Research Observation Chart

Instructions: Complete the Research Observation Chart for any of the assigned readings this week. Fill in
several copies of the chart or draw the chart in your notes. Use the charts for discussion board, journal,
prewriting, and drafting assignments. For Unit 2, select passages that answer questions from discussion board
questions and/or journals that will help you with your Essay #2: Research & Rhetoric in Practice

Objectives: By doing this assignment you will:

 bring your prior knowledge and experience to the reading

 construct meaning from the reading
 gain insight into the significance of the larger issues in America
 create clear, organized notes with quotes you and reference in your essays

Procedures:

 Passage: Select 5 passages that engage you and that you find significant for some reason.
You can also do this for passages that seem ambiguous, that confuse or puzzle you or when
an important key term or concept is defined in the reading. For Unit 1, select passages from
the readings that speak to, respond to, or help you answer the questions from discussion
boards and journals.

 Response: Write a 2-3 sentence response to the passage you have chosen. Consider the
following questions as you respond:

a. Why were you drawn to this passage?

b. How does the author use evidence in this passage?
c. What research method did the author use to write this passage?
d. How does this passage illustrate an important idea or concept detailed in the assigned
reading?
e. How does this important idea relate to larger American issues or help answer the
questions from the Discussion Board or Journal?
f. What are the literary devices of your passages?
g. What do you think is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
h. Who is the audience/reader of this passage?
i. Based on this passage, what do you think is the author’s argument?
j. For ambiguous passages, explain why you were drawn to it or what you think the
passage’s ambiguities might mean. This is a great way to have a conversation with
yourself about the work, break it down, and ponder aspects you find confusing,
mysterious, or complex.
k. List a question if you have one, about your passage. See if, by the end of the article,
you are able to answer your question.
 Close Reading Chart
Directions: Select 5 quotes and find examples of passages that speak to you in a humanly important way.
Then respond to the passage by describing what research method Abdurraqib used to write said passage.
Quotation, Passage, or Scenario Page
1. The officer snapped at me. 112
Asked, of course, if I thought
anything was funny.
Demanded to know what I was
so excited about. This, before
even addressing the white
driver for his infraction
2. His neighbor called the police 113
on him because he heard the
black man raising his voice to a
level that the neighbor wasn't
used to hearing. When the
police arrived, it turned out the
man was just singing.
3. I was laughing loud, as my 112
mother would, at a joke a friend in
the backseat told to loosen the
mood.
4. Our fights aren’t going to be equal 113
in the world, but if we are pushing our
backs against the same barriers of
injustice, I would like my anger to live
in the world as your anger does.
Reasonably, with expectations that it
doesn’t make me who I am. It is a task,
some days. To think about your
consistent kindness as, instead, a
product of restraint.
5. She was not smiling, but kind 115
to the white man behind the
register, offering short but polite
responses to his questions. When
handing her back change, he
looked at my mother and said,
“Everything okay? You just
seem so mad today.”
Response: Observation of Research, Reflection,
Questions
What do you think is the author’s purpose of
writing this passage?
The author shows the injustice on the part of the
police officer. Demonstration of emotion by a
black person is negatively perceived. Although he's
not guilty of anything.
Who is the audience/reader of this passage?
I think the author writes for people like this man
who called the police. He knew that his neighbor is
black men and called the police at the first
opportunity. So, the author hopes that after reading
this passage, people will shame and would better
understand people needs.
Why were you drawn to this passage?
The author describes his emotion of laughter as
paralleling his mother's laughter. He emphasizes
the fact that his laugh was the same as hers.
Emotions are feelings data from birth, this is
genetics.
What do you think is the author’s purpose of
writing this passage?
The author cannot accept the fact that more than
ever and more than ever injustice continues to
grow.
Why were you drawn to this passage?
I liked how he finished his essay on a good tone.
Message from this passage when you are a kind
and respectful person, you're not only helping
others, you are helping yourself, too.