Foundational Issues

As my students are preparing their term papers, I explain they have to do foundational research. One example I give is of a student who proposed amending a law about Puerto Rico, except she didn’t look up how to do that, and instead spent a page explaining how the Constitution gets amended…

Another example I share is how a student argued UCD should have a mental health awareness day. She hadn’t Googled, so she didn’t know UCD has a whole month, much more than she was asking for. This student was present for those discussions.

Topic proposal day: UC Davis should allow X.

My comment: It already does. Here’s a link to the form.

Thesis workshop day: Student: UC Davis should allow X.

Me: Ummm, we already do, as I explained already. You could argue for a modification, but you can’t argue they should allow something they already allow.

Full paper workshop day: Student: UC Davis should allow X.

Me: Last warning: as I’ve noted twice now, they already do. This thesis won’t work.

Finished essay: Student: UC Davis should allow X.

Me: [checks this box in the essay rubric]: The student may not have done the fundamental research for the paper, leading to inaccurate statements. In other words, the paper may, intentionally or not, provide misinformation.