Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than from the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. – Mark Twain
Good day! Hope you are well.
Today we will pick up where we left off last week, reviewing the autobiographical narrative assigned.
In the first half of the class we also will address the summary assignment #3, the report/article you were to read and summarize for homework.
This piece will serve in the next forthcoming assignment as the initial ground or source of an essay that explores in greater detail one or another topics addressed therein. Thus we will begin writing essays that involve researching and documenting the literature and/or artifacts that inform our understanding of a given subject.
Due today (#3) is a short summary of the article posted above, "Oregon Father's Memorial Trek Across Country Ends in a Family's Second Tragedy," published in the New York Times. I will review the article with you all and give some time for final editing of the piece before its submission.
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*Field Report: The field report must be done on your own, and requires you report from an eye witness perspective on some event, natural feature, business and so on that is part of our local community–Monroe, Dade, Collier, Broward, or Palm Beach County. We will discuss it further and I'll provide examples.
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Homework (essay 4): Pull together an essay that focuses on one or more of the issues raised in the article you summarize today. You are to use the New York Times piece and at least two others in developing this essay. Google search the topic for related pieces: i.e. you might google creative individuals or new works and findings to cull insights on the subject of creativity, find example stories or cases, and then discuss the matter of how individuals and groups or authorities tap their creativity. The materials you find in your research may all be written sources, but may include as well mulitmedia, photo, film, or music pieces that address in some way the topic of your piece. You should identify all sources used clearly, and in the context of their specific use or appearance in your text. Direct quotation is also a requirement. Observe the 20 percent rule: no more than 20 percent of the length of the essay should appear as direct quotation. You must have a ruling point, a thesis, which is the conclusion that you have come to about the matter, and one which others might reasonalby disgree with. A thesis is a matter of considered judgment and opinion.
This is to be a 450-500 word essay, titled and double-spaced. Bring it to class next week.
Writing the short report/essay with source references: Research begins with a subject focus and proceeds by study of the sources that shed light on the subject. Research sources are typically categorized as primary or secondary. The following URL provides a description of the distinctions made between the two: http://www.yale.edu/collections_collaborative/primarysources/primarysources.html
This is to be a 450-500 word essay, titled and double-spaced. Bring it to class next week.
Writing the short report/essay with source references: Research begins with a subject focus and proceeds by study of the sources that shed light on the subject. Research sources are typically categorized as primary or secondary. The following URL provides a description of the distinctions made between the two: http://www.yale.edu/collections_collaborative/primarysources/primarysources.html
Those sources that help the writer to "prove" or advance the thesis point are essential. You as author must become something of an expert in your particular line of inquiry by studying your sources. Whatever the purpose and scope of your essay or report, you will draw upon the "truths" of your sources to help you make your point(s).
Turn to Healy's piece about Joe Bell. Why was it written? In what context(s) must it be understood? To what issues does it speak, what human interests and concerns? What further research might Healy's report invite? We will discuss in class the context of the report's publication and its topical links. Essay assignment #4 is to be a short essay that synthesizes material from several different source articles or artifacts that are topically linked to the Healy piece.
In research reports, each source must be clearly referenced in text by title and author or publication site if no author is named. The Modern Language Association publishes guidelines for writing in the humanities which we will follow. These include what are called in-text citations and a Works Cited list. We will look at the format further in weeks to come, but for now let me make a few points about the business of gathering information, which, naturally, is how we become informed.
Whatever the topic– literary, political, environmental, economic–our first understandings often arise through personal experience and/or casual exposure. We may have learned something of WWII from our grandparents, who lived through it and have told us stories, for example. We may have served in the military and thus have direct insight into the impact of war on individuals and society. We may have read novels, histories, watched documentary films, or listened to the testimonials of those who have born witness to war. We may read the daily news reports of wars near and far. We may have visited the great battlefields of Gettysburg or elsewhere. And we may have formed certain conclusions, however tentative, about the nature of war and its historical use by governments in pursuit of whatever aims. So we may have a store of experience and information that informs our attitudes. Yet we may never have put together an essay that provides the telling examples, personal voices, eye witness accounts, and expert opinions that provide the persuasive account of why we feel as we do. In fact we may never have gathered it all together for synthesis and analysis. But that's what we do when we research a matter or issue.
We may use dictionaries to help us define words and terms that may be unfamiliar, encyclopedias to get concise facts and history, and the news media to learn of events large and small and the range of popular and expert opinion on a given matter. We may include the artists whose works give us imaginative insight, and the personal stories that come to us by so many means. What have the many who have weighed in on any subject had to say? Expository essays are built on writing that is informative, based on the most credible and recent information, with the express purpose of conveying to readers a clear understanding of the issue or matter. There may be a personal story or basis to the writing, but reference to the work or ideas of others is necessary, in the form of description, summary, paraphrase and direct quotation, synthesis, and logical analysis. You as author control the material and remain the dominant voice throughout. It is your thesis idea, your conclusion that unifies and drives the development and choice of sources used in support.
An essay on some aspect of culture and society today, for example, would necessarily be informed by the writer's particular knowledge of the subject, which comes from familiarity with the literature and artifacts of that aspect of culture and society. You might, for example, watch a film ( a primary source), and then record your responses, questions that arise, evaluations of the actors, the plot, script, cinematography, etcetera. You read everything you can find about the making of this film. You review what has been written or broadcast by others about the film (secondary sources). Finally, you write a piece that incorporates important aspects of the film's creation, aspects of its cultural importance, the critical responses of film experts or credible reviewers, and of course your own thoughts and conclusions on whatever you have deemed the most important focus in writing about the film.
Addressing current events and topics in the media allows you to tap the interest of readers who want to stay current and well-informed, and allows you to enter and shape the discussion as one who is well-informed and has something to add to the discussion, be it only your opinion. It is critical that you identify the various sources you have used for content by author and/or title of work and that the source information be tied to the content borrowed.
-------------- Essay work should always advance a point, that is, a thesis, always an arguable claim, and one that tries to convince readers of the truth or soundness of some position, or perhaps to do something, take a stand, too. Essayists may explore a topic so that readers are in a position to make an informed decision, without themselves insisting on a single position or interpretation of events. The thesis may address an issue that has no ready or absolute answer, nor one readily verified by resort to factual report, but one that must be grappled with and that challenges readers to define their values and beliefs.
Argument or fact? Facts do not stand alone. They are put to use, interpreted, sometimes misinterpreted. Which of the following statements convey matters of fact? Which are claims, opinions?
*Recent severe weather events have been caused by climate change.
*Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
*Van Gogh’s work is that of a madman.
*Plastic bags are polluting the seas.
*Consumers must reduce their carbon footprint.
*The average temperature of the earth has risen over the last century.
*Glaciers are melting at a rate unprecedented in modern times.
*Climate change is a dire threat to the existence of life as we know it.
*The existence of God is a myth.
The argument is to be built around an arguable claim, that is one about which reasonable people could reasonably disagree. It should be supported with reference to your readings, expert or authoritative findings, factual support and logical analysis. First-person experience and appeals to common sense and human values count, too.
Consider the following thesis: The use of plastics worldwide must come under closer scrutiny and regulation.
Readers may now want to know why, and how the issue affects them and, indeed, if there is anything they might do to help resolve the issue. Your sources provide background information, demonstrate your knowledge of the topic, provide authoritative support and perspective, and show the range of perspectives possible, in fairness to differing opinions.
Our ideas, whether commonly held or no, are rooted in traditional areas of study reflecting the history of human thought, values, attitudes, and tastes, and conduct. These study areas include philosophy, religion, nature, aesthetics, science, ethics, education, etcetera. Our most closely held beliefs and attitudes reflect very often our unexamined ideas about the nature of love, faith, trust, loss, betrayal, goodness and evil, freedom, sanctity, the very meaning of life. Whether we focus on Washington and the shenanigans that make the nightly news, bioengineering, Facebook, legal injustices, or the most recent individual or "hero" making a positive difference in the world, our beliefs, associated ideas, and feelings define us as human beings. In choosing a research topic you will tap into some subject about which you feel strongly and have clear enough knowledge to put across a cogent argument or position, as supported also by fact and opinion gathered from your reading of available literature.
*Select material for quotation on the following bases:
1) -the wording is particularly memorable, to the point, and not easily paraphrased
2) -it expresses an author’s or expert’s direct opinion that you want to emphasize
3) -it provides example of the range of perspective
4) -it provides a constrasting or opposing view
*See http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/675/1/ for MLA formatting rules and examples of direct quotation. The OWL site offers fairly comprehensive discussion and examples of presenting and documentaing primary and secondary source material.
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Citing Sources in MLA Style
To document your research sources, whether from an article in print or online, an encyclopedia or dictionary item, an interview source, a film, photograph, illustration or other visual material– there is a standard means. The primary reference is the author of the source, whose last name provides the key or first word to the source item as it is entered on the Works Cited page. This page contains an alphabetical list of all the sources cited in the report. Any directly quoted, paraphrased or summarized information should be referenced or cited in text and then included on the Works Cited page. Thus, on this page one finds the full bibliographic or publication information of each source cited in the report/essay. The author’s name and the title of the piece should be included in the essay text along with whatever information item you have borrowed or used. This in-text reference may appear as a parenthetical citation (i.e. a set of parentheses like the one I am using now) containing the author's last name and perhaps a page number or text title. Sometimes an article or source being used may have no author credit; in such instances, use the text title as the key term.
The following URL displays the MLA guidelines and illustrations for integrating sources:
Checklist:
*Double-check to that you have acknowledged all material from a source.
*Identify the author of each source in text or in parentheses following the information item.
*Use the title as a source reference for works without identified authors.
*Follow the basic pattern for creating entries on the Works Cited page, and be sure to alphabetize them.
The Works Cited format is here illustrated for some commonly used sources:
Individual Author of a Book
Hazzard, Shirley. The Great Fire. New York. Farrar, 2003. Print.
Article from a Printed Magazine
Jenkins, Lee. “He’s Gotta Play Hurt.” Sports Illustrated. 26 Oct. 2009: 42-3. Print.
Article from an Online Magazine
Bowden, Mark. “Jihadists in Paradise.” The Atlantic.com. Atlantic Monthly Group, Mar. 2007. Web. 8 Mar. 2007.
Article from an Online Newspaper
Richmond, Riva. “Five Ways to Keep Online Criminals at Bay.” New York Times. New York Times, 19 May 2010. Web. 29 May 2010.
Selection from an Online Book
Webster, Augusta. “Not Love.” A Book of Rhyme. London, 1881. Victorian Women Wrtiers Project. Web. 8 Mar. 2007.
Organization Web Page
“Library Statistics.” American Library Association. Amer. Lib. Assn. 2010 Web. 26 Feb. 2010.
Film
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Dir. Peter Jackson. New Line Cinema, 2003. Film.
Program on Television or Radio
“The Wounded Platoon.” Frontline. PBS. WGBH, Boston, 18 May 2010. Television.
Online Video Clip
Murphy, Beth. "Tips for a Good Profile Piece." Project: Report. YouTube, 7 Sept. 2008. Web. 19 Sept. 2008.
Advertisement
Feeding America. Advertisement. Time. 21 Dec. 2009: 59. Print.
Comic or Cartoon
Adams, Scott. “Dilbert.” Comic Strip. Denver Post 1 Mar. 2010: 8C. Print.
Personal, Telephone, or E-mail Interview
Boyd, Dierdra. Personal Interview. 5 Feb. 2012.
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