ELang 223 NBay

LING 201/ELANG 223 TERM PROJECT

This semester you will do some original research in which you will select a topic, ask a question,
formulate a plan to answer your question and gather data, gather the data, and then analyze the data.
You will create a one-slide infographic by the end of the semester about the results of your research to
present to the class. You will also do a three- to four-page write-up explaining and interpreting your
results.

PURPOSE: To apply principles you’ve learned this semester to original research (Learning
Outcomes 1 and 2)

ASSIGNMENT:
(Pertinent due dates in red)
1. Topic and Question:
a. Select a topic related to any of the material we cover this semester that is
interesting to you. You can select an idea from the document “A Few Ideas for a
Term Project,” take an idea from the textbook, or come up with your own idea.
b. Feel free to look ahead in the book—there are many fascinating subjects to think
about. The exercises at the ends of the chapters have good ideas. JUST HAVE
FUN finding out about a topic!
c. Ask a question about your topic. For example, if you’re interested in English
sound patterns (a potential topic), you might ask a question like this: “Which
consonant clusters are the most difficult to pronounce for non-native English
speakers? Does difficulty differ by native language background?”

2. Sources: You do not need to use outside sources, just the textbook.

3. Plan How You’ll Gather Data:

a. Plan how you will gather information: a survey, observation, questionnaire,
interview, newspaper, magazine, letters, journals, a corpus, newscasts, etc.
b. If using consultants (human research subjects), be clear about what you are
asking them to do. Please do not overburden anyone unnecessarily.
c. Decide on the amount of data you will need: For a simple question that requires
consultants, select 20–40 respondents; for more complicated responses choose
10 or so.

4. Get Your Project Approved: Sign up on this link to meet with me to discuss your
topic and have it approved (June 30 or July 1). If these days and times don’t work for
you, contact me to set up another appointment.

5. Collect data.

6. Analysis:
a. Analyze your data to show patterns or reach a conclusion.
ELang 223 NBay

b. Do more than report on something. A significant part of your project will be the
analysis of WHY what you observed occurs. Use your knowledge from the
textbook to explain what is happening. What can you conclude?

7. Oral Presentation:
a. Create a one-slide infographic on Google Slides that includes your question
and the results of your study. Your slide should also include attractive graphics
that help the viewer understand your research and conclusion. This should look
professional, as if you were presenting the results of your research during a
poster session at a conference. NOTE: Be sure your infographic is landscape
orientation so it will be easily visible on a Google Slide. (See below for helpful
resources.) (Infographic due by 11:59 p.m., August 4. Upload your slide to
this stack.)
b. Present your research and infographic to the class on August 6.
c. Your presentation should be three to four minutes long.
d. See Infographic Resources below for support in creating infographics for your
research.

8. Write-up (due on August 9 by 11:59 p.m. through Learning Suite):

a. Write up your research in a double-spaced, 3- to 4-page paper with 1” margins
in Times New Roman 12-point font.
b. Include the following sections and headings:
i. Topic and Question (What did you research and why are you interested
in this topic?)
ii. Background from the Text (What did you learn from our book about this
topic? What aspect of linguistics did you study?)
iii. Method (How did you gather data?)
iv. Results and Analysis (Do not list all your data. Report on general
patterns you observed and analyze them. Did you answer the question
you had at the beginning? This is a good place to include graphs, charts,
or tables, if applicable.)
v. Conclusions (What does your analysis mean? What implications does
your research have? Is there a target audience for whom this research
would be important? These last two sections should be the most
substantive and interesting section of your paper.)

GRADING: Your grade will be based on your written report (70 points), class presentation (10
points), and infographic slide (20 points) for a total of 100 points.

Grading Rubric
A Your paper demonstrates an excellent understanding of the principles you chose to
90–100 explore. Your method for data collection efficiently produced data for you to analyze.
Your analysis and conclusions demonstrate an excellent ability to apply principles related
to your topic to real-life linguistic situations. Your infographic attractively and efficiently
sums up the topic and results of your research. Your presentation is clear and
professional.
B Your paper demonstrates a good understanding of the principles you chose to explore.
80–89 Your method for data collection produced some data for you to analyze but did not
ELang 223 NBay

involve superior effort. Your analysis and conclusions demonstrate a good ability to
apply principles related to your topic to real-life linguistic situations. Your infographic
attractively and efficiently sums up the topic and results of your research. Your
presentation is clear and professional.
C Your paper shows that you may not fully understand some of the principles you chose to
70–79 explore. Your data collection either didn’t produce data that would answer your question,
or it was inadequate to answer your question. Your analysis and conclusions demonstrate
a marginal ability to apply principles related to your topic to real-life linguistic situations.
Your infographic is somewhat busy, confusing, or sloppy in its effort to communicate
your research. Your presentation gets the message across but may not be smooth and
well-practiced.
D Your paper shows that you know little about the principles you chose to explore. You
60–69 didn’t collect data or it was inadequate to answer your question. Your analysis and
conclusions are disorganized and confusing. You did not apply principles related to your
topic to real-life linguistic situations. Your infographic does not communicate your
research. Your presentation does not communicate your research.
F You didn’t do or turn in any of the required assignments, OR
0–59 You plagiarized content.

INFOGRAPHIC RESOURCES

 Using Infographics to Communicate Your Research

 How to Turn Your Next Paper into an Infographic

 How to Make an Infographic in 5 Steps

 Note: If you use Canva to create your infographic, be sure to use a landscape-
oriented template because a vertical template will be difficult to read on Google
slides.