Short Description:
Students write to communicate and their writing, when citing sources, must communicate what they understand of others’ writings. By asking students to write with the purpose of summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting a selected article to their classmate, they will experience what you experience when you read their writing. They will understand the purpose and mechanics of using sources in their writing. Activity is highly adaptable and suitable for independent readers high school and above. Activity can be modified for lower level learners. Additionally, .doc and .pdf versions of worksheets are attached so instructors can feel free to alter. Activity steps: * Distribute Source Notes worksheet to students. * Give students 10 min to re-read their source and to complete one summarize/ paraphrase/ quote exercise. * Students will exchange Source Notes with partner (Student B). * Without consulting Student A, Student B will tell the class what they understand about Student A’s topic. * Student A will self-assess, answering what they could have done better to communicate in writing. (Example sources are provided as PDF if students' actual sources are unavailable. Instructors are free to use their own example sources - those provided are included for inspiration or adoption.)
Learning Outcomes:
Students will practice critical reading & note-taking with research materials relevant to their immediate need (i.e. their assignment). Students will share their notes with a partner who will present to class – and assess their own effectiveness in communicating ideas in writing.
Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated):
This activity has been shared and modeled for non-librarian and librarian instructors. The materials can be used in support of a real assigned research project/ paper or with example sources. We encourage the use of actual student research materials to be used in the classroom portion of this activity so students can continue use beyond the interactive exercise. It is not recommended that this activity be implemented during a one-shot library instruction session due to the length of time required. It can, however, be introduced in a one-shot library instruction session. Materials used for this can also be distributed to academic support partners including but not limited to composition faculty, writing centers/ labs, tutors, reference areas, or other front line staff who students engage with questions about research or writing.
