General Comments / Feedback on Project 1

Things to consider when doing the next project:

Passage Selection

• The passage you select should be relevant and precise - think of it as evidence for the point you are trying to make.  As such, explain why you chose it and what exactly about it is relevant.  The best papers were concise and crystal clear when it came to their passage choices and explanations.  Don't assume that the reader will know what you mean if you provide a passage - spell it out.
• Be careful about selecting the literature review as your evidence /explanation.  These sections provide background on the current state of knowledge in general, but may not be representative of the researchers' work
• The paper does not have to be the maximum page length.  It seemed many people were using copious amounts of passage copy to make their papers longer.  Don't worry about that - it's much better to have a good clear short paper than a rambling vague long paper.

General Writing Tips

• Strive for descriptive and analytic precision.  In many of the papers, variables would be only loosely identified.  The answer wasn't wrong per say, but it wasn't quite right.  Authors, especially those utilizing quantitative data, are usually quite specific when defining their variables.  You may need to read carefully to figure out the complete list of attributes, for example.
• It's often helpful and a good practice to include definitions.  This helps ensure the reader knows exactly  what you are referring to.
• When making an argument or identifying what you think is the "answer" explain how you came to that conclusion.
• When identifying the unit of analysis, it can be good to explain why it's not a different unit of analysis.
• When giving summary statements or descriptions about the article, make sure what you write is accurate.
• Just as your projects are, the articles often include multiple authors.  You can write out all of their names, or write the first author and "et al."  For example, "Correll et al. make the point that...."

Extra Credit

You can receive up to one point of extra credit on Project 2 for identifying additional variables.  I will update this with more information when I hear back from Prof. Haveman and the other GSIs.