In his book, Inquiry and Genre, David Jolliffe proposes the following questions to consider when engaging in scholarly inquiry. Reread your inquiry contract, then spend the first 20 minutes of class time writing in response to the following prompts:
When the general public considers the subject I’m working with, what are the issues, questions or concerns that they think are important to discuss? Do these questions and concerns differ from those of the scholarly discourse community?
In discussions of my subject, what are some of the status quo assumptions that appear to go unsaid but nonetheless seem almost universally believed? For example, if I am exploring how writing should be taught in high school, what do most people tend to believe about the kinds and amount of writing that high school students should do? What do people believe writing teachers should do to prepare students for the world beyond high school? How do people believe that teachers should respond to students’ writing?
In texts that people produce about my subject, what kinds of outcomes or results do they expect the texts to have with readers? Do writers about my subject usually expect a reader simply to consider their ideas, to believe in them strongly, to take some specific action? What?
Part II: Reading each other’s writing
Exchange your Inquiry Contract with at least two other students in class and read one another’s revised drafts. Discuss why the questions you’ve posed are important and what you’ve learned so far. What do you know now that you didn’t know before you began your research? What do you still need to find out in order to answer the questions you’ve posed?
Wednesday's Assignment:
Read one selection from Cross-Talk: either Trimbur (p. 461) or another article from Cross-Talk in Composition related to your research topic. Post to your blog a summary and response.
The revised version of the Inquiry Contract will be due Monday, November 5.
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