Group 1: Le Thi Hoa Nguyen Thi Kim Thuan Tran Son Lam Mai Thi Bach Yen Tran

en Tran Thuy My Trinh Hoang Dong Phan Thi My Trang

Chapter 2: So What? Discovering Possibilities

Content
1 2

Beginnings are always difficult.

Brainstorming Activities

3
4 5

Keeping a Proposal Log

Interacting with Text- Partners Keeping Track of Materials

Beginnings Are Always Difficult

Presenter: Ms Hoa

Why Are Beginnings Always Difficult?

Unfamiliar genre
The thesis has a particular function within the academic world Fear of rejection

Potentially A wider the university Bartholomaes idea of inventingaudience of scholars judgmental writing Fear of open criticism Difficulties ofreaders for a new discourse community Proposal Log of Jane, a post-graduate student writing Worries about a high-stakes Difficulties of getting stared on a new writing task and Inner fright task barriers erection to avoid dealing with that task Anxiety- provoking statements

Brainstorming Activities
Presenter: Ms Thuan

Whats brainstorming?
Generate the ideas about the topic

How to brainstorm?
write down ideas that are relevant to the given topic you come up with.

There are some ways to note down: mind map, spaghetti map, outline (list of ordered points) Topic: describe your favorite teacher
diligent characteristics appearance What I
learnt

humorous

Wear the same clothes

My favorite teacher Not goodlooking

attitude Psychology kindness helpful Kind to his students

Advantages of brainstorming
Help us out of struggling in writing Avoid writing a discursive composition
Suggestions: - Analyzing genres - Build up the habit of generating ideas, then read some other relevant articles, books, other theses or dissertation to improve our thoughts and notions

Keeping a Proposal Log

Presenter: Yen

Keeping a proposal log 1. What is a proposal log?

2. Why is writing a proposal log useful?

3. What can I write in a proposal log?

Keeping a proposal log 1. What is a proposal log?

A proposal log is a journal in which you should write two or three times a week about some aspect of your thesis or dissertation proposal.

1. What is a proposal log?

Example: Entries in a proposal log
... Having just finished my written exams, I am struggling with staying motivated to return to the proposal-writing

stage. What if I get stuck again?

In speaking with my advisor last night about my thesis

proposal, she asked me to think about two words-"SO

WHAT?.......

Keeping a proposal log 2. Why is writing a proposal log useful?

It helps you:
- come up with new ideas; - focus your attention on aspects of the process you may not have considered; - keep your mind active.

Keeping a proposal log 3. What can I write on a proposal log?

To begin, write about: a. Issues concerned with your subject area b. Issues concerned with writing c. Other issues relevant to the process of writing a thesis

3. What can I write on a proposal log?

Controversies among writers

Your own idea

Why important?

Subject area

3. What can I write on a proposal log?

Diffculties

Potential audience

Your writing process

Writing

Timetable

3. What can I write on a proposal log?

- Suggestions from your advisors.

- Suggestions from peers, friends, family members - Factors affecting your writing schedule

Keeping a proposal log

Innovate for a Better World

Innovate for a Better World

Interacting with Text-Partners

Innovate for a Better World

Content
1
What is a text-partner?

2 3

What is a suitable text-partner?

What is the purpose of using a text-partner?

How do we use a text-partner effectively?

Innovate for a Better World

What is a text-partner?
A text-partner

is an academic writing such as a book, an article or any other thesis or dissertation.

relates to the field on which you are doing a research.

So, we can understand it in a simpler way like this:

A text-partner is a text which your thesis or dissertation is responding to.

Innovate for a Better World

What is a suitable text-partner?

Eliminate potential text-partners that address too many ideas.
Find those that contribute directly to the topic you want to explore.

Innovate for a Better World

What is the purpose of using a text-partner?

Referring to text-partners can help you:
generate ideas discover ideas

develop your thoughts more deeply

Innovate for a Better World

How do we use a text-partner effectively?

Select suitable text-partners and explore them.
Figure out a problem that has not been dealt with in your text-partners.

Begin to write.

Innovate for a Better World

Step 1. Select suitable text-partners and explore them.

Innovate for a Better World

Step 1. Select suitable text-partners and explore them.

First, select three or four articles that you find particularly interesting and that relate to the topic you are considering as the main focus of your thesis/ dissertation.

Then, read these articles carefully and complete the following information:

Innovate for a Better World

Step 1. Select suitable text-partners and explore them.

The thesis of this article is: The most interesting ideas in this article are: Why do I find these ideas interesting? What aspects of the topic does this article overlook or distort? If I were to write to the author of this article discussing these ideas, I might say the following: A potential use of this article for my thesis/ dissertation is:

Innovate for a Better World

Step 2. Figure out a problem that has not been dealt with in your text-partners.

Innovate for a Better World

Step 2. Figure out a problem that has not been dealt with in your text-partners.
Focus on the following possibilities:
Locating a gap in the literature. Finding an idea that is generally

acknowledged to be true but it has not

been established definitively. Considering an idea that people may

think is true but that may not actually be

true. Focusing on an unsatisfying condition or problem that needs to be remedied.

Innovate for a Better World

Step 2. Figure out a problem that has not been dealt with in your text-partners.
Here is an example: Problem: First-year students often have difficulties understanding assigned reading materials and do not seem to be aware of critical reading strategies.

Question: What critical reading strategies do first-year students actually use?

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine which critical reading strategies first-year students use when they are assigned reading in their college classes. If you have generated an idea for a thesis or dissertation, try phrase it in terms of problem, question and purpose.

Innovate for a Better World

Step 3. Begin to write

Innovate for a Better World

Step 3. Begin to write

Some students think that they should not begin to write until they have read absolutely on the topic. It is a misconception because there will always be more articles and books to read and more ideas to consider. So, if you keep waiting, you will never begin. Get started early. Ideas build on ideas, and the process of writing will enable you to discover new ones.

Innovate for a Better World

Keeping Track of Materials

Presenter: Ms My Trang

DISCUSS:
Topic: Games can help to learn a foreign language.
(Time limited: 2 weeks)

Questions:
1. What materials do you need ?

2. Where can you find them? 3. How long will it take you to collect the materials?

CONTENTS:
STEP 1:
Collect

enough materials:

STEP 2: Problems:

- Finding a particular source may have difficulty. - The information is in disorder.

- Take a lot of time.

STEP 3:
Solve

the problems:

- Make a plan for the time you need to collect the information. - Find the information in various places. - Organize the information.

STEP 4:
-

Rereading. Active in your search. New ideas.

Innovate for a Better World