Nathan Carman

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/man-rescued-at-sea-has-had-violent-episodes-in-past/vp-BBwKCKw

Trump/Clinton Debate

http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/09/26/presidential-debate-recap-origwx-jpm.cnn/video/playlists/the-great-debates/

Matt Damon on Diversity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkAoZggaWZE

O' Reilly vs Kaepernick

http://video.foxnews.com/v/5126824554001/oreilly-kaepernick-missing-the-big-picture-of-his-country/?#sp=show-clips

TIP Sheet WRITING A COMPARE/CONTRAST PAPER

TIP Sheet
WRITING A COMPARE/CONTRAST PAPER
A compare and contrast essay examines two or more topics (objects, people, or ideas, for example), comparing their similarities and contrasting their differences. You may choose to focus exclusively on comparing, exclusively on contrasting, or on both-or your instructor may direct you to do one or both.
First, pick useable subjects and list their characteristics. In fact, their individual characteristics determine whether the subjects are useable. After that, choose a parallel pattern of organization and effective transitions to set your paper above the merely average.
1. Picking a subjectFocus on things that can obviously be compared or contrasted. For instance, if you are examining an idea (political or philosophical) examine the opposite of that idea. Or, if you are examining a person, like a president, pick another president for comparison or contrast. Don't try to compare a president and a cab driver, or existentialism and a legislative bill on car tax refunds.
2. Listing characteristics
Divide a piece of paper into two sides. One side is for the first subject, the other for the second subject. Then, begin to list the similarities and differences that immediately come to mind. Concentrate on characteristics that either are shared or are opposing between the two subjects. Alternately, you may construct a Venn diagram of intersecting circles, listing the subjects' differences to either side and their similarities where the circles intersect. Keep in mind that for a balanced paper, you want to make point-by-point, parallel comparisons (or contrasts).

Similarities between my math and English instructors:
Both are welcoming and available to students.
Both are organized and keep a neat office.
Both are knowledgeable and professional.

Differences between my math and English instructors
Math teacher listens to classic rock.         English teacher listens to jazz.
Math teacher drinks Earl Grey tea.           English teacher drinks strong black coffee.
Math teacher likes to chat about movies.  English teacher sticks to business.

As you create your list, is it clear why you are comparing and contrasting these two subjects? Do you have a preference for one or the other? If so, make sure you are evaluating each side fairly. A point-by-point list helps you maintain balance.
Once you have a list, decide whether there are more similarities or differences between the topics. If there are more similarities, concentrate your paper on comparing. If there are more differences (or if, as in the example above, the differences are simply more interesting), concentrate on contrasting. If there is a balance of similarities and differences, you might concentrate on discussing this balance.
3. Organizing
There are at least two ways to organize a compare/contrast essay. Imagine you are examining Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant, both Civil War generals. In your list you have uncovered important points of dissimilarity between them. Those points are their background, personalities, and underlying aspirations. (Call these three points A, B, and C.) You have decided to contrast the two subjects.
Here is one way to organize the body of this paper, addressing points A, B, and C for each subject. This paper will follow parallel order–A, B, and then C–for each subject:

A. Lee's background
B. Lee's personality
C. Lee's underlying aspirations

A. Grant's background
B. Grant's personality
C. Grant's underlying aspirations

However, here is another way to organize the same paper:

A. Lee's background
A. Grant's background

B. Lee's personality
B. Grant's personality

C. Lee's underlying aspiration
C. Grant's underlying aspiration

For a shorter paper, the above might represent three paragraphs; if you are writing a long paper and have a great deal of information, you may choose to write about each point, A, B, and C, in separate paragraphs for a total of six. However you decide to organize, make sure it is clear why you are examining this subject. You might be able to compare apples and oranges, for example, but why would you? Include any insights or opinions you have gathered. And yes, in general, three is the magic number. While there is no hard-and-fast rule that precludes creating a paper based on two points, or four, or five, a three-point discussion is manageable, especially for complex or abstract subjects. At the same time, a three-point structure helps you avoid oversimplifying, especially when addressing controversial topics in which discussions tend to become polarized–right or wrong, black or white, for or against. Three-point treatments encourage discussion of the middle ground.
4. Signaling transitions
Learn to use expressions that precisely convey contrast or comparison. These expressions, or transitions, signal contrast:

• on the contrary
• on the other hand
• however
• otherwise
• whereas
• still
• yet

These expressions signal comparison:

• as well as
• both
• like
• in common with
• likewise
• also

Signal words such as these help the reader understand the relationships between your sentences, paragraphs, and ideas. In particular, if you are both comparing and contrasting, signal words help sort out what's what. Second only to effective organization, effective use of these expressions will go a long way toward helping produce a good compare/contrast paper

Tips for Summarizing

Summarizing

A common writing assignment in a variety of college courses is the summary of a particular essay or journal article.  The purpose of a summary is to accurately describe the main point and the important details of the piece you are summarizing.  In short, you are describing what the essay (or other piece of literature) is about to someone who has not read it. 
While summary writing is generally fairly short, it is not easy.  A good summary incorporates all of the important aspects of a particular essay so that a reader who has not read the original work can understand what it is about.  Thus, the most important element of a good summary is the ability to accurately depict what is in the original article.  In order to do so, you must be familiar with the work you are summarizing.  A good summary begins by reading the piece many times in order to gain a full understanding of it.  Then, once the work is fully understood, it is important to relate the thesis and the important points that support it.
Summaries should be fairly short and should be significantly shorter than the work itself.  If your summary is close to the overall length of the work, then chances are you are simply paraphrasing the majority of the work rather than summarizing.  If the summary is too short, then some important points are probably being missed. Generally, the length of a summary should be about one quarter to one third of the total length of the article that is being summarized (for example, if the essay you are summarizing is 3 pages, the summary should be roughly 3/4 to one full page).

Tips for Summarizing

• Read the essay as many times as necessary to gain a full understanding of it.
• Do not interject your personal opinion into any summary.  No first person ("I" statements) are allowed (save these for the response portion, if there is one).
• Always name the author (full name) and the article or essay title in the introductory paragraph, usually in the first or second sentence.
• After introducing the author with his/her full name, refer to him/her by last name throughout rest of summary.
• Always use present tense to discuss the essay and facts from the essay.
• Use direct quotes from the text or paraphrase examples to support your claims.  Paraphrasing should be done more than quoting, which should be kept to a minimum.  Quoting should only be used with unique language that is hard to paraphrase.
• When talking about an essay or article, always capitalize the title and place it in quotation marks.  Do not use italics.  Italics should only be used when referring to longer works, such as books or movies.  Example:  "Just a Smile and a Handshake"    Not "Just a Smile and a Handshake."

Evaluating Evidence 2

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Evaluating Evidence: A Checklist

Before you write the supporting paragraphs in your paper, evaluate the worthiness of the evidence you have in mind to use. For each data set, example, or expert opinion, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is the evidence up-to-date?
• Is the evidence relevant? Evidence that doesn’t directly support your point may not belong in your essay.
• Is the evidence sufficient? The more complex your topic is, the more evidence you will need to support your claim. 
• Is your example similar to other examples you could have chosen, or does it present an extreme or atypical situation?  Examples that present typical situations are usually most effective.
• Does your example illustrate your point?
• Is the source of the data trustworthy?  If you cannot find full documentation of source material or if the material does not come from a familiar source, it may not serve as appropriate support.
• Are abstract or controversial terms (poverty, humane treatment, etc.) clearly defined? Statistics often have little meaning without an explanation of how key terms are defined by the source of the data.
  If you’re using statistics to compare, are you comparing equal units?  For example, if you’re comparing population statistics, be sure that both statistics refer to the same geographical unit—city, metropolitan area, county, etc.
• Is the source of an opinion qualified to give an opinion on the subject? Is he/she associated with a reputable institution? What is his/her profession? Are his/her credentials relevant? Be sure to include the source’s credentials in your essay in case your reader is not familiar with the source. 
• Is the opinion of an expert likely to be biased in any way? If any special interest is evident (economic, political, ideological, etc.), consider further research before you accept or reject the opinion.
• Does the source of the opinion provide the evidence upon which his/her claim is based? Just as you must support your argument, your sources should provide proof that their information is valid.

Assessing Evidence

https://app.shoreline.edu/doldham/SRR.html