Summary of Exit Exam Process for ENG095 and ENG111/ FALL 2011
Week 12 (November 21-27)
Readings and prompts distributed to instructors. As usual, we will ask instructors to photocopy suitable numbers of readings for each section for distribution during week 13. (Note: due to Thanksgiving holiday, exam packets will be distributed earlier to instructors who have Friday, Saturday or Sunday classes.) Instructors will also receive exam prompts, which are not to be distributed to the students until the actual exam sessions. Students may not have advance access to the prompts, only to the readings upon which the prompts are based.
Week 13 (November 28-December 4)
Readings distributed to students in anticipation of week 14 exam. Students may annotate the reading. They may bring in the annotated reading to the exam. However, they may not bring in additional notes or outlines or other types of prewriting. Further, the instructor doesn’t “prep” the reading with students.
Week 14 (December 5-11)
First administration of the exam. Students write the exams in class. They may not receive additional help. They may consult a dictionary. Students may use scratch paper to do prewriting and plan and draft. Instructor should oversee the collection of all of this material at the end of the session. Past experience has shown that a standard seventy-five minute period is sufficient for most students to write an exam. However, some students do struggle at the end, particularly those students who come to English as a second language. At the instructor’s discretion students may receive some additional time to complete their exam. The only stipulation is that the students must be monitored by the instructor. Instructors should also be mindful of classes that may be scheduled to meet during the next period.
Grading sessions. Full-time day faculty are scheduled to meet during the Tuesday 1 p.m. activity hour. Part-time faculty will meet either Thursday, December 8, 4:00 p.m. (see weekly memo for room location) or Saturday morning, December 10, at 9:30 a.m. (room E450). (A stipend is paid for the Thursday evening and Saturday morning sessions.) See below for additional information about grading procedures for ENG095 and ENG111.
Notifying students of the results. If a class meets twice per week, instructors can use the second session to go over exams with students who need to re-take the exam. [Note: students may see exams, but the instructor retains the exams.] The instructor can then give the week 15 reading to students who need to re-take. Evening, weekend and Friday classes present a special problem as they meet only once per week. How best to notify students? How best to distribute the reading to those students who need to re-take the exam? Some instructors call or e-mail students, particularly those students who need to re-take. Students are then able to come to the week 15 class ready to go over the exam and then re-take. Some instructors also distribute the week 15 reading ahead of time to all students. If a student is then notified of the need to re-take the exam, the student already has the reading to work on.
Week 15 (December 12-18)
The process is repeated during week 15, the last regular week of classes, for those students who did not pass the exam the first time around, or for those students who missed the first administration.
Week 16 – Final Exam week
“LAST CHANCE” FINAL FOR DAY STUDENTS: Tuesday, December 20, 12 p.m., rooms tba. This is an opportunity for day students who missed one of the earlier sessions. Students do not need to receive a reading ahead of time. A shorter reading appropriate for a two hour exam sitting will be provided at the time of the exam. Instructors who refer students to this session should be prepared to help with proctoring and grading
Friday, October 28, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing Exercise
Summary: This resources discusses how to paraphrase correctly and accurately.
Directions: On a separate piece of paper, write a paraphrase of each of the following passages. Try not to look back at the original passage.
1. "The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. "The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human activity." From "Captain Cousteau," Audubon (May 1990):17.
2. The twenties were the years when drinking was against the law, and the law was a bad joke because everyone knew of a local bar where liquor could be had. They were the years when organized crime ruled the cities, and the police seemed powerless to do anything against it. Classical music was forgotten while jazz spread throughout the land, and men like Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie became the heroes of the young. The flapper was born in the twenties, and with her bobbed hair and short skirts, she symbolized, perhaps more than anyone or anything else, America's break with the past. From Kathleen Yancey, English 102 Supplemental Guide (1989): 25.
3. Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each year, three-fourths are caused by head injuries. Half of those killed are school-age children. One study concluded that wearing a bike helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent. In an accident, a bike helmet absorbs the shock and cushions the head. From "Bike Helmets: Unused Lifesavers," Consumer Reports (May 1990): 348.
4. Matisse is the best painter ever at putting the viewer at the scene. He's the most realistic of all modern artists, if you admit the feel of the breeze as necessary to a landscape and the smell of oranges as essential to a still life. "The Casbah Gate" depicts the well-known gateway Bab el Aassa, which pierces the southern wall of the city near the sultan's palace. With scrubby coats of ivory, aqua, blue, and rose delicately fenced by the liveliest gray outline in art history, Matisse gets the essence of a Tangier afternoon, including the subtle presence of the bowaab, the sentry who sits and surveys those who pass through the gate. From Peter Plagens, "Bright Lights." Newsweek (26 March 1990): 50.
5. While the Sears Tower is arguably the greatest achievement in skyscraper engineering so far, it's unlikely that architects and engineers have abandoned the quest for the world's tallest building. The question is: Just how high can a building go? Structural engineer William LeMessurier has designed a skyscraper nearly one-half mile high, twice as tall as the Sears Tower. And architect Robert Sobel claims that existing technology could produce a 500-story building. From Ron Bachman, "Reaching for the Sky." Dial (May 1990): 15
Summary: This resources discusses how to paraphrase correctly and accurately.
Directions: On a separate piece of paper, write a paraphrase of each of the following passages. Try not to look back at the original passage.
1. "The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. "The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human activity." From "Captain Cousteau," Audubon (May 1990):17.
2. The twenties were the years when drinking was against the law, and the law was a bad joke because everyone knew of a local bar where liquor could be had. They were the years when organized crime ruled the cities, and the police seemed powerless to do anything against it. Classical music was forgotten while jazz spread throughout the land, and men like Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie became the heroes of the young. The flapper was born in the twenties, and with her bobbed hair and short skirts, she symbolized, perhaps more than anyone or anything else, America's break with the past. From Kathleen Yancey, English 102 Supplemental Guide (1989): 25.
3. Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each year, three-fourths are caused by head injuries. Half of those killed are school-age children. One study concluded that wearing a bike helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent. In an accident, a bike helmet absorbs the shock and cushions the head. From "Bike Helmets: Unused Lifesavers," Consumer Reports (May 1990): 348.
4. Matisse is the best painter ever at putting the viewer at the scene. He's the most realistic of all modern artists, if you admit the feel of the breeze as necessary to a landscape and the smell of oranges as essential to a still life. "The Casbah Gate" depicts the well-known gateway Bab el Aassa, which pierces the southern wall of the city near the sultan's palace. With scrubby coats of ivory, aqua, blue, and rose delicately fenced by the liveliest gray outline in art history, Matisse gets the essence of a Tangier afternoon, including the subtle presence of the bowaab, the sentry who sits and surveys those who pass through the gate. From Peter Plagens, "Bright Lights." Newsweek (26 March 1990): 50.
5. While the Sears Tower is arguably the greatest achievement in skyscraper engineering so far, it's unlikely that architects and engineers have abandoned the quest for the world's tallest building. The question is: Just how high can a building go? Structural engineer William LeMessurier has designed a skyscraper nearly one-half mile high, twice as tall as the Sears Tower. And architect Robert Sobel claims that existing technology could produce a 500-story building. From Ron Bachman, "Reaching for the Sky." Dial (May 1990): 15
Bartleby The Scrivener: Quiz
Using examples from the text explain why you think Bartleby "prefers not" to work?
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Bartleby the Scrivener Summary
Bartleby the Scrivener Summary
The narrator, an elderly lawyer who does a comfortable business helping wealthy men deal with mortgages, title deeds, and bonds, relates the story of the strangest man he has ever known. Bartleby is a new addition to the narrator's staff. The narrator already employs two scriveners, Nippers and Turkey. Nippers suffers from indigestion, and Turkey is a drunk, but the office survives because in the mornings Turkey is sober even though Nippers is irritable, and in the afternoon Nippers has calmed down even though Turkey is drunk. Ginger Nut, the office boy, gets his name from the little cakes he brings the men. Bartleby comes in answer to ad, and the narrator hires the forlorn looking young man in hopes that his calmness will soothe the temperaments of the other scriveners.
One day, when Bartleby is asked to help proofread one of the documents he copied, he answers simply, "I would prefer not to." It is the first of many refusals. To the dismay of the narrator and the irritation of the other employees, Bartleby takes part in fewer and fewer duties around the office. The narrator makes several attempts to reason with Bartleby and learn about him, but Bartleby always responds the same way when asked to do a task or give out information about himself: "I would prefer not to." One weekend, when the narrator stops in at the office, he discovers that Bartleby is living at the office. The loneliness of Bartleby's life strikes the narrator: at night and on Sundays, Wall Street is as desolate as a ghost town. He alternates between pity and revulsion for Bartleby's bizarre behavior.
Bartleby continues to refuse duties, until finally he is doing no work at all. And yet the narrator cannot get him to leave. The scrivener has a strange power over his employer, and the narrator feels he cannot do anything to harm this forlorn man. But his business associates begin to wonder at Bartleby's presence at the office, since he does no work, and the threat of a ruined reputation forces the narrator to do something. His attempts to get Bartleby to go are fruitless. So the narrator moves his offices to a new location. But soon afterward, the new tenants of the narrator's old offices come to him asking for help: Bartleby will not leave. When they oust him from the offices, Bartleby haunts the hallways. The narrator goes to see Bartleby in one last attempt to reason with him, but Bartleby rejects him. For fear of being bothered by the anti-Bartleby folks, the narrator stays away from work for a few days. When he returns, he learns that Bartleby has been put in prison.
At the prison, Bartleby seems even more glum than usual. The narrator's friendliness is rebuffed. The narrator bribes a turnkey to make sure Bartleby stays well fed. But when the narrator returns a few days later, Bartleby has died. He preferred not to eat.
Some time afterward, the narrator hears a rumor that Bartleby worked in a Dead Letter Office. The narrator reflects that the dead letters would have made anyone of Bartleby's temperament sink into an even darker gloom. The letters are emblems for our mortality and the failure of our best intentions. Through Bartleby, the narrator has glimpsed the world as the miserable scrivener must have seen it. The closing words of the story are the narrator's resigned and pained sigh: "Ah, Bartleby! Ah, humanity!"
The narrator, an elderly lawyer who does a comfortable business helping wealthy men deal with mortgages, title deeds, and bonds, relates the story of the strangest man he has ever known. Bartleby is a new addition to the narrator's staff. The narrator already employs two scriveners, Nippers and Turkey. Nippers suffers from indigestion, and Turkey is a drunk, but the office survives because in the mornings Turkey is sober even though Nippers is irritable, and in the afternoon Nippers has calmed down even though Turkey is drunk. Ginger Nut, the office boy, gets his name from the little cakes he brings the men. Bartleby comes in answer to ad, and the narrator hires the forlorn looking young man in hopes that his calmness will soothe the temperaments of the other scriveners.
One day, when Bartleby is asked to help proofread one of the documents he copied, he answers simply, "I would prefer not to." It is the first of many refusals. To the dismay of the narrator and the irritation of the other employees, Bartleby takes part in fewer and fewer duties around the office. The narrator makes several attempts to reason with Bartleby and learn about him, but Bartleby always responds the same way when asked to do a task or give out information about himself: "I would prefer not to." One weekend, when the narrator stops in at the office, he discovers that Bartleby is living at the office. The loneliness of Bartleby's life strikes the narrator: at night and on Sundays, Wall Street is as desolate as a ghost town. He alternates between pity and revulsion for Bartleby's bizarre behavior.
Bartleby continues to refuse duties, until finally he is doing no work at all. And yet the narrator cannot get him to leave. The scrivener has a strange power over his employer, and the narrator feels he cannot do anything to harm this forlorn man. But his business associates begin to wonder at Bartleby's presence at the office, since he does no work, and the threat of a ruined reputation forces the narrator to do something. His attempts to get Bartleby to go are fruitless. So the narrator moves his offices to a new location. But soon afterward, the new tenants of the narrator's old offices come to him asking for help: Bartleby will not leave. When they oust him from the offices, Bartleby haunts the hallways. The narrator goes to see Bartleby in one last attempt to reason with him, but Bartleby rejects him. For fear of being bothered by the anti-Bartleby folks, the narrator stays away from work for a few days. When he returns, he learns that Bartleby has been put in prison.
At the prison, Bartleby seems even more glum than usual. The narrator's friendliness is rebuffed. The narrator bribes a turnkey to make sure Bartleby stays well fed. But when the narrator returns a few days later, Bartleby has died. He preferred not to eat.
Some time afterward, the narrator hears a rumor that Bartleby worked in a Dead Letter Office. The narrator reflects that the dead letters would have made anyone of Bartleby's temperament sink into an even darker gloom. The letters are emblems for our mortality and the failure of our best intentions. Through Bartleby, the narrator has glimpsed the world as the miserable scrivener must have seen it. The closing words of the story are the narrator's resigned and pained sigh: "Ah, Bartleby! Ah, humanity!"
Sample MLA Essay
Catherine Jones
Dr. V. Robson
English 102
17 October 2008
Weight Management
Over the past few years it has become clear that weight is an important health issue. Being overweight is a risk factor for health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis, some cancers and even lung problems. Some people who need to lose weight for their health do not recognize it, while others who don't need to lose weight, want to get thinner for cosmetic reasons (Turck 20). Weight can affect a person's self-esteem. Excess weight is highly visible and evokes some powerful reactions from other people. But successful weight management is a long-term commitment to healthy lifestyle behaviors that emphasize sustainable and enjoyable eating practices and daily physical activity. Weight management is all about balance. Weight is stable when the energy we get from our food matches the energy we use. We use up energy without even thinking about it, for such activities as breathing and keeping our heart beating. We use up energy each time we move our bodies. Moving more each day is the easiest way to use more energy. That is why both physical activity and healthy eating are key parts of weight control.
Everyday choices define lifestyle and can significantly affect body weight. Small daily choices may seem insignificant, but when they are repeated for months and years, their influence is substantial. Weight management – especially when weight loss is required – is easiest to achieve when changes in eating and exercising habits are made gradually (Biddle 47). Many people choose diet for non-health reasons usually related to appearance. They believe that being overweight is due to lack of willpower. Dieting for them becomes an indicator of their character, not of their health. But going on and off diets may be as dangerous as being overweight. Rather than strict dieting, it's better to follow healthy eating. It does not require buying special foods. Instead, it offers the opportunity to eat different foods.
Prevention of obesity, treatment of obesity, and sustainability of weight loss are all important in a weight management strategy. Successful weight loss and…
…Works Cited
Biddle, S. Motivation for physical activity and weight management. Journal of Obesity. 10.2 (1998) 47.
Turck, M. Healthy Eating for Weight Management. Los Angeles: Lifematters Press, 2001.
Dr. V. Robson
English 102
17 October 2008
Weight Management
Over the past few years it has become clear that weight is an important health issue. Being overweight is a risk factor for health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis, some cancers and even lung problems. Some people who need to lose weight for their health do not recognize it, while others who don't need to lose weight, want to get thinner for cosmetic reasons (Turck 20). Weight can affect a person's self-esteem. Excess weight is highly visible and evokes some powerful reactions from other people. But successful weight management is a long-term commitment to healthy lifestyle behaviors that emphasize sustainable and enjoyable eating practices and daily physical activity. Weight management is all about balance. Weight is stable when the energy we get from our food matches the energy we use. We use up energy without even thinking about it, for such activities as breathing and keeping our heart beating. We use up energy each time we move our bodies. Moving more each day is the easiest way to use more energy. That is why both physical activity and healthy eating are key parts of weight control.
Everyday choices define lifestyle and can significantly affect body weight. Small daily choices may seem insignificant, but when they are repeated for months and years, their influence is substantial. Weight management – especially when weight loss is required – is easiest to achieve when changes in eating and exercising habits are made gradually (Biddle 47). Many people choose diet for non-health reasons usually related to appearance. They believe that being overweight is due to lack of willpower. Dieting for them becomes an indicator of their character, not of their health. But going on and off diets may be as dangerous as being overweight. Rather than strict dieting, it's better to follow healthy eating. It does not require buying special foods. Instead, it offers the opportunity to eat different foods.
Prevention of obesity, treatment of obesity, and sustainability of weight loss are all important in a weight management strategy. Successful weight loss and…
…Works Cited
Biddle, S. Motivation for physical activity and weight management. Journal of Obesity. 10.2 (1998) 47.
Turck, M. Healthy Eating for Weight Management. Los Angeles: Lifematters Press, 2001.
Works Cited Page
Works Cited
"Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action." Environmental Defense Fund. Environmental Defense Fund, 8 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.
Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate Change.” New York Times. New York Times, May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.
Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." New York Times. New York Times, 22 May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.
Ebert, Roger. "An Inconvenient Truth." Rev. of An Inconvenient Truth, dir. Davis Guggenheim. Rogerebert.com. Sun-Times News Group, 2 June 2006. Web. 24 May 2009.
GlobalWarming.org. Cooler Heads Coalition, 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.
Gowdy, John. "Avoiding Self-organized Extinction: Toward a Co-evolutionary Economics of Sustainability." International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology 14.1 (2007): 27-36. Print.
An Inconvenient Truth. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Al Gore, Billy West. Paramount, 2006. DVD.
Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth Or Reality?: The Erring Ways of Climatology. New York: Springer, 2005. Print.
Milken, Michael, Gary Becker, Myron Scholes, and Daniel Kahneman. "On Global Warming and Financial Imbalances." New Perspectives Quarterly 23.4 (2006): 63. Print
Nordhaus, William D. "After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control Global Warming." American Economic Review 96.2 (2006): 31-34. Print.
---. "Global Warming Economics." Science 9 Nov. 2001: 1283-84. Science Online. Web. 24 May 2009.
Shulte, Bret. "Putting a Price on Pollution." Usnews.com. US News & World Rept., 6 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.
Uzawa, Hirofumi. Economic Theory and Global Warming. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. Print.
"Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action." Environmental Defense Fund. Environmental Defense Fund, 8 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.
Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate Change.” New York Times. New York Times, May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.
Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." New York Times. New York Times, 22 May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.
Ebert, Roger. "An Inconvenient Truth." Rev. of An Inconvenient Truth, dir. Davis Guggenheim. Rogerebert.com. Sun-Times News Group, 2 June 2006. Web. 24 May 2009.
GlobalWarming.org. Cooler Heads Coalition, 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.
Gowdy, John. "Avoiding Self-organized Extinction: Toward a Co-evolutionary Economics of Sustainability." International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology 14.1 (2007): 27-36. Print.
An Inconvenient Truth. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Al Gore, Billy West. Paramount, 2006. DVD.
Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth Or Reality?: The Erring Ways of Climatology. New York: Springer, 2005. Print.
Milken, Michael, Gary Becker, Myron Scholes, and Daniel Kahneman. "On Global Warming and Financial Imbalances." New Perspectives Quarterly 23.4 (2006): 63. Print
Nordhaus, William D. "After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control Global Warming." American Economic Review 96.2 (2006): 31-34. Print.
---. "Global Warming Economics." Science 9 Nov. 2001: 1283-84. Science Online. Web. 24 May 2009.
Shulte, Bret. "Putting a Price on Pollution." Usnews.com. US News & World Rept., 6 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.
Uzawa, Hirofumi. Economic Theory and Global Warming. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. Print.
Critically Analyzing Information Sources
Critically Analyzing Information Sources
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INTRODUCTION
You can begin evaluating a physical information source (a book or an article for instance) even before you have the physical item in hand. Appraise a source by first examining the bibliographic citation. The bibliographic citation is the written description of a book, journal article, essay, or some other published material that appears in a catalog or index. Bibliographic citations characteristically have three main components: author, title, and publication information. These components can help you determine the usefulness of this source for your paper. (In the same way, you can appraise a Web site by examining the home page carefully.)
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I. INITIAL APPRAISAL
A. Author
1.What are the author's credentials--institutional affiliation (where he or she works), educational background, past writings, or experience? Is the book or article written on a topic in the author's area of expertise? You can use the various Who's Who publications for the U.S. and other countries and for specific subjects and the biographical information located in the publication itself to help determine the author's affiliation and credentials.
2.Has your instructor mentioned this author? Have you seen the author's name cited in other sources or bibliographies? Respected authors are cited frequently by other scholars. For this reason, always note those names that appear in many different sources.
3.Is the author associated with a reputable institution or organization? What are the basic values or goals of the organization or institution?
B. Date of Publication
1.When was the source published? This date is often located on the face of the title page below the name of the publisher. If it is not there, look for the copyright date on the reverse of the title page. On Web pages, the date of the last revision is usually at the bottom of the home page, sometimes every page.
2.Is the source current or out-of-date for your topic? Topic areas of continuing and rapid development, such as the sciences, demand more current information. On the other hand, topics in the humanities often require material that was written many years ago. At the other extreme, some news sources on the Web now note the hour and minute that articles are posted on their site.
C. Edition or Revision
Is this a first edition of this publication or not? Further editions indicate a source has been revised and updated to reflect changes in knowledge, include omissions, and harmonize with its intended reader's needs. Also, many printings or editions may indicate that the work has become a standard source in the area and is reliable. If you are using a Web source, do the pages indicate revision dates?
D. Publisher
Note the publisher. If the source is published by a university press, it is likely to be scholarly. Although the fact that the publisher is reputable does not necessarily guarantee quality, it does show that the publisher may have high regard for the source being published.
E. Title of Journal
Is this a scholarly or a popular journal? This distinction is important because it indicates different levels of complexity in conveying ideas. If you need help in determining the type of journal, see Distinguishing Scholarly from Non-Scholarly Periodicals. Or you may wish to check your journal title in the latest edition of Katz's Magazines for Libraries (Olin Ref Z 6941 .K21, shelved at the reference desk) for a brief evaluative description.
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II. CONTENT ANALYSIS
Having made an initial appraisal, you should now examine the body of the source. Read the preface to determine the author's intentions for the book. Scan the table of contents and the index to get a broad overview of the material it covers. Note whether bibliographies are included. Read the chapters that specifically address your topic. Scanning the table of contents of a journal or magazine issue is also useful. As with books, the presence and quality of a bibliography at the end of the article may reflect the care with which the authors have prepared their work.
A. Intended Audience
What type of audience is the author addressing? Is the publication aimed at a specialized or a general audience? Is this source too elementary, too technical, too advanced, or just right for your needs?
B. Objective Reasoning
1.Is the information covered fact, opinion, or propaganda? It is not always easy to separate fact from opinion. Facts can usually be verified; opinions, though they may be based on factual information, evolve from the interpretation of facts. Skilled writers can make you think their interpretations are facts.
2.Does the information appear to be valid and well-researched, or is it questionable and unsupported by evidence? Assumptions should be reasonable. Note errors or omissions.
3.Are the ideas and arguments advanced more or less in line with other works you have read on the same topic? The more radically an author departs from the views of others in the same field, the more carefully and critically you should scrutinize his or her ideas.
4.Is the author's point of view objective and impartial? Is the language free of emotion-arousing words and bias?
C. Coverage
1.Does the work update other sources, substantiate other materials you have read, or add new information? Does it extensively or marginally cover your topic? You should explore enough sources to obtain a variety of viewpoints.
2.Is the material primary or secondary in nature? Primary sources are the raw material of the research process. Secondary sources are based on primary sources. For example, if you were researching Konrad Adenauer's role in rebuilding West Germany after World War II, Adenauer's own writings would be one of many primary sources available on this topic. Others might include relevant government documents and contemporary German newspaper articles. Scholars use this primary material to help generate historical interpretations--a secondary source. Books, encyclopedia articles, and scholarly journal articles about Adenauer's role are considered secondary sources. In the sciences, journal articles and conference proceedings written by experimenters reporting the results of their research are primary documents. Choose both primary and secondary sources when you have the opportunity.
D. Writing Style
Is the publication organized logically? Are the main points clearly presented? Do you find the text easy to read, or is it stilted or choppy? Is the author's argument repetitive?
E. Evaluative Reviews
1.Locate critical reviews of books in a reviewing source, such as Book Review Index, Book Review Digest, OR ProQuest Research Library. Is the review positive? Is the book under review considered a valuable contribution to the field? Does the reviewer mention other books that might be better? If so, locate these sources for more information on your topic.
2.Do the various reviewers agree on the value or attributes of the book or has it aroused controversy among the critics?
3.For Web sites, consider consulting one of the evaluation and reviewing sources on the Internet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRODUCTION
You can begin evaluating a physical information source (a book or an article for instance) even before you have the physical item in hand. Appraise a source by first examining the bibliographic citation. The bibliographic citation is the written description of a book, journal article, essay, or some other published material that appears in a catalog or index. Bibliographic citations characteristically have three main components: author, title, and publication information. These components can help you determine the usefulness of this source for your paper. (In the same way, you can appraise a Web site by examining the home page carefully.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. INITIAL APPRAISAL
A. Author
1.What are the author's credentials--institutional affiliation (where he or she works), educational background, past writings, or experience? Is the book or article written on a topic in the author's area of expertise? You can use the various Who's Who publications for the U.S. and other countries and for specific subjects and the biographical information located in the publication itself to help determine the author's affiliation and credentials.
2.Has your instructor mentioned this author? Have you seen the author's name cited in other sources or bibliographies? Respected authors are cited frequently by other scholars. For this reason, always note those names that appear in many different sources.
3.Is the author associated with a reputable institution or organization? What are the basic values or goals of the organization or institution?
B. Date of Publication
1.When was the source published? This date is often located on the face of the title page below the name of the publisher. If it is not there, look for the copyright date on the reverse of the title page. On Web pages, the date of the last revision is usually at the bottom of the home page, sometimes every page.
2.Is the source current or out-of-date for your topic? Topic areas of continuing and rapid development, such as the sciences, demand more current information. On the other hand, topics in the humanities often require material that was written many years ago. At the other extreme, some news sources on the Web now note the hour and minute that articles are posted on their site.
C. Edition or Revision
Is this a first edition of this publication or not? Further editions indicate a source has been revised and updated to reflect changes in knowledge, include omissions, and harmonize with its intended reader's needs. Also, many printings or editions may indicate that the work has become a standard source in the area and is reliable. If you are using a Web source, do the pages indicate revision dates?
D. Publisher
Note the publisher. If the source is published by a university press, it is likely to be scholarly. Although the fact that the publisher is reputable does not necessarily guarantee quality, it does show that the publisher may have high regard for the source being published.
E. Title of Journal
Is this a scholarly or a popular journal? This distinction is important because it indicates different levels of complexity in conveying ideas. If you need help in determining the type of journal, see Distinguishing Scholarly from Non-Scholarly Periodicals. Or you may wish to check your journal title in the latest edition of Katz's Magazines for Libraries (Olin Ref Z 6941 .K21, shelved at the reference desk) for a brief evaluative description.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. CONTENT ANALYSIS
Having made an initial appraisal, you should now examine the body of the source. Read the preface to determine the author's intentions for the book. Scan the table of contents and the index to get a broad overview of the material it covers. Note whether bibliographies are included. Read the chapters that specifically address your topic. Scanning the table of contents of a journal or magazine issue is also useful. As with books, the presence and quality of a bibliography at the end of the article may reflect the care with which the authors have prepared their work.
A. Intended Audience
What type of audience is the author addressing? Is the publication aimed at a specialized or a general audience? Is this source too elementary, too technical, too advanced, or just right for your needs?
B. Objective Reasoning
1.Is the information covered fact, opinion, or propaganda? It is not always easy to separate fact from opinion. Facts can usually be verified; opinions, though they may be based on factual information, evolve from the interpretation of facts. Skilled writers can make you think their interpretations are facts.
2.Does the information appear to be valid and well-researched, or is it questionable and unsupported by evidence? Assumptions should be reasonable. Note errors or omissions.
3.Are the ideas and arguments advanced more or less in line with other works you have read on the same topic? The more radically an author departs from the views of others in the same field, the more carefully and critically you should scrutinize his or her ideas.
4.Is the author's point of view objective and impartial? Is the language free of emotion-arousing words and bias?
C. Coverage
1.Does the work update other sources, substantiate other materials you have read, or add new information? Does it extensively or marginally cover your topic? You should explore enough sources to obtain a variety of viewpoints.
2.Is the material primary or secondary in nature? Primary sources are the raw material of the research process. Secondary sources are based on primary sources. For example, if you were researching Konrad Adenauer's role in rebuilding West Germany after World War II, Adenauer's own writings would be one of many primary sources available on this topic. Others might include relevant government documents and contemporary German newspaper articles. Scholars use this primary material to help generate historical interpretations--a secondary source. Books, encyclopedia articles, and scholarly journal articles about Adenauer's role are considered secondary sources. In the sciences, journal articles and conference proceedings written by experimenters reporting the results of their research are primary documents. Choose both primary and secondary sources when you have the opportunity.
D. Writing Style
Is the publication organized logically? Are the main points clearly presented? Do you find the text easy to read, or is it stilted or choppy? Is the author's argument repetitive?
E. Evaluative Reviews
1.Locate critical reviews of books in a reviewing source, such as Book Review Index, Book Review Digest, OR ProQuest Research Library. Is the review positive? Is the book under review considered a valuable contribution to the field? Does the reviewer mention other books that might be better? If so, locate these sources for more information on your topic.
2.Do the various reviewers agree on the value or attributes of the book or has it aroused controversy among the critics?
3.For Web sites, consider consulting one of the evaluation and reviewing sources on the Internet.
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Quotes and Paraphrasing
Integration of Quotes:
It is important to make a smooth transition from your own words to those of another source. Never simply drop a quotation into a paragraph. A quotation can never stand in a sentence by itself without an introduction. For example:
WRONG: T.S. Eliot, in his "Talent and the Individual," uses gender-specific language. "No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists" (Eliot 29).
In this example, the reader is not prepared for the quote and will become confused as a result.
To avoid dropping quotes in, use signal phrases. These are phrases which precede the quotation. They may include the author’s name and a verb (argues, compares, suggests, demonstrates, points out, etc.). An example is the following:
RIGHT: T.S. Eliot, in his "Talent and the Individual," uses gender-specific language. He argues, for instance, that "no poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists" (Eliot 29).
One could also incorporate a colon into the sentence to integrate the quote properly.
ALSO RIGHT: T.S. Eliot, in his "Talent and the Individual," uses gender-specific language: "No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists" (Eliot 29).
The above examples will be easier for the reader to understand as you are making it clear that the quotation is coming from that specific source.
It may not always be necessary to use an entire passage to prove your point. To use only a phrase you must weave the quote into your own sentence.
RIGHT: I find it striking that though "women novelists have probably dominated American literature since the middle of the nineteenth century," our literary tradition is still incredibly gender specific (Schweickart 201).
Paraphrasing:
In some cases one can avoid direct quotation by paraphrasing the quote--that is, by restating what the author says in one’s own words (not looking at the quote when you are paraphrasing may help with this). To avoid plagiarism, you must be sure to (a) use your own words whenever you don't use quotation marks or block a quote and (b) cite your sources, especially if the ideas or information you are paraphrasing are not common knowledge, are specific to that author, or include specific numbers or other very specific information. When in doubt, cite the source.
Always cite the source of the paraphrased material. Just because it is in your own words does not make it your intellectual property. To not cite would be plagiarism.
An example:
RIGHT: Shweickart points out that women have had a strong voice in literature since the middle of the nineteenth century. As a result, it is striking that our literary tradition is still so gender specific (Schweickart 209).
It is important to make a smooth transition from your own words to those of another source. Never simply drop a quotation into a paragraph. A quotation can never stand in a sentence by itself without an introduction. For example:
WRONG: T.S. Eliot, in his "Talent and the Individual," uses gender-specific language. "No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists" (Eliot 29).
In this example, the reader is not prepared for the quote and will become confused as a result.
To avoid dropping quotes in, use signal phrases. These are phrases which precede the quotation. They may include the author’s name and a verb (argues, compares, suggests, demonstrates, points out, etc.). An example is the following:
RIGHT: T.S. Eliot, in his "Talent and the Individual," uses gender-specific language. He argues, for instance, that "no poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists" (Eliot 29).
One could also incorporate a colon into the sentence to integrate the quote properly.
ALSO RIGHT: T.S. Eliot, in his "Talent and the Individual," uses gender-specific language: "No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists" (Eliot 29).
The above examples will be easier for the reader to understand as you are making it clear that the quotation is coming from that specific source.
It may not always be necessary to use an entire passage to prove your point. To use only a phrase you must weave the quote into your own sentence.
RIGHT: I find it striking that though "women novelists have probably dominated American literature since the middle of the nineteenth century," our literary tradition is still incredibly gender specific (Schweickart 201).
Paraphrasing:
In some cases one can avoid direct quotation by paraphrasing the quote--that is, by restating what the author says in one’s own words (not looking at the quote when you are paraphrasing may help with this). To avoid plagiarism, you must be sure to (a) use your own words whenever you don't use quotation marks or block a quote and (b) cite your sources, especially if the ideas or information you are paraphrasing are not common knowledge, are specific to that author, or include specific numbers or other very specific information. When in doubt, cite the source.
Always cite the source of the paraphrased material. Just because it is in your own words does not make it your intellectual property. To not cite would be plagiarism.
An example:
RIGHT: Shweickart points out that women have had a strong voice in literature since the middle of the nineteenth century. As a result, it is striking that our literary tradition is still so gender specific (Schweickart 209).
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
"From Ziegfield Follies"
"There is a glittery vision rising from New York City."
"Zeigfield Follies was a sort of porn show of the times"
"There was a certain look that all the showgirls possesed.'
"There was mention of a black woman in the essay. What do you feel she represented."
"Zeigfield Follies was a sort of porn show of the times"
"There was a certain look that all the showgirls possesed.'
"There was mention of a black woman in the essay. What do you feel she represented."
Friday, October 7, 2011
The Use of Articles
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/2/1/12
Articles
Articles
First the good news:There are only three articles in English: a, an and the.
There are two types of articles indefinite 'a' and 'an' or definite 'the'. You also need to know when not to use an article.
.
Indefinite articles - a and an (determiners)
A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person you are communicating with.
A and an are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before:-
For example:
"I saw an elephant this morning."
"I ate a banana for lunch."
A and an are also used when talking about your profession:-
For example:
"I am an English teacher."
"I am a builder."
Note! You use a when the noun you are referring to begins with a consonant (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y or z), for example, "a city", "a factory", and "a hotel".
You use an when the noun you are referring to begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)
Definite Article - the (determiners)
There are two ways to pronounce "the". One "thuh" and the other "thee". To learn when we use them see the pronunciation files: How to pronounce "the".
Strong pronunciation Weak pronunciation
You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing you are talking about.
For example:
"The apple you ate was rotten."
"Did you lock the car?"
You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.
For example:
"She's got two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen."
We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.
For example:
the North Pole, the equator
We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas
For example:
the Nile, the Pacific, the English channel
We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.
For example:
the rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the White House etc..
However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.
For example:
"I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing."
"What are your plans for the future?" / "She has a promising future ahead of her."
The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc. In this use, 'the' is usually given strong pronunciation:
For example:
"Harry's Bar is the place to go."
"You don't mean you met the Tony Blair, do you?"
!Note - The doesn't mean all:-
For example:
"The books are expensive." = (Not all books are expensive, just the ones I'm talking about.)
"Books are expensive." = (All books are expensive.)
No articleWe usually use no article to talk about things in general:-
Inflation is rising.
People are worried about rising crime. (Note! People generally, so no article)
You do not use an article when talking about sports.
For example:
My son plays football.
Tennis is expensive.
You do not use an article before uncountable nouns when talking about them generally.
For example:
Information is important to any organisation.
Coffee is bad for you.
You do not use an article before the names of countries except where they indicate multiple areas or contain the words (state(s), kindom, republic, union). Kingdom, state, republic and union are nouns, so they need an article.
For example:
No article - Italy, Mexico, Bolivia, England
Use the - the UK (United Kingdom), the USA (United States of America), the Irish Republic
Multiple areas! the Netherlands, the Philippines, the British Isles
Unnecessary Tense Shifts
Selecting a jury was very difficult. The lawyers ask many questions to discover bias and prejudice; sometimes the prospective jurors had the ideas they are acting in a play.
Selecting a jury was very difficult. The lawyers asked many questions to discover bias and prejudice; sometimes the prospective jurors had the idea they were acting in a play.
Selecting a jury was very difficult. The lawyers asked many questions to discover bias and prejudice; sometimes the prospective jurors had the idea they were acting in a play.
Writing Effective Thesis Statements
Writing Effective Thesis Statements
What Is a Thesis Statement?
* A “mini argument”
* A sentence or two that briefly describes the main idea of your paper and the main argument that you are trying to make
* Offers your readers a quick preview of what your paper is going to be about
* Makes an argumentative assertion
* Focuses your paper on a very specific, debatable point
* Gives your audience guidance about the conclusions you draw in the paper
* In some kinds of writing, such as narratives or descriptions, a thesis statement is less important, but you may still want to provide some kind of statement that helps to guide your reader through your paper
How Should I Write a Thesis Statement?
The structure and nature of your thesis statement will depend on the type of paper you are writing, so there’s not really a trick to thesis statements that works every time. However, below you will find some strategies that will help you develop strong thesis statements.
* Claim + Reason = Thesis Statement
This is an easy formula to remember to help you ensure that you have included both elements of the thesis statement. The claim is the assertion or main idea that you are making. Then, you will want to make sure you that you include the reason or support for that claim. A nice word to substitute for the + part of the equation is “because.” You don’t have to use this exact word or this style every time, but it often works quite well.
Example: You might be writing a paper on sexist language in textbooks and state this thesis: “Sexist language in college textbooks is harmful.” This is a good start and makes clear the claim part of your thesis. However, to make it more powerful and specific, try adding in the “because clause” and reason: “Sexist language in college textbooks is harmful because it reinforces negative stereotypes about many groups and individuals.” The section of the sentence after “because” makes clear the reason to support your claim, so you now have claim + reason = thesis statement.
* The Working Thesis Statement
The best thesis statements will evolve as your paper progresses, so try using a “working thesis statement.” Have a basic idea of your thesis statement before you begin writing your paper, but be willing to change and revise it as your paper changes. Often, the conclusion you draw before starting a paper may be different than the conclusion you make after you research and write your paper. This is a good thing—it means that you learned something during the writing process!
Example: Before you being the writing process, you might have this working thesis statement: “Many women suffer from eating disorders.” While this is a good start on your thesis, it needs more work and more complexity. Thus, after researching this issue and writing about it, you might have the following thesis in your final draft: “Magazine ads and commercials can ultimately influence how women see themselves and how they behave and can lead to harmful behaviors such as eating disorders.”
* The “So What” Question
Many times, writers will write what they think is a powerful thesis statement and, in fact, that statement makes no real argumentative assertion. This means that your reader may ask “so what?”
Example: You might state, “Many people in the world are victims of stereotyping.” While this may be a true statement, as a reader, I would ask, “so what?” What is so important or problematic about the fact that people are stereotyped? What more can you add to your conclusion or argument to make it more interesting and more complex?
A better thesis statement might be something like this: “Prejudgments are harmful because they limit the lives of the stereotyped individual and the person doing the stereotyping.”
Where Should I Place My Thesis Statement?
* A thesis statement does not have to be placed at the end of your introductory paragraph.
* The reason many writers place their thesis statements in the introductory paragraph is because: 1) it engages the audience in your argument early on, 2) it sets forth the plan or direction of your paper, and 3) it makes clear how the argument will be organized.
* A thesis statement can be situated anywhere in your paper, depending on the style and structure of your writing.
* Many writers prefer the “delayed thesis statement,” which means you delay your stating your thesis until later in your paper, sometimes until the conclusion. This method allows you to take your readers through your system of logic and leads them to draw a conclusion at the same time you do in your paper. However, as a writer, if you use this style, you must still know early on in your paper what conclusions you will draw—you just might not state the conclusion so early on in your paper.
* Regardless, keep in mind that your thesis can appear anywhere in your paper—just make sure you have given careful thought to why you placed the thesis where you did.
What Should a Thesis Statement Accomplish?
For the writer, the thesis statement:
* Serves as a planning tool.
* Helps the writer determine the paper’s real focus and clarify the relationship between idea.
* Becomes a hook on which the writer can “hang” the sub-theses or the topic sentences that present evidence in support of the argument.
* Anticipates questions about the topic and provides the unifying thread between pieces of information.
For the reader, the thesis statement:
* Serves as a “map” to follow through the paper.
* Prepares the reader to read.
* Keeps the reader focused on the argument
* Helps the reader spot the main ideas.
* Engages the reader in the argument.
* Offers enough detail for your reader to grasp your argument.
Thus, a thesis statement:
* Makes an argumentative assertion about a topic; it states the conclusions that you have reached about your topic.
* Makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper.
* Is focused and specific enough to be “proven” within the boundaries of your paper.
* Identifies the relationship between the pieces of evidence that you are using to support your argument.
* Can appear anywhere in your paper, but you must have a good reason for the placement of your thesis statement.
What Is a Thesis Statement?
* A “mini argument”
* A sentence or two that briefly describes the main idea of your paper and the main argument that you are trying to make
* Offers your readers a quick preview of what your paper is going to be about
* Makes an argumentative assertion
* Focuses your paper on a very specific, debatable point
* Gives your audience guidance about the conclusions you draw in the paper
* In some kinds of writing, such as narratives or descriptions, a thesis statement is less important, but you may still want to provide some kind of statement that helps to guide your reader through your paper
How Should I Write a Thesis Statement?
The structure and nature of your thesis statement will depend on the type of paper you are writing, so there’s not really a trick to thesis statements that works every time. However, below you will find some strategies that will help you develop strong thesis statements.
* Claim + Reason = Thesis Statement
This is an easy formula to remember to help you ensure that you have included both elements of the thesis statement. The claim is the assertion or main idea that you are making. Then, you will want to make sure you that you include the reason or support for that claim. A nice word to substitute for the + part of the equation is “because.” You don’t have to use this exact word or this style every time, but it often works quite well.
Example: You might be writing a paper on sexist language in textbooks and state this thesis: “Sexist language in college textbooks is harmful.” This is a good start and makes clear the claim part of your thesis. However, to make it more powerful and specific, try adding in the “because clause” and reason: “Sexist language in college textbooks is harmful because it reinforces negative stereotypes about many groups and individuals.” The section of the sentence after “because” makes clear the reason to support your claim, so you now have claim + reason = thesis statement.
* The Working Thesis Statement
The best thesis statements will evolve as your paper progresses, so try using a “working thesis statement.” Have a basic idea of your thesis statement before you begin writing your paper, but be willing to change and revise it as your paper changes. Often, the conclusion you draw before starting a paper may be different than the conclusion you make after you research and write your paper. This is a good thing—it means that you learned something during the writing process!
Example: Before you being the writing process, you might have this working thesis statement: “Many women suffer from eating disorders.” While this is a good start on your thesis, it needs more work and more complexity. Thus, after researching this issue and writing about it, you might have the following thesis in your final draft: “Magazine ads and commercials can ultimately influence how women see themselves and how they behave and can lead to harmful behaviors such as eating disorders.”
* The “So What” Question
Many times, writers will write what they think is a powerful thesis statement and, in fact, that statement makes no real argumentative assertion. This means that your reader may ask “so what?”
Example: You might state, “Many people in the world are victims of stereotyping.” While this may be a true statement, as a reader, I would ask, “so what?” What is so important or problematic about the fact that people are stereotyped? What more can you add to your conclusion or argument to make it more interesting and more complex?
A better thesis statement might be something like this: “Prejudgments are harmful because they limit the lives of the stereotyped individual and the person doing the stereotyping.”
Where Should I Place My Thesis Statement?
* A thesis statement does not have to be placed at the end of your introductory paragraph.
* The reason many writers place their thesis statements in the introductory paragraph is because: 1) it engages the audience in your argument early on, 2) it sets forth the plan or direction of your paper, and 3) it makes clear how the argument will be organized.
* A thesis statement can be situated anywhere in your paper, depending on the style and structure of your writing.
* Many writers prefer the “delayed thesis statement,” which means you delay your stating your thesis until later in your paper, sometimes until the conclusion. This method allows you to take your readers through your system of logic and leads them to draw a conclusion at the same time you do in your paper. However, as a writer, if you use this style, you must still know early on in your paper what conclusions you will draw—you just might not state the conclusion so early on in your paper.
* Regardless, keep in mind that your thesis can appear anywhere in your paper—just make sure you have given careful thought to why you placed the thesis where you did.
What Should a Thesis Statement Accomplish?
For the writer, the thesis statement:
* Serves as a planning tool.
* Helps the writer determine the paper’s real focus and clarify the relationship between idea.
* Becomes a hook on which the writer can “hang” the sub-theses or the topic sentences that present evidence in support of the argument.
* Anticipates questions about the topic and provides the unifying thread between pieces of information.
For the reader, the thesis statement:
* Serves as a “map” to follow through the paper.
* Prepares the reader to read.
* Keeps the reader focused on the argument
* Helps the reader spot the main ideas.
* Engages the reader in the argument.
* Offers enough detail for your reader to grasp your argument.
Thus, a thesis statement:
* Makes an argumentative assertion about a topic; it states the conclusions that you have reached about your topic.
* Makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper.
* Is focused and specific enough to be “proven” within the boundaries of your paper.
* Identifies the relationship between the pieces of evidence that you are using to support your argument.
* Can appear anywhere in your paper, but you must have a good reason for the placement of your thesis statement.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Making an essay outline
How to Make and Use an Essay Outline
An essay outline is probably the most important friend you will have while writing your essay. It is the scaffolding of your paper and the skeleton of your ideas. It is the framework by which you will write a killer essay. And frankly, it is difficult to write one without an outline.
When you begin writing an essay outline, use the following model as a guide:
I. INTRODUCTION:
•Thesis:
II. BODY PARAGRAPH 1:
•Opening Sentence: _______________________________________.
•Detail 1:____________________________________________________.
•Detail 2:____________________________________________________.
•Detail 3:____________________________________________________.
__.
lll•Transition/Opening Sentence: _________________________________.
•Detail 1:____________________________________________________.
•Detail 2:____________________________________________________.
•Detail 3:____________________________________________________.
lV BODY PARAGRAPH IV:
•Transition/Opening Sentence:_________________________________.
•Detail 1:____________________________________________________.
•Detail 2:____________________________________________________.
•Detail 3:____________________________________________________.
VI. CONCLUSION:
•Reconfirmed Thesis:___In conclusion, the treatment by the store detective for a petty crime by an errant school girl was too harsh.______________________________________.
If you use this rough guide and fill in the blanks as you are researching your essay, you will find writing the essay so simple. You have all you need in front of you. It is researched and organized. All you have to do now is fill in the blanks with transition words and smooth language.
An essay outline is probably the most important friend you will have while writing your essay. It is the scaffolding of your paper and the skeleton of your ideas. It is the framework by which you will write a killer essay. And frankly, it is difficult to write one without an outline.
When you begin writing an essay outline, use the following model as a guide:
I. INTRODUCTION:
•Thesis:
II. BODY PARAGRAPH 1:
•Opening Sentence: _______________________________________.
•Detail 1:____________________________________________________.
•Detail 2:____________________________________________________.
•Detail 3:____________________________________________________.
__.
lll•Transition/Opening Sentence: _________________________________.
•Detail 1:____________________________________________________.
•Detail 2:____________________________________________________.
•Detail 3:____________________________________________________.
lV BODY PARAGRAPH IV:
•Transition/Opening Sentence:_________________________________.
•Detail 1:____________________________________________________.
•Detail 2:____________________________________________________.
•Detail 3:____________________________________________________.
VI. CONCLUSION:
•Reconfirmed Thesis:___In conclusion, the treatment by the store detective for a petty crime by an errant school girl was too harsh.______________________________________.
If you use this rough guide and fill in the blanks as you are researching your essay, you will find writing the essay so simple. You have all you need in front of you. It is researched and organized. All you have to do now is fill in the blanks with transition words and smooth language.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Thesis Paper Sample
SPECIAL NOTES: The assignment for this thesis paper required descriptions of the author's personal experiences as examples supporting her basic argument. She uses the first-person "I" in this personal thesis essay.
Alcohol: Emotionally Life Altering
by
Maureen Hoye
Introduction
Drinking alcohol before the age of eighteen is not healthy. I am not speaking of the physical damage that it may cause, but rather the emotional turmoil that may occur. Consequences are always inevitable and may change a person’s life forever. To drink underage because it is seen as “cool” is not reason enough to risk changing one’s life forever.
Consequences Involving Adults
First, drinking before the age of eighteen brings emotional consequences involving parents, teachers, and other adults, along with the possibilities of getting in trouble with the law. Once the choice to drink while underage is made, it opens life up to more difficult decisions later on.
For example, one Saturday night in the middle of winter, we planned a party on Buck Hill. We called such events “kegger parties” while I was in high school: a social interaction for those who wanted to drink and could go where the beer was available. We partied until the keg was gone, and all the rest of the alcohol that was around was cashed. I could not drive home; I could barely climb the hill to the car, much less drive. I got home safely anyway, and before curfew. I was freezing, though, and I thought, “What better way is there to warm up but with a hot bath?” I made it past Mom and Dad, stumbled up the stairs, and started my bath.
The next thing I knew, my mom was shaking me awake. I discovered I had passed out in the bathtub—so much for making it past Mom and Dad. I got in a lot of trouble. I definitely learned from the experience.
Ability to Remain Safe from Others
Second, drinking alcohol may affect people’s ability to make sound decisions affecting themselves emotionally. While under the influence of alcohol, most people find their ability to think rationally leaves them, especially those who are under age and are not prepared for the feelings alcohol can bring out. A decision given to us to make while drunk may have a negative emotional outcome, compared to the outcome from making that decision while we are sober.
For example, I was at a club dancing with my friends on a Sunday night. We found some guys willing to buy our drinks, even though we were under age. So we danced and flirted with the guys and they continued to buy us drinks. They had other plans on their mind, ones that we were not ready to satisfy. With each drink they bought us, our ability to realize what the guys truly wanted decreased.
Luckily enough, we had a friend, the driver, who was sober, and watched our backs. If it had not been for her ability to make a clear decision, I would hate to think about what would have happened, and the emotional consequences.
Life-Altering Events
Third, other people’s lives can change emotionally forever by someone of any age who gets drunk. The type of change depends on how everyone affected makes his or her decisions. However, whether in a good or a bad way, the change may influence people’s lives forever.
For example, a drunk driver hit my sister in-law, nephew, and niece. They were simply driving home from daycare in the middle of the afternoon. The drunk driver thought the stop sign did not apply to him. Before my family knew it, they were spinning around a light post. They went to the hospital, and my sister-in-law had to spend the night there. My mom and dad picked up my niece and nephew from the emergency room and brought them to our house, where my sister and I slept downstairs with them to help them feel safe.
They all survived the accident in good health, thankfully. But their lives have been forever changed because of the decision made by the gentleman who drove drunk. I also cannot easily imagine my own life without the event of a drunk driver hitting someone so close to me.
Conclusion
Drinking alcohol at any age impairs a person’s judgment. There is a sound reason that our government, our parents, and the adults in our life have made the decision to have a drinking age and to have that age be twenty-one. Drinking changes people’s lives emotionally, both while they are under the influence and by the decisions of those around them who are drinking. People may make some decisions the same whether under the influence or not. However, some decisions can be changed in an instant when people—ourselves or others—are intoxicated and do not have full control.
Alcohol: Emotionally Life Altering
by
Maureen Hoye
Introduction
Drinking alcohol before the age of eighteen is not healthy. I am not speaking of the physical damage that it may cause, but rather the emotional turmoil that may occur. Consequences are always inevitable and may change a person’s life forever. To drink underage because it is seen as “cool” is not reason enough to risk changing one’s life forever.
Consequences Involving Adults
First, drinking before the age of eighteen brings emotional consequences involving parents, teachers, and other adults, along with the possibilities of getting in trouble with the law. Once the choice to drink while underage is made, it opens life up to more difficult decisions later on.
For example, one Saturday night in the middle of winter, we planned a party on Buck Hill. We called such events “kegger parties” while I was in high school: a social interaction for those who wanted to drink and could go where the beer was available. We partied until the keg was gone, and all the rest of the alcohol that was around was cashed. I could not drive home; I could barely climb the hill to the car, much less drive. I got home safely anyway, and before curfew. I was freezing, though, and I thought, “What better way is there to warm up but with a hot bath?” I made it past Mom and Dad, stumbled up the stairs, and started my bath.
The next thing I knew, my mom was shaking me awake. I discovered I had passed out in the bathtub—so much for making it past Mom and Dad. I got in a lot of trouble. I definitely learned from the experience.
Ability to Remain Safe from Others
Second, drinking alcohol may affect people’s ability to make sound decisions affecting themselves emotionally. While under the influence of alcohol, most people find their ability to think rationally leaves them, especially those who are under age and are not prepared for the feelings alcohol can bring out. A decision given to us to make while drunk may have a negative emotional outcome, compared to the outcome from making that decision while we are sober.
For example, I was at a club dancing with my friends on a Sunday night. We found some guys willing to buy our drinks, even though we were under age. So we danced and flirted with the guys and they continued to buy us drinks. They had other plans on their mind, ones that we were not ready to satisfy. With each drink they bought us, our ability to realize what the guys truly wanted decreased.
Luckily enough, we had a friend, the driver, who was sober, and watched our backs. If it had not been for her ability to make a clear decision, I would hate to think about what would have happened, and the emotional consequences.
Life-Altering Events
Third, other people’s lives can change emotionally forever by someone of any age who gets drunk. The type of change depends on how everyone affected makes his or her decisions. However, whether in a good or a bad way, the change may influence people’s lives forever.
For example, a drunk driver hit my sister in-law, nephew, and niece. They were simply driving home from daycare in the middle of the afternoon. The drunk driver thought the stop sign did not apply to him. Before my family knew it, they were spinning around a light post. They went to the hospital, and my sister-in-law had to spend the night there. My mom and dad picked up my niece and nephew from the emergency room and brought them to our house, where my sister and I slept downstairs with them to help them feel safe.
They all survived the accident in good health, thankfully. But their lives have been forever changed because of the decision made by the gentleman who drove drunk. I also cannot easily imagine my own life without the event of a drunk driver hitting someone so close to me.
Conclusion
Drinking alcohol at any age impairs a person’s judgment. There is a sound reason that our government, our parents, and the adults in our life have made the decision to have a drinking age and to have that age be twenty-one. Drinking changes people’s lives emotionally, both while they are under the influence and by the decisions of those around them who are drinking. People may make some decisions the same whether under the influence or not. However, some decisions can be changed in an instant when people—ourselves or others—are intoxicated and do not have full control.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Reading Quiz Sept 15, 2011
IN THE MAMBO KINGS and in BLACK SPRING describe each author's different view of "beauty in the city" Use quotes from both readings--250 words.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Final Quiz Eng 101
New York can be described as a city of dreams and delusions. Write an essay explaining the statement. Write this in standard essay form. Make sure you engage the text, and have a strong thesis statement.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
NOTES ON WRITING EXHIBITION REVIEWS
JUDY RADUL
NOV. 2000
What is most important is that you write a response which is appropriate to the art you are speaking about. Of course, giving the reader certain information before other points are made makes more sense— for instance a physical description of the work should come before interpretive points, which rely on a knowledge of the physical description of the work.
Remember: reviews are relatively short, make every word count, choose your adjectives and adverbs with great specificity and economy. For example think of the different connotations which arise if you describe a way of working as “traditional” rather than “common” or “usual”. Don’t fall into banality, be interested in the work. You do not have to be “objective” — the reader understands you are putting forth your own opinion—choosing to write about a specific exhibition already indicates a certain investment in it. You should, however, be as informed as possible about the artist, the contemporary and historical art context, the specifics of the work (its topics and particular cultural/social/historical/material references) and the curator and gallery (if this is relevant). Talking to the artist or curator directly is how a majority of reviewers glean important information—however their opinions/intentions are not “the truth” or necessarily more authoritative than your own. Be prepared to spend some time at the gallery, take notes, make sketches, ask for reproductions if they are available, ask if you can take some photographs if you want to refer to these while writing.
Local Context (start your review with some inclusion of Name of Exhibition, Name of Artist, Name of Curator, Location of Exhibition)
“The Sydney art world is notoriously factionalized and combative....For outsiders or new arrivals this generally bitchy atmosphere is both surprising and highly entertaining. It was inevitable that when Anthony Bond, Head Curator of Western Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, opened his long-awaited “BODY” exhibition, it would be met with a response colored by entrenched histories of antagonism and partisanship...” ( David McNeill, Body, Art/Text 60, 1998)
(Physical) description of the work: this doesn’t have to exclude all other descriptive/interpretive language but forefronts a relatively basic description of the art, rather than conceptual interpretation,
Observations, assessments, critiques of the work : the review need not be uniformly “positive” or “negative” in fact the aspect of “judgment” or assessing the “success” of the work might be secondary to a more general outlining or interpretation of the project or aims of the artist. .
JUDY RADUL
NOV. 2000
What is most important is that you write a response which is appropriate to the art you are speaking about. Of course, giving the reader certain information before other points are made makes more sense— for instance a physical description of the work should come before interpretive points, which rely on a knowledge of the physical description of the work.
Remember: reviews are relatively short, make every word count, choose your adjectives and adverbs with great specificity and economy. For example think of the different connotations which arise if you describe a way of working as “traditional” rather than “common” or “usual”. Don’t fall into banality, be interested in the work. You do not have to be “objective” — the reader understands you are putting forth your own opinion—choosing to write about a specific exhibition already indicates a certain investment in it. You should, however, be as informed as possible about the artist, the contemporary and historical art context, the specifics of the work (its topics and particular cultural/social/historical/material references) and the curator and gallery (if this is relevant). Talking to the artist or curator directly is how a majority of reviewers glean important information—however their opinions/intentions are not “the truth” or necessarily more authoritative than your own. Be prepared to spend some time at the gallery, take notes, make sketches, ask for reproductions if they are available, ask if you can take some photographs if you want to refer to these while writing.
Local Context (start your review with some inclusion of Name of Exhibition, Name of Artist, Name of Curator, Location of Exhibition)
“The Sydney art world is notoriously factionalized and combative....For outsiders or new arrivals this generally bitchy atmosphere is both surprising and highly entertaining. It was inevitable that when Anthony Bond, Head Curator of Western Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, opened his long-awaited “BODY” exhibition, it would be met with a response colored by entrenched histories of antagonism and partisanship...” ( David McNeill, Body, Art/Text 60, 1998)
(Physical) description of the work: this doesn’t have to exclude all other descriptive/interpretive language but forefronts a relatively basic description of the art, rather than conceptual interpretation,
Observations, assessments, critiques of the work : the review need not be uniformly “positive” or “negative” in fact the aspect of “judgment” or assessing the “success” of the work might be secondary to a more general outlining or interpretation of the project or aims of the artist. .
Monday, April 25, 2011
Research
Finding Sources
* Gathering Information for Essays which Require Research: Background
* Finding Sources--explanation
* Primary & Secondary Sources
* On-Line(Card) Catalog
* Magazines & Journals
* Indexes & Abstracts
* Newspaper Indexes
* Reference Books
* Library of Congress Subject Heading Index
* Books
* Internet Resources
* Knowledgeable People
* Interlibrary Loan
* Reference Librarian
* Exercise 6: Primary & Secondary Sources
* Exercise 7: Sample Searches
* Ask the writing tutor about your own Search Strategy
Gathering Information for Essays which Require Research: Background
Gathering sources is much more complex than it used to be. For starters, there are more resources available. Secondly, information can be gathered in a number of places. Your primary places for locating sources will be:
* The library
* Other computer sources (CDRoms, etc.)
* The internet/world wide web
The computer in the library usually will have instructions attached to it. Most library systems allow you to search by title, author, or subject headings, and most are cross-referenced. If you know which books you want, or know a specific author who has written books about the field that you are researching, then go ahead and use the title or author categories in the computer. You also may find it very helpful to use the subject heading category, which will offer you more options for the books that might be useful to you in doing your research.
The subject heading category allows you to put in key words that might lead to books in your interest area. Don't limit yourself, though, by putting in words that are too narrow or too broad. If your search words are too narrow, you will not find many sources; on the other hand if they are too broad, you will not find the search useful either.
Key words are words that relate to your topic but are not necessarily in your thesis statement (note that it will be most helpful if you have a clear idea about your topic before you begin this type of research, although research can also help to narrow your thesis). For example, if you are searching for information about women in the Civil War, it would be too broad to enter just "women" and "war." You would find too many sources this way. It might also be too narrow to enter the name of a specific woman--you probably need more historical context. Try key phrases such as "women and Civil War" or "girls and Civil War." You want to find as many books that might be helpful on the subject that you are searching, without providing yourself with so much information that you lose sight of your original topic.
You will also discover that there is another great way to find books that might be helpful to you. As you find books on your topic listed in the computer, you can then track those books down on the shelf. After a few minutes of searching on the computer, you will start to see that certain books have call numbers (the number on the book's spine that tells its location in the library) that are similar. After you finish your work on the computer, ask a reference librarian, or follow the signs on the walls to locate the call numbers that correspond with your books. When you get to the section where your book is located, don't just look at that book. Look around, too. Sometimes you will find great resources that you were unaware of just by looking on the shelf. Because libraries are generally organized by topic, you can often find some real "gems" this way. Also check the index in the front or the back of the book (the one in the back is always more detailed, but not all books have one) to be sure that the information you are looking for is in the book. A book can have a great title, but no information. On the other hand, a book that doesn't seem to go along with what you are doing can turn out to have a lot of usable information.
Books are generally a great resource--they often contain a lot of information gathered into one place, and they can give you a more thorough investigation of your topic. As you are reading a book, journal article, or newspaper article, you should keep the following questions in mind, which will help you understand how useful the book will be to you.
1. Is the book or article biased in a particular way? For instance, is the book or article written by a person who is a member of a particular religious group, or a particular environmental group, for example, which would "color" their interpretation?
2. Does the author agree or disagree with my thesis?
3. Is the information presented accurately, to the best of your knowledge? Is the author him/herself using valid sources?
Periodicals
Magazines (including Time or Newsweek) are called periodicals as they are published periodically (weekly, monthly, etc.). When you are doing research in the library, a great place to look for information is a publication called The Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. This is a book which lists, by both author and subject, the names and locations of articles written in that particular year about a particular subject.
Most libraries only keep the most current issues of these magazines on the shelf. The rest are bound together in collections, usually by year. These are usually kept in a separate room (in the basement, to my experience!) where you can go and look at them. Usually, the location is a place called "the stacks," which is where you go to look for periodicals that are older than the current issue. Remember that you can't take these out of the library. If you find articles that you want to take home, you need to photocopy them. Newspaper articles are sometimes in the bound periodicals, but are more often found on microfiche or microfilm.
Make sure to distinguish betwen general interest magazines and professional journals; this is an important distinction in college-level research.
Other computer resources (CDROM, specialized databases etc)
Many libraries today, especially if they are larger libraries, have information available on CDROM or through what are called specialized databases. Be sure to tell a reference librarian what you are working on, and ask her advice on whether or not there is information available on CDROM or through a specialized database.
CDROM's often are put out by groups such as History Societies (there is an entire set on the Civil War, for example). Government documents are currently available on CDROM and often offer updated information (census data, for example). The reference librarian can tell you which CDs might be the most helpful and can help you sign them out and use them.
There are many specialized databases. Some examples are ERIC, the educational database, and Silver Platter, which offers texts of recent articles in particular subjects (yep, the whole article is available right through the computer, which is often less time-consuming than looking through the stacks for it) The American Psychological Association has the titles of articles on specific subjects (psychology, sociology, etc). Sociofile is another example. Ask your reference librarian to see exactly what is available. One good thing about specialized databases is that you already know the source and orientation of the article. You also know that the source is a valid and reputable one. You will need the reference librarian's help getting into specialized databases--most libraries require that the databases have passwords. Warning: Bring your own paper if you plan on doing this type of research! Many libraries allow you to print from the databases, but you must supply your own paper.
Internet/World Wide Web Research
Internet research is another popular option these days. You can research from home if you have internet search capabilities, or you usually can research from the library. Most libraries have internet connections on at least a few computers, although sometimes you need to sign up for them in advance. Even if there doesn't seem to be much of a crowd around, be sure to sign up on the sheet so that you don't have someone come along and try to take your spot.
Internet research can be very rewarding, but it also has its drawbacks. Many libraries have set their computers on a particular search engine, or a service that will conduct the research for you. If you don't find what you are looking for by using one search engine, switch to another (Lycos, Excite, Web Crawler, and HotBot are all good choices).
Internet research can be time consuming. You will need to search much the way you would on the library database computers--simply type in key words or authors or titles, and see what the computer comes up with. Then you will have to read through the list of choices that you are given and see if any of them match what you think you are looking for.
WARNING ABOUT INTERNET AND WORLD WIDE WEB RESEARCH: There are a lot of resources on the internet that are not going to be valuable to you. Part of your internet research will include evaluating the resources that you find. Personal web pages are NOT a good source to go by--they often have incorrect information on them and can be very misleading. Be sure that your internet information is from a recognized source such as the government, an agency that you are sure is a credible source (the Greenpeace web page, for example, or the web page for the National Institute of Health), or a credible news source (CBS, NBC, and ABC all have web pages). A rule of thumb when doing internet research: if you aren't sure whether or not the source is credible, DON'T USE IT!! One good source to help you determine the credibility of online information is available from UCLA: Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources. Check out the Content and Evaluation and Sources and Data sections.
Taking notes, paraphrasing, and quoting
Taking notes is an important part of doing research. Be sure when you take notes that you write down the source that they are from! One way of keeping track is to make yourself a "master list"--a number list of all of the sources that you have. Then, as you are writing down notes, you can just write down the number of that source. A good place to write notes down is on note cards. This way you can take the note cards and organize them later according to the way you want to organize your paper.
While taking notes, also be sure to write down the page number of the information. You will need this later on when you are writing your paper.
What do I take notes on?
Good question. You should take notes on ideas and concepts that you think are important to include in your paper. You also can include supporting examples that you think would be helpful to refer to. You should NOT write the words down exactly as they appear on the page, unless you are putting them in quotations. Otherwise, you might accidentally write them into your paper that way, and that would be plagiarism. Be sure to write down the page number that you are working from in case you want to refer back to it. Click here to learn more about Taking Notes.
Using quotes, or What if I want the exact words?
If you come across a passage in your reading and it seems to you that the author's language is more accurate, more touching, or more informative than you could create, then you should write that sentence down exactly as you see it, with quotation marks around the sentence(s). You must be very careful to record the page number that this information is from, because you will need to include it in your paper. Quotes should not be used terribly often--if your paper is nothing more than a series of quotes strung together (and yes, we have all written those!) then you need to go back and include more of your own information. Click here to see an example and to work more with using quotations.
What about summarizing and paraphrasing?
Summarizing and paraphrasing are similar to quoting in that you are recording the author's ideas. However, when you are summarize or paraphrase, you record ideas as opposed to exact language; the language is yours. Once again, be sure to jot down the page number--you will need it later. Any time you summarize or paraphrase, you MUST acknowledge the source of your information. Not only is it a professional requirement, it is a way to avoid plagiarism. To see an example, read more specific information, and work with exercises, check out Summaries and Paraphrases.
Documentation
Any time that you use information that is not what is considered "common knowledge," you must acknowledge your source. For example, when you paraphrase or quote, you need to indicate to your reader that you got the information from somewhere else. This scholarly practice allows your reader to follow up that source to get more information. You must create what is called a citation in order to acknowledge someone else's ideas. You use parentheses () in your text, and inside the parentheses you put the author's name and the page number (there are several different ways of doing this. You should look at your course guide carefully to determine which format you should be using). Two standard formats, MLA and APA, stand for the Modern Language Association, and the American Psychological Association. Check out more specific information on how to document sources.
Finding Sources
Using sources to support your ideas is one characteristic of the research paper that sets it apart from personal and creative writing. Sources come in many forms, such as magazine and journal articles, books, newspapers, videos, films, computer discussion groups, surveys, or interviews. The trick is to find and then match appropriate, valid sources to your own ideas.
But where do you go to obtain these sources? For college research papers, you will need to use sources available in academic libraries (college or university libraries as opposed to public libraries). Here you will find journals and other texts that go into more depth in a discipline and are therefore more appropriate for college research than those sources written for the general public.
Some, though not all, of these sources are now in electronic format, and may be accessible outside of the library using a computer. The SUNY Empire State College web site includes a useful list of online learning resources.
Primary and Secondary Sources
Primary sources are original, first-hand documents such as creative works, research studies, diaries and letters, or interviews you conduct.
Secondary sources are comments about primary sources such as analyses of creative work or original research, or historical interpretations of diaries and letters.
You can use a combination of primary and secondary sources to answer your research question, depending on the question and the type of sources it requires.
If you're writing a paper on the reasons for a certain personality disorder, you may read an account written by a person with that personality disorder, a case study by a psychiatrist, and a textbook that summarizes a number of case studies. The first-hand account and the psychiatrist's case study are primary sources, written by people who have directly experienced or observed the situation themselves. The textbook is a secondary source, one step removed from the original experience or observation.
For example, if you asked what the sea symbolized in Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea," you'd need to consult the story as a primary source and critics' interpretations of the story as a secondary source.
Exercise 6: Primary and Secondary Sources
On-line Catalog
An on-line catalog has replaced card catalogs in many libraries as a means of listing and indexing what is in the library. You use an on-line catalog the same way you use a card catalog: look up a source by author, title, or subject. (So don't feel intimidated if you haven't yet searched on-line; anyway, the directions are right on the screen.) Most of the searches that you do for a research paper will be subject searches, unless you already know enough about the field to know some standard sources by author or title.
When using an on-line catalog or a card catalog, make sure to jot down the source's name, title, place of publication, publication date, and any other relevant bibliographic information that you will need later on if you choose to use the source in your research paper. Also remember to record the call number, which is the number you use to find the item in the library.
Magazines and Journals
Magazines are written for the general public, so they contain articles that do not present a subject in depth.
Journals are written by and for professionals in various fields and will provide you with in-depth, specific information.
Your professors will expect you to use some journals; in fact, the more advanced your courses are, the more you should be using journal articles in your research (as opposed to magazine articles).
How do you find articles to answer your research question? It's inefficient to go through volumes of magazines and journals, even if you could think of appropriate ones. Most magazine and journal articles are referenced in either an index or an abstract.
Indexes & Abstracts
An index lists magazine or journal articles by subject. Find the correct subject heading or keyword to search for articles. Write down all the information for each article. Check the index's abbreviation key if you can't understand the abbreviations in the entry. Make sure to write down all of the entry's information so you can find the article IF your library carries the magazine or journal. If not, you can use the information to request the article through interlibrary loan.
Specific indices (the "correct" plural of index) exist for journals in just about every field of study (Business Index, Social Science Index, General Science Index, Education Index, and many more), while there's only one major index to general interest magazines (The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature). Many libraries have many of these indices on their on-line systems; check with the reference librarian if you have a question about indices available on-line.
An abstract is like an index with a brief description of the article's content added. You'll soon see that it's great to be researching in a field that has an abstract, since this short explanation can help you make an early decision about the relevance of the article to your research question or working thesis.
A bound, printed abstract takes two steps to use. The first step is the same--find the appropriate subject heading in the index portion and write down all of the information in the entry. Note that the entry will also include a number or some kind of an identifying code. Then use the number or code in the "abstracts" portion to find a description of the type of information that's in the article.
Many libraries have abstracts in CD-ROM form. Because indexes will be accessed in different ways and because the technology is changing so rapidly, follow the on-screen instructions and/or ask the reference librarian.
Again, if an article seems appropriate, write down all of the entry information so you can find the article in your library or through interlibrary loan and so you'll have the information for your works cited or references list at the end of your paper.
Newspaper Indexes
The most commonly used index to newspaper articles is the New York Times Index, organized alphabetically by subject. Find the appropriate subject heading and jot down the information so you can find the article, which is usually on microfilm, unless you're dealing with a very recent issue of the Times. Your local newspaper also may publish an index, which may be useful if you are researching local history or politics.
Reference Books
There are many general reference books that may be useful to your research in a variety of ways.
1. General Encyclopedias (Britannica, Americana, etc.)
2. Specialized Encyclopedias (e.g., music or medical terms)
3. Facts on File, Statistical Abstracts
4. Other reference books
Encyclopedias provide background information about a subject. Note that you should confine your use of encyclopedias to background information only, since their information is too general to function as an appropriate source for a college paper.
Specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries provide background in specific fields (e.g., a dictionary of music terms, a biographical encyclopedia of American authors, explanations of legal terms).
Facts on File and Statistical Abstracts provide brief bits of statistical information that can aid your research. For example, if you're doing on a paper on airline safety since deregulation, it's a safe bet that you can find statistics on airline safety problems in one of these reference books.
Other reference books abound (e.g., Book Review Digest, medical and legal dictionaries, etc.). Take time, at some point, to browse your library's shelves in the reference section to see how many different types of reference books exist and to consider how you may use them. It will be time well spent.
Library of Congress subject Heading Index
The Library of Congress provides an indexing system; most academic libraries index their books using Library of Congress subject headings. The Library of Congress publishes a Subject Heading Index listing all of the subject headings that they use.
Why bother knowing this information? The Subject Heading Index is a good tool for you as a researcher. If you're not getting exactly the right books you need through your on-line subject search, check this index to find the appropriate subject heading to use.
If you are finding too much information, check this index to see at a glance all of the various headings and sub-headings for the subject. You can get an idea of how to narrow down and focus your subject simply by scanning these various headings and sub-headings.
Just note that these subject headings relate to books only. Magazine and journal indexes and abstracts will use their own subject headings (but the Library of Congress headings can at least give you an idea of the types of headings to use).
Books
The important thing to remember here is that, by the time a book is printed, the information is at least a couple of years old. So if you're doing research that requires very recent information, a newspaper, magazine, or journal is your best bet.
If currency is not an issue (and it's not, in many cases), then a book's fuller treatment of a subject is a good choice.
It's also useful to move from virtual cyberspace into actual, physical space and "real time" when you search for books. That means that you should get yourself into the library. Sometimes a look through the stacks (the shelves on which the books are located) will turn up additional information that's relevant to your research question or working thesis.
Internet Resources
The Internet provides access to a lot of information. There are databases with lists of sources (e.g., the ERIC database is a good one to use if you are researching anything dealing with education or the social sciences). The Internet provides access to many on-line catalogs so you can review the types of books available in the field (and carried by that particular library).
The Internet also provides access to a few full-text electronic journals (which means that you can read and print the article right from the screen). Government information (e.g., policy statements, laws, treaties etc.) are also widely available in full-text format.
You can even find other writing resources.
The Internet can link you up with individuals who might have expertise on the topic you are researching. You can find these people by joining electronic discussion groups (newsgroups) or maillists. These forums are usually categorized by topic (e.g., a maillist on ECOLOGY). By posting a question to the group or maillist, you can obtain useful information from knowledgeable people willing to share their expertise.
The one big problem with the Internet is that you sometimes need to sift. . . and sift. . . and sift through it to find exactly what you want. You also have to be critical of what you find, since anyone can post and even change anything that's out there in cyberspace, and you won't necessarily know if someone answering your query is really an expert in the field. But if you persevere, and even if you just play around with it, the Internet can offer some gems of information in a quick, easy way.
Knowledgeable People
Don't underestimate the power of interviewing knowledgeable people as part of your research. For example, if you're researching a topic in local history, consult the town historian or a local resident who experienced what you're researching. People who have "been there" and "done that" can add a real richness to your research. (Who better than a former Olympic athlete to provide information about the emotional effects of athletic competition?)
You can consult knowledgeable people in print as well. If you find one or two names that keep popping up in your research (if others consistently refer to these names and list works by these people in their bibliographies), then you should consult sources by these people, since it's likely that they are considered experts in the field which you are researching.
Interlibrary Loan
If your library doesn't carry the book or journal article that you need, you probably can get that source through interlibrary loan. The one catch is that it may take 3-4 weeks' time to get the source from another library. Starting your research early will assure that you have time to get the sources that you want to consult.
One big tip for using interlibrary loan: the librarian will need full and specific information to order the material. So get in the habit of writing all of the information down as you compile your list of sources. For books, write down the author, title, publisher, place, and date of publication. For articles, write down the article title, journal title, author, volume, date, span of page numbers, and the name, year, and page number of the reference source in which you found the article listed. The library needs this information to order your source.
Reference Librarian
Don't be afraid to approach this person, who really is there to help you.
One big tip for working with a reference librarian: you'll get more help the more specific you are. The librarian will immediately be able to suggest a number of places to look if you tell him that your research question is "Why is smoking being banned in public places?," or if you tell her that your thesis is "Smoking should be banned in the workplace because of health, safety, and economic reasons." On the other hand, if you tell the librarian that you're researching "smoking," you won't get as much direct help because the topic is so vast.
* Gathering Information for Essays which Require Research: Background
* Finding Sources--explanation
* Primary & Secondary Sources
* On-Line(Card) Catalog
* Magazines & Journals
* Indexes & Abstracts
* Newspaper Indexes
* Reference Books
* Library of Congress Subject Heading Index
* Books
* Internet Resources
* Knowledgeable People
* Interlibrary Loan
* Reference Librarian
* Exercise 6: Primary & Secondary Sources
* Exercise 7: Sample Searches
* Ask the writing tutor about your own Search Strategy
Gathering Information for Essays which Require Research: Background
Gathering sources is much more complex than it used to be. For starters, there are more resources available. Secondly, information can be gathered in a number of places. Your primary places for locating sources will be:
* The library
* Other computer sources (CDRoms, etc.)
* The internet/world wide web
The computer in the library usually will have instructions attached to it. Most library systems allow you to search by title, author, or subject headings, and most are cross-referenced. If you know which books you want, or know a specific author who has written books about the field that you are researching, then go ahead and use the title or author categories in the computer. You also may find it very helpful to use the subject heading category, which will offer you more options for the books that might be useful to you in doing your research.
The subject heading category allows you to put in key words that might lead to books in your interest area. Don't limit yourself, though, by putting in words that are too narrow or too broad. If your search words are too narrow, you will not find many sources; on the other hand if they are too broad, you will not find the search useful either.
Key words are words that relate to your topic but are not necessarily in your thesis statement (note that it will be most helpful if you have a clear idea about your topic before you begin this type of research, although research can also help to narrow your thesis). For example, if you are searching for information about women in the Civil War, it would be too broad to enter just "women" and "war." You would find too many sources this way. It might also be too narrow to enter the name of a specific woman--you probably need more historical context. Try key phrases such as "women and Civil War" or "girls and Civil War." You want to find as many books that might be helpful on the subject that you are searching, without providing yourself with so much information that you lose sight of your original topic.
You will also discover that there is another great way to find books that might be helpful to you. As you find books on your topic listed in the computer, you can then track those books down on the shelf. After a few minutes of searching on the computer, you will start to see that certain books have call numbers (the number on the book's spine that tells its location in the library) that are similar. After you finish your work on the computer, ask a reference librarian, or follow the signs on the walls to locate the call numbers that correspond with your books. When you get to the section where your book is located, don't just look at that book. Look around, too. Sometimes you will find great resources that you were unaware of just by looking on the shelf. Because libraries are generally organized by topic, you can often find some real "gems" this way. Also check the index in the front or the back of the book (the one in the back is always more detailed, but not all books have one) to be sure that the information you are looking for is in the book. A book can have a great title, but no information. On the other hand, a book that doesn't seem to go along with what you are doing can turn out to have a lot of usable information.
Books are generally a great resource--they often contain a lot of information gathered into one place, and they can give you a more thorough investigation of your topic. As you are reading a book, journal article, or newspaper article, you should keep the following questions in mind, which will help you understand how useful the book will be to you.
1. Is the book or article biased in a particular way? For instance, is the book or article written by a person who is a member of a particular religious group, or a particular environmental group, for example, which would "color" their interpretation?
2. Does the author agree or disagree with my thesis?
3. Is the information presented accurately, to the best of your knowledge? Is the author him/herself using valid sources?
Periodicals
Magazines (including Time or Newsweek) are called periodicals as they are published periodically (weekly, monthly, etc.). When you are doing research in the library, a great place to look for information is a publication called The Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. This is a book which lists, by both author and subject, the names and locations of articles written in that particular year about a particular subject.
Most libraries only keep the most current issues of these magazines on the shelf. The rest are bound together in collections, usually by year. These are usually kept in a separate room (in the basement, to my experience!) where you can go and look at them. Usually, the location is a place called "the stacks," which is where you go to look for periodicals that are older than the current issue. Remember that you can't take these out of the library. If you find articles that you want to take home, you need to photocopy them. Newspaper articles are sometimes in the bound periodicals, but are more often found on microfiche or microfilm.
Make sure to distinguish betwen general interest magazines and professional journals; this is an important distinction in college-level research.
Other computer resources (CDROM, specialized databases etc)
Many libraries today, especially if they are larger libraries, have information available on CDROM or through what are called specialized databases. Be sure to tell a reference librarian what you are working on, and ask her advice on whether or not there is information available on CDROM or through a specialized database.
CDROM's often are put out by groups such as History Societies (there is an entire set on the Civil War, for example). Government documents are currently available on CDROM and often offer updated information (census data, for example). The reference librarian can tell you which CDs might be the most helpful and can help you sign them out and use them.
There are many specialized databases. Some examples are ERIC, the educational database, and Silver Platter, which offers texts of recent articles in particular subjects (yep, the whole article is available right through the computer, which is often less time-consuming than looking through the stacks for it) The American Psychological Association has the titles of articles on specific subjects (psychology, sociology, etc). Sociofile is another example. Ask your reference librarian to see exactly what is available. One good thing about specialized databases is that you already know the source and orientation of the article. You also know that the source is a valid and reputable one. You will need the reference librarian's help getting into specialized databases--most libraries require that the databases have passwords. Warning: Bring your own paper if you plan on doing this type of research! Many libraries allow you to print from the databases, but you must supply your own paper.
Internet/World Wide Web Research
Internet research is another popular option these days. You can research from home if you have internet search capabilities, or you usually can research from the library. Most libraries have internet connections on at least a few computers, although sometimes you need to sign up for them in advance. Even if there doesn't seem to be much of a crowd around, be sure to sign up on the sheet so that you don't have someone come along and try to take your spot.
Internet research can be very rewarding, but it also has its drawbacks. Many libraries have set their computers on a particular search engine, or a service that will conduct the research for you. If you don't find what you are looking for by using one search engine, switch to another (Lycos, Excite, Web Crawler, and HotBot are all good choices).
Internet research can be time consuming. You will need to search much the way you would on the library database computers--simply type in key words or authors or titles, and see what the computer comes up with. Then you will have to read through the list of choices that you are given and see if any of them match what you think you are looking for.
WARNING ABOUT INTERNET AND WORLD WIDE WEB RESEARCH: There are a lot of resources on the internet that are not going to be valuable to you. Part of your internet research will include evaluating the resources that you find. Personal web pages are NOT a good source to go by--they often have incorrect information on them and can be very misleading. Be sure that your internet information is from a recognized source such as the government, an agency that you are sure is a credible source (the Greenpeace web page, for example, or the web page for the National Institute of Health), or a credible news source (CBS, NBC, and ABC all have web pages). A rule of thumb when doing internet research: if you aren't sure whether or not the source is credible, DON'T USE IT!! One good source to help you determine the credibility of online information is available from UCLA: Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources. Check out the Content and Evaluation and Sources and Data sections.
Taking notes, paraphrasing, and quoting
Taking notes is an important part of doing research. Be sure when you take notes that you write down the source that they are from! One way of keeping track is to make yourself a "master list"--a number list of all of the sources that you have. Then, as you are writing down notes, you can just write down the number of that source. A good place to write notes down is on note cards. This way you can take the note cards and organize them later according to the way you want to organize your paper.
While taking notes, also be sure to write down the page number of the information. You will need this later on when you are writing your paper.
What do I take notes on?
Good question. You should take notes on ideas and concepts that you think are important to include in your paper. You also can include supporting examples that you think would be helpful to refer to. You should NOT write the words down exactly as they appear on the page, unless you are putting them in quotations. Otherwise, you might accidentally write them into your paper that way, and that would be plagiarism. Be sure to write down the page number that you are working from in case you want to refer back to it. Click here to learn more about Taking Notes.
Using quotes, or What if I want the exact words?
If you come across a passage in your reading and it seems to you that the author's language is more accurate, more touching, or more informative than you could create, then you should write that sentence down exactly as you see it, with quotation marks around the sentence(s). You must be very careful to record the page number that this information is from, because you will need to include it in your paper. Quotes should not be used terribly often--if your paper is nothing more than a series of quotes strung together (and yes, we have all written those!) then you need to go back and include more of your own information. Click here to see an example and to work more with using quotations.
What about summarizing and paraphrasing?
Summarizing and paraphrasing are similar to quoting in that you are recording the author's ideas. However, when you are summarize or paraphrase, you record ideas as opposed to exact language; the language is yours. Once again, be sure to jot down the page number--you will need it later. Any time you summarize or paraphrase, you MUST acknowledge the source of your information. Not only is it a professional requirement, it is a way to avoid plagiarism. To see an example, read more specific information, and work with exercises, check out Summaries and Paraphrases.
Documentation
Any time that you use information that is not what is considered "common knowledge," you must acknowledge your source. For example, when you paraphrase or quote, you need to indicate to your reader that you got the information from somewhere else. This scholarly practice allows your reader to follow up that source to get more information. You must create what is called a citation in order to acknowledge someone else's ideas. You use parentheses () in your text, and inside the parentheses you put the author's name and the page number (there are several different ways of doing this. You should look at your course guide carefully to determine which format you should be using). Two standard formats, MLA and APA, stand for the Modern Language Association, and the American Psychological Association. Check out more specific information on how to document sources.
Finding Sources
Using sources to support your ideas is one characteristic of the research paper that sets it apart from personal and creative writing. Sources come in many forms, such as magazine and journal articles, books, newspapers, videos, films, computer discussion groups, surveys, or interviews. The trick is to find and then match appropriate, valid sources to your own ideas.
But where do you go to obtain these sources? For college research papers, you will need to use sources available in academic libraries (college or university libraries as opposed to public libraries). Here you will find journals and other texts that go into more depth in a discipline and are therefore more appropriate for college research than those sources written for the general public.
Some, though not all, of these sources are now in electronic format, and may be accessible outside of the library using a computer. The SUNY Empire State College web site includes a useful list of online learning resources.
Primary and Secondary Sources
Primary sources are original, first-hand documents such as creative works, research studies, diaries and letters, or interviews you conduct.
Secondary sources are comments about primary sources such as analyses of creative work or original research, or historical interpretations of diaries and letters.
You can use a combination of primary and secondary sources to answer your research question, depending on the question and the type of sources it requires.
If you're writing a paper on the reasons for a certain personality disorder, you may read an account written by a person with that personality disorder, a case study by a psychiatrist, and a textbook that summarizes a number of case studies. The first-hand account and the psychiatrist's case study are primary sources, written by people who have directly experienced or observed the situation themselves. The textbook is a secondary source, one step removed from the original experience or observation.
For example, if you asked what the sea symbolized in Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea," you'd need to consult the story as a primary source and critics' interpretations of the story as a secondary source.
Exercise 6: Primary and Secondary Sources
On-line Catalog
An on-line catalog has replaced card catalogs in many libraries as a means of listing and indexing what is in the library. You use an on-line catalog the same way you use a card catalog: look up a source by author, title, or subject. (So don't feel intimidated if you haven't yet searched on-line; anyway, the directions are right on the screen.) Most of the searches that you do for a research paper will be subject searches, unless you already know enough about the field to know some standard sources by author or title.
When using an on-line catalog or a card catalog, make sure to jot down the source's name, title, place of publication, publication date, and any other relevant bibliographic information that you will need later on if you choose to use the source in your research paper. Also remember to record the call number, which is the number you use to find the item in the library.
Magazines and Journals
Magazines are written for the general public, so they contain articles that do not present a subject in depth.
Journals are written by and for professionals in various fields and will provide you with in-depth, specific information.
Your professors will expect you to use some journals; in fact, the more advanced your courses are, the more you should be using journal articles in your research (as opposed to magazine articles).
How do you find articles to answer your research question? It's inefficient to go through volumes of magazines and journals, even if you could think of appropriate ones. Most magazine and journal articles are referenced in either an index or an abstract.
Indexes & Abstracts
An index lists magazine or journal articles by subject. Find the correct subject heading or keyword to search for articles. Write down all the information for each article. Check the index's abbreviation key if you can't understand the abbreviations in the entry. Make sure to write down all of the entry's information so you can find the article IF your library carries the magazine or journal. If not, you can use the information to request the article through interlibrary loan.
Specific indices (the "correct" plural of index) exist for journals in just about every field of study (Business Index, Social Science Index, General Science Index, Education Index, and many more), while there's only one major index to general interest magazines (The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature). Many libraries have many of these indices on their on-line systems; check with the reference librarian if you have a question about indices available on-line.
An abstract is like an index with a brief description of the article's content added. You'll soon see that it's great to be researching in a field that has an abstract, since this short explanation can help you make an early decision about the relevance of the article to your research question or working thesis.
A bound, printed abstract takes two steps to use. The first step is the same--find the appropriate subject heading in the index portion and write down all of the information in the entry. Note that the entry will also include a number or some kind of an identifying code. Then use the number or code in the "abstracts" portion to find a description of the type of information that's in the article.
Many libraries have abstracts in CD-ROM form. Because indexes will be accessed in different ways and because the technology is changing so rapidly, follow the on-screen instructions and/or ask the reference librarian.
Again, if an article seems appropriate, write down all of the entry information so you can find the article in your library or through interlibrary loan and so you'll have the information for your works cited or references list at the end of your paper.
Newspaper Indexes
The most commonly used index to newspaper articles is the New York Times Index, organized alphabetically by subject. Find the appropriate subject heading and jot down the information so you can find the article, which is usually on microfilm, unless you're dealing with a very recent issue of the Times. Your local newspaper also may publish an index, which may be useful if you are researching local history or politics.
Reference Books
There are many general reference books that may be useful to your research in a variety of ways.
1. General Encyclopedias (Britannica, Americana, etc.)
2. Specialized Encyclopedias (e.g., music or medical terms)
3. Facts on File, Statistical Abstracts
4. Other reference books
Encyclopedias provide background information about a subject. Note that you should confine your use of encyclopedias to background information only, since their information is too general to function as an appropriate source for a college paper.
Specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries provide background in specific fields (e.g., a dictionary of music terms, a biographical encyclopedia of American authors, explanations of legal terms).
Facts on File and Statistical Abstracts provide brief bits of statistical information that can aid your research. For example, if you're doing on a paper on airline safety since deregulation, it's a safe bet that you can find statistics on airline safety problems in one of these reference books.
Other reference books abound (e.g., Book Review Digest, medical and legal dictionaries, etc.). Take time, at some point, to browse your library's shelves in the reference section to see how many different types of reference books exist and to consider how you may use them. It will be time well spent.
Library of Congress subject Heading Index
The Library of Congress provides an indexing system; most academic libraries index their books using Library of Congress subject headings. The Library of Congress publishes a Subject Heading Index listing all of the subject headings that they use.
Why bother knowing this information? The Subject Heading Index is a good tool for you as a researcher. If you're not getting exactly the right books you need through your on-line subject search, check this index to find the appropriate subject heading to use.
If you are finding too much information, check this index to see at a glance all of the various headings and sub-headings for the subject. You can get an idea of how to narrow down and focus your subject simply by scanning these various headings and sub-headings.
Just note that these subject headings relate to books only. Magazine and journal indexes and abstracts will use their own subject headings (but the Library of Congress headings can at least give you an idea of the types of headings to use).
Books
The important thing to remember here is that, by the time a book is printed, the information is at least a couple of years old. So if you're doing research that requires very recent information, a newspaper, magazine, or journal is your best bet.
If currency is not an issue (and it's not, in many cases), then a book's fuller treatment of a subject is a good choice.
It's also useful to move from virtual cyberspace into actual, physical space and "real time" when you search for books. That means that you should get yourself into the library. Sometimes a look through the stacks (the shelves on which the books are located) will turn up additional information that's relevant to your research question or working thesis.
Internet Resources
The Internet provides access to a lot of information. There are databases with lists of sources (e.g., the ERIC database is a good one to use if you are researching anything dealing with education or the social sciences). The Internet provides access to many on-line catalogs so you can review the types of books available in the field (and carried by that particular library).
The Internet also provides access to a few full-text electronic journals (which means that you can read and print the article right from the screen). Government information (e.g., policy statements, laws, treaties etc.) are also widely available in full-text format.
You can even find other writing resources.
The Internet can link you up with individuals who might have expertise on the topic you are researching. You can find these people by joining electronic discussion groups (newsgroups) or maillists. These forums are usually categorized by topic (e.g., a maillist on ECOLOGY). By posting a question to the group or maillist, you can obtain useful information from knowledgeable people willing to share their expertise.
The one big problem with the Internet is that you sometimes need to sift. . . and sift. . . and sift through it to find exactly what you want. You also have to be critical of what you find, since anyone can post and even change anything that's out there in cyberspace, and you won't necessarily know if someone answering your query is really an expert in the field. But if you persevere, and even if you just play around with it, the Internet can offer some gems of information in a quick, easy way.
Knowledgeable People
Don't underestimate the power of interviewing knowledgeable people as part of your research. For example, if you're researching a topic in local history, consult the town historian or a local resident who experienced what you're researching. People who have "been there" and "done that" can add a real richness to your research. (Who better than a former Olympic athlete to provide information about the emotional effects of athletic competition?)
You can consult knowledgeable people in print as well. If you find one or two names that keep popping up in your research (if others consistently refer to these names and list works by these people in their bibliographies), then you should consult sources by these people, since it's likely that they are considered experts in the field which you are researching.
Interlibrary Loan
If your library doesn't carry the book or journal article that you need, you probably can get that source through interlibrary loan. The one catch is that it may take 3-4 weeks' time to get the source from another library. Starting your research early will assure that you have time to get the sources that you want to consult.
One big tip for using interlibrary loan: the librarian will need full and specific information to order the material. So get in the habit of writing all of the information down as you compile your list of sources. For books, write down the author, title, publisher, place, and date of publication. For articles, write down the article title, journal title, author, volume, date, span of page numbers, and the name, year, and page number of the reference source in which you found the article listed. The library needs this information to order your source.
Reference Librarian
Don't be afraid to approach this person, who really is there to help you.
One big tip for working with a reference librarian: you'll get more help the more specific you are. The librarian will immediately be able to suggest a number of places to look if you tell him that your research question is "Why is smoking being banned in public places?," or if you tell her that your thesis is "Smoking should be banned in the workplace because of health, safety, and economic reasons." On the other hand, if you tell the librarian that you're researching "smoking," you won't get as much direct help because the topic is so vast.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Poetry at Bunker Hill Community College April 27 6PM
Come join the Bunker Hill Community College Community to celebrate National Poetry Month
The Collyer Brothers of Harlem
The Collyer Brothers of Harlem
By William Bryk
Two years after the Collyers’ arrival, African-Americans began settling in Harlem in large numbers. By 1925, Harlem had been transformed from an upper-middle-class white suburb into the center of African-American life.
But while nearly all the other white folks left, the Collyers did not. Dr. Collyer died in 1923; Mrs. Collyer in 1929. Their sons remained in the mansion. According to Trinity Church’s baptismal records, Homer Collyer was born on Nov. 6, 1881. Langley was about six years younger. Both men graduated from Columbia: Homer, who graduated with the class of 1904, earned an MA, LLB and LLM and practiced admiralty law. Langley took his degree in chemistry and mechanical engineering. He never worked for a living, devoting himself to music.
In 1928-’29, Homer worked in the law office of John McMullen, who would become the family lawyer. Homer then worked for City Title Insurance at 32 Broadway, spending his days researching in the Hall of Records. A former colleague described Homer as an affable, courtly, Dickensian type, with old-fashioned clothing, high collars and elaborate sideburns who wrote with an elegant Spencerian hand.
Langley, who was last photographed in 1946, looked like a stereotype of an aging late Romantic poet, with an old-fashioned bowtie, formal black jacket and vest, gray striped trousers, a long gray mustache and longish hair.
By 1917, the Collyers’ telephone had been disconnected because, as Langley explained, they were "being billed for long distance calls they didn’t make." In 1928, the gas was shut off. The brothers began going without steam heat and hot running water, using kerosene for lighting and cooking. The Encyclopedia of New York City and Jan Morris in Manhattan ’45 claim they had no water or sewer connection; no contemporary sources go that far. Some of the local kids threw stones through their windows and after Langley had spent large sums to replace the glass, he decided it was better to board them up and close the inner shutters.
Most sources agree Homer last appeared in public in 1932. In 1933, he suffered a stroke, with "hemorrhages in both eyes," and went blind. Thereafter, Langley cared for him. They avoided doctors, treating Homer’s illnesses with special diet and rest. Langley said Homer ate 100 oranges a week and treated his eyes by consciously resting them: keeping them closed at all times.
Their solitude was first violated by the press on Aug. 11, 1938, when Helen Worden wrote an article for the World-Telegram about Maurice Gruber, a real estate agent who wanted to buy Collyer property in Queens. When the Collyers did not respond to his letters and then his personal visits, Gruber staked out the house. By the following day, Worden found Charles Collyer, a distant cousin working as a ticket agent for the Long Island Rail Road, who suddenly and conveniently became worried that Homer was dead. Worden’s article was accompanied by photographs posing Charles Collyer and his wife on the front steps of the mansion. Worden called Langley "the mystery man of Harlem." She recapitulated every street rumor that behind the shabby facade was a veritable Arabian Nights’ palace of Chinese rugs, rare antiques and thousands of morocco-bound books, including piles of money Langley was afraid to put in the bank.
She then staked out the mansion herself. One night she caught Langley slipping out to go shopping and began her interview by calling out, "Good evening, Mr. Collyer. The neighbors tell me you keep a row boat in the attic and a Model T in the basement."
Strangely enough, he responded. "Yes and no," Langley replied. The boat, he explained, was his father’s canoe. "He used to carry it to the Harlem River on his head and paddle down to [Bellevue] every morning and back every evening. The auto was his, too. I never got around to putting it together again after he died."
Langley later claimed all his troubles dated from these articles. Jan Morris wrote that "...nobody ever interfered with them it seems, or tried to make them live like everyone else. They were the Collyer Brothers, Harlem’s Most Fascinating Mystery, as the tabloids like to say, and fashionably mysterious they were allowed to remain."
But they were not left alone. As the Daily News wrote, "folks attempted to see for themselves." This phrase is ambiguous. The clippings on the Collyers leave a strong impression that from the late 30s, nosy neighbors knocked on the door, nasty kids threw rocks at the house, broke their fence and smashed bottles in their front yard, and reporters kept interviewing obscure relatives on the steps of the house, expressing concern over poor cousins Homer and Langley.
Another story quoted a neighbor describing Langley as "the ghosty man... He did have a brother, Homer, but nobody’s seen him in a long while. They ain’t seen his ma, either. She was s’pose to be dead, but she never had a funeral... He’s like haunts in graveyards, he don’ come out before midnight."
Langley panicked. Though gloomy, the house had not been messy in 1938. By 1942, Langley had singlehandedly accumulated vast quantities of newspaper, cartons, tin cans and other refuse, transforming the mansion into a fortress. He apparently applied his engineer’s training to arrange packing boxes and cartons in interlocking tiers with concealed tunnels passing from one room or one floor to another. Langley alone was familiar with the maze. Anyone else would have to remove the entire barricade to pass. He also booby-trapped massive piles of newspapers and old luggage with trip wires.
Their final drama began at 8:53 a.m. on March 21, 1947, when a man who gave his name as Charles Smith telephoned police headquarters, saying, "There was a dead man in the house at 2078 Fifth Avenue." Police arrived around 10 a.m. to find a crowd of Harlem residents outside the house. The police roped off the house. Some officers tried forcing the mahogany front doors. Then the police took them off their hinges. There stood a solid wall of boxes and debris, up to the ceiling.
Other officers entered the unlit, cluttered basement. The way from the basement to the first floor was blocked by a solid mass of packing cases. Then, the police forced the shutters on a first floor window. Within lay a desolation of ceiling-high stacks of boxes, paper and furniture, crawling with rats. The officers found the stairs to the second floor blocked with yet another mass of packing cases.
Two hours after the police first arrived on the scene, officers finally clambered from a ladder into a second-story room. There they found Homer dead. He was emaciated, bearded (Daily News) or mustachioed (Times), clothed only in either a tattered robe (Times) or a few ragged fragments of clothing (The Sun), and lay with his knees drawn almost to his chin. Dr. Thomas Gonzales, the medical examiner, said that Homer’s body was extremely emaciated and dehydrated. "There is no question," Gonzales said, "that he had been neglected for a long time." There was no food in his stomach or his digestive tract, indicating he had nothing to eat or drink for at least three days before his death, which was attributed to chronic bronchitis, gangrenous decubital ulcer (a large, untreated bedsore), and senile pulmonary emphysema.
The story was a wild sensation: on March 22, 1947, even the Times printed a front-page story on Homer’s death. By the end of the second day, according to the Times, the police had removed 19 tons of debris from the first-floor hallway alone.
As the search for Langley continued, thousands of curious citizens walked or drove by the house. According to the Daily News, "few lingered at the scene. They were driven away by the smells."
A friend whose father covered the story for one of the dailies told me the cops lit up cheap, foul-smelling cigars against the overpowering stench of organic corruption–"like a blow from a mailed fist." For not only the newspapers, garbage and animal wastes were rotting, but as a city housing inspector told The Sun, even the house was rotting: Its floor and walls were saturated because of the open windows and roof leaks, the beams were rotted and buckled from the weight of the junk and bricks were falling from the walls.
The New York County public administrator, a Surrogate’s Court official, took over the search from the police. On March 31, the public administrator hired six professional movers to remove all articles of value from the house. They tore out the basement entrance and began emptying the law library. The 2500 law books were merely a tenth of the volumes in the house. They found numerous family oil portraits. They found Mrs. Collyer’s hope chests, jammed with unused piece goods, silks, wool, damask and brocade; three bolts of embroidered white curtain material, each containing 54 yards, that had never been unwrapped; and a batch of fine linen dish towels, stamped "Collyer," that had never been used.
They found telephone directories, three revolvers, two rifles, a shotgun, ammunition, a bayonet and a saber, a half-dozen toy trains, toy tops, a toy airplane, 14 upright and grand pianos, cornets, bugles, an accordion, a trombone, a banjo; tin cans, chandeliers, tapestries, a portrait camera, enlarger, lenses and tripods, a bowling ball in a canvas bag, bicycles and bicycle lamps, a rolled-up 100-foot rug runner, a 9-foot-tall mahogany clock with a music box inside and pastel painted figures on the broad face; 13 ornate mantel clocks, including one contained in a metal bust of a girl whose ears and bodice dripped coins, 13 Oriental rugs, heavily ornate Victorian oil lamps and vases, white plaster portrait busts and picture frames. They found a static machine, an electrical device manufactured during the 1890s for the treatment of arthritis, rheumatism and other ailments. They found five violins, at least two dating from the 18th century, two organs and scores of 7-inch gramophone records dating from 1898, including "Round Her Neck She Wears a Yeller Ribbon for her Lover Who is Fur, Fur Away," "Atta Baby" and "Nobody In Town Can Bake a Sweet Jelly Roll Like Mine." They found sheets in braille from Homer’s failed attempts to learn the system. And they found a certificate of merit for punctuality and good conduct awarded to Langley at Public School 69, 125 W. 54th St., for the week ending April 19, 1895.
These things merely salted the vast sea of junk and paper.
By April 3, according to the Herald Tribune, the searchers had removed 51 tons of waste. They had only reached two rooms on the first floor. By April 8, 19 days after the search began, The Sun reported 103 tons of debris removed. Then they found Langley’s body.
He had been buried alive in one of his booby traps while crawling to bring Homer food. He had been only eight feet from his brother. He was wearing burlap draped over his shoulders as a cape, and police speculated this had snagged on a wire and tripped the booby trap. Langley wore no underwear or socks. He had on a bathrobe, three jackets and four pairs of trousers. Around his neck as a scarf was a white onion sack fastened with a safety pin. He lay on his right side and the rats had been at him. Both The Sun of April 8 and the World-Telegram of April 9 stated a preliminary examination indicated Langley had died quite some time before his brother. Apparently, Homer had died utterly, horribly alone.
On May 9, 1947, Robert F. Wagner Jr., the city’s commissioner of Housing and Buildings (later Manhattan borough president and mayor), announced the mansion would be demolished as unsafe and a menace to life and property. It was torn down within the year.
Langley was buried in the Collyer family plot in Cypress Hills Cemetery on April 11. The funeral arrangements were made by the public administrator’s office. The numerous relatives produced by the press apparently did little more than attend the services and file claims against the brothers’ estates.
There was no great wealth. The Surrogate’s Court probated the estates in 1949: $60,000 in real estate holdings, $2000 in savings, $4000 from the sale of personal property. Against this were claims for $15,000 in estate taxes and thousands more in city, federal and state tax arrears. It is unclear whether the 40 claimants against the estate ever saw a dime.
The only explanation Langley ever provided for the brothers’ behavior was that they preferred to live alone.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Introductory paragraph
Intellectual Follies By Lionel Abel
Although the characters in the excerpt from Lionel Abel's "Intellectual Follies" are originally considered to be scholarly writers, their pettiness while trying to discuss whether or not to support a fellow intellectual's protest leads the reader to view them differently. While trying to come to a logical decision, the protest is only secondary compared to the importance of their personal conflicts or self benefits. This lack of intellectual values exhibited by these characters makes them appear much like the common man.
An example of a personal conflict that seems to be more important than the protest is the feud between the narrator and Miss McCarthy..
Other characters, such as Paul Goodman were more concerned about themselves than helping Pasternak
Lionel Abel's essay "The intellectual Follies" presents a hypocritical view of these scholarly writes.
Although the characters in the excerpt from Lionel Abel's "Intellectual Follies" are originally considered to be scholarly writers, their pettiness while trying to discuss whether or not to support a fellow intellectual's protest leads the reader to view them differently. While trying to come to a logical decision, the protest is only secondary compared to the importance of their personal conflicts or self benefits. This lack of intellectual values exhibited by these characters makes them appear much like the common man.
An example of a personal conflict that seems to be more important than the protest is the feud between the narrator and Miss McCarthy..
Other characters, such as Paul Goodman were more concerned about themselves than helping Pasternak
Lionel Abel's essay "The intellectual Follies" presents a hypocritical view of these scholarly writes.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Editing Sheet
EDITING SHEET: After you have written a draft of your paper, revise your draft to make sure
you can answer ‘yes” to each of the following questions. These questions
should remind you of what you learned about writing/revising in your English
classes.
1. INTRODUCTION
Does your introduction catch interest and lead clearly to your thesis?
Does your introduction set the context for the paper?
Do you have a clear thesis which states your main point about the subject of this paper?
Does your thesis reflect careful thought about the paper’s subject?
2. BODY PARAGRAPHS
Does each body paragraph have a clear topic sentence which states the main point
of the paragraph?
Does each topic sentence connect the point of the paragraph clearly to the point of the previous paragraph?
Have you developed the idea in each topic sentence through at least 6 to 8 sentences?
Have you used specific support for your points?
Have you considered more than one way to view the issue in this paragraph?
3. DOCUMENTATION
Have you included the author’s last name and page for all paraphrases and quotes from any sources used for this paper? These should be put in parentheses at the end of the paraphrased or quoted material. Eg. (Mamet 257).
4. CONCLUSION
Does your conclusion begin by restating your thesis?
Does your conclusion explain how your thesis might relate to a more general truth about the subject of this paper?
Does your last sentence make the paper sound “finished”?
5. PROOFREADING
Have you read your paper several times looking for the grammar mistakes you typically made in your English courses?
Have you read your paper several times looking for the spelling errors you typically
made in your English courses?
you can answer ‘yes” to each of the following questions. These questions
should remind you of what you learned about writing/revising in your English
classes.
1. INTRODUCTION
Does your introduction catch interest and lead clearly to your thesis?
Does your introduction set the context for the paper?
Do you have a clear thesis which states your main point about the subject of this paper?
Does your thesis reflect careful thought about the paper’s subject?
2. BODY PARAGRAPHS
Does each body paragraph have a clear topic sentence which states the main point
of the paragraph?
Does each topic sentence connect the point of the paragraph clearly to the point of the previous paragraph?
Have you developed the idea in each topic sentence through at least 6 to 8 sentences?
Have you used specific support for your points?
Have you considered more than one way to view the issue in this paragraph?
3. DOCUMENTATION
Have you included the author’s last name and page for all paraphrases and quotes from any sources used for this paper? These should be put in parentheses at the end of the paraphrased or quoted material. Eg. (Mamet 257).
4. CONCLUSION
Does your conclusion begin by restating your thesis?
Does your conclusion explain how your thesis might relate to a more general truth about the subject of this paper?
Does your last sentence make the paper sound “finished”?
5. PROOFREADING
Have you read your paper several times looking for the grammar mistakes you typically made in your English courses?
Have you read your paper several times looking for the spelling errors you typically
made in your English courses?
Friday, April 1, 2011
Practice Exam 1 Prompt McDonald's
Do you think a fast food job teaches valuable lessons to kids, or is it just a detriment. Use your own personal experiences and engage the text to agree or disagree.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Midwest Book Review: The Man in in the Booth--Review by Pam Annas
The Man in the Booth in the Midtown Tunnel
Doug Holder
Cervena Barva Press
PO BOX 440357 W. Somerville, MA. 02144
No ISBN $13.00 www.lulu.com http://cervenabarvapress.com
Pamela Annas, PhD
Reviewer
Doug Holder is above all an urban poet, an observer chronicling the everyday sights and absurdities of Somerville, Boston and New York City in plain talk flavored with cool irony and sudden startling bursts of imagery. His settings include hospital rooms, bars, coffee shops, Harvard Yard, the post office, buses and subway trains, the Boston Public Library, Shea Stadium, housing projects, city streets, and the Midtown Tunnel from Queens to Manhattan which is the location of the book's title poem. His characters are bizarre and ordinary like all of us. Several of the poems are inspired by newspaper stories - about a woman who sat on a toilet for two years in her boyfriend's apartment, about an old man who murdered his equally aged wife, about a middle aged man who died on a subway train: "the Daily dropped/ From his hands. . . .The trains backed up/ From Cambridge to Dorchester."
I'm reminded in the pages of this collection of meeting, a year or two before her death, the artist Alice Neel, who painted gorgeously surreal ironic portraits of famous and ordinary people in the 1930s and 40s--and shivering as she looked me over. Doug Holder looks at the world through a similarly sharp and amused set of eyes. Yet there is no malice but a profound sympathy here - for the helplessness of aging and of poverty, for physical and mental illnesses, for the complexity of family relations - and most of all, for the isolation and loneliness lurking underneath tenaciously crowded city life. In the title poem of the collection, the man in the booth in the Midtown Tunnel "paces the perimeter/ Of his cage" while outside the cars whip by: "And we are/ Faceless and a blur,/ Behind thick plates/ Of light-bleached glass."
However, let me assure you this is not a gloomy collection of poems. There are rich nuggets of humor and wry reflection throughout this collection and, to combat the isolation of urban life, in almost every poem a relationship is forged between the observing eye and the subject of the poem. So, for example, as the speaker of the poem observes a woman nursing in a restaurant in "Private Dining Under a Blouse":
I saw
The infant emerge
Sleeping
Held in an untroubled
Dream.
I sucked on my straw
Flattening the plastic stem
Still awake
And troubled.
A few of the poems in this collection, like the one above, segue gracefully in subject from Holder's last book, Of All the Meals I Had Before: Poems About Food and Eating. Another is a poem toward the end of the book, "The Last Hotdog": "She brought it/ to his sick bed,/ He bit through/ The red casing/ The familiar orgasm/ Of juice/ Hitting the roof/ Of his mouth". And one more food-focused poem, "At the Fruit Stand," which is about bananas and melons and grapes and is too erotic to discuss in a family publication. However, you will enjoy it. And the whole collection.
Doug Holder
Cervena Barva Press
PO BOX 440357 W. Somerville, MA. 02144
No ISBN $13.00 www.lulu.com http://cervenabarvapress.com
Pamela Annas, PhD
Reviewer
Doug Holder is above all an urban poet, an observer chronicling the everyday sights and absurdities of Somerville, Boston and New York City in plain talk flavored with cool irony and sudden startling bursts of imagery. His settings include hospital rooms, bars, coffee shops, Harvard Yard, the post office, buses and subway trains, the Boston Public Library, Shea Stadium, housing projects, city streets, and the Midtown Tunnel from Queens to Manhattan which is the location of the book's title poem. His characters are bizarre and ordinary like all of us. Several of the poems are inspired by newspaper stories - about a woman who sat on a toilet for two years in her boyfriend's apartment, about an old man who murdered his equally aged wife, about a middle aged man who died on a subway train: "the Daily dropped/ From his hands. . . .The trains backed up/ From Cambridge to Dorchester."
I'm reminded in the pages of this collection of meeting, a year or two before her death, the artist Alice Neel, who painted gorgeously surreal ironic portraits of famous and ordinary people in the 1930s and 40s--and shivering as she looked me over. Doug Holder looks at the world through a similarly sharp and amused set of eyes. Yet there is no malice but a profound sympathy here - for the helplessness of aging and of poverty, for physical and mental illnesses, for the complexity of family relations - and most of all, for the isolation and loneliness lurking underneath tenaciously crowded city life. In the title poem of the collection, the man in the booth in the Midtown Tunnel "paces the perimeter/ Of his cage" while outside the cars whip by: "And we are/ Faceless and a blur,/ Behind thick plates/ Of light-bleached glass."
However, let me assure you this is not a gloomy collection of poems. There are rich nuggets of humor and wry reflection throughout this collection and, to combat the isolation of urban life, in almost every poem a relationship is forged between the observing eye and the subject of the poem. So, for example, as the speaker of the poem observes a woman nursing in a restaurant in "Private Dining Under a Blouse":
I saw
The infant emerge
Sleeping
Held in an untroubled
Dream.
I sucked on my straw
Flattening the plastic stem
Still awake
And troubled.
A few of the poems in this collection, like the one above, segue gracefully in subject from Holder's last book, Of All the Meals I Had Before: Poems About Food and Eating. Another is a poem toward the end of the book, "The Last Hotdog": "She brought it/ to his sick bed,/ He bit through/ The red casing/ The familiar orgasm/ Of juice/ Hitting the roof/ Of his mouth". And one more food-focused poem, "At the Fruit Stand," which is about bananas and melons and grapes and is too erotic to discuss in a family publication. However, you will enjoy it. And the whole collection.
Luke Salisbury--The Man In The Booth In The Midtown Tunnel by Doug Holder Review by Luke Salisbury
The Man In The Booth In The Midtown Tunnel by Doug Holder
(Somerville, Mass.)
Ibbetson Street Press founder Doug Holder will be releasing a new collection of his poetry this summer (2008) through the Cervena Barva Press (http://cervenabarvapress.com ) "The Man In The Booth In The Midtown Tunnel"
Here is a review from Luke Salisbury author of the award winning novel "Hollywood and Sunset," and a Professor of English at Bunker Hill Community College ( Boston):
The Man In The Booth in The Midtown Tunnel
Doug Holder is a very funny man and a very funny poet, but his new collection is much more than funny. There's a profound seriousness in this book. Holder deals with his past and sometimes sour present. He doesn't spare us the intensity and craziness he sees and feels around him. The title poem, a very fine poem, catches the fears and wonders of a New York childhood. I also felt loneliness, fear and a tantalizing feeling of being trapped in a grown-up world riding through the Midtown Tunnel.
Another poem speaks of "A bus full of exiles." We're all on that bus and Holder doesn't let us off until we have shared his feelings of desolation and even madness everywhere from "effete ivied walls" to the wards of McLean Hospital, stopping off for some of "The Love Life Of J. Edgar Hoover (The poem is everything you hope and expect it will be -"Mother downstairs/Off her rocker"), to "Killing Time at The 99" which has the fine lines "And drink/To all/This/Loneliness/Made visible" (Great lines I think), to "hoping/there/is/still/someone/out there" when using the "Pay Phones On The Boston Common" to final observations of a "Rat's Carcass."
The collection isn't depressing. It's alive. Alive with vitality, ugliness, sadness, sex, even love. It's all here. This is Holder's best to date
(Somerville, Mass.)
Ibbetson Street Press founder Doug Holder will be releasing a new collection of his poetry this summer (2008) through the Cervena Barva Press (http://cervenabarvapress.com ) "The Man In The Booth In The Midtown Tunnel"
Here is a review from Luke Salisbury author of the award winning novel "Hollywood and Sunset," and a Professor of English at Bunker Hill Community College ( Boston):
The Man In The Booth in The Midtown Tunnel
Doug Holder is a very funny man and a very funny poet, but his new collection is much more than funny. There's a profound seriousness in this book. Holder deals with his past and sometimes sour present. He doesn't spare us the intensity and craziness he sees and feels around him. The title poem, a very fine poem, catches the fears and wonders of a New York childhood. I also felt loneliness, fear and a tantalizing feeling of being trapped in a grown-up world riding through the Midtown Tunnel.
Another poem speaks of "A bus full of exiles." We're all on that bus and Holder doesn't let us off until we have shared his feelings of desolation and even madness everywhere from "effete ivied walls" to the wards of McLean Hospital, stopping off for some of "The Love Life Of J. Edgar Hoover (The poem is everything you hope and expect it will be -"Mother downstairs/Off her rocker"), to "Killing Time at The 99" which has the fine lines "And drink/To all/This/Loneliness/Made visible" (Great lines I think), to "hoping/there/is/still/someone/out there" when using the "Pay Phones On The Boston Common" to final observations of a "Rat's Carcass."
The collection isn't depressing. It's alive. Alive with vitality, ugliness, sadness, sex, even love. It's all here. This is Holder's best to date
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