Ways of Research - The Status of the Traditional Research Paper Assignment in First year Writing/Composition Courses

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa

Exploratory research investigates whether the traditional research paper assignment remained a common requirement in first-year writing/composition curricula in 2009. The study updates two earlier national survey benchmarks from 1961 and 1982, finding a sharp decline in the share of traditional assignments: from 83% to 6% by 2009. The results show a corresponding rise in alternative assignments, reflecting shifts in scholarship, assessment practices, program structures, and writing technologies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Entrenchment

Complaints in Theory

Ways of Research: The Status of the Traditional Research Paper Assignment in First year Writing/Composition Courses Carra Leah Hood Abstract: I created my Exploratory Survey on the Status of the Research Paper Assignment in First year Writing/ Composition Courses to learn whether the traditional research paper remained as common an assignment in 2009 as it had been in the past. My survey updates results from two previous surveys on the status of this assignment. Ambrose N. Manning’s survey , conducted in 1961, found that 83% of colleges and universities in the United States included the traditional research paper assignment in first year writing/composition curricula. James E. Ford and Dennis R. Perry ’s 1982 survey concluded that 78. 11% of the colleges and universities that required first year writing/composition courses included the assignment , a decline of 5% . My survey results indicate that in 2009, at survey respondents ’ schools , only 6% of research assignments in first year writing/composition courses are traditional research paper assignments , a decline of 72% since 1982, while 94% are alternative ones . This shift appears to reflect trends in scholarship as well as changes in assessment practices , structure of first year writing/composition programs , and technologies for writing, researching, and teaching. Introduction To begin his 1961 article, “The Present Status of the Research Paper in Freshman English: A National Survey ,”Ambrose N. Manning declares , “we might as well face it: the research paper in Freshman English is here to stay!” (73) . By the research paper, Manning means what we refer to today as the traditional research paper: an informational or explanatory piece of writing that reviews a prescribed number of sources . This type of writing, Manning reports , was required in 83% of first year writing/composition courses at American colleges and universities in 1961 (73) . He adds that the research paper appears to be “the one thing consistent in most of our Freshman English courses” (73) . In 1982, James E. Ford and Dennis R. Perry produced a follow up study , “Research Paper Instruction in the Undergraduate Writing Program ,” reporting that “instruction in the research paper is required in 78. 11% of freshman composition programs offering it” (827) . However, in their concluding paragraph, Ford and Perry explain that some respondents reported discussions among faculty to review this requirement. Since the 1990s , a large number of articles discussing alternative research assignments began appearing in first year writing/composition scholarship. In 2000, for instance, Robert Davis and Mark Shadle surmise that the majority of first year writing/composition programs still require instruction in the traditional research paper (417) . They point out , though, that the research paper assignment , especially as presented in research writing textbooks , “reinforce[d] unoriginal writing” (418) . So, in their article, Davis and Shadle propose a number of alternative research assignments , which they argue offer students more opportunities for engagement and pleasure in research and writing processes than the traditional research paper (418) . Authors of publications appearing since 2000 have tended to support Davis and Shadle’s position. This scholarship, which usually reports results from a small number of first year writing/composition classes on a single college or university campus , suggests a more widespread trend; however, a nation wide study exploring the extent to which these discrete, local reports reflect more general acceptance of alternative research assignments has not been conducted. The present study was designed to perform that work. { 1} Entrenchment I created my Exploratory Survey on the Status of the Research Paper Assignment in First year Writing/ Composition Courses{2} to learn whether the traditional research paper assignment remains a common feature of first yea

FAQs

What question does the study investigate about research paper assignments in first-year writing courses?

The study examines whether the traditional research paper assignment continued to be a common feature of first-year writing/composition curricula in 2009.

How do the 2009 results compare with earlier surveys from 1961 and 1982?

The study reports that only 6% of research assignments in first-year writing/composition courses were traditional in 2009, down from 83% (1961) and 78.11% (1982), while alternative assignments rose to 94%.

What factors does the study suggest explain the shift away from the traditional research paper?

The shift is linked to trends in scholarship, changes in assessment practices, program structure, and technologies used for writing, researching, and teaching.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa