Discussion Question 1
Where do you normally find
information for topics that interest you? How do you know when sources are
reliable? Explain your answers.
When I want to find out information
on topics that interest me, I usually do an internet search. I like Wikipedia for a source of
information. Wikipedia is a free
encyclopedia website that has contributors from normal everyday people. They usually use a variety of sources for
their information so it is easy to check up on information that you may feel is
questionable. Information on topics that
interest me, are normally not topics which require a lot of checking up on to
ensure the information is accurate.
Writing my papers for school is quite different from any other
information research I have done. For my
papers I try to use sites that are well known for reliable information such as
ScienceDaily.com or the discovery channel website. These sites are dedicated to science and
information and I find them very reliable sources.
Discussion Question 2
Review the following Internet and
University Library sources. Then, determine which sources are reliable and
which are not. Explain your answers.
Wiki site:
University Library article: To access the article, read the
Electronic Reserve Readings, located on aXcess, for this week.
The first site is from a reputable news source, written
by a reputable news writer. One click and the paper will give you an in depth
background on the author. Not only does
his name appear with the article but also his picture with a short motto. This denotes to me his willingness to be upfront
about his facts and opinions. He is
definitely not hiding behind the paper or trying to be anonymous as so many
unreliable people are. His article is
very professionally written.
The second site, Wikipedia, I have always found was
a very reliable source of information. The
authors of this site are contributors from all over the world. The information on this site has always been
unbiased. The always include many
external links and source citations for you to reference the information found
on the site. How in-depth the writing
tends to fluctuate with the contributions of normal ordinary people. Anyone can write an article for Wikipedia, if
you register and account. Although
Wikipedia themselves say that since it is contribution based information you
should be wary of misinformation or even vandalism. There are editors who monitor pages to
rectify bad edits. Then even the editors
have administrators who ensure the editors are behaving.
The third site was biased from the start. This is obviously someone speaking from their
emotions. There is no name attached and
their information, although the references are cited, seems to be opinion
based. I find this article an unreliable
source of unbiased information.
Discuss strategies for formulating a viable argument.
My strategy would be to first come up with a strong
thesis. Next I would research my paper
to find credible and sound arguments to support my thesis. Then, I would structure my argument in a
logical and understandable order. I
would be careful to eliminate all bias, fallacies and rhetoric.
·
Read “A
Nation Apart” at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1862596,00.html Post your response to the
following:
o
Identify the
thesis statement in the article “A Nation Apart.”
o
What
strategies does the author use to formulate his argument?
o
What makes the arguments
viable and compelling?
The thesis in this article is whether China is going
to experience a “hard landing of its economy that could spark widespread social
unrest”. The author uses several
strategies to help formulate his argument.
He quotes a New York professor who commented on the current economic
crisis. He uses a few statistics to
help argue his point. His also inputs
his own biased tone to help you lean his way.
These arguments are made viable and compelling due to quoting a
professor, this implies the opinion is credible because he is not some random
person, he is a professor. The
statistics help make his argument compelling because they are statistics. Statistics themselves have credibility.
·
Post your response to the
following:
o
How does the
author of “A Nation Apart” organize
information to build his argument?
o
Does he include
any counter arguments? Why or why not?
o
What kinds of
statistics, graphs, or illustrations does the author include? In what ways do
these visuals strengthen the author’s arguments?
The author organizes his information in a logical
way, starting with the present situation in China. He then explains two opposing theories. Then he goes on to present his statistics and
information to back up his theory. He
uses a picture of lay off workers standing in line waiting for their back
pay. This was effective in showing the
hardship China is undergoing at the moment.
It gives a human face to the issue being discussed. The author also uses a lot of statistics to
back up his theories. Statistics are
instantly credible with most people. We
often give them serious consideration with little backup proof. If someone quotes a statistic most
individuals do not ask where the statistic came from or who did the survey or
ask how credible the survey taker is, they just accept it. For this reason, statistics are powerful
weapons against counter arguments when used to backup your theories.
·
Review the sections on
introductions and conclusions in the reading Drafting
·
Post your research
paper on the student Web site. Include your
response to the following:
o
What type of
introduction and what type of conclusion do you plan to write for your research
paper?
o
How does the
introduction draw readers into your argument, and how does the conclusion effectively
summarize your paper? Explain your answers.
I plan
on using in my introduction a personal story to grab my reader’s attention on
the harmful effects of pharmaceutical drugs.
In my conclusion I would like to use a clever ending or surprising
observation. My personal story should
grab my reader’s attention and sympathy with its sad nature. My clever ending will tie together my
personal story and end on a note that makes my reader’s think twice about my
opinion on pharmaceutical drugs.
·
Post your response to the
following:
o
In what ways
are full-sentence outlines more beneficial than topic outlines?
o
Explain why it
may or may not be simpler to write your paper instead of first creating a
full-sentence outline.
o
What steps will
you take to turn your outline into the body of your rough draft?
By writing more complete sentences in your outlines
you can eliminate the need to expand on note outlines when writing your full
paper. Also, by writing full sentences
you will reduce the possibility of forgetting why you wrote the note, what the
note means, or how you wanted to incorporate the note into your paper. I feel it is simpler to write a note outline
instead of a full sentence outline. I
can make short notes as I am reading an article with the information I want to
incorporate and once done can move around the notes in the order I would like,
then write my paper from there. This is
simpler and easier for me to work this way.
The steps I take to turn my outline into a rough
draft is to, first, organize my outline into the way I would like my paper to
flow. Then I concentrate on one point at
a time and turn my notes into paragraphs.
What was your experience with the
Center for Writing Excellence (CWE) in the past? In addition to the CWE, what
other writing tools are available for revising a research paper? How can you
become your own editor and look at your writing with a critical eye?
I
have used the Center for Writing Excellence in both of my previous writing
courses, both the WritePoint and the Plagiarism checker. Other writing tools that are available for
revising your research paper are the numerous grammar exercises you can find in
the university library along with library resources and help with APA
guidelines and reference generator. You
can be an effective editor to your own paper if you follow a few guidelines. One is to read your paper aloud to yourself,
it can help you pick out those grammar or spelling mistakes you may overlook
otherwise. Hearing your writing aloud
can also allow you to see where improvements or small tweeks can be made. Another way to be your own editor is to walk
away and come back fresh after a while.
Fresh eyes are better at spotting small mistakes than eyes that have
read the same words over and over for a while.
Discussion Question 2
What strategies do you use for
revising a paper? How do you know when to accept feedback from another source?
What makes feedback valuable to you?
My view is all feedback is valuable, but it is only
usable if you listen with a neutral viewpoint.
If you view feedback as criticism, it is wasted. If the feedback is plausible and would
enhance my paper I would certainly accept feedback from any source. The strategies I will use to revise my paper
would be to send it through the WritePoint and Plagiarism checker, I will read
outloud my paper in order to get a sense of how it would be heard, and I will
have someone else read my paper and provide feedback so I can see how others
will read my paper.
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