Chapter 3: The Writing Process 2: Researching
ENL1004 Course Learning Outcomes
-
- Read analytically to interpret a variety of message types accurately (2).
- Analyze information to determine purpose and meaning (2.1).
- Use reading and other comprehension strategies (2.2).
- Use paraphrasing and summarizing strategies to ensure accurate comprehension of a variety of message types (2.3).
- Adapt information from one form to another to clarify message(s) for various audiences (2.4).
- Manage information in a variety of communication scenarios ethically, efficiently, and effectively (4).
- Define plagiarism, academic integrity, and the related implications and consequences (4.1).
- Cite information according to academic or vocation-specific standards in written and spoken communication (4.2).
- Locate and evaluate information from a variety of sources (4.3).
- Identify the value, limitations, and hazards of Generative AI and other transformative technologies (4.4).
- Integrate credible information into various message types using diverse methods, such as paraphrases, summaries, and direct quotations (4.5).
Once you’ve identified your purpose for writing, profiled your audience, and selected the appropriate channel (Stage 1 in the writing process covered in Ch. 2 above), next you must gather the information that your audience needs. From the shortest informative email to the sprawling analytical report, most professional messages involve relaying information that was looked up—that is, they include research. Employers value employees who are resourceful, whose research skills go well beyond Google-searching on the internet and focusing on the top few results or getting AI to serve up a source like anyone can do quickly and easily. Whether such in-demand employees get the needed information from a print book in a library, a manual from a database on a company intranet, an article from a subscription database on the internet, or simply by asking a reputable authority such as a veteran co-worker, they prove their value by knowing where to find valuable information, how to use it appropriately, and how to document it if necessary.
