GWRIT 103 Critical Reading and Writing
Dr. Billie J. Jones
Project #4: Conference Paper/Presentation
James Madison University's 1st Semi-Annual Undergraduate Conference
on Food in the 21st Century
(Sponsored by GWRIT 103.42—Spring 2009)
Introduction
Throughout the semester, we have worked individually and in groups to look at our attitudes
toward and beliefs about food. We examined the food in our own families, as well as the role
food plays in society and in our health. And given our theme of food, it should come as no
surprise that in this last project, you will be researching some issue related to food in which
you’re interested and about which you would like to learn more. Then, we will end the semester
by sharing all of your research in academic conference style to create James Madison
University's 1st Semi-Annual Undergraduate Conference on Food in the 21st Century.
While you will have quite a bit of freedom in choosing your topic, you will be grouped, based on
larger topic under which your paper’s narrow topic best fits. As a result, each group will create a
panel of papers focusing on some facet of a broader aspect of food. The tentative panel topics,
from which you’ll be able to choose, are as follows:
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Physiological Reactions to Food: The papers on this panel would focus on the biology
and/or health related issues dealing with food (e.g. peanut allergies, diets).
Psychological Reactions to Food: The papers on this panel would focus on the
psychology related issues dealing with food (e.g. eating disorder(s), body image).
Social/Cultural Attitudes toward Food: The papers on this panel would focus on issues
related to food’s role in society (e.g. Muslim dietary rules, rise of eating “out”).
The Economy of Food: The papers on this panel would deal with the economic side of
food (e.g. cost of import versus eating local, true cost of organic growing).
Government’s Role in the Food Chain: The papers on this panel would focus on (e.g.
changes in USDA food pyramid, FDA’s oversight of food safety).
Surely a topic as broad as food should provide us with some meaty issues about which to read,
to discuss, and to write. Whether you’re hungry to learn more about the health-related aspects
of food (or those closely related psychological issues), or just starving to dig into the full-plate
of social and political issues involving food, we certainly won’t find the cupboard of topics
bare.
This final project will include both individual and group responsibilities/activities. Individually,
you will each write a fully-revised research essay on different topics, all related to the groups’
larger topic. You will also be responsible for reviewing AT LEAST two (2) different group
members’ essays. Finally, you will each be required to contribute to both group products: the
panel’s annotated bibliography and the panel’s presentation, including a visual component (e.g.
academic poster, webpage/site, or PPT). You’ll receive more information about the group
requirements in the near future.
The Essay
For this assignment, you will need to research a narrowly focused topic related to your group’s
broader topic, and then develop a reasoned argument, supported by synthesized sources from
your research. The argumentative paper you will write (using a minimum of 4 documented
(academic) sources) will make and support your position (the thesis of your essay). Remember
that this paper MUST be argumentative, not primarily informative.
This research project, as well as being intriguing and possibly even fun, is designed to help you
(among other things):
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practice finding sources of information by authorities on a subject
establish adequate note-taking technique to insure that you are capable of properly
synthesizing information from your reading and research into your own written statement
effectively incorporate and document appropriate sources (traditional and non-traditional)
to support an argumentative thesis, or point of view, and
verify that you are capable of using the proper MLA style.
Thus, this conference paper is an argumentative essay that requires you to integrate information
from other sources with your own ideas. You will be arguing a thesis involving a certain aspect
of your chosen topic.
A note about your audience: As with many academic conferences, your essay is to be written
with a reading audience of college-educated people in mind. You will also create presentations
from the gist of your papers in class in true conference fashion, but your broader, primary
audience will be people who will read your papers (e.g. your peers and professor).
Format
These essays (1200-1500 words) must be titled and follow MLA format: typed, double-spaced,
with one-inch margins. Use the headings format for papers without a title page. A typed Works
Cited page, with all of the cited sources (minimum of four), must be included with your draft in
order to have your essay considered for evaluation. Check the Bb syllabus schedule for all due
dates.
Final Thoughts
Remember that a good synthesized research essay revolves around your thoughts, but exhibits
thorough familiarity with the sources read. Synthesized research essays are evaluated on the
basis of how well you integrate information from the readings to support your own central idea.
Please feel free to talk to me in class, during conferences and my office hours, or via email about
your concerns, questions, and ideas.
GWRIT 103 Critical Reading and Writing
Dr. Billie J. Jones
Project #4: Conference Paper/Presentation Group Requirements (New component in blue)
In this final project of the course, there are individual and group requirements. The group
requirements come at the beginning of the process and at the end, but I’ll include all of the group
responsibilities here for your reference.
Panel Annotated Bibliography
While you’ll each be writing your synthesized research essay on a different topic, each of your
topics in the group will be related to the larger topic to form your group’s panel of papers.
Because of this broader connectedness, you may actually find that your individual research
efforts will take you to some of the same sources as others in your group. For that reason, and
because in academic conferences it is quite common to share one’s sources with the audience,
each group will be responsible for submitting an annotated bibliography that includes four
academic sources from each student. Once you’ve compiled this bibliography, you will have
approximately 20-24 sources related to your larger, group topic.
Some Resources: As I’ve said before, the library’s Go For the Gold is a good source to help you
in the research process. And as you are doing the research for your paper and as you’re
preparing your bibliographic contributions to the group annotated bibliography, these two
resources will be helpful in helping you write your annotations:
http://www.lesley.edu/library/guides/citation/mla_annotated.html (which has a succinct step by
step approach) and http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/ (which has a more
comprehensive approach to annotated bibliographies).
For the citations themselves, check out “MLA Formatting and Style Guide”
(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/ ) and CheckCite
(http://www.lib.jmu.edu/help/checkcite/ ).
To facilitate your sharing of sources, I will set up new group sites on Bb, in which you can share
files through the File Transfer function. That way, creating the compiled version will be as
simple as copying and pasting everyone’s work into one larger document.
Weekly Blog Participation on Panel Topic
Each group will create/facilitate one week’s discussion on the class blog
(http://foodfriday.wordpress.com/ ). Using your panel topic as the subject, you will need to
create a blog page, which will need to include the following:
 Brief introduction to the topic
 Three sources from at least two different media (e.g. video, article, image)
o One source needs to come from a popular source (e.g. CNN.com, Time)
o One source needs to come from a professional organization (e.g. USDA,
Psychology Today)
o One source needs to come from a scholarly publication (e.g. JAMA,
o For a refresher on the differences between these sources, check out the chart at
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/infolit/andyou/mod3/types.htm.
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Writing prompt for discussion
Your group’s page will be evaluated on the effectiveness of sources chosen, and the complexity
of thought evidenced (and prompted) in the writing prompt.
Remember: There are a number of examples already on the blog from the previous weeks, but I
encourage you try something new!
Panel Presentation w/Visual Component
While you’ll be writing individual papers, you will be presenting these to the class as a group of
related papers—your panel. In your presentations, you will each present your topic (yes,
everyone MUST speak), but you will do so in such a way that the individual papers work to form
a cohesive whole. For example, if your group decides that PPT would be an effective way to
present materials, then each of you would present your paper through the use of PPT. If creating
an academic poster seems more fitting for your topics or your interests/abilities, then you will all
create academic posters that would fit together in a cohesive unit.
Obviously, deciding on the presentation format will take some negotiation. Luckily, your
readings and our discussions over the next few class periods will help familiarize you with
different presentation options. Because you’ll be acting as peer reviewers for one another, you
will already be familiar with one another’s papers. You will also have some time to work
together in class as groups, and you will be able to share materials and communicate via Bb, but
you may well have to meet outside of class as well.
And as always, I’ll be available to guide and advise throughout the process!