Extrapolating Meaning and Using Sources
I have been working with a student in one of my classes that needs help with complicating her thesis and research. I encouraged her to come to the writing center, and now we are working away on this issue.
I made progress yesterday in helping her to understand how to use sources. When I mentioned her lack of sources because our class is a bibliography class, she looked at me puzzled and said, "But I quoted all the books." She was referring to My Antonia, Pride and Prejudice, and The Age of Innocence. It was then I realized that we had a disconnect. She did not know that she needed to use secondary sources. So, we spent a good ten minutes going to the library website and searching JSTOR, the MLA Bibliography, and Project Muse. I explained the difference between primary and secondary sources. She thanked me profusely and explained that whole new world had opened up to her. She was also relieved that finding journal articles did not mean spending hours searching through books in the library. (She is an older, nontraditional student who once did research this way.)
As to complicating the thesis, I am not sure if she is understanding that part of it yet. We will keep working on it. However, so far I have tried to explain that a thesis cannot just be a theme. We have talked about how she must extrapolate meaning from that theme. In other words, there must be a point. She nods and thanks me for this advice, but then later in our conversations mentions that she just needs a theme and then she can write forever. So, I cannot yet tell if she has understood what I am trying to convey. In our next session, I will try what most of you mentioned in class: asking questions. If I engage her into some sort of dialogue about her theme, maybe we can extract a point, and because it will be her idea, she may latch onto it more readily.
It has been enjoyable to work with this student. I am finding satisfaction in helping her to understand how to write analytically. It is nice not to focus on spelling, commas, or grammar, but instead content and organization. The part of writing that intrigues me is the process of thought. Helping her to find a thesis and stick with it is fun!
I made progress yesterday in helping her to understand how to use sources. When I mentioned her lack of sources because our class is a bibliography class, she looked at me puzzled and said, "But I quoted all the books." She was referring to My Antonia, Pride and Prejudice, and The Age of Innocence. It was then I realized that we had a disconnect. She did not know that she needed to use secondary sources. So, we spent a good ten minutes going to the library website and searching JSTOR, the MLA Bibliography, and Project Muse. I explained the difference between primary and secondary sources. She thanked me profusely and explained that whole new world had opened up to her. She was also relieved that finding journal articles did not mean spending hours searching through books in the library. (She is an older, nontraditional student who once did research this way.)
As to complicating the thesis, I am not sure if she is understanding that part of it yet. We will keep working on it. However, so far I have tried to explain that a thesis cannot just be a theme. We have talked about how she must extrapolate meaning from that theme. In other words, there must be a point. She nods and thanks me for this advice, but then later in our conversations mentions that she just needs a theme and then she can write forever. So, I cannot yet tell if she has understood what I am trying to convey. In our next session, I will try what most of you mentioned in class: asking questions. If I engage her into some sort of dialogue about her theme, maybe we can extract a point, and because it will be her idea, she may latch onto it more readily.
It has been enjoyable to work with this student. I am finding satisfaction in helping her to understand how to write analytically. It is nice not to focus on spelling, commas, or grammar, but instead content and organization. The part of writing that intrigues me is the process of thought. Helping her to find a thesis and stick with it is fun!
posted by Emily Petersen at 7:46 AM
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