• TUTORING THE 201 STUDENT

TUTORING THE 201 STUDENT
(by Beth Desmond, updated by Michael Cripps)
Rutgers University Writing Centers
Plangere Writing Center ♦ Livingston Writing Center ♦ Douglass/Cook Writing Center
Many students at Rutgers University (i.e. those enrolled at Livingston, Cook, University
College, Pharmacy, and Mason Gross) are required to follow up their 101 course with a
second writing course that has a significant research component. Research in the
Disciplines 201 is the most commonly selected course to meet this requirement. It is
helpful to remember that 201 builds on 101. If you can tutor the 101 student you can
tutor the 201 student. Most 201 students can benefit from revisiting their 101 skills. At
the same time, it is important to keep in mind the ways in which 201 is different from
101.
A FEW WORDS ON VOCABULARY
In 201, we talk a lot about the terms 'frame' and 'case'.
FRAME -We use the language of “frame” to identify and discuss sources that provide
the student with concepts, theories, and ideas that the student can use to identify and
develop a position, perspective, or argument in relation to the particular topic that she is
researching. All 201 courses begin with a set of common readings that include some
“framing texts.” It is expected that students will use at least one of these sources to help
them discuss their position in (to frame) their research essay.
CASE -We use the language of “case” to describe the material that students examine
with their conceptual frame. Case material takes a variety of forms, and may include
narrative, film, music, fiction, historical work, sociological or psychological studies,
among other sources for content in a particular topic area. Depending on the 201 topic
area some case sources may be more (or less) appropriate than others. For example, a
film that may be highly appropriate for a research essay in Popular Culture is not likely
to be a viable case source for a paper in an Issues in Health and Medicine section of
201. The instructor should be able to assist the student in determining the
appropriateness of particular case sources. A tutor can also help the student make this
determination.
It is not always easy to clearly identify a source as a frame or a case. In many instances
the same text can be either frame or case, depending on how a student chooses to
work with the text. Most journal articles include both theoretical material and case
examples. This makes sense since scholarly articles follow a format that is not all that
different from the format of the research essay in 201. Much of the class discussion in
201 centers around the distinction between frame and case, and the limits of this
distinction.
HOW IS 201 ORGANIZED?
Like 101, 201 has an organizational structure and logic. The sections of 201 are
defined by topic areas. The Writing Program offers several different topic sections of
201, including Violence, Social Conflict, and War; Popular Culture; The Family;
Spirituality; Ethnic Identities; and Technology and Society. These topic areas help
provide the students in each section of201 with a common conceptual language. This is
important because much of the 201 student's work is focused on an individualized
research project and it is easy for a student to get lost in her own project.
The course is divided into two basic parts. In the first six weeks students are working
papers similar to what they did in 101. There are two short (5 page) assignments early
in the term, and they are evaluated in the same way that a 101 paper is evaluated. In
part, students are refreshing their 101 skills at this point. These first two papers also
introduce students to theoretical or analytical texts that help define the general topic
area for the section. These texts are called “framing texts” because they eventually give
a student ways to make sense of (“to frame”) whatever individual research project she
takes on for the term. Some instructors use the second paper assignment to get the
student to begin to conduct some individual research to ease the transition from the first
to the second part of the course.
The second part of 201 is the research project. We often describe the 201
paper as one in which the student is engaged in “making knowledge.” The research
project is not a report on a topic! The biggest mistake the 201 student can make (aside
from plagiarizing) is to think that the 201 paper is supposed to be a book report on his or
her chosen topic. A report basically summarizes the knowledge available on a topic and
presents it in a paper. A report does not develop and articulate the student's position on
the topic and so does not contribute to the stock of knowledge on the topic. A research
essay is a paper requires students to examine the knowledge available on a particular
topic, and so some of the research and reading skills overlap with a report. But the 201
students' research papers need to develop and articulate a position in relation to the
knowledge or information they have encountered in their research. The 201 paper
demands that students take a position, or articulate their points of view on the
topics they have researched. In effect, the students contribute to the stock of knowledge
on their topic, and so are “making knowledge.”
THE 201 RESEARCH PROJECT
The cornerstone of 201 is the research project. The project begins with the student
identifying a general topic area, conducting some preliminary research to identify
questions around that topic area, and drafting a research proposal that lays out her
research question and preliminary ideas on how to frame the question. The research
proposal, rather than specifying the end point of the research project, attempts to outline
some of the conceptual and case terrain for the topic in addition to raising some
important questions to consider. The student also submits a preliminary annotated
bibliography that identifies relevant sources and discusses the potential significance of
those sources.
The remainder of the course is devoted to individualized research on the topic,
successively longer drafts of the research essay (with peer revision in class), and
appropriately scheduled library workshops and research days. A student should
produce four drafts (5 page, 7 page, 10 page, 10-12 page) before the final draft. Each
draft attempts to build on the analysis in the previous draft through the addition of
additional framing and case sources. After the second draft, it is important for the
student to assess where the essay is headed and to begin to conduct more directed
research to help her move the essay in the direction she wants it to go.
201 IN THE CONTEXT OF 101
In 101 we ask students to develop their own positions on issues they confront as
they work with multiple texts. We teach students how to find their position on a subject
and (most importantly) how to enter into a scholarly conversation by articulating that
position in relation to two or three texts. The 101 instructor provides the student with the
relevant texts, and usually gives the student considerable guidance in developing a
position and entering the scholarly conversation by making connections. The 101 tutor
works with the student to identify connections between texts, helps the student select
and discuss of key passages, and in the process helps the student find her voice or
position on the issues at stake in the readings.
In 201, students are doing basically the same thing but on a different level. And it is this
different level that makes all the difference. Students in 201 are required to work
with at least five sources, three to four of which they are required to find on their own.
This makes the task of making connections much more difficult because the student
must find good sources before they can actually be connected. This development tends
to make it hard for the 201 student to keep in mind the importance of taking a position
and making connections. Often, 201 students fall back on extended summary of their
case texts and “forget” the importance of connections, analysis, and taking a position. A
201 tutor can be very helpful here.
...
TUTORING GOALS FOR 201
Since 201 students are doing different things at different points in the term, a 201 tutor
needs to emphasize different skills along the way. It is possible to break the skills down
according to the particular assignments confronting a 201 student.
EARLY PAPERS- These early “framing exercises” help the 201 student dust off
101 skills (working with quotes, making connections, articulating a position, moving
beyond summary), develop some familiarity with some conceptual or “framing” texts for
the course, and learn the language of “frame” and “case.” All of these goals are critical
for success in the research project.
• A tutor working with a 201 student early on in the term will want to work on making
connections, developing a position, and distinguishing between frame and case
sources. Sometimes it is helpful to ask a student to identify the difference between
the frame and case texts in an assignment, and to explain why the texts are
identified as such. Exercises in making connections can also be helpful for the 201
student early on in the term.
RESEARCH PROPOSAL -Working with the 201 student's research proposal poses a
number of challenges. The student may not have a clear topic, may have an idea
for a topic but lack any sense of how to begin to “frame” the topic, or may be so set on a
topic and her position that she is limiting her ability to consider nuances in the issue.
• For a student with a relatively well-defined topic it is often useful to spend time
working on the conceptual frame. Have the student revisit the early framing texts
for the course, write down key concepts and quotes from those sources, and think
about the concepts that may apply to the topic.
• Sometimes a student has no clue what topic she wants to research. Again, it is a
good idea to return to the early texts for the course and have the student identify
two or three points or issues that interested her. The longer the list the better the
exercise. After that, the student should begin to think about the language of
“frame” and “case.” If the point concerns a case, ask the student to identify related
cases or examples where a similar point might be relevant. If the point concerns a
concept from a framing source, have the student write down issues to which that
concept might apply. The student's early paper topics should provide a fairly
coherent model for applying a framing concept to a case.
• More often, a student will have a general idea for a topic, but will need to narrow
the topic to a manageable project. If the topic seems too broad for a 10-15 page
essay, have the student write down aspects of her topic on a piece of paper. Then
work with the student to identify which aspects seem most interesting to her, and
work to begin to think about 'framing' those aspects.
 • Another good exercise is to help the student develop the ability to evaluate the
potential utility of a source. This exercise will also help the student compile an
annotated bibliography. Have the student skim the introduction and table of
contents of a source for ideas that relate to the topic, and have her write a few
sentences about the source and why it might be important. Have the student
spend no more than 15-20 minutes on each source. If a source looks helpful the
student can return to it later.
THE FIRST DRAFT-It is important that the 201 student begin to frame her topic in this
draft. If the first draft demonstrates “report writing,” the student will have a harder time
shifting to the research essay in the second draft than if she starts to frame from the
start.
• Revisit the student's first papers and use them as a model for this draft. Have the
student locate those framing quotes from the first essays that can work in the
research essay and work to get those into the first draft. Have the student work on
making connections between her framing text and her other sources for the draft.
Remember, this draft looks very much like the 101 essay, except the student has
found some of her own sources for this essay.
• Work with the student on identifying usable sources. Have the student come to
tutoring with her sources and discuss which of them seems most useful. Have her
work to identify key passages and make connections between her frame and case
texts.
THE SECOND DRAFT- In this draft the 201 student is adding one or two sources and
working to construct a more complicated theoretical framework. Instructors emphasize
different skills in this draft, but it is always helpful to ask the student to add a framing
text and a case text to the draft.
• Have the student identify theories or concepts from her own research into the
topic. She may have to examine her sources to locate some concepts, or may
have to do more research to identify another framing source. Once she has a
second frame, have her work to make connections between her two frames. (This
is very much a 101 skill.) In connecting two framing sources, the 201 student is
really “making knowledge”!
• Get the student to supplement her discussion of her early case sources with an
additional source. Again, connections are important. Once the student has two or
three case sources that she is framing with her concepts, ask her to think about
whether any of the case texts complicate the story of any of her other case texts,
or even the frame. Once the student is complicating the straightforward application
of frame to case she is “making knowledge”!
SUCCESSIVE DRAFTS (“Taking Stock”)- Continue to work on the skills for the
second draft, but have the student begin to reflect on the project as a whole.
• Push the student to critically examine her frame and case material. Have her look
for nuance in her essay. Where is the student making an argument that begins to
go beyond the ideas in the frame? Does she have a source does not easily “fit”
the framework? If the tutor and student can locate these moments in the draft,
those sections ought to be highlighted and used to direct further research.
• “Taking stock” involves an examination of weaknesses in the essay's
argument,either in terms of framing material or case evidence. In “taking stock,”
the student is working to move the essay to the next grade level by adding
complexity to the ideas.
FINAL DRAFT- At this point, the student is tying up loose ends. Are there ideas
introduced in the essay that are not developed? Is the position clearly articulated and
developed throughout the essay? Is the bibliography complete? Does the essay meet
all the criteria for the course (page length, number and type of sources, annotated
bibliography, etc).