Theory in Reflective Practice Assignment #6

Current Issue Review

Due to Canvas (5:00 p.m.) on Friday 11/13/15 (note the different date)


Overarching Goal

The overarching goal of your "current issue review" is to identify and analyze a conversation taking place in writing studies scholarship. This conversation should not only give you more insight into the specific issues we have been studying, it should also help you to focus on the particular problem/dilemma/question/"contact zone" that is guiding your final critical essay.


Assignment

Please select one relevant article from one of Rebecca Moore Howard's bibliographies to summarize and review for its contributions to your issue. Please make sure it is no more than 10 years old. If you cannot find anything more recent in her bibs (since she admitted to not keeping them all updated), then locate an article in one of the following journals:

NOTE: All of the journals are available through online databases on the FSU Libraries website.

Summarize/analyze the main argument as best as you can, and then review it by considering how it addresses a relevant conversation to your issue. For example, does it acknowledge a conversation explicitly? How/what does it contribute to your understanding of the issue you are investigating in your essay? What terms/concepts does it extend or challenge or unpack, and what do you think is at stake?  How does the author explain or justify its usefulness to the field?

Be objective by drawing on the language and concepts offered by the article and/or some of the language and concepts we have covered so far.
 
To give it coherence, let your issue review be guided by a claim statement of your own (i.e., some statement explaining what you realized about this issue).

I'm also looking for you to draw your connections by relying heavily on textual evidence, and for you to move elegantly between making claims and quoting material from your selected article.

And, I'm looking for it to be well organized, knowing that ultimately you want to make statements that will help your own analysis move forward, since it won't move forward on its own. If ever you are feeling stuck, it's not a bad idea to organize your analysis by sub-concept, by usage, by instance, or by relationship.

Finally, I'm looking for some framing--not necessarily a long, illustrious introduction, but some kind of framing statement in the beginning that helps me, as a reader, understand why I'm reading, and some concluding statement at the end that leaves me fulfilled while also wanting more. Remember that framing is subtle and implicit.

Format

  • ~2 pages, single-spaced, word-processed or typed
  • Show the intertextuality of your discussion by citing, quoting, and paraphrasing using parenthetical or in-text citations
  • Include a short "Works Cited" list at the end of your issue review with the full MLA citation for all of the readings you use. If you're uncertain how to cite specific texts, you can find MLA citation patterns at the Purdue OWL (use the left-hand drop-down menu to find the type of source you are trying to cite).

 I'm happy to answer questions as you work through them!

-Prof. G
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