I’m devoting a separate page devoted to the I-Search research project that I often assign in my English 100 classes. I have found this assignment to be a useful first step in teaching students foundational research skills and information literacy while at the same time providing an opportunity for them to cultivate a sense of ownership about the topic they’re researching.
Included below are sample student papers that I feel represent what students are capable of writing at this level.
One thing I like about this approach to teaching research is that students often begin to discover their writing “voice” once they realize they’re allowed to use the personal pronoun I. That may seem obvious, but there’s something freeing about not being restricted to the formality of third-person writing. Also, the set up of the assignment encourages discovery as opposed to conclusion. In other words, the paper is not thesis-driven; it’s discovery-driven. What students learn is more important than what they conclude.
That’s not to say the paper doesn’t have a focus. It should! The focus is the area of inquiry, the questions the students ask at the beginning of the project, the subsequent discovery and learning that takes place, the final conclusions that they make. At its best, an I-Search paper can be not only cohesive and informative, but personal, interesting, and illuminating.
Sample I Search Utilitarianism 2009 Summer
Sample I Search Religion vs Science Summer 2009
Sample I Search Digital Education Fall 2012
Very often, I require students to prepare a brief oral presentation, accompanied by a visual display, in order to present their research to their fellow students. I’m amazed at the creativity many students bring to this aspect of the project. Go here and here to see images of student projects from previous semesters.