Day 16: Argumentative v. Problem-Solution

Objectives: Students will be able to...
• Differentiate between problem-solution and argumentative essays
• Identify problem-solution and argumentative by content, not words or concepts
• Construct an appropriate thesis statement for their research paper

Warm-Up Discussion [3:30-3:35 (5 min)]
In groups of 3 or 4 please discuss the following briefly:

1. Why do you think there are various styles and formats for research papers (e.g. problem-solution, argumentative, IMRD)?
2. What type of research paper is most common in your field? Why do you think that might be the case? 
3. If you know your 501 paper topic, what type of research paper do you think you will be writing? Why is that the best choice given your topic?

Part I: Lecture [3:35-4:10 (35min)]
Click here to access the PowerPoint presentation on argumentative and problem-solution papers. This powerpoint will go through the basic differences between the format and goal of these two types of research papers and provide text examples for analysis. I would like you to work in groups to analysis the text on the powerpoint. Please do not go ahead as I would like you to analyze the text.

The text needed for the reading part of the powerpoint is here.

Part II: Identification of Published Texts Activity [4:10-4:30 (20 min)]
The purpose of this next activity is to analyze the structure and goal of two published works. Please look at Sample Research Paper 1 and read the abstract.  Do the same with Sample Research Paper 2. (I will also be distributing hard copies with notes). Try to understand the abstract first, and then read the headers to get a sense of how the paper is structured. Work together to determine if the paper argumentative or problem-solution?  In about 5-8 minutes  we will go over the paper as a class looking to the notes and numbers I have inserted as a guide.

Research Paper Worksheet

Research Paper Worksheet (KEY)

Part III: Two Options
For this last part of class, I am going to allow you to vote as a class between the following two options:

1) Allow you to work on your thesis statements/paper proposals (i.e. homework)
2) Do an activity with Title Writing


Homework:
Must have this assignment completed on or before Tuesday, Oct 23rd