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==Hello, Wrtg 1150 Muenzinger class! Welcome to your wiki. This is where you will post your Wiki Study Guide to Your Topic. Here's the assignment: ==

=Wiki Study Guide Assignment: Final Version Due November 1, 2=

For this assignment, you will cite, summarize and respond to five different sources related to your research question. You will write this information on your own page that you will create on the class wiki.

The sources you include in this Study Guide should vary in **content and type.** You need to find a **variety of perspectives on and information about** your topic. Include at least one each of the following types of sources:


 * book (popular or scholarly)
 * scholarly article
 * popular article (magazine, newspaper article, etc)
 * digital source (web site, blog, etc)


 * Here’s what to include on your Study Guide page:**

1) **The basics:** A title. Your name. Your research question. A brief statement of why you are interested in this topic and question (one sentence is fine).

2) **A full citation of each source:** A full citation includes all the bibliographic information for the source in MLA format. Refer to our class reference guide, //A Pocket Style Manual//, to see how to cite your particular sources. **List your sources in alphabetical order.**

3) A brief mention of the **credibility and validity of the source**. Is it a scholarly source? How do you know? (Mention the credentials of the author and publication info about the source.) If it’s not a scholarly source, state that, and assess the overall quality, reliability and bias of the source. How will this source be relevant to you in your research? What kind of information will it provide?

4) **A summary of and response to each source** based on the Take Your Sources Out for Coffee handout (see reverse side of paper). You will respond to **at least one** of the prompts under the “**Prompts that help you summarize a text”** section, and **at least two** of the prompts under the “**Prompts that ask you to respond to a text”** section.

= Wiki Instructions =
 * Set up a Wikispaces account. (Read the email I sent you via Wikispaces, and follow the instructions.)
 * Create your own page on our course wiki (as I demonstrated in class). Title the page something logical (your name would be a good idea, plus your last initial if there are multiple people in the class with your same name).
 * To edit your page, you must be signed in to Wikispace. Click the “Edit” button (near the top right corner of your page) and type away. I will show you a few tips and tricks for formatting pages in class.

= **Take Your Sources Out for Coffee** =

At this stage in your research project, you are finding some good sources on your topic, and you are beginning to read and think about large amounts of information. As you conduct your research, you want to engage actively with your sources. Rather than just copying down direct quotes that you plan drop in your final paper somewhere, you want to interact with your sources, make sense of the information they present – analyze the info, evaluate it, let it inspire you and give you new ways of thinking about your topic.

When you write, you are entering into a conversation on your topic. When you work with information from outside sources, you are entering into a conversation with those other writers/researchers. It’s helpful to use a “conversation” metaphor, I think, because it makes you more aware of just //how// you are interacting with whatever you are reading. Instead of thinking of the text in the third person, as something distant and removed and untouchable, think of it as a living, breathing being. Talk to it in the second person. Don’t just sit back and absorb the words mindlessly – interact with them the way you would interact with a friend in a real conversation.

Here are just a few ways you can engage with a text: sum up the main points, agree, disagree, agree //and// disagree, explore, ask questions, challenge an idea, relate to your own experience, relate the text to something else you read or heard. Among many other options! So now, pull up a chair, order a steaming cup of caffeinated beverage, look your sources in the eye, and have a chat. Use these “conversation starters” to help you break the ice:

**Prompts that help you summarize a text:**
 * What you really seem to be saying here is ...
 * I think you’re making several main points. Let me see if I’ve got them straight. First, you say ... Then, you say ... And finally, you go on to say ...

**Prompts that ask you to respond to a text:**
 * I really like your point about because ...
 * I agree with you about because ...
 * I disagree with you about because ...
 * I agree with you about but disagree that ...
 * What do you mean when you say ?
 * What in the world were you thinking when you said ?
 * Your ideas about are really interesting because ...
 * Your ideas about remind me of my own experience with ...
 * Your ideas/points about relate to ideas/points in another book/essay I read, called (...). The way that essay/book relates to your ideas is ...
 * Your ideas/points about remind me of something I (learned in another class, heard my family talking about, saw on TV or in the movies or on the Web, etc). The way you relate to that other information/idea is ...
 * What I’m thinking about now, after reading you, is ...
 * What I want to know more about now, after reading you, is ...