RESEARCH+REFLECTION = HYBRID PAPER
Research/Reflective Writing Assignment will be assigned graded based on a rubric that looks for addressing the questions (see below); depth of understanding the reading material, use of technical information, language use, and overall synthesis of content. This is a powerful learning tool as it integrates experience with knowledge gathering and seeks to integrate the two to demonstrate higher level learning than what would be assessed in examinations.
Base your reflection paper on these topics (you may write about any horticultural subject that interests you, but here is a tip: research the plant(s) that you want to grow and write about that):
Put the “culture” back in “horticulture”: The use of plants in cultures around the world
Marketing of _________ (your choice of horticultural crop(s)
Recent advances in _________ (some area of horticulture)
Horticulture in history or the history of horticulture
The role of horticulture in human nutrition
Use of beneficial insects in horticultural production
Plant breeding—developing new cultivars
The importance of water quality in horticultural production
The development and use of drought-resistant (or insect-resistant) plants
Biotechnology and horticulture
Integrated Pest Management in horticulture
Traditional pest management vs. organic pest management
Hydroponics
Horticultural therapy
Famous landscapes or landscapers/landscape architects in history
Genetically altered plants or plant products
The influence of climate change on horticulture
Issues in irrigation and water usage
Cool and unusual fruits or vegetables
Growing and marketing organic crops
Community gardens
How To Write A Research/Reflective Paper:
Choose a topic from the list or write about the plants you are attempting to grow.
Find Information (search engines, magazines, newspapers, and books)
State Your Reflection using the Four W’s (see next page)
Make A Tentative Outline
Organize Your Notes
Write Your First Draft
Revise Your Outline And Draft
Type Final Paper
A reflection based on a reading comprises your analysis of your reactions to the reading: what it made you think about; whether it helps you understand or be able to explain some aspect of your own life or the life of someone else whom you know well; does it relate to an event that has been in the media recently? Did it make you research further because it was so new, interesting, exciting, or complex? You may also discover that you find yourself writing on how a particular reading opened up your thinking about writings on the same topic by other authors. Reflective thinking demands that you recognize that you bring valuable knowledge to every experience. It helps you, therefore, to recognize and clarify the important connections between what you already know and what you are learning. It is a way of helping you to become an active, aware, and critical learner.
To think and write reflectively you have to:
Experience something
Think about what happened
Learn from the experience
You think reflectively all the time you probably just don’t realize you’re doing it.
Example 1:
Have you ever missed the bus and then thought next time I’ll leave the house 5 minutes earlier? This is an example of you being reflective: you thought about an experience and decided to learn from it and do something different the next time. As a student, and in the workplace, you will be asked to be reflective. Thinking or reflecting on the world around you, your experiences and actions will help you to develop and improve your skills.
Example 2:
You notice that sometimes after a lecture you can’t remember what was covered. You find out about the lecture topic in advance and write down some questions you want answered. You make notes during the lecture to help you focus. You arrange to go for a coffee after the lecture and talk with your peers about what was presented, to help you understand and form your own opinions. You file your lecture notes and any handouts.
How to structure your writing
(this will be the questions to be answered on the rubric)
When you write reflectively, use the four W’s:
What? (description)
What happened?
Who was involved?
And most importantly…
So what? (interpretation)
Ask yourself these questions when writing:
What is most important/interesting/relevant/useful aspect of the event/idea/situation?
How can it be explained?
How is it similar to/different from others?
What have I learned?
How can it be applied in the future, particularly for me?
The goals of this assignment are to help you:
become more knowledgeable about finding and using varied research sources in your major.
further develop your critical thinking skills and back up your points with evidence.
become more adept at synthesizing information and developing informed views.
discipline yourself to follow a scholarly research format to document in-text sources and a reference page (bibliography).
compose a well-organized, clear, concise, research paper to expand your knowledge on a subject in your major.
Research Sources:
You will need to go to a library to do this assignment. Do not expect to get all of our resources off the Internet. Scholarly sources, which reside on the Internet and are also in print in a scholarly journal, are not considered Internet sources. A good place is the textbook: if a chapter discusses the topic of your choice, look at the reference cited there, as well as the “Further reading” at the end of each chapter.
You can use Google Scholar: Google Scholar
Many scholarly journals either do not publish on the Internet or have membership only access to journals online – check with the OCC library for access.
Acceptable references include horticulture journals trade publications, text and reference books, encyclopedia, Cooperative Extension and USDA publications, plant society websites, etc. You may use the Internet to retrieve your source, but do not use Wikipedia or other sources that may be written or edited by people who are not experts in horticulture. Be sure to keep track of what information you get from which sources so that you can cite the sources in your paper.
Content
Introduction
Your introductory material should set up your topic for your audience. Briefly summarize your findings on the subject – If the sources disagree about the value of or perspective on the subject, point out the areas of disagreement. Your introduction should not meander around the point of your paper. It may be more than one paragraph in length, but at some point, very early in the paper you then need to start the substance of the paper. Your thesis should come at the end of your introductory material. State your thesis in the form of a sentence or two. It should not be in the form of a question. Your thesis should be a brief statement, in your own words, that points out the major issues about this topic that you discovered in your research. If you can’t articulate in a sentence or two what your main point is then you probably don’t have a good idea of what you will be writing about.
Body of Paper
Use subheadings, where appropriate, to separate different aspects of your paper which support your controlling idea (your thesis). The body of your paper should provide supporting evidence to support your thesis, in a logical, fully developed manner. For each new topic, which supports your overall thesis, provide a topic sentence or two, which is, in effect, the thesis for that sub-topic. If you do not use subheadings, you need to provide transition sentences to move your reader from one paragraph to the next. Your supporting sub-topics should address these issues: How will this knowledge advance science or technology or society – not in broad, abstract ways, but in concrete ways? What is the major impact of these findings? How will they affect people? What are the benefits to people? Are there any disadvantages?
A writer of a research paper should synthesize the information gained from sources and weave them into a well-ordered discourse, using the sources as evidence to support key points. A paper, which is just a string of quotes shows that the author made no attempt to come to grips with the subject and is relying on the sources to speak for her or him.
Conclusion
Your conclusion should make some “wrap up” statements about what you learned about your chosen topic and the possible impact of your findings on people and perhaps society in general. Also, address any issues that may still not be resolved for you. Don’t be reluctant to address any issues that aren’t easily resolved or have negative or ambiguous outcomes. I am not necessarily looking for a neatly wrapped up conclusion with no loose ends. I am looking for a conscientious, thoughtful look at some topic in your field, sharing of the major significance of this issue, and any unanswered questions, if any, you are still dealing with.
Length — minimum of 500 words, double-spaced pages of text
Format — Upload your document to CANVAS — please do not send a Google Docs share/link (it never works). Download it as a PDF document and send that to me. Apple IWork is somewhat wiggy too, so do NOT use. Try to save it as a PDF document so I can read it.
Margins — 1 inch top, bottom, left, right
Cover Page – The title should give your audience a good idea of what your paper is about – not tease your audience.
Since this is a science class, I would prefer you to use the APA style for your paper. But if all your know is MLA, please use that style. Please do not get hung up about the style, but if you are comfortable, please try it. The following are online resources to understand how to set up the APA writing style:
Purdue University – Owl English Help
Pagination — Put page numbers in the top right-hand corner of each page, including the cover page.
Name — Include your last name and abbreviated title: Smith – Horticulture Science 100
Sources — Use a minimum of 3 varied and CURRENT sources (at least three, try not to use any article older than 5 years) – for example, journals in your major, Internet sources, documentaries, or podcasts. Books (often outdated by the time they get published) are generally poor sources for scientific subjects except for background info. Trade magazines or special interest group sources have built-in biases but can have some valuable information.
Check the source of all information for reliability. Is the Internet site sanctioned by a reputable institution or organization? Does the person you interview have credentials and experience with your subject? Does he or she have a built-in bias you need to address in your paper? What biases of your own may you have to be aware of to produce a scholarly look at this subject? All sources in your research paper, like the examples above, are not only documented in the body of your paper, but must also be listed in the proper format on the References page.
