distinguishing high quality sources from poorer ones (and seeking out higher quality scholarlymaterial to work with

distinguishing high quality sources from poorer ones (and seeking out higher quality scholarly
material to work with

turn in a final reflection assignment on the work you have done this semester: write a 1-2 page
discussion of what you found most useful or productive in the work you have been asked to do this
semester. The course has tried to emphasize three things: critical inquiry, productive research, and
thoughtful writing, each of which involves several elements.
Critical inquiry involves, among other things:
● distinguishing high quality sources from poorer ones (and seeking out higher quality scholarly
material to work with)
● understanding the analysis and argument being made by a sophisticated source (reading with the
grain), but also scrutinizing it critically (reading against the grain)
● noting (1) the conceptual discourse and elaboration offered by a text; (2) the information and
evidence it presents; and (3) the claims, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, reasoning conducted
by the text–and assessing each of these elements of the text and their interrelationship
Productive research involves, among other things:
● defining a topic and a specific critical question or issue in relation to the topic: i.e., specifying and
clarifying your object of inquiry
● distinguishing between information gathering and critical analysis and pursuing both things in
your research
● identifying useful research tools and resources for your particular research topic (full text and
bibiographic databases; reference resources) and using them to find high quality materials
● moving beyond key word searching to exploit other avenues to identify relevant materials
Thoughtful writing involves, among other things:
● lucidity and sophistication in the conceptual framework of your discussion
● clarity and specificity regarding the critical issue you are addressing in relation to your topic
● an effort to substantiate and demonstrate your claims, rather than just assertion of them or simply
citing other people’s claims (even if these others are experts)
● rich use of existing scholarship and accurate citation of these sources and the use you make of
them
● clean, clear writing that articulates your thoughts effectively on paper
● development of an analysis that advances your thinking about the topic, as a result of the
analysis
● understanding the disciplinary shaping of scholarship and, where productive, moving across or
beyond disciplinarily-specific scholarship to make connections between different bodies of
scholarship, different discussions, or to explore aspects of a topic that have been neglected
Looking at any or all parts of the work you have done for this class this semester, highlight in 1-2 pages
what you found most useful in any of these regards, where you can point out ways in which you’ve
realized any of these course goals in your own work, and respects in which you feel there is still most
work to be done for yourself.

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