Response to Braddock

Richard Braddock’s 1975 research article, “the Frequency and Placement of Topic Sentences…,” is thorough, practical examination of two basic questions in regards to examples of professional writing: what proportion of paragraphs contain topic sentences, and, where in the paragraph do they appear? To measure a basic sentence, Braddock uses the T-unit, and breaks down topic sentences into various categories. Using the primary observation that writing teachers emphasize the topic sentence as a vital and necessary compositional element, Braddock studied a wide variety of professional essay writing from various, mainstream periodicals to determine if this assertion was true in practical applications. In short, he concluded that using the figures from 25 essays, “only 13% of the expository paragraphs of contemporary professional writers begin with a topic sentence, and only 3% end with a topic sentence” (39).

Rather than making a sweeping condemnation of writing education methods, Braddock simply states that, based on these findings, students should not be told that professional writers usually begin paragraphs with topic sentences. Dick Braddock seems to be a man concerned as closely with empirical truths as possible, in a field where these truths often seem elusive. The afterward of this article most clearly describes his beliefs and philosophies, some of which are inspiring to me as I embark on my own research process. For example, the ideas that “an ordinary doing systematic work could discover important truths,” and “people should not argue ahead of the evidence,” are simple, fundamental, and universal statements that provide good advice and encouragement to anyone pursuing research-based results.

Blakeslee & Fleisher: Chapter 3

It's comforting to see the research planning stage mapped out in black and white. I can see using Ann and Cathy's text as a reference guide all throuhout the research process. I'm still not quite clear on the distinction between the problem statement and the research question. This chapter addresses it as a problem in a particular field that needs fixing, while the question raises certain issues about a topic which the research sets out to answer.

I like the idea of a lit review as an ongoing discussion about my particular field of study. This makes it seem a little less abstract. Also, I will be reading the information on the ethics of using human subjects more carefully as I proceed. This is one area where it could be very easy to take liberties, and is an important step toward legitimacy as a valid researcher.