Synopses & Reviews
ENGAGING INQUIRY RESEARCH AND WRITING IN THE DISCIPLINES by Judy Kirscht and Mark Sehlenz, familiarizes students with the purposes, processes, and forms of academic writing across the disciplines by introducing them to the ways that academic knowledge and writing emerge from methodical approaches to inquiry, research, and critical thinking.
The text's inquiry-based approach to academic writing arises from and incorporates cutting-edge insights of emerging composition theory. It also carries students' personal questions and curiosities through academic inquiry processes in science, social science, and the humanities to address real world problems.
Among its many features, the text includes the following:
- Topics applicable in all disciplines including cloning, pollution, violence, and population control
- Field exercises, surveys, and reading logs that promote first-hand observation and data gathering
- An array of writing assignments ranging from evaluating websites to editing a student paper
- Detailed charts that provide visual examples of the text's processes
- Appendix on MLA/APA citation and documentation
In addition to its features, the text enables humanities-trained composition instructors to prepare their students for the types of scholarship and writing that will be required of them in science and social science courses as well as in literature, history, and the arts.
Ultimately, it engages students in real inquiry and encourages them to think and write like natural/social scientists and humanist interpreters.
Table of Contents
I. THE SCIENCES. 1. Inquiry and Writing in the Sciences.
Goals and Purposes. The Inquiry-Writing Process. Observation and Objectivity. Objective Language. Methodical Observation in the Sciences. Systematic Observation. Analyzing Inferences, Developing Hypotheses. Formal Writing in the Sciences. The Formal Observation Report. Literature Reviews. The Experimental Study and Report.
Moving On. 2. Readings in the Sciences.
Francis Bacon, Idols of the Mind. Edward O. Wilson, Storm Over the Amazon. John Gribbin, Light. Timothy Quinn, Coyote (Canis Iatrans) Food Habits in Three Urban Habitat Types of Western Washington. K.L.M. Martin, M.C. Lawson, and H. Engebretson, Adverse Effects of Hyposalinity from Stormwater Runoff on the Aggregating Anemone. Student Paper for Revision Workshop.
II. THE SOCIAL SCIENCES. 3. Inquiry and Writing in the Social Sciences.
Goals and Purposes. Method in the Social Sciences. The Role of Theory. Reading Theory as Argument. Participating in Theoretical Debate. Formal Papers in the Social Sciences. Experience-Based Theory Critique Essay. The Literature Review. Field Studies and Reports. Theoretical Debate Essay. Revising for Clarity. Focusing Paragraphs. Modification. Coordination and Subordination. Punctuation, Rhythm and Beat. Moving On. 4. Readings in the Social Sciences.
Gordon Allport, The Formation of In-Groups. Carol Markstrom-Adams, Attitudes on Dating, Courtship, and Marriage: Perspectives on In-Group versus Out-Group Relationships by Religious Minority and Majority Adolescents. W.E.B. Du Bois, from The Souls of Black Folk. James Madison, The Federalist #10. Stephen Earl Bennet, Apathy in America, 1960-1984: Causes and Consequences of Citizen Political Indifference. Preface, Chapter 2, Apathy in Political Theory and Political Behavior. Craig A. Rimmerman, The New Citizenship. Chapter 2 Theoretical Perspectives on the New Citizenship. Chapter 3, Civic Indifference in Contemporary American Politics. Judith N. Shklar, Obligation, Loyalty, Exile. David Orr, Ecological Literacy. Student Papers for Revision Workshop.
III. THE HUMANITIES. 5. Inquiry and Writing in the Humanities.
Goals and Purposes. Role of Assumptions in the Humanities. Roles of Theory and Method in the Humanities. The Close Reading. Writing Interpretive Essays in the Humanities. Compare and Contrast Two Policy Interpretations of a Text. Compare and Contrast Two Creative Texts. Compare and Contrast Two Interpretations of Artistic Texts.
Revising and Rewriting Essays in the Humanities. Global Organization and Logical Progression. Developing Well-Integrated Quotations. Surface Clarity: Maintaining Coherence through Transitions.
Moving On. 6. Readings in the Humanities.
Francis Bacon, Tale of the Sphinx. Stanley Fish, How to Recognize a Poem When You See One. Stephen Mailloux, Interpretation. Susan Sontag, Against Interpretation. Jack Solomon, Masters of Desire: The Culture of American Advertising. Student Paper for Revision Workshop.
IV. CRITICAL APPLICATIONS. 7. Critical Applications.
Goals and Purposes. Assignment A. Assignment B. Assignment C.
Formal Applications of Inquiry. The Methodical Paper Revision and Commentary. Disciplinary Analysis and Evaluation of Electronic Information Sources. Interdisciplinary Analysis of Contemporary Issues. Moving On. 8. Readings for Critical Applications.
Inge Bell, Everybody Hates to Write. David Bartholomae, Inventing the University. M. Sorapure, P. Inglesby, and G. Yatchisin, Web Literacy: Challenges and Opportunities for Research in a New Medium. Helen Calidcott, The Greenhouse Effect. Dixie Lee Ray and Louise R. Guzzo, Greenhouse Earth. Isaac Azimov and Frederich Pohl, Gaia and Global Warming. Student Papers for Revision Workshop. Appendix: Citation and Documentation Systems.
Purposes of Citation and Documentation. Principles of Citation and Documentation Systems. Features and Examples of MLA and APA Citation and Documentation Systems. References.