College Writing, Actually

Are teaching statements as stressful for y'all as they were for me? Well today, Dr. Sara Misgen is here to uncloud our skies. Let's get into it!

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I'm back with another *audio* book review. This time of Other People's English by Vershawn Ashanti Young, Rusty Barrett, Y'Shanda Young-Rivera, and Kim Brian Lovejoy. This is a treasure of a book, so let me tell you about it and then you go get into it!!

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It's midterms and you may have five papers to revise in two weeks! Don't stress. Here are three quick tips to revise your own work with new eyes!

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Anti-racist writing in STEM? Let's get into it with Dr. Meghan Gonzalves!

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Tutors, grad student instructors, it's hard to launch into this teaching thing, right? I know it was for me and I still have to gird myself every time I enter the classroom! Today, I talk to Dr. Stacey Lawrence about how to teach from where you are. Get ready to laugh, learn, and realize you have all you need to succeed!

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College STRESS Culture. Let's get into it!

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Season 2?! How is that possible! But we are back and better with episodes that take on the hard topics: mental health, race and racism in the disciplines, and de-standardizing English. Of course, we won't leave out the usual fare of foundational resources like revising papers and writing teaching statements. Are you ready to talk about college writing, ACTUALLY?!

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And here we are. We're finally at the last episode of season 1! Let's relax and talk about how to end the semester with STRONG CALM. 

If you would like the transcript to this episode, you can find it on the podcast's website https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/  Simply select the desired episode and click the "Transcript" tab beside the Show Notes.  

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Anne is baaaaaccckk! And this time she's talking directly to the writers! If you're a multilingual writer wanting some tips tailored to you, grab that pen and paper!

 If you'd like to find Anne, you can find her on Linkedin as Anne Kerkian. If you would like the transcript to this episode, you can find it on the podcast's website https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/  Simply select the desired episode and click the "Transcript" tab beside the Show Notes.  

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We've finally come to the final episode of our trilogy on writing in the disciples! Today I'm joined by Dr. Dana Hayward who's gonna walk us through how to write a paper in the social sciences. Grab that paper and pen!

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HANDOUT: WRITING EFFECTIVE RESEARCH QUESTIONS 

Dana Hayward 

I. Strategies 

How vs. Why Questions 

The burden of proof is higher with a ‘why’ question, because it’s committing you to explaining a causal relationship. A ‘how’ question allows you to explain or illustrate relationships between concepts without necessarily needing to speak to causality. 

Scope 

Ideally, your research question should be broad enough to appeal to a wide audience, but also narrow enough to be answered in the space provided. The research question for a book length study will be bigger than the question for a journal article, which will be bigger than the question for a term paper. Sometimes, it can be helpful to follow up a broad research question with a  

more specific one about your case and/or method. 

For example, in my paper on sex work and stigma, I asked: “How does decriminalization affect the social meaning of sex work? More specifically, how did the passage of New Zealand’s Prostitution Reform Act influence the stigmatization of sex work? How were sex work and sex workers portrayed in major newspapers prior to the adoption of the Act, and how were they portrayed following the passage of this law?” The first question is the big hook, designed to appeal to broad audiences in sociology of sex work, sociology of gender, and sociology of law. The second question introduces my empirical case study: New Zealand’s Prostitution Reform Act. The third question introduces my method: media analysis of print newspapers. 

Noun Choice 

Your nouns set the parameters of your research study, so be specific and precise. “Secondary schools” means something different than “the educational system” or “education”, so think carefully about which nouns work best for your study. 

Verb Choice 

Pay attention to the verbs you use in your research question: “determine” is a much stronger  verb than “affect”, “influence”, or “shape”. Avoid “prove” altogether. 

Active vs. Passive 

The passive voice (“How is Y shaped by X?”) weakens your writing. You should write your research questions in the active voice (“How does X shape Y?”) 

II. Examples 

These examples are all drawn from articles published in the three most recent issues of Gender and Society, the top ranked sociology of gender journal. These research questions aren’t necessarily “perfect”, but they’re good examples of the points above. 

“How do queer people negotiate culturally dominant gendered dating and courtship practices? (Lamont, Ellen. "“We Can Write the Scripts Ourselves”: Queer Challenges to Heteronormative Courtship Practices." Gender & Society (2017): 0891243217723883)

“How has scholarship on gender in the sociology of religion changed over time? What  does this tell us about the production of feminist knowledge?” (Avishai, Orit, and Courtney  Ann Irby. "Bifurcated Conversations in Sociological Studies of Religion and Gender." Gender & Society 31, no. 5 (2017): 647-676.) 

“How do the practices of Danish secure care institutions produce gendered vulnerabilities and marginalization for the girls placed i

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