Contributing Knowledge
This page is about the Contributing Knowledge outcome. To me, this outcome means more than just reading what other people wrote. It means finding a question that hasn’t been fully answered and adding my own ideas to the conversation. Before this class, I didn’t think a student like me could do that. On this page, you will see how I worked toward this goal through my research proposal on TikTok and writing. You will also see how this outcome connects to my life outside of school. I learned that the things I notice and create every day can turn into real knowledge worth sharing.
This is my research proposal for ENC1102. I wanted to find out if college students use what they learn in writing class when they make TikTok videos. I picked this topic because I watch TikTok a lot, and I noticed that many creators think about their audience just like we do in class. While reading my sources, I saw that a lot had been written about writing and rhetoric, but almost nothing about student TikToks. Finding that gap showed me that my question could add something new. In this proposal, you will find my research question, what other writers have said, my plan to study five student videos, and the limits of my study. This topic also connects to my own life. I once made a TikTok copying an NFL quarterback’s cadence, and I had to study film to get his rhythm and pauses right. I knew football fans would call me out if it sounded fake. Looking back, that was research the whole time. This project showed me that the things I make for fun can be real knowledge worth sharing.
Reading Response 9: Clary-Lemon et al. (Chapter 8):
Research question: How do undergraduate students use rhetorical strategies learned throughout their lives when creating TikTok videos?
Methods: I will do a content analysis on five public TikToks posted by TikTok creators who are undergraduate students. There will be 5 ordinary videos that include study tips and a day in the life video among other videos. The TikToks will be viewed multiple times and notes will be taken on the rhetorical strategies which include audience, purpose, ethos, pathos, logos, and organization, among other strategies of the TikTok including trending sounds and captions.
Rhetorical Form: The method I will be using to present my findings will be IMRAD. It stands for abbreviation for Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. IMRAD would suit me well, since it implies specific functions for each of the sections. Introduction is used to justify the significance of TikTok in relation to the issue of composing. Methods are required to inform the audience about how I have selected and analyzed my five videos. In the Results section, I will be able to describe the videos and strategies I found. Finally, in the Discussion, I will try to connect my findings to sources.
This is my research plan for ENC1102. It shows how I worked on the Contributing Knowledge outcome. My question is how college students use what they have learned in life when they make TikTok videos. I picked this because not many people have studied student TikToks, and I wanted to add something new. I will watch five TikToks made by college students. I will take notes on things like who the video is for, what it is trying to do, and how it uses sounds and captions. I will share what I find using IMRAD, which stands for Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. I picked IMRAD because it is how researchers share new ideas. It also helps me stay organized. This connects to my life too. I once made a TikTok copying an NFL quarterback’s cadence. I had to watch film over and over to get it right before I posted it. To me, that is what contributing knowledge is. You study something closely, and then you share what you learned.
