UNIT TWO START

(2.1) Day 10 IMRD Introduction Part I

Objectives: Students will be able to. . .

•           Understand and identify main components of an IMRD paper with focus on I&M

•           Understand the purpose and structure of an Introduction and Methods section

•           Analyze specific section of the Introduction and Methods section of an IMRD paper

[10-15 minutes] Part I: Warm-Up Discussion Questions 2:00-2:15

Discussion: What is the difference between a paper with primary resources and one with secondary resources? List types of paper you know for each. Why aren't all papers simply the same?

PRIMARY SOURCES VS SECONDARY SOURCES 

Today we will focus on one type of common paper for graduate students: IMRD. We will address these questions: What does IMRD stand for?  Why is it used?  What academic area will you find this format?  It is used in many disciplines for research articles. Have you written a paper in this format before?

Aside from IMRD (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion), what does the L in ILMRD mean (Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Results, Discussion)? There are variations of IMRD that exist, and papers vary in length and purpose.

Knowing each of these parts will be a valuable skill set for many graduate-level writing assignments. 

[15 minutes] Part II: Activity 1 on Identifying IMRD 2:15-2:30

In pairs, read the sample IMRD short paper.sample IMRD short paper

 It presents focused information and provides an interpretation in only two pages. Notice that there is no "L" (Literature Review) in this sample. The order of each section is not in logical order. You must label each section as either I, M, R, or D. and arrange the sections in order: I, M, R, D. What is the rationale for your answer? What are some of the characteristics of each section? Finally, come up with a title for the paper.

 [20-30 minutes] Part III: Activity  2 Guided Lecture on Introductions 2:30-2:50/3:00

Open up the introduction activity sheet.introduction activity sheet

1. I will read out important components of the Introduction section. Fill in the blanks.

2.Compare notes with partners or in a group of 3 to see if you can help each other reconstitute any missing sections.

3.Read the full notes again (time permitting).

4.Now, examine the introduction section of the Defeat and Entrapment sample paper.Defeat and Entrapment sample paper. 

Can you Identify the elements of an introduction section based on the activity sheet. Is there anything missing? Then, work to complete the introduction handout sheet 

[15 minutes] Part IV: Activity 3 on Methods Reading and responding 2:50-3:05

Read an article about writing a methods section writing a methods section and complete the missing information in the methods worksheet methods activity sheet. We will check answers as a class afterwards. To end, we will examine the methods section of the sample IMRD paper. Open the Defeat and Entrapment IMRD paper again and examine the methods section based on the methods handout sheet method handout sheet.

Questions on Methods Reading:
1) What is the difference between dependent and independent variables?
2) What is the difference between internal vs external validity?
3) Define the term  study design
4) In what tense is the methods section usually written?

Part V:
Time Pending.... Alternative Lesson Activities:
[20 min] I(L)MRD Quiz Bowl! (teacher access only)
[15 min] OPERATION IMRD RESEARCH PAPER

Lesson Materials

sample IMRD short paper (KEY)

introduction activity sheet (KEY)

Defeat and Entrapment sample paper

introduction handout sheet

writing a methods section

methods activity sheet (KEY)

method handout sheet