Stanford
TeachingWriting

“Scholars’ Scholarship” and “The Scholars Converse”

This activity helps students prepare for the Texts in Conversation by writing a fake TiC through a combination of individual and group work.

Author: Kiersten Jackobsen

Activity Name: “Scholars’ Scholarship” and “The Scholars Converse”​​

Class: PWR 1

Activity Brief Description:  In this activity, students will practice writing a short TiC based on the scholarship of their peers. At the same time, students will try their hand at properly citing sources based on course requirements (MLA, Chicago-Style).

Schedule: Recommended for TIC unit of quarter, after covering TIC goals and proper citation format (Week 5 or thereabouts).

Activity Length: 95 minutes

Activity goals:  To demystify the TIC by making a variety of sources immediate, familiar, and centered on a single topic. To make the rules and implementation of citations fun and, hopefully, memorable.​​

Materials needed:

  1. Object (short film, printed text, etc.) related to course theme. [For this activity from Fall Quarter 2014, I used Polanski’s short film Two Men and a Wardrobe]
  2. Students and their computers.
  3. Two Google Docs
  4. Collaboration Stations

Activity Details:

Individual Work

PART 1: WATCH AND NOTE (10 MINUTES) - Watch the short film Two Men and a Wardrobe, dir. Roman Polanski (1958). Take notes.

PART 2: THE SCHOLAR'S SCHOLARSHIP: WRITE SCHOLARLY CONTRIBUTION (25 MINUTES)

  1. Go to Google Doc
  2. Choose a name for yourself.
  3. Choose a title for your scholarly publication (book, article)
  4. Choose a publisher and year for your scholarship.
  5. Include this information/fantasy publication at the top of your scholarly contribution.  (Example: Greatwhite Shark, “An Aesthetic of Reality: Seal Catching.” What is Seal Catching? Berkeley: University of California Press, 1971. Print.)
  6. Write a scholarly contribution regarding Two Men and a Wardrobe. Feel free to write in a very scholarly tone.

Small Group Work

PART 3: THE SCHOLARS CONVERSE: WRITE MINI-TIC (40 MINUTES)

  1. In groups of three, open Google Doc 2 at the collaboration stations.
  2. Write a mini-TIC in which you include four to five sources from Google Doc 1.
  3. You must footnote each source.
  4. You must include sources which agree and disagree.
  5. Your citations must include at least four of the following:
    • direct quotation
    • block quotation
    • change to quotation
    • summary of source
    • paraphrase of source

Large group discussion

PART 4: GROUPS OF SCHOLARS PRESENT/READ THEIR MINI-TIC TO THE CLASS (20 MINUTES). As a group, discuss:

  1. What types of citations are included in this TIC?
  2. Did the group cite sources properly?
  3. Did the group focus on transitions between sources?
  4. Are scholars conversing in this TIC, or are they speaking in isolation?

Additional Notes: This activity was originally published as an Activity of the Week in winter 2015.