Paper Handout / 1 Page Summary on Research

ENG 489: Research Summary

            I wrote my paper on how textbooks have evolved from the mid-1800’s to modern day. Within this topic I focused on how popular culture (i.e. printing technology improvements, changes in teaching methods, and American cultural diversity) has influenced the modifications which have been made in textbooks over the years. Overall, I am relatively happy with how my paper turned out, and the process of research and writing I used while developing it.

            The biggest challenge I faced while writing this paper, in regard to research, was simply knowing where to look for information and determining if the information I had gained was creditable enough. A lot of the research I found was not wholly pertinent to my topic so I had to do a lot of digging to find usable quotes. After my mid-quarter conference, I had a few more leads which definitely helped develop my paper. But even then, I struggled to find a solid field conversation to work with. Additionally, I had some difficulties in finding historic schoolbooks to use in my case examples that were from different parts of America. As I live in Cincinnati, I mostly used local bookstores to find historic schoolbooks. The common books that they had were published in Cincinnati. Since I wanted the paper to be more broad (textbooks from Northeast America) I had to look around a lot to find books from Baltimore, New York, Boston and Philadelphia as well.

            Next time, I would improve the research process by searching with more appropriate keywords, such as “schoolbook” over “textbook”. Also now that I have a better understanding of how to use the more advance search options, especially on JSTOR, I believe my future research will progress more smoothly.

Abstract

My new abstract/summary of my paper is very similar to my older one. However, I do feel as though I have a stronger point of view and clearer focus.

        When looking at American schoolbooks over the last 150 years, it is obvious that modifications have been made to the average textbook's look and content. I would argue that textbooks have been forced to evolve with American popular culture in order to stay relevant to current teaching trends. In order to prove this, I have analyzed several popular schoolbooks to determine how textbooks have changed, and I have also looked at technological advancements, changes in American culture (for example, the increasing desire for equality among diversity), and a variety of teaching styles used during this time period. All of my research has agreed with my thesis.

Reflection on Peer Review

Unfortunately, my group had a few people missing today. That said, I did gain some useful feedback that I plan to incorporate into my paper. Mostly, the feedback had to do with expanding a few specific paragraphs to highlight my thesis and transition smoothly from the first section of my paper, to the second. I completely agree with this suggestion and will try to write a more detailed transitioning paragraph.

The rest of my feedback was positive, so I'm not sure if I gained a whole lot of help from this peer review, but I will try and edit my paper based off of these comments and those left to me on Google Docs.

Paper Update

I feel like I am on the right track with my paper. I still have some more research to do after having my conference and I definitely need to do some editing and rearranging but I still have plenty of time to get that done. The biggest area that I am putting my time/energy into right now is determining where I want my focus to be. During my conference, we discussed narrowing my focus to Cincinnati textbooks alone but I have to admit that I am unsure if I want to move in that direction with my paper. Honestly, what drives me to research and write more is the desire to learn how American culture as a whole transformed textbooks. If I look into Cincinnati solely, I feel as though I am narrowing my audience way too far. Plus, I feel as though Cincinnati would be a bad case example for modern day texts. During the 1800's Cincinnati was a center of culture and advancements. Many schoolbooks were published here. However as time progressed publishers moved away and printing houses left as well. So I have little to no modern examples of Cincinnati published school-age textbooks. I could look at textbooks used in Cincinnati school's curriculum, but that changes so much from school to school.  Because of this, I think I am going to focus more on general school books. I believe with the right research I can adequately explain my reasons for using a variety of books.

So again, I am feeling pretty good about my paper. I definitely need to sit down and spend several hours straight simply researching more and writing down my findings. However, I think I have a pretty good timeline set up in my head, and I should have no problems getting this paper done.