Cover Letter

After revising all the comments and feedback I was given after turning in my Research Proposal,

I realized what I needed to focus most on during shadow grading was the background and

rationale section. Before starting the shadow grading process, I was missing all my secondary

sources in the background and rationale section and all my secondary sources weren’t peer-

reviewed journal articles. After finding four different peer-reviewed articles that closely relate to

my topic, I talked about each briefly in the background and rationale section of my research

proposal, adding the authors and titles of the journal articles. Next, I fixed all my in-text citations

by moving the misplaced periods to the correct spot after the page number. Additionally, I

switched all articles in Writing about Writing from being italicized to having quotation marks

around them to correctly cite my sources. I also added any page numbers that were missing in

some of my citations. Lastly, I fixed my references page by adding all my new peer-reviewed

journal articles in APA formatting and added the page numbers at the end of all my articles used

in Easy writer and Writing about Writing. The cover page of my Research Proposal has been

updated to the most recent APA formatting and I have created a working title at this time.
Research Proposal Rhetoric and Writing as a Foundation for Pre-professional School
Clubs

Victoria Malaszuk
University of Central Florida
ENC1102
Professor Mooney
February 25, 2020
 As defined by Gee and Ann M. Johns in Writing about Writing, “if there is one thing that

most of the [discourse community definitions] have in common, it is an idea of language [and

genres] as a basis for sharing and holding in common” (p. 320). A key aspect the passage

contains is “the relationship of identity to discourse communities”(p.320). When looking at the

discourse communities I am involved in, my identity to a discourse community is seen through

my involvement in the Pre-Dental Association at UCF (PDSA). As a future dentist, I am part of

the Pre-Dental Association in order to gain more knowledge and skills related to the dental field

as well as work with others interested in dentistry. The Pre-Dental Association at UCF is based

on collaboration among the members and other professional discourse communities such as

dental offices in order to accumulate new knowledge and social skills.

The sources I researched from the UCF library databases don’t necessarily talk about a pre-

dental school organization, however, they involve some type of school-related pre-professional

club that analyzes character and identity development as well as leadership skills. Cave, the

author of my first secondary source, talks about how being involved in school clubs promotes

human development and learning. Similarly, Ferrara researches STEM clubs and its benefits

relating to communication skills, writing, metacognition, and self-identity and talks about each in

his journal article, “Enriching Undergraduate Experiences with Outreach in school STEM

Clubs.” Casey, the author of the “Multi-model Learning Clubs” journal article examines how

multi-modal clubs incorporate tools containing literacy strategies to gain new knowledge. Lastly,

Dunna, author of “Adolescents Perceptions and Negotiation of Literacy Practices in after-school

Read and Talk Clubs.” describes after-school clubs as social outlets reflecting communication

and rhetoric through literacy practices. While each journal article examines a different type of
club, all shadow the idea of discovering self-identity and follow a certain pattern of writing and

rhetoric. As I approach the analysis and dissection portion of my secondary research period, I

plan onbreaking down these articles to see exaclty how rhetoric and genres are used in these

types of discourse communities.

My primary research question is: How pre-professional clubs like PDSA effectively use

writing and rhetoric to communicate with their members? Additionally, I want to reflect on how

these clubs make one aware of genres,and form an identity in the discourse community.

My primary research will be based off two of the ten possible methods discussed. The first

primary research method I will focus on is textual analysis, which defined in EasyWriter is “the

breaking down of a particular text in order to ascertain its underlying themes, motivations,

purposes, and rhetorical impact” (p. R-8). The texts I will be breaking down will be the

following: PDSA powerpoints, PDSA pamphlets, and the notes I take during the meetings and

workshops. When looking at these texts I will analyze each rhetorically and see if there is a

repetition of certain genres, lexus, and writing patterns used. To connect these three resources to

writing and rhetoric in the discourse community, I plan on also relating to another one of my

secondary sources: “Learning the Language” by Perri Klass in Writing about Writing in order to

further understand how every text uses linguistic trade-offs to accomplish full involvement in

this type of discourse community. The second primary research method I will be using is

multimodal text analysis which, similarly to textual analysis, is “ the process of textual analysis

that questions how textual, visual, auditory, and other text elements operate to deliver messages

and meaning” (R-11). I will be breaking down both the UCF PDSA website and Instagram
profile and like the textual analysis I will be looking for themes in genres, writing, and lexus.

The essay I will be referring to when breaking down both multimodal texts will be “From

Pencils to Pixels” by Dennis Baron in Writing about Writing. This passage primarily talks about

how technology “is one of the constraints which accompany all writing and rhetorical situations”

(p.632)

These two primary research methods will effectively help me in answering my research

question because by breaking down each textual resource I will find the most successful writing

and rhetoric pattern used in clubs like PDSA to communicate to their members.

Timeline

Discuss Research Plans with Professor Feb 17/18 (during conference 1)

Mooney
Analyze UCF PDSA powerpoint Feb 18-19
Analyze UCF PDSA pamphlet Feb 20
Analyze my PDSA notes Feb 22
Analyze UCF PDSA website Feb 24
Analyze UCF PDSA Instagram profile Feb 26



 References

Johns, Ann M. (1997). Discourse communities and communities of practice: Membership,

conflict, and diversity. In E. Wardle & D. Downs (3rd).Writing about writing: A college
reader (pp. 319-338) Bedford/St.Martins


Klass, Perri . (1987). Learning the Language.. In E. Wardle & D. Downs (3rd). Writing about
writing:A college reader (pp. 343-346). Bedford/St.Martins.


Baron, Dennis. (1999). From Pencils to Pixels. In E. Wardle & D. Downs (3rd). riting about
writing:A college reader (pp.632-652). Bedford/St.Martins.

Gee, James. (1989). Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics. In E. Wardle & D. Downs (3rd). Writing
about writing: A college reader (pp. 274-297). Bedford/St. Martins.

Cave, P. (2004). "Bukatsudō": The Educational Role of Japanese School Clubs. Journal of
Japanese Studies, 30(2), 383-415. Retrieved February 26, 2020, from www.jstor.org/
stable/25064493

Ferrara, M., Talbot, R., Mason, H., Wee, B., Rorrer, R., Jacobson, M., & Gallagher, D. (2018).
Enriching Undergraduate Experiences With Outreach in School STEM Clubs. Journal of
College Science Teaching, 47(6), 74-82. Retrieved February 26, 2020, from www.jstor.org/
stable/44840705
Casey, H. (2012). Multimodal learning clubs: Students in multimodal learning clubs use a variety
of texts to learn important content. Middle School Journal, 44(2), 39-48. Retrieved
February 26, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/41763118

Alvermann, D., Young, J., Green, C., & Wisenbaker, J. (1999). Adolescents' Perceptions and
Negotiations of Literacy Practices in After-School Read and Talk Clubs. American
Educational Research Journal, 36(2), 221-264. Retrieved February 26, 2020, from
www.jstor.org/stable/1163539