose quotations

wisely

Surround quotationswith an explanatory

framealways connect

what they say with

what you say.

DONT

Quote too much or too

little out of laziness

Assume the quotationspeaks for itself

remember, the

audience has not done

the same research youhave

USEFUL TOOLS:

QUOTING DOS & DONTS


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Quote relevantpassages Dont select a quote just

to prove youve read your

sourcesthis does notdo much for yourcredibility.

Use quotes that backyou upnot quotes thatdistract.

See section 5

Frame your quotations Dont dangle your

quotations; without anexplanation your readerswill have to guess at whyyou thought your chosenquotation was relevant.

To introduce your quote,explain who is speakingand set up what the

quotation says (giveCONTEXT), then followup with why it isimportant to your ownclaim and how youinterpret it.

USEFUL TOOLS:

HOW DO I QUOTE WISELY


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BEWARE OF OVEREXPLANATIONI know weve just spent a few

slides on explaining your quotes, but use disc retion. Some

quotes will require significant explanation, while others speak

more or less for themselves.

In general, if your quote is lengthy or uses lots of technicaljargon (as in, terminology that is specific to your field and not

very well known or understood by outsiders) it will require

more explanation.

EVEN MORE GENERALLY, HOWEVER, when in doubt, go for i t.

Its always better to be extra clear about what you take aquote to mean than to leave it dangling.

USEFUL TOOLS:

QUOTING


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Making

YOUR

argumentI SAY


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So weve heard all about how to bring the work of others into

your research paper, but now what? NOW, you need to respond

to that work . You need to have your say.

Good arguments are not based on exclusive expert knowledge,

but on logical thinking about the facts at hand. In your research papers, I would like you to take a position on

your topic. If you still havent, find an angle of approach that

is debatableit doesnt have to be a hotly contended issue,

but it should be someth ing about which you can have an

opinion. For example, whether globalization is good for yourfuture industr y or why people in your field ought to study a

certain subject (why is it important?).

RESPONDING TO THEY


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When it comes downto it, you really havethree ways to respondto what youve found

out through yourresearch.

1. You can AGREE - Yes2. You can DISAGREE -

No3. You can AGREE WITH

A DIFFERENCE Okay, but

HOW CAN I RESPOND


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Its important for you AND your readers to know where you

stand. There are surely many subtly different positions to be

taken on any given subject, but at the bottom line, you agree

or you disagree. You can get into the messy deta ils later.

Ways to set up your position: I agree that ________

I disagree that _________

I am of two minds. I agree that ________, but I cannot agree

that ______. (If youre feeling indecisive)

BUT WHAT IF ITS NOT THAT SIMPLE?


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If youre stuck for what to write about, disagree with

something! This is an easy way to generate an

essayfind something you can take a position

against, summarize it, and argue with itbut

remember you must of fer persuasive reasons why

you disagree. Its not enough to simply say I

disagree. That wont pass the So what? test.

SUPPORT WHAT YOU SAY. If you disagree with

something, explain why, in detail, citing your sources.

DISAGREEING


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If youre feelingparticularly craftyabout disagreeing,you can pull

something called thetwist it move, inwhich you agree withthe evidencesomebody has

presented, but youuse that evidence tosupport your owncontradictory position.

THE TWIST IT MOVE


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Dont be reluctant to

take a position of

disagreement in

relation to what

youve researched.

Particularly in this

class, disagreeing can

be a good exercise in

critical thinkingevenif you dont actually

disagree.

Besides, when you

think about it, youre

not really running a

risk of hurting

anyones feelings or

being disagreed with

in returnwere just

practicing

synthesizing the workof others with our own

opinions.

DISAGREEMENTDONT BE SCARED


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Most of the time, its impossible to agree with every single

thing you find out about a topic. You will likely agree with

some or most of what you find, but come across a few things

that dont seem right to you.

This is important to remember, even when you agree: youwant to bring something new to the tablegenerate new ideas

by using the ones you agree with as a jumping of f point.

Remember how research is a conversationyou want to

contribute something, not just repeat whats already been

said.

HOW TO AGREE WITH A DIFFERENCE


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You can point out previously unnoticed evidence or

logic that supports the claims youre agreeing with.

You may cite personal experience that supports the

claim(s).

You may use the claims of others to explain

something newa situation that the claims will helpa reader understand.

If the claims you agree with are challenging for

people to understand, you can write your ownaccessible explanation (REMEMBER YOURAUDIENCE).

See section 7

HOW DO I CONTRIBUTE?


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Dont be afraid to agreeas much as some people are afraid

of the vulnerable position of disagreeing, others fear the

stigma of unoriginality that can come with agreeing.

When you agree with people it g ives you greater credibility

because you can find great information to support yourclaims.

Remember, though, that when you agree with one claim you

are likely disagreeing with anotherAND THIS CAN BE YET

ANOTHER ANGLE TO TAKE!

See section 8

HOW TO AGREE, THE SEQUEL


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Taking a position that is on neither side can actually help you

develop a more complex and original argument.

In general, thi s position will be tipped subtly towards either

agreeing or disagreeing, but thats up to you.

To present an argument that ne ither fully agrees nordisagrees, you might use phrasing like:

Yes and no.

Yes, but.

Although I agree up to a point, I still insist.

On the one hand I agree with _______, on the other I disagree that_________.

See section 9

AGREE/DISAGREE

CAN I DO BOTH?


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This sort of approach is real ly useful when youre

encountering totally new or challenging information. If you

choose to approach your paper in this way you can weigh the

pros and cons of a position/claim without definitively coming

down on one side or the other. CLARITY, as always, is very impor tant but its per fectly fine to

make it clear that you are ambivalent/undecided.

See section 10

But is it bad to be indecisive?

Yes, ambivalence can frustrate readers, but as with a position ofagreement or disagreement, you need only to support your position.

If you are undecided about where you stand, explain why. Thats all it

takes.

WHEN YOURE REALLY UNSURE OF

WHERE YOU STAND


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Dontconfuse

your

readers!

WHAT DO YOU SAY VS.

WHAT DO THEY SAY


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CLARITYits going to keep haunting us.

Make sure that it is always clear who is saying what in your

research paperare you quoting someone else,

summarizing/paraphrasing someone else, or giving your own

opinion? See section 11

USING THE WORD I

How can you differentiate your own views from those of others

if you dont use I?

Using I is perfectly fine as long as, like always, you CLEARLY

SUPPORT THE CLAIMS THAT YOU MAKE.

Dont use I exclusively, though, thats just as boring as never

using I.

SIGNALING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

WHAT YOU SAY AND WHAT THEY SAY


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You can refer to the

opinions of others or

your own smoothly,

without breakingyour train of

thought.

See section 12

Youve got to make a point

of alerting readers to whose

voice you are using (your

own or your research), or

else they will become

SMOOTH MOVES:

EMBEDDED REFERENCES


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As mentioned, when you choose to agree with one claim, you

are probably disagreeing with another. When it comes to

establishing your credibility and authority, its actually better

if you make a note of potential disagreements with your

argument yourself. Anticipating others potential disagreements with your

argument demonstrates that you have considered all of the

angles, and that you have thoroughly investigated your topic.

It also works as a pre-emptive strikeyour critics will have

fewer holes to poke in your argument if you show them thatyoure aware of those holes already.

SMOOTH MOVES:

PLANTING A NAYSAYER


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You can leave your naysayers asnameless and faceless(skeptics, some readers, many)or, if you know more speci ficallywho they might be, you canname them (feminists,

biologists, followers of MalcolmX, social Darwinists, etc.)

See section 13

DONT STEREOTYPE: While itsokay to name your naysayers, besure to avoid stereotyping yourpotential readers, because theywont appreciate thatand it wil lundermine your credibil ity.

SMOOTH MOVES:

HOW TO PLANT YOUR NAYSAYERS


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When you do include an opposing view, take it seriously. If you

speed past an objection you lose as much if not more

credibility than if youd never mentioned it at all.

When you present objections, you should represent them

fairly, but also make sure that youre able to account for theopposing view. Dont present something you cant refutethis

will also cost you credibility.

The best way to dismiss an objection is by partially agreeing with it.

Generally, you will find at least part of a claim you can agree with.

See section 14

REPRESENTING & ANSWERING

OBJECTIONS


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It alwayscomes

back to

this.

SO WHAT?


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Readers NEED to know what is at stake in the text that theyre

readingwhy should they care?

Too often as writers, we assume that our reader will

understand the impor tance of what we have to say or that

they will figure it out on the ir own. ONE MORE TIME, THOUGH,CLARITY. Making your intentions explicit to your reader is

always better than leaving it up to chance whether or not the

importance of your paper will reveal itself to them.

WHY SHOULD MY READER CARE?


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When you answer thequestion who cares, youare identifying to whomyour paper will matter.It should matter to yourgeneral audience, butmay be intended tomatter more to a morespecific audience.

Who needs to hear

about what youveresearched?

See section 15

In terms of generalreaders, so what is themore importantquestion.

By answering so what,you may link yourargument to somelarger matter yourreaders already deemimportant.

JUSTIFY THEIMPORTANCE OF YOURCLAIMS

See section 16

WHO CARES VS. SO WHAT


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Yo u must c i te

your sources

check out your

ci tat ion sty le s

formatt ing for

in -textci tat ions.

DONTFORGET!

Research paper writing info from They Say I Say 2010

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Establishing Authority (Project Three)

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