1. How to Address “I've Already Written My Paper, Now I Just Need to Find Some Sources”: Teaching Personal Voice through Library Instruction.
- Author
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Atwood, ThomasA. and Crosetto, Alice
- Subjects
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COMMUNICATION in library administration , *INFORMATION literacy , *LIBRARY orientation for students , *INFORMATION resources management , *SCHOLARLY communication , *SCHOLARLY method , *SCHOOL library administration , *SCHOOL reports , *CRITICAL thinking - Abstract
Teaching students how to employ their personal voice has always presented a unique challenge to composition instructors. Although teaching students how to engage in scholarly dialogue lies at the heart of every composition program, many students remain unsure, intimidated, and even skeptical of this mode of communication. As a result, research papers often take the form of unsupported monologues in which citations are merely ornamental, lengthy summaries, or numerous information resources are cited without one voice serving as an arbitrator. Library instructors face the same dilemma as composition instructors do when teaching students how to apply information to their research. Beyond teaching students how to identify an information need and to effectively and efficiently access and critically evaluate information, library instructors must teach students how information and personal voice are incorporated into research. In doing so, library instruction corrects the common misunderstanding that research equates to integrating resources into a prewritten paper, that any opinionated resource is acceptable to use, that the research process is similar to writing book reports, and that mediation between scholarly voices is unnecessary. By learning about personal voice in library instructional sessions, students begin to develop their own scholarly identity, understand the conversation of scholarship, and realize the function that their personal voice serves, as well as the strength and integrity that the research process lends to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009
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