ENGL 1007 Course Guide

Each section of ENGL 1007 is guided by a shared inquiry -- a question or problem that resists simple answers. An important aspect of success in the course is finding a way into this shared inquiry that matters to you (and by extension matters to others). 

This necessitates a shift in perspective from a common understanding of what research is and how we use it in our writing, as explored in the video above. Rather than thinking about research and writing as two stages along a linear process, it can be helpful instead to think of them as moments within a cycle. We can find and refine our perspective through engagement with research, as opposed to simply looking to support what we already know or believe. Further, our writing rarely resolves a question completely, but rather prompts new questions through our additions to the broader conversation.

Many students think of research as something that comes only after you've decided what you're writing about. However, this is a very limited way of understanding the writing process: initial research can help you orient yourself in a scholarly conversation and come up with your topic, and your topic can and likely will shift (or even change dramatically) as you delve further into the content of your research. This video from the NC State Libraries helps explain how research can guide your writing at every step of the process.

While it is certainly necessary to use outside research as evidence to "back up" what we're arguing, this is only one form of engagement with research in our writing.

Joseph Bizup created the acronym BEAM to help us think about the rhetorical value of research. In other words, this helps us understand our research as doing something in our writing (besides appeasing our instructors). As presented by the Hunter College Libraries, BEAM stands for:

1. Background: using a source to provide general information to explain the topic. 
2. Exhibit: using a source as evidence or examples to analyze. 
3. Argument: using a source to engage its argument.
4. Method: using a source’s way of analyzing an issue to apply to your own issue.

You don't have to include all four in your writing, but considering the role of your sources in this way can help you develop ways to incorporate them into your writing. Alternatively, considering what you need to accomplish in your writing can help you develop search strategies to find the right research.