Estimated In-Class Time 15 min
Estimated Pre-Class Time 20 min
Downloads Handout 8D-1
Answer Key 8D-1
In-Class Procedure
Pre-Class Procedure
After an introduction by the instructor, students reorder excerpts from a scholarly conversation.

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

  • Identify connections between scholarly works by arranging the sources in the order in which one author used the work of another.

Relevant Threshold Concepts

  • Scholarship as conversation.

Suggestions for Use

  • This activity should be helpful in classes where students will be citing sources in their writing.
  • By mapping a scholarly conversation, students can see how authors continue to build on the work of others.
  • Students can access complete Handout 8D-1 electronically or in print.
  • If you have more time available in class, you could have students work in groups.
  • Consider assigning students to read before class the sections “Citation and Citation Styles” and “When to Cite” in Chapter 8 of Choosing & Using Sources.
  • Download and perhaps print Possible Script and In-Class Procedure so you can take it with you to class.

Pre-Class Preparation

  • Review the handout and answer sheet for this activity.
  • Review In-Class Procedure below.
  • Decide whether you want students to complete Handout 8D-1 on paper or electronically.
  • If you decided on electronic handouts, consider arranging the excerpts on Handout 8D-1 in a format that lets students drag them into the order they want. That would require you to download Handout 8D-1 into Word and putting each excerpt into a text box.
  • If you decided on electronic handouts, put Handout 8D-1 in your learning management system.
  • If you decided on paper copies, print Handout 8D-1 (1 copy per student and 1 for yourself) and Answer Key 8D-1 (1 copy for yourself).
  • Complete the activity on your own to get a sense of how it works, and how you might support students as they complete it.
  • Prepare for introducing the session, using your own remarks or the Possible Script below if it seems helpful.
  • Using Answer sheet 8D-1, plan your discussion of the answers on Handout 8D-1.
  • Download and perhaps print In-Class Procedure so you can take it with you to class.

In-Class Procedure

  1. If you’re having students use printed copies of Handout 8D-1, pass them out or set them where students can pick them up as they come in.
  2. If you’re having students use electronic Handout 8D-1 tell them how to find and open it.
  3. Introduce the activity using the Possible Script or an introduction of your own (about 5 min.).
  4. Ask students to complete Handout 8D-1 in 5 minutes.
  5. After 10 minutes, discuss the students’ answers, experiences, challenges, and insights for about 10 minutes.

Possible Script:

When writing in an academic context, you must cite any information that originally came from another author’s work. By providing these citations, you tell your reader the context of your writing and where to find your research. The context of your writing is known as the scholarly conversation–authors respond to one another in their writings, and readers can understand how scholarship around a topic evolves over time, linked together in the citation chain of scholarly conversation. It might help you to think of a scholarly conversation as a group text.

On Handout 8D-1, you will practice linking a scholarly conversation together, which is sometimes called Citation chaining.

Relevant Choosing & Using Sources Chapters:

Chapter 8, How to Cite Sources.

Credit: Emily Sferra, at Ohio State University Libraries, contributed to the development of this activity.