In our first meeting of Writing 50, we will make an attempt to learn a little something about each other. Your classmates comprise the audience you will address in your final quarter project and deserve serious study. With this objective in mind (understanding your audience), please be ready to tell someone about yourself, and to learn something about them in turn. After your interview, you will have just 60 seconds to report your findings to the class.
Interviews are an excellent way to demonstrate research with open versus closed questions. Open interview questions have many possible answers (e.g., "What do you do for fun in your spare time?"), whereas closed questions offer only limited responses (e.g., "Are you employed?," "Will you graduate in June?," etc.). As you research your interviewee(s), consider how closed questions can be used to rapidly organize an approach and narrow searches. Also notice how open questions often present surprises and invite further inquiry. If you could ask just five questions to learn as much as possible about someone, what would you ask? Why these questions?
The UCSB Human Subjects Module will familiarize you with the proper and improper use of human subjects in experiments and studies and is required of all UCSB students and faculty conducting work of this nature. It consists of three parts, including a simple, multiple-choice test, and typically requires 45–60 minutes to complete; you may quit and save your work at any time, then return later. (This allows you to "chip away" on the module as you find the time.) NOTE: If you have already taken and passed the module, then you do not need to take it again; email a copy of your confirmed completion to Doug.
Our registration code for login this quarter is: RESD-GR-KA-001
When you log onto the module, it should look something like this:
Part of the work in Writing 50 will prepare you for life after graduation with basics such as: 1) writing a resume and/or CV; 2) writing cover letters; 3) preparing for a job interview; 4) using email in business settings; and 5) writing a personal statement. For this reason alone, I often tell my Writing 50 students that this course will more than pay for itself; the skills you gain here will make or save you money for the rest of your life. Even if you are still months (or years) from graduating, it is never too soon to start planning ahead, especially given our current economic environment. You may also be considering part-time work or an internship while you go to school.
UCSB has a truly superb Career Services Center on campus to serve students, faculty and staff with a multiplicity of support services. (In fact, under the directorship of Micael Kemp and Don Lubach, I would argue that ours is easily one of the finest college career centers in the nation.) Your college fees already pay for this service; therefore, you should make the fullest use of it. During the quarter, we will take a tour of Career Services and utilize its on-line resources. This week, be sure to log in to GauchoLink and download a resume handbook. This will be very helpful to you as you write your resume and/or CV later.