"What is it We Do When We Write Articles Like This One- and How Can We Get Students to Join Us?”

IWA: 2/1/13

Summary: In the article "What is it We Do When We Write Articles Like This One- and How Can We Get Students to Join Us?”, Michael Kleine attempts to tell the reader that students writing research papers need to collect data and with a focused sense of their goal as well as include unexpected data they discovered while researching. He argues that it is crucial to be both a “hunter” and “gatherer” to make your research paper successful.

Synthesis: Kleine’s article reminds me a lot about Murray and Berkenknotter’s pieces in that he studied research techniques to establish how to best write a paper much like Berkenknotter did. In addition he gives reports to us the process to do so much like Murray did.

QD 1: In his introduction Kleine immediately made me think about my high school self staying up until the wee hours of the morning scrambling to make sure I had enough sources for a meaningless paper I wrote. Reading about his “nightmare” I realized that oftentimes we mindlessly write other people’s discoveries without taking much into account what we’re actually learning. Now, however, I know the proper way to go about writing a research paper.

QD 3: Sources in Kleine’s interviews play a fairly large role since they are the basis for his whole study and provided him with the information he needed in order to write his piece. As for me, sources play a large role as well because I needed them in order to discover the information needed for my paper. The primary difference however is that Kleine’s research went a lot more in depth than mine did and I believe he took more away from what he was studying.

QD 4: If I use Kleine’s technique my research will change drastically and for the better. Instead of mindlessly copying information like a zombie I would now be able to apply what I learned in my papers and go much more in depth on the topic. I might even do some research on the “unexpected data” I find in my research.

Afterthoughts: I think Kleine’s article will definitely help me in the future. If I follow his process I will show a caring for the material I’m writing on. In addition this article comes at the perfect time for me since soon, in my journalism class, I’m going to be writing a research paper and need a ton of sources. This article has given me insight as to what I need to do in order to successfully write a college level research paper in comparison to what I did in high school.