ENGL101

The program is divided into two sessions. Each session builds essential research skills and cultivates an understanding of rhetorical analysis. The sessions are designed to reflect the students' stage in the research process, with early sessions focusing on brainstorming topics and later sessions focusing on evaluating sources for credibility and authority. 

To schedule an instruction session, visit our policies page. 

Learning Outcomes: 

• identify types of authority, such as subject expertise, societal position, or special experiences
• differentiate a scholarly article from other information formats by describing characteristics of a scholarly article
• recognize the limitations of citation generators and identify citation guideline resources such as Purdue OWL
• formulate effective search strategies in Academic Search Complete to locate relevant information sources for their topic
• identify at least three ways to contact a librarian for research assistance.

Depending on the timing of the session in the semester, students will also: 

• identify which types of authority are best suited for specific assignments (for example, the digital forum assignment vs. the argument of inquiry assignment)
• recognize that scholarly sources are not always the most appropriate format for their information need.
• formulate a simple research question by completing a brainstorming activity that examines facets of their general research topic
• identify stakeholders for their topic.
• locate sources that represent a specific stakeholder's viewpoint.
• differentiate between CQ Researcher (a database that provides background information) and Academic Search Complete (a database that provides primary and/or secondary research)

Brainstorming Activity: Students are divided into groups and assigned a predetermined topic. To help develop a research question from a broad topic, they are asked to collaboratively answer the questions in the quadrant below. Groups will share their responses with the class and discuss how to refine their topic and develop search strategies. Students are then introduced to various search engines and article databases that provide scholarly and popular resources. 

Evaluating Authority Activity: Students are given a brief article to read. Using the article, we have a conversation about evaluating sources for authority, relevance, and credibility. We also discuss some of the differences between scholarly and popular sources. Students are provided with a worksheet they can use to evaluate sources that they discover in their own research. 

By the end of their second library workshop session, students will be able to: 

• identify types of authority, such as subject expertise, societal position, or special experiences
• identify which types of authority are best suited for specific assignments (for example, the digital forum assignment vs. the argument of inquiry assignment)
• recognize that scholarly sources are not always the most appropriate format for their information need
• identify stakeholders for their topic and locate sources that represent a specific stakeholder's viewpoint
• articulate the value of seeking diverse perspectives in their research
• create strategies to overcome perceived barriers to research and identify additional search strategies (keywords, filters, etc) and resources (subject-specific databases, relevant popular publications)

Students are grouped by overarching research topics for discussion and analysis of their work. This is a time for students to examine additional resources which they may incorporate into their research process. Session 2 emphasizes the integral role of the Libraries in the inquiry and research process. 

For additional resources, please email Teaching & Learning Services directly (libues@umd.edu). 

The Teaching and Learning Librarians host a series of ENGL 101 course-related Research Workshops. These workshops are designed to help students with assignments such as the argument of inquiry, digital forum, and position paper. Each session will start with a brief overview of a particular research skill and the remainder will be devoted to work-time while a friendly librarian is on hand to answer questions. 

For those who can't make it to a workshop, they are always welcome to visit T&L (libues@umd.edu) for one-on-one research help!