Quote Sammies!

 

quote sammies

Ah, the quote sammy! 

This is a visual mneumonic to help you balance your summary with your analysis. For the EXPLORATORY ESSAY, it may be helpful think in terms of an intro, some narrative, analytical glue, a conclusion, and in between all that, a tray of sliders. I'd write 2-3 quote sammies for your academic journal article, and 1 or 2 for your other sources. 

Essentially, you DO need 2 buns -- no low carb versions will do. The top bun creates context (name of author, publication - unless already given in initial attributive tag -- and a hint of how you are analyzing the main idea. You provide here a summary of the *particular* phrase or idea you are gonig to analyze. 

The stuff in the middle (veggies, chicken, tofu, whatever) is the QUOTE. The direct quote. 

The bottom bun in where you articulate your sense of the degree to which the passage supports the main claim of the whole argument ... or not. It's also where you explore your response to the passage. Hos is it shaping your thinking? Is it amplifying your existing thoughts? Creating new ones? Chaning your mind? Revealing something comletely new? Do you now have a new question to follow? Great! Do that! But also, you may use the bottom bun to explore the rhetorical (persuasive) effectiveness of this passage, making sure to relate it to your overal inquiry. You might write a bottom bun that begins, "Here, Smith powerfully supports his main claim by using an inartistic proof in the form of factual details. [then, go on to talk about how Smith does this, specifically. Point to the actual points of agreement between the facts and the claim]. The bottom bun may also be a place to argue for how this factual claim also argues effectively as an appeal to LOGOS [unpack and explain], or any of the other appeals. Alternatively, the bottom bun may simply hold space for your narrative glue, helping you to explore the developmnet of your inquiry.

When you provide an overall summary including full attribution, frequent framing and reframing at paragraph introductions, and then detailed analysis of those passages that best support your analysis of the effectiveness of the overall argument, you are arguing. EXPLORATORY WRITING, often called ACADEMIC INQUIRY, helps us think together through complex problems and concerns. So, learn to do this well, and you'll have such a great basis for further argumentative writing!

Below is the example we explored in class. Google it and see how many verions you find! Find one that works for you! 

Finding & Using Reliable Sources

image source

We're beginning to move from elemental rhetorical work to more specifically scholarly practices, so we'll review how to find, evaluate, and use reliable sources. Here is a page from Dartmouth university on the matter. I invite you to read as you like, but I will pull some key information and post, below. 



QUALITY OF SOURCES

The quality of sources varies greatly, and a source that is appropriate for one type of work might be inappropriate for another. This section provides tips to help you find and assess the quality of sources.

EVALUATING CREDIBILITY OF SOURCES

In any conversation, the speakers may have different levels of credibility. Some seem widely read, knowledgeable and able to defend their views confidently and persuasively. Others may exaggerate, oversimplify, or make leaps of logic that render their claims less believable. As you join such conversations, you invariably listen to assess the credibility of the various participants.

In a scholarly conversation, the analog of listening is research. Like speakers, individual sources may vary in their degree of credibility. The better you understand the perspectives and contexts reflected in a source, the richer your analysis of that material will be.

Primary sources, produced by the actors whom you want to study, usually reflect a range of interests and credibilities. Indeed, it is precisely their unique and time-dependent content that makes primary sources—novels, memoirs, advertisements, political speeches, census data, even earlier texts of history or science—so rich for analysis.

Secondary sources, produced by scholars seeking to analyze, arrange, and understand the worlds of primary sources, also exhibit varying degrees of credibility and interests. You might read a literary critic differently if you know he is reviewing a colleague’s book, or a sociologist differently if she is employed by the tobacco industry, or an economist differently if her work is published by a Washington think tank rather than a university press.

The question, therefore, is not simply whether or not your sources are credible. Rather, you should ask to what extent they are credible and to whom. 

Being critically aware of the perspectives and interests behind your sources will help enhance the sophistication and credibility of your own analyses and conclusions.

Here is a list of tips that will help you gauge a source’s credibility:

1. Who wrote it? 
2. What are the author’s background and credentials? 
3. Does the author have the expertise to write on this topic? 
4. Look for information on the author’s academic affiliation or a brief biography in the front or back of a book, or with the abstract of a journal. 
5. You might also look up the author in the Library Catalog or in Summon to see what else he or she has written. 
6. You can also Google the author to find his or her homepage or affiliation. 
7. The Web of Science Citation Databases, a scholarly database available through the Library, will allow you to see how many times an article has been cited in other articles—a measure of its influence.
8. Where was it published? 
9. Is it in a scholarly journal? 
10. Look for a statement indicating that the journal is peer reviewed (that is, that the articles are independently evaluated by experts in the field). Many scholarly journals are published by university presses (such as Harvard University Press), professional societies (such as the American Medical Association), or scientific publishers (such as Elsevier).
11. Who is the intended audience?
12.  Is it written for other scholars and researchers? Look at the language of the article to determine whom the author is writing for. Note whether the writer uses professional jargon or specialized terminology. Consider whether the writer assumes that readers have some background in the field in order to understand the article’s basic terms and premises. 
13. Also consider the organization of the article. In some disciplines, professional articles will have a predictable structure, perhaps including an abstract, methodology, results, analysis, and conclusion.
14. Is it timely? 
15. Is its currency appropriate for its field? The accuracy of a source may depend on the field. In the sciences, an article from just a year or two ago may be outdated, whereas in the humanities, there may be a wider window of timeliness. 
16. For some very recent topics, newspapers, magazines, and other popular periodicals may be your best resources.
17. What are the article’s sources? 
18. Does the author draw upon a context of research? Look at the footnotes and bibliography to see if the author cites other published research in the same field. 
19. Skim the article to see if it offers a “literature review” or summary of the research on the topic. 
20. Determine whether or not the author uses a range of sources—articles, books, reports, etc.

USING FREE ONLINE SOURCES: GOOGLE, WIKIPEDIA, AND THE LIKE

The world of information is like a house, full of rooms containing knowledge. Google will get you onto the front porch of that house, and maybe it will get you in through the front door. But it will allow you only a peek down the hall and up the stairs. The scholarly conversation—the network of research, discussion, and publication in which your professors participate—typically happens in scholarly journals that are available through university libraries.

Many students begin their research using Wikipedia. Although Wikipedia may be useful in providing a general overview of a topic—helping you to get your bearings, be certain of facts, or define some basic terms—it is not scholarly. You will need to find academic sources for your research, since the scholarly conversation is not taking place on Wikipedia.
 

Wikipedia can provide a portal to very useful information. A portal is not a final destination, however. Wikipedia can be useful, but its uses are limited, and some professors feel very strongly that students shouldn't use it. Let's talk about this. We'll discuss this in class!

You'll certainly find scholarly information available on the free internet. Here is a list  that will help you assess online sources:

1. Who wrote it? 
2. Look at the site’s URL. 
3. Is the site a personal website, hosted by an internet service provider?
4.  Is it a .org, a nonprofit organization? Or is it a .edu, coming from an academic institution? Clearly a .edu site is more likely to be scholarly than a personal website. But use caution: .edu sites may contain postings by students and others who have no particular authority on the topic. Try to find out as much as you can about the writer of the source you are using.
5. Why and for whom was it written? Ask yourself what the purpose of the site might be. Many websites will have a section that says “About ...” or “FAQ.” These often tell you a good deal about the site’s credibility.
6. Is it current? Consider the timeliness of the site. Is the site being maintained and updated? Note that, unlike published print, the online medium allows updates at any time. Be sure to make note of the exact date on which you consulted the website and to include the access date in your citation.
7. What sources does it use? Understand that the content of many websites is taken (if not plagiarized outright) from other sources. Check the website against several sources in order to determine whether or not the web writers have used their sources responsibly.
8. Why are you using it?
9.  Finally, ask yourself whether you have a compelling reason to use a website in the first place.
10.  Is a website an appropriate resource for your topic? 
11. Should you look for the information somewhere else?

FINDING SCHOLARLY SOURCES

University libraries have many resources to help you with your research. If you are looking for articles in scholarly journals, the Summon tool will allow you to search many of the Library’s databases simultaneously. After starting there, you might see which databases Summon uses for your search, and perhaps explore more specific searches. For example, if you were interested in how memories of the Holocaust have been represented in graphic novels, you might start with a Summon search using keywords such as “Holocaust” and “graphic novels," and check the box that says, "Limit to articles from scholarly publications, including peer-review." Looking at the search results, you might see that Summon recommends a database called "MLA International Bibliography."  You might then decide to do more searching there, uisng additional search terms. 

Of course, the best resources within the Library are librarians themselves. The librarians are here to help you navigate scholarly databases and the network of academic resources. Many of your professors will invite a librarian to class to discuss finding and evaluating resources for your papers. Be sure to take advantage of the help you are offered. When in doubt, do not hesitate to ask a librarian or, [if/when appropriate], your professor.

Does this feel about right? 

Do we do this? I mean,

yes, of course we do. 

There's this thing called "confirmation bias" that colors our lives.

 How can this research project, The Rational Argument, motivate us to confront confirmation bias? Will you try?  I hope so! 

Toward the Exploratory Essay

 

Toward our preparation for the Exploratory Essay, we'll review how to read academic sources in a way that is manageable, cohesive, and systematic. This brief video gives some helpful tips on how to leverage your time spent with academic sources so that they help you support your arguments. We'll discuss further in class. 

Hope for Coral Reefs!

 

"Coral reefs are dying, but 3D printed tiles could bring them back

Hong Kong has long been known for its high coral biodiversity, but in recent years populations have been decimated by pollution, urban development, and coral mining." via MashableonTwitter

 

the personal essay from bonnie lenore kyburz

Welcome! 

Welcome to English Composition 1! This is the course blog, a portal for assignments, tips, encouragement, and generally helpful resources. 

I will use Brightspace to coordinate class information (via announcements), and most materials will live there, but I like to have an alternative. Plus, I want you to have the opportunity to create and curate a blog. 

how will you be present at this blog? 

You're invited (and required) to write regularly for this course. Please plan to write once-weekly reflective blog posts at a blog you'll create (or post at the designated spot in Brightspace). Your blog will be featured at the blogroll @ right. Please see the next post for information on creating and designing your blog. Note: Blogger blogs are quite simple. Making and designing them requires little effort, but when in doubt, a Google search usually offers answers. 

Please design your blog so that it reflects a sense of who you are. Try to create something lovely, but remember that you're writing for an audience of your class peers and professor, so keep it professional, fun, and readable and all should go well. You're invited to play with some elemental design skills, which we'll refine throughout the semester. 

I hope you'll create a blog that invites you to write often. You might write about ideas you're forming, revision challenges, or maybe current events (though I'd encourage you to avoid much partisan politics in this space). Perhaps you attended a campus event, and you're drawn to think it through a bit more, in writing. 

how does this blog create and sustain community? 

Learning in communities for writers and thinkers often provides motivation and new ways of approaching new material. This blog is designed to help create and sustain community, especially given that we're challenged to get very close despite our sterile face-to-face classroom in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic. 

In addition to writing at your blog, you are also assigned blog responses. Writing and responding to your peers' entries offers you a model of how many writers write, in writing communities. 

Don't love writing with or for others? We'll help you get over that. You see, writers share. Most knowledge evolves in this way, through sharing, giving and receiving feedback, revising, and polishing to pleasing effect. Granted, the process isn't always pretty. Often, we have to work at it to be polite and respectful to others. Practice helps! 

Write with care, here, and in all venues. With this in mind, I'd like to encourage you to avoid rants or attacks. Most of all, I want to use the course blog and your individual blogs to help each and every student to feel a part of our writing community.

essential concepts

The work of this course should be relatively easy for you because you already know a lot of what I am going to teach you. You know it from your life experience and immersion in literate culture(s). This could mean that this knowledge is very general and maybe something you don't think about very conscientiously. We're going to bring it into the light for contemplation and practice. Essentially, I am going to reanimate 3 key concepts, about which you may already have some deep knowledge. They are:

1. Claims require evidence
2. Meaning has context
3. Writing is revision

Possible Blog Post Topic: What do you already know about these 3 concepts? Write a few paragraphs, explaining with conceptual detail and/or examples from your life and from your writing (really! bring to next class or post as an early blog entry).

What to do with the writing you've done? Post as your first blog entry at the blog you'll create. Instructions are found in the next post. 

Welcome to the course!