Online eng 112 research packet spring 15

SPRING 2015

Prof. Holly-Katharine Johnson Prof. of English & New Media

Email: hollykatharine@gmail.com Website: keepithaka.com

ENG 112 - Research Packet

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE RESEARCH DEADLINES Proposal

Outline

Rough Draft 1 due to peers (and prof) *

(Rough 1 should be approx 5 pages) Rough Draft 1 comments to peers

Sun. Mar. 29 Sun. Apr. 5 Sun. Apr. 12

Rough Draft 2 due to peers (and prof)

(Rough 1 should be approx 8 pages) Rough Draft 2 comments to peers Skype Presentation

Fri. Apr. 24

Fri. Apr. 15

Sun. Apr. 26 TBA

**Final Draft Sun. Apr. 3**

*Remember to send all rough drafts to peer groups and to the professor (hollykatharine@gmail) via Google Drive.

Comment on shared documents promptly.

When you submit your final draft, attach all peer reviewed rough drafts as well. To do this, download them as .doc and attach.

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Table of Contents Deadlines and due dates Steps for the research project Research paper grading Research topics list What is an argument The shape of a research paper Types of research and where to start Steps for finding sources Anatomy of a search engine listing What to do after you find a good source

page 2 page 6 page 7 pages 8-10 page 11 pages 13-14 page 16 pages 17-28 page 25 pages 28

Sample Documents Proposals Pro tip - use last names Outlines

page 30-33 page 34 pages 35-37

Sample Research papers

Sample D - Catie

Sample D - Matt

Sample B+ - Ruchika

Sample A - Takia

pages 38-65 pages 38-41 pages 42-46 pages 47-55 pages 56-65

Worksheets & Info

Evaluating sources

Evaluating sources answer key

Quotes and MLA

What kind of quote is it

What kind of quote is it answer key

Is the quote suitable for research paper

Is this quote suitable answer key

Crafting Introductions

Introductions worksheet

Introductions worksheet answer key

Crafting strong body paragraphs

Body paragraphs worksheet

Body paragraphs worksheet answer key

Transitions

Transitions worksheet

Transitions worksheet answer key

pages 68-69 pages 70-71 pages 73-75 pages 76-77 pages 78-79 pages 80-81 pages 82-83 page 84 pages 85-87 pages 88-90 page 91 pages 92-93 pages 94-95 pages 97-98 page 99 page 100

The materials contained in this study packet are intended for student use only. Any reproduction requires permission of the author. Š Prof. Holly K. Johnson 2014

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The 80-20 principle

Counter-arguments

Action Horizons info and worksheet

Action horizon worksheet answer key

Close text reading introduced

“How Not to Talk to Your Kids�

Practice with close text reading

Peer Review instructions

Research presentation prep

Presentation eval sheets

Course eval form

Scavenger hunt

Note paper

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page 101 pages 102-105 pages 106-107 pages 108-109 page 110 pages 111-113 page 114 pages 116-117 page 118 pages 121-155 pages 157-158 page 159 pages 160-161

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STEPS FOR THE RESEARCH PROJECT PROPOSAL k Must be roughly 1 page and contain:

l Preliminary Title

l Preliminary thesis

l Summary of interest

l 3 scholarly sources from MCCC’s online databases

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OUTLINE l Can be in any outline format that can be followed by the student writing the paper l Must include order of ideas that will appear in paper and support the thesis l Must include scholarly sources and selected quotes to be used from those sources

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3 Copies to Peer Review Day!Day! Bring 3 copies to Peer Review FIRST ROUGH DRAFT Bring

k Must be roughly 5 pages without cover page, using Times New Roman 12, double spaced. l Must state argument in opening paragraph - the argument must be complex and have multiple parts l First 1-2 pages must explain the key points and sources that the paper will go into in more detail later l By this point the paper should have a rough sequence of central points

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SECOND ROUGH DRAFT

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ORAL PRESENTATION

Bring 3 Copies to Peer Review Day!

Bring 3 copies to Peer Review Day! k Must be roughly 8 pages l Must contain all elements from the first rough draft l Must have added more sources l Must include a counter argument section l Must have transitions between ideas l Must use proper MLA citation

l Must be roughly 5 minutes in length l Must explain the thesis of your research project l Must explain some of the most important pieces of info you used to support your thesis l Must include a PowerPoint with mostly visuals l Must allow a minute for questions

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FINAL DRAFT l Must be at least 10 pages long but no more than 15 and all peer reviewed drafts must be attached l Must contain all elements from second rough draft but be more thorough, have clearer transitions, and be well organized and proofread l Must include an ending that does NOT summarize what you have already said but instead explain what further questions the research raises or how the research might be applied in the real world

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RESEARCH PAPER GRADING Understand how your paper grade will be determined.

Argument = 50% • Paper has clearly stated thesis statement/argument that is complex and nuanced • The thesis is introduced at the beginning of the paper, and remains consistent throughout • The thesis is sustained • Most of the paper –80%-- is analytic writing where the author explains exactly how she believes the research provided supports her thesis. Only 20% of the student’s writing is summary of information.

• In supporting her thesis, the student considers viable counter arguments • While supporting her thesis, the student acknowledges and engages secondary questions Text Usage = 25% • The paper uses MLA style citations both in text and in Works Cited page • The student uses quotes from research sources to support her argument • Before every quote the student explains who the speaker is, why he or she is scholarly, where the article was published, and what the context of the quote is.

• After every quote the student explains what the quote means and how it supports her thesis.

Organization = 12.5% • Ideas are presented in a logical order.

• Paragraphs begin with topic sentences.

• Transitions are used between paragraphs.

• The final section uses an action horizon ending rather than a summary ending.

Construction = 12.5% • Paper is double spaced • Paper uses Times New Roman 12pt font • Paper has a forecasting title, page numbers and students information on top left of first page • Paper has page numbers, is printed neatly and is stapled or paper clipped with the peer reviewed documents included in a folder • Paper contains no extra lines between paragraphs • Paper contains no spelling, grammar, syntax or punctuation errors • Paper is full length (10+ pages, not including diagrams or images) • Works Cited is attached at the end A A- B+ B B- C+ C D

= 95-100 = 90-94 = 87-89 = 84-86 = 80-83 = 76-79 = 70-75 = 60-70

F

= 0-60

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Research Topics List NOTE: Once you pick a topic and get your proposal approved, you can’t change topics, so choose something you will be interested in working on for seven weeks.

NOTE: You may propose a different topic that is not on this list, but you need to find something that will produce a 10-15 page research paper and will allow you to craft a nuanced argument.

1.

MAKE AN ARGUMENT ABOUT THE RELATIVE VALUE OF COOPERATION vs. COMPETITION: In the 1960’s President John F. Kennedy proclaimed that we should land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth by the end of the decade. The U.S. succeeded in fulfilling that goal. Part of the motivation to do so came from our Cold War rivalry with the Soviet Union. Some lives were lost, but much valuable scientific discovery was made.

Now that the Cold War is over we are working with the Russians to create an international space station, but progress on it is much slower than the pace that got us to the moon. Based on scholarly research in sociology, anthropology and political science, which is more fruitful in the long run: competition or cooperation? How do we measure the rewards and costs of each? You may choose to focus on something other than the Space Race to address this question.

2.

MAKE AN ARGUMENT ABOUT WHAT COULD BE DONE TO IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN NEW JERSEY: Your argument needs to provide a real solution or set of solutions that could be implemented, taking into account cost and resources needed. A lot of people, especially ones who have only seen exits 18-13 on the NJ Turnpike, think of New Jersey as a cesspool, yet this is “The Garden State.” Based on current scientific research, how polluted is New Jersey really? Does it live up to its reputation? Does scholarly research suggest that NJ is improving faster or slower than other parts of the nation? What does the research suggest are the chief accelerants or impediments in this situation and what can be done to reverse course?

3.

MAKE AN ARGUMENT ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO SUCCEED AT COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND WHETHER OR NOT THESE SKILLS CAN BE INCREASED IN THE LOCAL POPULATION: According to the scholarly data available, what characteristics do community college students who go on to be really successful have in common?

Why do some students drop out and go back to low paying jobs, while others go on to graduate and ultimately make a good living? How can we tell if someone is likely to succeed at community college, and, based on the research available, what can be done to increase the odds that more students will do so?

4.

MAKE AN ARGUMENT ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT NURSES AND DOCTORS CAN BE TAUGHT EFFECTIVE BEDSIDE MANNER and IF SO, HOW and WEATHER IT IS WORTH IT TO TRY: Examine all the research and scholarly literature available regarding human-to-human interaction in the health care professions, also known as “bed-side manner.” As doctors spend less and less time with patients, does research suggest that it is becoming less and less necessary for doctors to have good “bed-side manner”? Does research suggest that it is more and more important for nurses and support personal to have excellent “bed-side manner”? In your essay, evaluate the available research on the topic of “bed-side manner” and formulate a position about its importance and efficacy, taking into consideration whether and how the skill can be taught.

5.

MAKE AN ARGUMENT ABOUT WHAT CAUSES SCHOOL SHOOTINGS AND WHETHER OR NOT THIS PHENOMENON CAN BE STOPPED OR REDUCED AND HOW: School shootings have occurred on a number of school campuses. According to scholarly research, what may be the primary causes for these types of shootings, and what does research suggest can be done to make campuses safer? Alternatively, you may choose to focus on the role of media in the coverage of these tragedies, but your position must still be supported by research evidence.

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6.

MAKE AN ARGUMENT IN WHICH YOU EITHER SUPPORT OR NOT THE INCREASE IN SUBURBAN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY : More and more people are raising chickens in rural and suburban areas. What does it take to raise a show quality chicken? Can you eat your mistakes? What makes a chicken a show winner? Is it safe to keep chickens in suburban and urban areas? What factors must be taken into consideration when considering keeping chickens? (Noise? Waste? Sanitation?) Examine all the scholarly research materials on this topic or any issue of local agriculture or animal husbandry and write a paper based on these findings (Rutgers University’s Cook College is a useful resource).

7.

MAKE AN ARGUMENT ABOUT THE FUTURE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES: A lot of MCCC students are interested in jobs working as emergency medical technicians, firemen and women, and police officers, and there will always be fires and other emergencies to keep these workers busy, but does the scholarly research available suggest that there will be enough paying jobs to support all the graduates in the future? If a student is interested in making a good living in the emergency services industry what does scholarly research suggest he or she can do to maximize the chance of finding a paid position? If they were to move to another part of the country would it increase their chances of finding a paid job with benefits? Make an argument about the. Make sure all claims are supported by research.

8.

ARGUE IN FAVOR OF WHAT TYPE OF DEGREE PROGRAM MERCER NEEDS: Imagine you were going to make a proposal to Mercer’s president for a new degree program at the college. You would need to make sure it would be a program where students would have an excellent chance of getting hired and making a good living upon graduation. After doing the research --examining census information and growth outlooks from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as local and state agencies-- what degree program would you propose?

What kinds of job industries are likely to see rapid growth in the near future in central New Jersey according to the research? Of these jobs, which would provide the highest pay and benefits for students with an Associate’s degree? Write a paper in which you recommend a specific program (one we don’t already offer) based on all the factors mentioned above and your evaluation of scholarly research data.

9.

MAKE AN ARGUMENT ABOUT WHAT CAN BE DONE TO IMPROVE VETERANS SERVICES IN THE US- According to available data from veterans affairs coalitions, compared against information from the US Departments of State and Defense, are Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans receiving adequate health care and transitioning effectively into civilian life as they return home from serving abroad? According to scholarly research, what issues most affect the current population of veterans and how do these issues differ from those of previous eras? In your paper, take a position on why the current situation is as good or bad as it is, using scholarly research to back up your stance.

10. MAKE AN ARGUMENT ABOUT WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO REDUCE THE U.S. PRISON POPULATION - The number of prisons in the U.S. is growing at an alarming rate. We incarcerate more of our citizens per capita than another other country in the world. Many people end up going back to prison over and over again. According to research in the fields of political science, sociology, psychology and/or anthropology what is driving our prison boom? Does the research offer any explanation for why so many people recidivate? Given the statistics and evidence, what would it take to reduce crime and reduce prison sizes in the U.S.?

11. MAKE AN ARGUMENT ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT TOOLS OF FIGHTING ORGANIZED CRIME HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE: New Jersey is known for its mafia history, but nowadays the mafia seems to be mostly the stuff of movies and television shows. Meanwhile, gang violence is on the rise. Based on actual scholarly research in the field of Criminal Justice, does it seem to be the case that the police have put an end to organized crime? What tools of Criminal Justice have been effective in reducing organized crime here in NJ? Use scholarly research to determine which strategies for reducing such crimes appear to be most effective and under what circumstances, particularly if these tools can be used against gangs.

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12. MAKE AN ARGUMENT ABOUT WHAT CAN BE DONE TO IMPROVE COMMUNITY COLLEGE GRADUATION RATES: Only a portion of students who set out to graduate from community colleges will do so, and graduation rates among minority students are even lower. What causes this to be so, and, according to scholarly research, what can be done about it? Which research in this field is most convincing and why?

13. MAKE AN ARGUMENT ABOUT HOW GAMING CULTURE BENEFITS OR HARMS OUR SOCIETY: There is a long history of game obsessions that go all the way back to ancient Egypt. In more recent history Scrabble, Monopoly, Canasta and poker have had periods of enormous popularity. Now the video gaming market is the fastest growing segment of the gaming economy. Using historical data and current research on human behavior to form your position, write a paper that answers the following questions: do the games we get obsessed with tend to reflect the times in which we live? How so? Can we use historical gaming records to predict what game or type of game might be most popular in the future? What do current gaming trends tell us about our current social and political structures?

After you select a topic, you need to go to the MCCC online databases, such as Ebsco host, and see if you can find some preliminary research that will work with this topic. Then you are ready to write your proposal.

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What is an Argument?

A good research paper argument (also called the thesis) includes the following: n The argument takes a position that would not necessarily be agreed upon by a majority of people n The argument does NOT take a position so radical that hardly anyone would agree with it n The argument can be proved by data and evidence rather than faith or belief n The argument is nuanced, meaning complex, with multiple points, but moves beyond just pointing out a

problem and proving it exists. n The argument requires explanation because it is not overly simplistic.

EXAMPLE OF A GOOD THESIS STATEMENT - ARGUMENT: b Television shows about law and crime, particularly those that consider forensic evidence are affecting American citizen’s perception of science, and may be making people better informed on one level, teaching about DNA, biology, chemistry and so on. However, there is a negative aspect to people knowing more about forensics, because they feel they are experts and when they sit on juries in court, research shows they frequently misunderstand evidence presented, feeling it is incomplete or inadmissible. This is affecting criminal prosecutions for the worse. Finding some way to improve the situation cannot require television writers to write differently. That is impractical and goes against the principles of creativity and story telling. However, it may be possible to produce entertainment that actually engages viewers to understand forensics better and corrects this problematic effect. This paper will examine the problem and make a case for potential solutions.

EXAMPLE OF WEAK THESIS STATEMENT - ARGUMENT: b The population of the planet has grown from 6 billion to 11 billion people in the last two decades and the resources of the planet cannot keep up. This paper will demonstrate how the global economy will collapse as a result of our renewable resources not being able to keep up with laws of supply and demand.

NOTE: This thesis makes a point that can, indeed, be supported by research, but it is a point upon which most people familiar with the problems already agree. There is no new perspective, no idea for improvement, no suggestion that this student will do more than provide facts that show the planet is sick and overpopulated. That does not constitute an effective argument.

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THE SHAPE OF A RESEARCH PAPER Format and Content– Info __________________________________________________________________________________________ FORMAT & CONTENT:

PAGES 1 & 2 • • •

•

Format Do not include a cover page. Do not put your essay in a plastic cover or binding.

Select Times New Roman 12 point font for your entire essay.

Put your name, the date, the draft number and the class section in the upper left hand corner of your first page, and be sure it is single spaced.

Drop one line and put your title, in italics, with each major word capitalized. Center it. The title should forecast your argument.

YES Intro Paragraph Should Have • Drop one line and begin your introductory

paragraph. Double space your paper from

here on.

• You may use headings to organize sections

as needed.

• Your first graph (paragraph) will likely be a

full page in length. In should include: • A brief summary of the topic your will

address.

• Some description of key sources your essay will

rely on (full titles and authors) • A clear statement of your complex, nuanced

thesis.

NO •

•

•

•

•

•

Intro Paragraph Should NOT Have Your intro should NOT provide dozens of facts about the topic.

Your intro should NOT begin with “Since he dawn of time” or “Did you ever wonder...” or any other pedantic opener.

Your intro should NOT use a “hook” or “grabber” Your intro (and the rest of your paper) should NOT use “I” (as in “I think,” “I believe.” “In my pinion” or “It seems to me.”

Your intro (and the rest of your paper) should NOT use “You” (as in “You can see...”)

Do not leave blank lines between paragraphs.

MIDDLE PAGES • • • •

•

Should use paragraphs for each new point.

Each paragraph should begin with a transition showing how it follows from the previous paragraph.

Each paragraph should build on the previous one to help support some aspect of the argument.

Many paragraphs will include carefully selected quotes, presented in MLA format, and analyzed in depth to demonstrate exactly how they support the current point. No paragraph should end at the end of a quote, since quotes must be followed with in-depth analysis. Analysis does NOT mean repeating what the quote just said in your own words.

Middle pages will require SOME summary of information (all properly attributed to its source) but will mostly focus on analysis and argument.

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BEFORE ACTION HORIZON •

•

Although counter-arguments may be examined throughout, often times latter pages of a research paper may consider important or large scale counter arguments.

Counter-arguments should explain what someone who took an opposing position to your argument might say, and then show exactly why their view would be less valid based on the evidence.

CONCLUSION / ACTION HORIZON

An “action horizon” is a form of conclusion for a paper, that moves beyond saying “In conclusion,” and then summing up the paper.

• Should provide starting points for further thinking on the topic, • Should consider additional questions that might be helpful to examine, • Should look at practical next steps in addressing the matter at hand.

• Should NOT sum up the rest of the paper.

• Should NOT begin with the words “In conclusion.”

PRO TIP

A good research paper contains only 20% summary of facts and information (all cited). 80% is analysis of that information that adds up to a well supported argument.

Analysis & Argument

Summary of Factst

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Steps for Finding

Research Sources

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TYPES OF RESEARCH AND WHERE TO START For our purposes are three basic types of research you can conduct:

1. Library Research 2. Online Database Research 3. Interviews Most of your research will be Online Database Research.

You are probably familiar with using online search engines such as Google or Bing. These can be very useful, but you must not start with Google for your paper.

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FINDING SOURCES - STEP 1 1

GO TO THE ONLINE LIBRARY SITE Go to MCCC.EDU, click on Student Services, then select Library Services

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FINDING SOURCES - STEP 2 2

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GO TO ONLINE DATABASES From there look at the menu that runs down the left side of the page and click on “Online Databases”

FINDING SOURCES - STEP 3 3

START WITH A GENERAL SEARCH As a Mercer student you have access to many (over 60) online research databases. They are listed on this page by category. START BY SEARCHING THE “GENERAL” SECTION

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FINDING SOURCES - STEP 4 4

SELECT ACADEMIC SEARCH PREMIER (EBSCO HOST) Select the Academic Search Premier / Ebsco database.

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FINDING SOURCES - STEP 5 5

SIGN IN IF NEEDED If you are off campus you will be redirected to a databases login screen that looks like this. Follow the instructions to access the databases.

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FINDING SOURCES - STEP 6 6

SET UP YOUR SEARCH To do a basic search turn on smart text searching.

Also select full text and scholarly journals.

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FINDING SOURCES - STEP 7 7

ENTER YOUR SEARCH TERMS Type in search terms just like you would in any other search engine.

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FINDING SOURCES - STEP 8 8

TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR RESULTS Much of your research process will be looking at results pages and deciding if the entries in your list are worth your time to read. Begin by scanning the first few listings. If they are off topic, you need to search again using different search terms.

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Anatomy

of a Search Engine Listing Authors’ Names Title of the article

Name of Journal*

NOTE: Journal articles are often written by a group of people working together, so you may see a lot of authors listed. They will be listed by last name followed by a comma and then first name. When you introduce them in your essay you will mention only the first named person and then add the words et al.

Link to actual article

List of key terms

*A “journal” is a fancy name for a magazine that publishes academic or scholarly research. Information in journals has to be reviewed by several other experts before it can be published (this is called a “peer review” process).

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FINDING SOURCES - STEP 9 9

READ THE ABSRACTS When you click on the title link on the listing, it will take you to the abstract page. An abstract gives you the same info plus a handy summary of what is in that article. Read the summary and see if the article will be helpful for your paper.

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What to do

After You Find a Good Source k Each time you find a source you feel is useful:

i save it, i print it, i read it twice, i pull out quotes from it that can help you make your argument, i and keep track of where they came from because you’ll need that info for your citations in-text and Works Cited.

Save l Print l Read Twice l Pull Quotes l Note Source l

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OTHER SOURCES - STEP 10 10

OTHER RESEARCH SOURCES + NEXT STEPS

Other Types of Sources The research databases guarantee you will get scholarly articles from which you can draw real data.

However, at some point you will likely want or need to find other research materials. Here’s what you need to know to do it well.

Wikipedia is not Satan. YOU CANNOT quote or cite information from Wikipedia, but it can give you some background on most topics, and at the bottom of each listing there are usually links to other info, and some of those links may point to scholarly information. Wikipedia has its place.

Google and Google Scholar try to present themselves as being as good as actual research databases like Ebsco. They will pull up many more hits, but they are not always reliable. You will have to use the procedure below to ensure that the

How To Check a Source* When you need to see if a source you’ve found is scholarly, look at the following: 1. Is it clear who the author or authors are? It may be a research group, university department or government agency, but you should be able to quickly determine who is responsible for the content. If you can’t find this out, cross the source off your list.

2. Do not use .com .biz .us websites. Do consider .edu .gov and in some cases .org websites. Still be careful (especially with .orgs) that the data seem to have been gathered properly. Scrutinize these sources for any other of the other trouble areas mentioned in this list.

3. Is the information current? For many topics, data shifts and grows stale with time. Be sure you are looking at information that is relatively up-to-date.

4. Professors and experts, when they are talking about the subject they know, are often good sources, but ensure the person is who they say they are.

5. Is the source or data biased? Check that the data is being measured using appropriate research tools and that the source isn’t biased somehow. For example, a doctor being paid to support a product, is not unbiased. An organization such as the National Rifle Association is a biased source for statistics on gun violence. A study that only looks at a small group of people is not adequate to draw conclusions from. *NOTE: Now and then you may find a statistic from a group that is clearly biased, but that you still feel has some usefulness to your essay. If you are sure you want to use that source, you must be very clear in your essay that you understand the source is biased. You must explain why , exactly, you still feel the information is useful.

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Info &

SAMPLE Documents

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PROPOSALS Format and Content– Info __________________________________________________________________________________________ Your name ENG 112 Prof. Johnson Date Research Paper Proposal (approx. 1 page long) Working Title: Give your paper a title – you can change it later if you want.

Introduction: Explain the basics of the topic and your interest in it.

Summary: Summarize the key issues as you see it.

Preliminary Thesis: You will probably shift your argument as you do the research, but start with a possible argument that you think you would make.

Preliminary Sources: Go into the MCCC online research databases and see if you can find 2-4 preliminary resources that would work for your paper. Be sure to select “scholarly peer reviewed journals” and “full text.”

Save your articles to a drive. List them here.

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SAMPLE FAILING PROPOSAL GRADE = FAIL

__________________________________________________________________________________________ March 26th, 2014 Prof. J Y. Gerald Title: Old Generation vs. New Generation Thesis: With time going by the world is advancing in all aspects and the generations pass, but at the same time our morals, pride, and goals as people are diminishing and somewhat under developing.

Explanation: I will be investigating on how things were back in the days as far as American history, and how things are today going allow into future as well. How society has created a world based little on morals and respect, into a more advanced and self preserved time. Like how the internet has changed the world and how people live in it. How cellphones and the language that is chosen to be acceptable in certain areas and what is not accepted in certain, and how at one time it was acceptable. How loyalty is a non-existing factor in history of America as time goes on.

Scholary Sources: I don’t have any sources at the moment

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SAMPLE PASSING PROPOSAL GRADE = PASS

__________________________________________________________________________________________ R.Ryan ENG 112 Prof. J Research Paper Proposal Working Title: The Future of Reporting and Reporters Introduction: It is no secret that printed newspapers are steadily declining in popularity. My father works for a newspaper company so I know first-hand how the internet has affected newspaper popularity over the years.

He lives day-to-day not knowing if he will walk in to work the next day and still have a job. I want to learn the bigger effects of the internet on the newspaper industry.

Summary: My paper will look at the effects of the internet on the newspaper industry and also look for evidence of how the industry is changing.

Preliminary Thesis: My preliminary argument is that in order for modern journalists to find work, they have to be ready to do a very different job than they used to train people to do in journalism schools. They need some of the old skills, but also many new ones, and to make a living they need to be prepared for a very different kind of work environment.

Preliminary Sources: Title: Costly Mistakes Author: John Morton Source: American Journalism Review; Winter 2010, Vol. 32 Issue 4, pg.64-66, 1p Type: Article http://mccclib.mccc.edu:2054/ehost/detail?sid=9f5bfeec-4bfd-46f5-a060-b507f842d96d%40sessionmgr15&vid =5&hid=28&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=lfh&AN=56567080 Title: Accuracy, Errors & the Craft of Verification Author: Shirley Duglin Kennedy Source: Information Today. Feb 2013, Vol. 30 Issue 2, pg. 23-23. http://mccclib.mccc.edu:2054/ehost/ detail?sid=9f5bfeec-4bfd-46f5-a060-b507f842d96d%40sessionmgr15&vid=6&hid=28&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWh vc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bsh&AN=86235187

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SAMPLE PASSING PROPOSAL GRADE = PASS

__________________________________________________________________________________________ A. Malick ENG 112 Prof. Johnson March 24, 2014 Research Paper Proposal Working Title: School Shootings: Predicting the Unpredictable Introduction: School shootings are a phenomenon that has been a growing concern since the early 1990s. A few research teams have tried to ascertain the driving forces that are behind these events, but, to this day, they still have been unable to do so. I want to look at whether there is any way to predict school shootings or at least predict who may cause them.

Oftentimes the media and the surrounding communities are quick to blame superficial reasons for why the youth have committed a school shootings. The intent of this research paper is to take a much deeper look into the dynamics of school shootings and find a thesis that makes sense after examining the data.

Preliminary Thesis: I don’t believe the reasons we hear for why people commit school shootings make sense. We all watch violent movies and play video games. That doesn’t make us killers. Something is wrong here. I plan to argue that the factors that are to blame are somewhat predictable, but they aren’t the ones everyone thinks.

Summary: Research is showing that the forces behind the school rampage shootings are connected to deep-rooted American cultural beliefs like masculinity and power/control. It is also important to remember that school shooters may externally appear to fit into a mold that people associate with school shooters, but what we hear from the media is initial information that often pans out to be untrue or greatly exaggerated. The factors behind school shootings are never as simple as they are made to appear in the news, and, more often than not, there are deep underlying issues behind the attacks.

Preliminary Sources: • • htm.

Greg Toppo, “10 Years Later, the Real Story Behind Columbine,” USA TODAY , April 13, 2009, http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-13-columbine-myths_N.

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Use Last Names of Authors PRO TIP

The first time you introduce an author of a source, use their full name. After that, refer to them by LAST NAME ONLY, unless it’s Cher, Madonna or Oprah.

And it won’t be any of them, I promise.

This is NOT Martin

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This IS Madonna

OUTLINES Format and Content– Info __________________________________________________________________________________________ FORMAT: The format is your choice – mind map, standard text outline, index cards etc.

CONTENT: Your outline must include: • A clear thesis that is complex and has multiple components • A sequence of points that you will use to support your thesis – these may fall into several categories • Quotes and scholarly sources that correspond to each of points in the sequence • Some kind of idea for how you will make an action horizon conclusion

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Successful Mind Map Outline

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Successful Standard Outline* P. Ammons Oct. 15, 2014 ENG 112

Outline for Music Thriving Under Oppression Research Paper

THESIS: Oppression of social groups inspires creativity and innovations, specifically in the field of music (and dance? film?) as people are forced to work around threats in order to express themselves. This can be seen in the music of Cuba, South Africa and China.

SECTION I: South Africa - Apartheid 1.SOCIAL STRENGTH: The first way we see creativity in music growing during Apartheid is:

a. despite low literacy rates among black Africans, music and song were easily transmitted from

person to person and used to pass information

i.

Source: “Global Innovation Through Music” – Randall Sims

1. first quote “Illiteracy rates during the height of apartheid in the 1960’s and

70’s, reached 75% among black Africans, a factor that might have left the anti

apartheid movement unable to organize, but song was used not only for creation

of protest anthems, but in many cases to help transmit information about rallies

and other events.” (548)

2. second quote “???”

b. combining music with the dance “toyi toyi” during protest rallies increased the power of

resistance through numbers and movement that intimidated opposition guards

i.

Source: “Amandla” film

1. first quote “We saw them coming, chanting ‘ous, ous!’ and dancing their ‘toyi

toyi’ – thousands and thousands of them, and we were just boys. How were we

going to keep them back? We were ready to shit our pants.” (Helbert Anz national security guard – South Africa – 1978-1985 – Amandla) 2.

SURGE: The next way we see creativity in music growing during Apartheid is of new music after

oppression

a. after the end of Apartheid music from the era did not disappear, but is carried on and used as part

of the healing process

i.

Source: “Sounds of Solomon” 3.

HEALING: After the end of Apartheid music from the era did not disappear, but is carried on and used

as part of the healing process

i.

Source: “Sounds of Solomon”

SECTION II: China under Mao - The “Great Leap Forward” SECTION III: Cuba under Castro

____________________________________________________________________ *NOTE: This example is a more detailed version of the one presented in the mind map on the previous page. It is not complete.

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SAMPLE RESEARCH PAPER 1 GRADE = F/D Basic Problems with this paper: • • • • • • • •

No clear thesis argument Disorganized thoughts It is not clear why the sources being cited are scholarly Quotes not formatted correctly using MLA and not tied to any thesis + no Works Cited Student shifts into personal opinion instead of analysis Because the paper doesn’t examine the sources in any depth, it is only 5 pages Paper contains more summary of information than anything else Grammar, spelling, punctuation and basic proofreading problems are evident throughout.

Cate R. ENG 112 Research Paper Prof. Johnson

Stop the killing, don’t turn your backs!

Genocide can be stopped as well as prevented, if people get involved to help. In an interview transcribed

by Lee Michael Katz, (National Journal) entitled, Sudan Genocide Can be Stopped, Charles Snyder is being interviewed by Lee Michael Katz, during the interview Snyder says, “what’s needed are more humanitarian assistance and more access. It’s starting to turn around, but the disease vectors and things that kill people in these camps still can be addressed. It’s not too late.” [www.democratandchronicle.com/]

In a related article, Speakers, With Rwanda in Mind, See hope for Improvement, by staff writer Matthew

Daneman, the Jusuit Priest and teacher at Boston College said, “The Rwandan genocide was a genocide that had every chance to be prevented.” “The experience of Rwanda brings us to the reality that ‘never again’ will be again and again.” [www.democratandchronicle.com] It is said, “the answer is to stay informed speak out, involve others, There’s no longer a theoretical barrier to defending human rights.” [www.democratandchronicle. com/].

The advice will force citizens to see the devastation that other citizens are going through. Although for

any country to get involved the devastation needs to have the work of the government behind the killings to be described as ‘genocide.’

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Taking a whole different approach, “Only actions not words can win the race against death in Darfur, said by United States sectary of State Colin Powell.” [news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/Africa/3875277]

Although to get actions from nations you don’t need words you need one word “GENOCIDE!” yet,

No nation will constitute what is happening as genocide.There are this that can be done with out fighting back msnbc explains, “Diseases, especially waterborne ones, are sure to spread. Meningitis has already broken out at a camp on the Chad border.” [msnbc.msn.com/id/4825070/] If there was more humanitarian aid there would be less disease. There are some things that can be done now. The sad truth is the country of Darfur has been forgotten because of other disasters. “Prior to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, the UN called the Darfur conflict the world’s worst current humanitarian crisis. When the tsunami devastated Asia, the focus of the humanitarian community necessarily shifted to the East.” [www.stonescryout.org/archives/2005/05/who_will_ stop_t_l.html] Events that are happening in Darfur are absolutely horrible. Some governments promise help, but don’t deliver.

A report out of the UN explains of measures to be taken. “The first conclusion of the report states that the people of Darfur, “have been living a nightmare of violence and abuse,” and that, “they need protection,” but the report fails to recommend any measures to provide such protection.” [www.africanaction.org]

In this piece of writing the protester explains that a report was sent out stating that people are have a

terrible life and something should happen to stop this injustice, but the report never specifies on what the UN tends to do about it. Obviously “the African Union needs UN support.” [msnbc.msn.com/id/4825070/] Plus “there is a need for a more robust mandate for the African Union mission and a larger international intervention force to support the African Union and provide protection to the people of Darfur. African Action today [http://web10.epnet.com]

But there is a problem, The African Union wants to handle this travesty on their own and they do not

want to accept any help. Snyder explains during the interview with Katz,” The African Union for now is saying it doesn’t want the outside assistance beyond the planning stages.”The African Union knows what is going on, and now they are beginning to contradict themselves. Chairman of the African Union Commission Alpha Oumar Konare said, “They would intervene if they saw civilians being killed.” He also said “the 300 troops would arrive in Sudan by the end of July.” [msnbc.msn.com/id/4825070/]Yet, analysts say, “at least 15,000 troops are needed to bring peace to the vast area of Darfur.” [msnbc.msn.com/id/4825070/] The African Union would not send any troops if he did not have to intervene.

Darfur’s war will not end until everyone is dead or another government intervenes. The only chance of

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another government intervening would be any government describing the killings as a genocide. Charles Snyder was interviewed by Lee Michael Katz from Academic Search Premier National Journal. Snyder was asked, “What crimes were documented to cause Powell to come to the genocide determination? Snyder responded with, “If we [the United States] just call it, “genocide,” ultimately not much will come of it, other than bilateral action by the United States we really do need our allies and the Africans on board. But they’ve all agreed what’s going on is horrific and has to be stopped. We’re still quibbling over the word with some, but that’s where the United Nations can contribute.” [web10.epnet.com] No government wants to intervene simply because they do not have to. The only way governments can get around not doing anything is if they do not use the word, “genocide.” “African countries and the entire world must decide if we will act to try to stop the genocide in Darfur or if we will respond with silence and inaction as we did in Rwanda 10 years ago,” wrote Richard Williamson, the United States envoy to the United Nations commutation on human rights; in the Chicago Sun Times. [msnbc.msn.com/id/4825070/] Sadly, there was nothing learned during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, because it is happening all over again, maybe not as deadly, but it still can be stopped by governments around the world. “In 1994, when the international community avoided using the term “genocide” because countries were unwilling to take the action that such a serious charge would require.” [www.africanaction.org/]

The same sadness is happening all over again. Snyder explains “the governments issued all the right

orders. They’re simply not being implemented in some places. The government needs to do something about that.” The governments are not checking up to see if orders are being followed, or if there are not enough troops.

The Sudanese government needs help. An angry protester speaks out by writing the obvious truths, “The United States is the only government to have acknowledged that what is happening in Darfur constitutes as genocide.

On September 9, 2004, then- Secretary of state Colin Powel declared on behalf of the Bush administration that, “genocide has been committed in Darfur, that the government of Sudan and the Janjawid bare responsibility.”

The White House issued a statement the same day confirming this determination.” [www.africanaction.org/] The United States has a clear moral and legal obligation to prevent and punish genocide as a signatory to the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide (1948). [www.africanaction.org/] Once Colin Powel uttered “genocide” nothing was done about it. Once it is acknowledged that there is a genocide happening, your country needs to help fight it. [stopgenocide.org]

In conclusion, in March or April, the United Nation’s Security Council agreed to refer Darfur to the

International Criminal Court. They promised justice in the future, but people are wondering how many more will die before someone helps! [msnbc.msn.com/] These events get promised and nothing happens. And

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people are still dieing.Things need to be done now, “there is a growing consensus around the need for a more robust mandate for the African Union (AU) mission and a larger international intervention force to support the Africans Union and provide protection to the people of Darfur. African Action today declares that the United Nations (UN) is the appropriate vehicle for suck an intervention, and that this is a viable opinion that should immediately be pursued by the international community.” [www.commondreams.org/] During an interview where Lee Michael Katz interviewed Secretary of State Colin Powell, Powel said, “The African Union for now is saying it doesn’t want the outside assistance beyond the planning stages.” what is needed are more humanitarian assistance and mare access. It’s starting to turn around, but the disease vectors and things that kill people in these camps still can be addressed. It’s not too late.” “The Sudanese government has to stop digging themselves deeper into the problem. The fact the Janjaweed is still active, and [government] helicopter ginships are still active in several cases, indicates they’re still making the problem worse. There’s time for them to do the right thing.” “The government issued all the right orders. They’re simply not being implemented in some places.

The government needs to do something about that.” The Sudanese can not handle this genocide by themselves they need other countries to intervene, but who?

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SAMPLE RESEARCH PAPER 2 GRADE = D Basic Problems with this paper: • • • • • • • •

Thesis shifts frequently – there is no one, specific argument Disorganized thoughts Quotes are not given correctly Student shifts into personal opinion instead of analysis Because the paper doesn’t examine the sources in any depth, it is only 5 pages Paper contains more summary of information than anything else Grammar, spelling, punctuation and basic proofreading problems are evident throughout.

Wooly mammoths. Enough said.

Matt B. ENG112 November 19, 2013 Final Draft

Animal Cloning is Worthy

Due to recent advancements in technology, the cloning of animals has scientific and medical benefits which can be shown to be beneficial. There is controversy regarding the cloning of animals. Since cloning animals is still in the early stages, the progresses the researches have made are remarkable. Religious organizations feel it is not ethical. Pet cloning is not necessary since animals need to be adopted, and animal activists feel it is inhumane and these are a few controversies. In my opinion the medical and scientific benefits prevail over the objections to cloning.

We can possibly live in a world where cells can be created for treatment of certain diseases or human

organs can be generated for transplant. It is possible in the future with the scientific advancement of cloning. A clone is an organism that is descended from, and is genetically identical to, a single common ancestor. Cloning involves creating genetically identical copies of a plant or animal, using asexual reproduction. (“Animal Cloning.” van Eenennaam, Allison, PhD., Cooperative Extension Specialist.) Cloning livestock have been a part of animal agriculture for over 20 years.

Cloning an animal is done by nuclear transfer. An unfertilized egg is extracted from an adult species.

The genetic material (nucleus) is removed from the unfertilized egg by an instrument called a pipette. The result is an egg that is not fertilized and has no chromosomes. A cell is then extracted from another adult of the same species. The cell may be a skin cell. It does not matter if the cell is from a male or female. The nucleus is

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extracted from the cell, using the previous procedure, and is then implanted into the enucleated egg. The donor nucleus must be amalgamated with the egg through a brief electrical pulse or a chemical fusion process. The egg becomes an embryo and starts to divide as if it had been fertilized. In the cases of mammals, the embryo is then placed into the surrogate mother where it will develop and be born. The animal born is the result of cloning. (The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Cloning, Gralla, Jay D., Ph.D. and Gralla, Preston. p 74-75.)

Scientist started to research animal cloning in an attempt to understand embryonic development in

the 19th century. After many years of research and successes, cloning animals has produced many scientific and medical benefits. Of course, there were many failures. Cloned animals died within a few days and some animals were born with deformities. But, as new technology and research are constantly being implemented, the advancements the researchers have progressed have been astounding.

Researchers are experimenting adding certain human genes to an animal’s own gene in anticipation

of having a more abundant supply of transplantable organs. Researchers are experimenting suppressing the immune system. Research has been conducted to clone pigs to have human cell surface antigens (substance that stimulates production of antibody). The organ from the pig will be more equivalent to a human organ.

The human body will still reject the foreign organ but the rejection can be controlled. Researchers have made remarkable discoveries in their ability to clone pigs with the human cell surface antigens. There are many tests to be performed before clinical trials can begin. Medical researchers agree in the near future, pig organs will be available for human transplant. Daniel Cohen, Scientist from Advanced Cell Technology in Massachusetts, (Cloning, Great Medical Discoveries. Nardo, Dan. p54-55) explains;

Technology has allowed researchers to clone animals, such as sheep, goats, cows and pigs with human genes which are replicated. The cloned animals are considered transgenic, or genetically engineered, because they contain a gene from a different species. Each cloned animal will only be injected with one human gene. It is the medically important gene, usually a protein. Through advance procedures, the gene will be isolated from human cells. Transgenic animals are able to be mass-produced and sold as pharmaceutical products. Animals which are cloned for medicinal products must be female because the gene is expressed in the mammary gland. (The New Biology, Animal Cloning The Science of Transfer, Panno, Joseph; 2011 pgs. 469-70.)

There are five drugs being produced in transgenic animals.

Alpha-1 Antitrypsin is a drug commonly used to treat cystic fibrosis, emphysema and various lung diseases.

To meet the demand to produce the enormous amounts of the protein, which is needed worldwide, researchers are producing Alpha-1 by using transgenic cows.

Transgenic cows are being considered to produce human antibodies. Extensive research is still being done

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because it is difficult to separate the cow’s antibodies from the human’s antibodies. It is a difficult procedure, because during the cloning procedure, the cow’s immune genes must be (knocked out) eliminated so only the human genes are produced. Researchers are concerned about the cows’ welfare, because once the cows are injected with the human antibodies; the cows will no longer have its own immune system to ward off infection.

(The New Biology, Animal Cloning; The Science of Transfer, Panno, Joseph; 2011 p. 563.)

Another fascinating and captivating vision for the beneficial purpose of animal cloning technology,

are saving endangered animal species and even revive species like dinosaurs. Researchers anticipate that endangered and rare species might be saved. Scientists have been successful in the cloning of endangered animals, but unfortunately the young has died soon after birth. With more research and successful attempts, scientists believe that cloning will enable zoos to save animals that do not breed well in captivity. The “Frozen Zoo” at the San Diego Zoo now stores frozen tissue from the world’s rarest and most endangered species.

Scientists are considering cloning the giant panda and the Sumatran tiger. (Cloning, Opposing Viewpoints.

Connor, Steven; p. 128-32.)

In December, 2011 it was announced that a team from the Siberian mammoth museum and Japan’s

Kinki University plan to clone a woolly mammoth from a well preserved sample of bone marrow found in August 2011. The team projects that the cloning may be concluded within the next five years. They are attempting to extract DNA from the carcass and insert it into egg cells of an African elephant in anticipation of producing a mammoth embryo. (“ How Woolly Mammoths Could Roam Earth.”, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ scienticetech/article-2381829). The tissue, including blood vessels, bone cells, and perhaps even blood cells, were so well preserved that it was still stretchy and flexible. Most scientists believed it was impossible for DNA to exist for 70 million years. Before this discovery, most scientists believed soft tissue could not survive for 70 million years either. As of today, there is no evidence of research to clone a T Rex. Can you imagine cloning a T Rex and staring at him face to face? (http://www.calaacademy.org/science_now/headline_science/T-rex_soft tissue)

The modern cloning techniques involving nuclear transfer have been successfully performed on several

species. (“Cloning – Wikipedia.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cloning.) They include: •

Rhesus monkey (2000)

•

Gaur (2001) first endangered species cloned

•

Cattle (2001)

•

Cats: CopyCat (2001) and Little Nicky (2004) for commercial reasons

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•

Rats (2003)

•

Mule (2003)first horse family cloned

•

Horse (2003) first cloned horse

•

Dog(2005) first cloned dog

•

Wolf(2005)

•

Water Buffalo(2009)

•

Pyrenean Ibex (2009) first “extinct” animal

•

Camel (2009)

•

Pashmina goat (2012)

Because of the recent advancements in technology, cloning of animals has been an issue. Animal

cloning is already being used to create human embryos for therapeutic cloning. Most scientists consider the process of animal cloning as a major advancement and see many beneficial possibilities. People are uncomfortable with the idea, considering it to be `against nature.’ Majority of people are not enthusiastic about animal cloning; despite the possible benefits new technology may bring to aid human life and possibility end suffering and bring us the benefit of things like reviving lost species.

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WORKS CITED

Congressional Research Service. Biotechnology in Animal Agriculture: Status and Current Issues. Sep. 10, 2013 Download Book

.

Dardo, Don. Cloning – (Great Medical Discoveries). Lucent Books, Inc. 2001 Edwards, J. L.; Schrick, F. N.; McCraken, aM. D.; van Amstel, S. R.; Hopkins, F. M.; Welborn, M. G.; Davis, C. J.; “Cloning Adult Farm Animals: A Review of the Possibilities and Problems Associated with Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer.” American Journal of Reproduction Immunology. Aug. 2003. 50.2 113-23. Print. EBSCO Host Ehrenfeld, David. “Transgenics and Vertebrate Cloning as Tools for Species Conservation.” Conservation Biology. Jun. 2006. 20.3. 723-32. Print EBSCO Host Gralla. Jay D., Ph.D. and Gralla, Preston. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Cloning. 2004. Alpha Books “How Woolly Mammoths Could Roam Earth Again.” www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ article-How-woolly-mammoths-could-roam-earth-again.

Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloning. Oct. 24, 2013 Print.

Langwith, Jacqueline. Cloning – Opposing Viewpoints. 2012. Gale Cengage Learning; Greenhaven Press Manataka American Indian Council. “Animal Cloning – Pros and Cons Discussed.” www.manataka.org./page1033.html. Oct. 24, 2013. Print.

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SAMPLE RESEARCH PAPER 3 GRADE = B+ Notable elements of this paper: • • • •

• •

Clear thesis Supporting information is from scholarly sources Some of the quotes are over long and the amount of analysis is limited Although sources are excellent and numerous, so much information is presented back to back that the student has left herself little room for engaging each complex piece of information Quotes are given using correct MLA citation Overall organization is good, but paper could be more concise and move more smoothly from point to point.

Ruchika M. ENG 112, Research Paper Prof. Johnson Date: April 29, 2014 Lower Rate of College Graduates in the United States and Potential Resolutions

To obtain a higher education is one of the biggest challenges for the Americans. Every year many students take admission in the college, however only few of them get success in getting degree, and rest of the students drop out of the college. According to the data collected by “The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development for Its Reports”, published in Education at a Glance 2013:

Among 18 countries the United States finished last (46 percent) for the percentage of students

who completed college once they started it. That puts the United States behind 17 other countries

including the top three Japan (89 percent), Australia (82 percent) and Denmark (81percent).

(www.oecd.org) The data shows that the United States is far behind many countries. Now the question arises that why the United States has lower rate of college graduates? Why do students get drop out from the college without finishing their degree? And what will be the impact to the country if students could not get their college degree?

Based on the research, since there is not enough financial support for the students, and their income deficit, students drop out from the colleges without completing their degree. In addition, dropped out students are more likely to be unemployed, or earn less than those who finished their college. More unemployment and earning less compared to college graduates, increases poverty and crime in the society. Rising tuition fees and student financial problems are one of the major concerns for the United States government. To encourage more

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enrollments of students and to improve graduation rate, government should give benefits and awards every year to the colleges like grants, and lower rate loans, especially for the success of lower income groups. Along with the help of grants and lower rate loans, colleges should also provide other financing options, scholarships, and funds to the students to complete their degrees, which will help the nation to improve the economy by increase the number of skilled and qualified human resources in the United States. The most viable way to improve financing and give more money to students are adding more funds, job on campus and promoting online courses.

Most of the students cannot continue their higher degrees in the college because of the higher tuition

fees and expensive books. According to the National center for education statistics, Digest of education statistics 2012:

For the 2011–12 academic year, annual current dollar prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board were estimated to be $14,300 at public institutions, $37,800 at private non-profit institutions, and $23,300 at private for-profit institutions. (http\\nces.ed.gov)

This report shows that even public colleges are costing a lot of money, which is not easy to manage for the students, although the cost of books and other miscellaneous expenses are not included in this report.

Sometimes books are more expensive than the course fees. The students have to take a loan to pay for the tuition and other college expenses and within one or two years in college, students come under a bunch of debts.

On the other hand, tuition fees are increasing much faster than the inflation rate, which makes students’ life more difficult. Thomas Li-Ping Tang, Professor of Management, Middle Tennessee State University, described his concern for rising tuition fees in his article “College Tuition and Perception of Private University Quality”, published in The International Journal of Education Management 2004. His research was based on institutional characteristics and market-related factors to predict undergraduate students’ tuition at 190 private colleges and universities in the USA. He said that:

From the 1980-1981 academic year through the 1994-1995 academic year, tuition at four-year public colleges and universities (for in-state undergraduate students) increased nationally by 234 percent, while household income rose 82 percent during the same period. (304)

His description forces to think seriously about tuition fees of in-state universities that are rising more than the average household income of middle and lower income families. How can middle and a lower income family afford this high education cost? Based on the research, increasing college tuition fees are affected by numerous factors, in which the college reputation plays an important role. When a college reputation ranking is high, tuition fees is high. According to the data of Tang‘s ‘Multiple Regression Analysis Results for College Tuition’,

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“high tuition was related to large expenditures, non-doctoral institution, north east region, small faculty, and small student body” (Tang 311). Although colleges’ CEO’s pay, benefits, and other expenditures are also included in the tuition fees, this is generally seen as a burden for the students. To reduce the cost of tuition and the books for higher education, college should redesign its policy regarding students of lower and middle income families. College should have arrangement for more donation and scholarships from outside resources like fundraising, and try to cut budgets from other unnecessary miscellaneous expenses. College should give discount on books, promotes online books and buying used books.

Apart from rising cost of the tuition, another problem of increasing college dropout rate is, all students

have to pay almost same tuition fees, and are not related to their courses, majors, or income. In the scholarly article “Student Response To Tuition Increase By Academic Majors: Empirical Grounds For A Cost-Related Tuition Policy”, from the website Higher Education 2008, Jung Cheol Shin, Department of Education at Korean Ministry of Education, South Korea, pointed out that “In most states, however, colleges and universities generally charge the same tuition to students no matter their major” (720). Mostly colleges charge students for providing facilities whether they are using, or not like lab work field charges, and so on. Even students of technical and medicine major are also paying the same tuition fees. Now the question is why college is charging same amount of tuition fees when in some majors the miscellaneous charges are not required, as they don’t have any laboratory work etc.? The United States Government allocates fewer budgets for the colleges, that’s the main reason, colleges charge students more than their major’s need, and do not care about national crises of fewer qualified human resources. The United States is complaining for years that the country has shortage of skilled technicians. Millions of people are unemployed because they don’t have proper education. To help in minimizing the effect of this problem, state should think first about student’s ability and whether the student is able to pay tuition fees or not. Government should provide more funding and scholarship options for the students who are unable to pay tuition easily.

As Shin suggested in designing pricing policy, state should consider competitor factors (tuition level,

size, distance, etc.), students’ ability to pay, and college expenditures, as well as state and federal aid and appropriations. Their task is to enhance financial revenue without losing students. (720). It means, when the government and colleges make budget plans for the college tuitions, they should always consider the students’ abilities and majors, and accordingly should enhance financial supports. If colleges make few changes in their cost-related tuition policy, most students may get a chance to complete their higher education. Additionally, instead of increasing cost of tuition, colleges should find additional financial sources for the college expenses.

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Studies indicate that many lower income families are not only struggling for the higher education but graduating from high school itself is a big and difficult task for them. Students, who belong to lower income families, are not able to concentrate on their study, skip classes, and finally dropout from the college. According to an article “Exception to High School Dropout Prediction in a Low-Income Sample: Do Adult Make a Difference?” from the website Journal of Social Issues 2008, by Michele M. Englund, PhD, is a Research Associate at the Institute of Child Development Minnesota, argued that “Dropping out of high school is particularly problematic for low-income youth. Low-income adolescents continue to drop out of higher education at higher rates than other socioeconomic groups” (78). It means that students of low income groups are in higher risk of not completing higher education compared to other socioeconomics groups, and they struggle a lot more than other groups.

Higher education is a better way to improve socio-economic status. Poverty is a major problem of the country, which cannot be eradicated without having a degree, and getting well paid jobs. Ali Tas, PhD., is currently an Associate Professor of Educational Sciences, Turkey, claimed in his article “Reason for Dropout for Vocational High School Students” in Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, that “18-24 age group have left school without completing degree. That means that age group do not have the necessary competences for living in better standards. And it also means long term losses that affect individuals and society”. (1562) As Tas cited that low income groups’ youth cannot make changes in their lifestyle unless they have a proper degree and ultimately it negatively affects the society and the individual too. For the problem of students in low-income families, financial aid is a better solution. However financial aids and supports are very low in some state and private colleges. In the article, “The Association Between Financial Aid Availability and the College Dropout Rates in Colombia” by Tatiana Melguizo,PhD, Associate Professor of Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, published in the High Education 2011, explains the situation of Columbian colleges that:

The enrollment of students in postsecondary was decreased because of lack of well developed financial aid system, and the Columbian government has made an effort to increase the financial aid available to low- and middle-income students in the country. The result of this study confirm that indeed proving additional financial aiding the form of loans, and/or grants had a positive association in reducing dropout rate postsecondary student in Columbia in the last decades. (245)

Similarly, another analysis of Spain, titled “Why do Higher Education Students Drop Out? Evidence from Spain”, by Gérard Lassibille, Head of French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) France, in the Education Economic 2008, reported that:

Turning now to financial support, the results show that students who receive state grants are less

likely than students who do not receive state grants to withdraw in any period. According to this

result, financial support not only boosts the demand for education, by reducing the opportunity

cost of studies, but also helps to increase the flow of graduates from a given cohort of entering

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students. This result is consistent with other findings documenting the impact of financial aid on college behavior. (101)

It has been proven by the study in Colombia and Spain that when student have access to different form of financial aid in getting higher education, they feel more encouraged for the degree, and give more positive responses towards the higher education.

Another reason of lower rate of college graduates in the United States is increasing students’ loan debt.

The article, “Does the Fear of Debt Constrain Choice of University and Subject of Study?”, by Claire Callender, PhD. Professor of Higher Education Studies, University of London, UK, in Studies in Higher Education 2008, examines that, how fear of debt and financial constraints affect prospective students’ choices of where, what to study, and till when? She elucidated that:

There is a consensus in this literature that prospective students from lower socio-economic

backgrounds are more likely than those from better-off families to report that their choices

are constrained by the costs of higher education. In addition, several of these studies cite fear of

debt and the prospects of building up large debts, particularly student loan debt, as a factor

impacting on their choices, especially for those from low socio-economic groups. (409) This quote explains the students get more affected by their lower socio-economic backgrounds, and feel anxious about student loan debt, and this is one of the reasons they cannot enroll for higher education. Due to these facts and negative aspects of college policy, students’ withdraw from the colleges. Students, without degrees and proper jobs, may get involved in the criminal activities. Today, there are millions of prisoners who are dropout either from the high schools or the colleges, and get involved in some kind of drugs and alcohol activities. Now the problem is what else the colleges can do to reduce the debt? Colleges should take initiatives to reduce the crime rate and increase the college graduate rate with the help of a personal development test. The personal development test is designed to help students to identify their goals, needs, and helps to improve their future.

Additionally, college should provide programs to improve graduation rate like financial literacy programs, which helps the student to use knowledge and skills to manage their financial situation and crises. In the article “Use of Personal Development Test to Identify High School & College Dropout Students, Russell N Cassel, was a Professor in the Psychology Department, University of Wisconsin, published in Summer Education2003, suggested that:

If we are going to decrease our prison population even a mite, our high schools across the nation

will have to take immediate action to increase the “Personal Development” of our students. The ideal time to increase personal development is during the early adolescent years, and before cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs have destroyed the potential for personal productivity. All students in our high school should be given

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The Personal Development Test when they enter 9th grade to insure that they have sufficient “personal development” to complete high school successfully. (645)

He stated that if colleges provide additional programs for personal development that will help in

decreasing the rate of prisoners, and improve the graduation rate of the colleges. Although US financial institutes are already charging less interest rate for the student loan compared to many other countries, still student loan amount is in billions in this country. However, “Government acknowledges that with the introduction of variable fees, ‘students from low-income backgrounds, and their families, will be concerned about the affordability of studying for a degree” (408). Callender claims that government is already considering to the students’ families background for the student loan.

Since students are facing rising cost of tuition and other financial problems, they are working either full

time or part time, to manage their expenses, and are not able to attend the class regularly. Maintaining work life and college life simultaneously is not easy for students. That’s the reason students cannot focus on their studies, and get lower grades in the colleges. Wiji Arulampalam, Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick, in her article “Factors affecting the probability of first year medical student dropout in the UK: A logistic Analysis for the Intake Cohort of 1980-92”, published in Medical Education 2004, states that “dropout rates of first year students were influenced by the subjects studied and the scores achieved” (493). After getting lower grades and working full time jobs, students become over stressed, over whelmed, and drop the colleges within first two years. Additionally, college dropout students earn less money compare to the college graduates. Don Lemon, an American journalist and television news anchor, in a commentary on CNN, claimed that:

Weekly median annual earnings in 2012 for a high school dropout were $471; $652 for a high school graduate; and $1,066 for a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree. Multiplying those weekly figures by 52, and the annual earnings for a high school dropout were $24,492, compared with $33,904 for a high school graduate and $55,432 for a college graduate. (July 27th, 2013)

From this quote it is clear that college graduates earn a lot more than dropout students and that affect their personal life too. To reduce the problems of students, related to working and studying, college should add more jobs on the campus, as well as promote online classes. If students get jobs on campus, they can go for the classes easily, can earn money during college timing, as well as focus on the study without getting over stressed.

Further, without being affected by the work, colleges can promote online classes that will help students to earn degree at their own pace according to their timing and flexibility. In the opinion of a youth development agency, OOP (Our Peace of the Pie), which is offering a relationship-centered approach to help young people access,

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and attain a mix of educational, employment, and personal skills that contribute to their success, a member of OOP Bob Rath, in the article “Pathways through College: Strategies for Improving Community College Student Success”, published in OOP2013, stated that:

To succeed in college, students need more than strong academics, they need supports that foster a

smooth transition from high school to college. When students receive the academic, social, and career supports they need, they remain in school and achieve success. (www.opp.org)

From this quote one can see that when students get supports from their surrounding; they may succeed

in attaining their degree. And it explains that financial aids are not enough to improve retention, and graduation rates in colleges. Similarly, government should give tax rebate according to the college credits earned, so that student can fulfill their dreams. Additionally, government can give awards, as grants and better loan terms, to encourage colleges on the basis of more student enrollments and maximum number of graduated students from the colleges.

Although some people may think that if the government would increase financial aid, it is a very

expensive way of increasing the number of graduation rate in the country. Even with the help of financial aid, some students don’t want to continue their higher education, and either withdraw their name from the college or never attend classes. In that situation, increased financial aid would become worthless. As well as, government will lose that money completely. In the article “Student Retention in Higher Education: The Role of Institutional Habitus” published by Journal of Education Policy, Liz Thomas, a Director of the Institute for access Studies at Staffordshire University, UK argued that, “many students cope with poverty, high levels of debt and significant burdens of paid work to successfully complete their courses of study” (438). Sometime students cannot manage themselves and drop out from the colleges, even though Thomas said some students cross all hurdles and get degree on time. In addition, Thomas said that “attributes this trend to ‘institutional habitus’, particularly the ‘willingness of institutions to embrace and value diversity” (439). Thomas explained that successful students accept all challenges a willingly. In that situation, colleges should gather more information about students to know who are willing to join the higher education and are serious about finishing their degree requirements, and accordingly financial aid should be provided. There are many programs have been implemented so far, some of them got success and some failed, for example, financial literacy program. Due to many factors, the result of financial literacy program may vary from person to person. Susan Eitel, Texas Woman University, article: “First-Generation Female College Students’ Financial Literacy: Real and Perceived Barriers to Degree Completion”, published in College Student Journal, stated: “Financial literacy education might relieve some

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of the pressure related to daily financial struggles with increased management techniques” (para 35). Eitel says that financial literacy education helps students to manage financial struggle on their daily basis life. However, only financial literacy program cannot make a big difference in students’ retention; as the focus is very narrow.

Although, it may help to make students’ life easier by solving few of the problems they are facing. Still, government and colleges should keep trying to improve student retention.

The financial problems are one of the biggest reasons for the students to not been able to get higher

degrees from the colleges. Providing academic support including reduced tuition cost can bring vast differences in the rate of graduate students. If colleges change its strategies, and become more responsive for students, students will definitely earn degrees on time. Every student deserves quality and less expensive education, but without sufficient help from government and colleges, they cannot make their future bright. Government and colleges should join and step up to fight this major problem of the US economy and improve the future of our country. However, the problem is that when a person is not interested in higher education at all, and is not bothered about the future problems, in that situation, what and how can the government and colleges would encourage students to improve their perspective of education and future?

Works Cited A Youth Development Agency. April 2013. B. Rath, OOP Our Peace of the Pie. “Pathways through

College: Strategies for Improving Community College Student Success.” OOP 2013. <www.opp.org/

docs/PathwaysCollegeStrategies_StudentSuccess.pdf‎>

Arulampalam, W., R. Naylor, and J. Smith. “Factors Affecting the Probability of First Year Medical Student

Dropout in the UK: A Logistic Analysis for the Intake Cohort of 1980-92.” Medical Education 2004. 38:

492–503.

Callender, C. and J. Jackson. “Does Fear of Debt Deter Students From Higher Education?” Journal of Social

Policy 34. 2005. no. 4: 509–40.

Cassel, R. N. “Use of Personal Development Test to Identify High School & College Dropout Students.”

Education Summer 2003. Vol.123, Issue 4. p641. 8p. 1 Diagram.

Eitel, Susan J., and Jennifer Martin. “First-Generation Female College Students’ Financial Literacy: Real

and Perceived Barriers to Degree Completion.” College Student Journal: June 2009 Part B. Vol.43 Issue

2. 01463934.

Englund, M. M., Byron Egeland, and W. Andrew Collins.“Exceptions to High School Dropout Predictions in a

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Low-Income Sample: Do Adults Make a Difference?” Journal of Social Issues 2008. Vol. 64, No. 1, pp.

77—93.

Lassibille, G., and L. N. Gómez, “Why do Higher Education Students Drop Out? Evidence from Spain.”

Education Economics March 2008; Vol. 16, No. 1, 89-105.

Lemon, D. commentary on CNN; Telecast on July 27th, 2013.

Melguizo, T. F., S. Torres, and H. Jaime “The Association between Financial Aid Availability and the College

Dropout Rates in Colombia.” Higher Education 2011. 62:231–247.

OECD (2013), “Education at a Glance 2013.” OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing. <http://dx.doiorg/10.1787

eag-2013-en.>

Shin, J. C., and S. Milton. “Student Response To Tuition Increase By Academic Majors: Empirical Grounds For

A Cost-Related Tuition Policy.” Higher Education 2008. 55:p.719–734.

Snyder, T.D., and Dillow, S.A. (2013). “Digest of Education Statistics 2012”(NCES 2014-015). “National

Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences”, U.S. Department of Education.

Washington, DC. <http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014015.pdf>

Tang, T. L.P. Tang, D. S.H. and Tang, C. S.Y. “College Tuition and Perceptions of Private University Quality.”

International Journal of Educational Management 2004. 18, 4/5; ProQuest Central, p. 304-316.

Tas, A., V. Bora, A. Selvitopu, and Y. Demirkaya. Reason for Dropout for Vocationcal High School Students.”

Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 2013. DOI: 10.12738/estp.2013.3.1398; p.1561-1565.

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SAMPLE RESEARCH PAPER 4 GRADE = A What works in this paper: • Clear, nuanced thesis • Supporting information is from scholarly sources • All aspects of the paper are organized using useful headers and logical progression

of thought • Quotes are given using correct MLA citation form and all are tied to the thesis clearly • Counter argument section is well articulated • Action horizon is thorough

Takia Martin ENG 112 Research Paper Final Draft

Public Perception vs. the Reality of Teen Parenting

Introduction:

There are numerous stigmas and misconceptions surrounding teenage pregnancy. These are the effect of a lack of knowledge and positive discussion on the subject in the public. The media, anti-teenage pregnancy campaigns, and political and educational institutions all contribute to this, by ignoring unbiased views and refusing to examine and research the lives of actual teenage parents. On the one hand, the stereotypes of teenage parents have basis in fact: many teenage moms and dads do face obstacles, such as lack of family support or support in the school system. On the other hand, many of these obstacles are created by or exacerbated by society’s stigma against teenage parents. Even though there is a significant portion of teen parents that are defying those stereotypes, going to college, working jobs and leading successful lives, very little research is done on what makes them successful and how they succeed despite the odds. Although there are bad teenage parents out there, a bad teenage parent is not a representative of all teenage parents any more than a bad older parent is for all older parents. Why isn’t there more research being done on what makes teens successful as parents? How come no institution is willing to invest in such a study when the information it might uncover

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could help millions of parents every year? Moreover, with the research that does exist, what do we really know about teen parenting? These are some of the questions that will be addressed herein.

According to class discussion in Sociology 101 with Prof. Denise Ingram at Mercer County Community

College, stereotypes are considered to be “a group concept, held by one social group about another. They are often used in a negative or prejudicial sense and are frequently used to justify certain discriminatory behaviors.

This allows powerful social groups to legitimize and protect their dominant position” (lecture 3/23/05). Society has a negative stereotype about teen parents which is partially based on fact and partially on misinformation.

Teenage pregnancy is a pressing social concern that has received a great deal of attention from many sources, but it cannot be fully understood without separating fact from fiction. Two key sources that will be referenced throughout this paper as a means of determining fact and fiction will include information from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, an advocacy groups for family health, and an article from Teachers College Register entitled “Constructing Failure, Narrating Success: Rethinking the ‘Problem’ of Teen Pregnancy,” by Katherine Shultz a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She writes about a study she conducted about teenage mothers. She shares her insights about the reality of pregnancy and motherhood, covering different topics concerning teenage parents and how the media plays an important role in the way society perceives teenage parents and how teenage mothers perceive themselves. This article shows that there is a need for positive studies of teen parents. Shultz suggest that researchers observe the various aspect of parenting instead of just the negative. Both sources do nothing to shy away from the negative aspects surrounding teen pregnancy.

Before proceeding, it is important to address concerns about bias. Although Planned Parenthood may at first seem like a biased source because they are known for their liberal views on abortion, when it comes to the topic of teen pregnancy, they are not in fact biased. Their information is reviewed by medical experts and aims to treat the issues fairly and evenhandedly. On their website, Planned Parenthood states what they stand for saying:

Planned Parenthood believes in the fundamental right of each individual, throughout the world, to manage his or her fertility, regardless of the individual’s income, marital status, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or residence. Planned Parenthood organizations dedicated to providing comprehensive reproductive and complementary health care services to nearly five million women, men and teenagers every year. (www.plannedparenthood.org)

From this website evidence of the facts and negative aspects that are surrounding teen pregnancy can be gathered, but there are few positive aspects mentioned. One cannot make the assumption that Planned Parenthood is a pro-teen pregnancy organization. This paper uses only scholarly sources and when potentially biased information is addressed, it is identified as such.

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Facts About Teen Pregnancy and Parenting:

Teenage parents have to work harder and face more obstacles than both non-parents their age and older parents.

On this point, all studies seem to be in agreement. But are teen mothers all on welfare? Are teen fathers juvenile delinquents? Do the children of teen parents grow up to do poorly in school and even become teen parents themselves? These are some of the common stereotypes, but how much basis do they have in fact?

Teen Mothers:

A large scale study conducted between 1995 and 2000 by Planned Parenthood reports that:

In general, teenage mothers do not fare as well as their peers who delay childbearing, their family incomes are lower. They are more likely to be poor and receive welfare. They are less educated. They are less likely to be married. Their children lag in standards of early development. (www.plannedparenthood.org)

From this quote itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clear to see the hardships teens face when they become parents and also how it affects their children. All the stereotypes of teenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents unfortunately are not just a myth. In another study, by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (NCPTP), done in 2002, more haunting statistics are given including:

In 2002, only 10 percent of teen mothers aged 15-17 had graduated from high school. After giving birth, it is estimated that only 33 percent of teen mothers will eventually graduate from high school, and only 1.5 percent will receive a college degree by the time they reach 30 years of age. (www.ncptp.org)

Particularly in the area of education, the facts illustrate a disturbing picture of what is going on with teen parents.

Then there is the stereotype of teen mothers all being on welfare, and even this appears to have a basis in

fact. The same NCPTP study says:

Nearly 80 percent of teen mothers eventually go on welfare. According to a nationwide study, more than 75 percent of all unmarried teen mothers began receiving welfare within five years of giving birth. In 2001, only 30 percent of teenage mothers received child support payments. (www.ncptp.org)

The last point here is particularly unfortunate as it points out that we hear about teen mothers is often true, the situation is similarly unfortunate for teen fathers.

Teen Fathers:

The Annie E. Casey Foundation, in the 1998 report, says:

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Although not as severe as those for teen mothers, the effects of early childbearing are also negative for teen fathers. They are more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors such as alcohol abuse or drug dealing, and they complete fewer years of schooling than their childless peers. One

study found that the fathers of children born to teen mothers earned an estimated average of $3,400 less per year than the fathers of children born to mothers who were 20 or 21, over the course of 18 years following the birth of their first child. (www.plannedparenthood.org)

Children Born to Teens:

As sad as the facts are for the parents, the outcomes of the children are the most troublesome. The same study found that:

The children of teenage parents face severe health, economic, and social consequences. Because one-third of pregnant teens do not receive adequate prenatal care, their babies are 21 percent more likely to be low birth weight; they are more likely to have childhood health problems, and to be hospitalized than those born to older mothers. The offspring of teenage mothers are more likely to be poor. (www.plannedparenthood.org)

Teenage pregnancy puts a huge financial burden on the United States. In addition to its personal impact on the lives of women and children, teen pregnancy results in tremendous public cost. From 1985 to 1990, public cost related to teenage childbearing totaled $120.3 billion, which includes AFDC, Medicaid, and food stamps. (www.plannedparenthood.org)

From these statistics is clear that teen pregnancy is not an option that would be encouraged. The facts are

ugly but true and it doesn’t just hurt the parents but the children also. Nevertheless, even the strongest statistics and reports seldom show how there can, in fact, be a good life for some teen parents and their children. There aren’t any positive statistics about teenage parents, for example when you search the Internet and go to search engines such as Google and Yahoo and put in “successful teen parents,” the only things that come up are the prevention of teenage pregnancy. Why aren’t there any positive studies? There are several possible factors, but before they can be addressed, it’s necessary to put the idea of teen parenting into some sort of context.

Historical Context and Social Structure:

It wasn’t all that long ago that no one would have been at all surprised for their daughter to give birth for the first time at age 16. According to the National Census Bureau’s statistics, in 1956, most women in the United States were married within two years of completing high school. The average age for a woman to have her first child was 22. As of 2005, that average age has become 27, with more and more women having children later, after having established careers (www.census.gov). According to a Sept. 3rd, 2005 article in the New York Times by health and sciences correspondent, Maureen O’Rourke, entitled “Women Waiting,” women are

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“delaying childbearing and, in many demographic groups, particularly the middle and upper middle class, they are having fewer children. There are powerful economic forces at play here. The cost of childcare and college tuition are skyrocketing and many families simply cannot afford to have many children” (B7).

By contrast, Steven Blinderman, a professor of U.S. history at Dartmouth University writes in his book Our Shifting Nation, that in the 1850’s, when much of this country’s economy was still rural and agrarian, families couldn’t afford not to have a lot of children. He says: “Children were needed to help out in farming work, very few went to college. People weren’t worried about private school tuitions or high medical costs, they were worried about getting their crops in and being able to afford food” (232). As our needs have shifted, so have our parenting habits, for better or worse.

Looking back even further in history, it’s clear that only fairly recently have we come to even think of

the category of “teenagers” as a separate group in the first place. Biblical historians like Ralph Miller, professor of forensic anthropology at the Princeton Theological Seminary tell us in his book Women of The Verse, that Mary the mother of Jesus was probably about 15 when she gave birth. Miller says, “Not being married to Joseph was a religious problem for her Jewish family, but her age for parenthood was not”(317). Miller explains that in the absence of modern medicine, the life span of most humans was much less than what it is now. People could expect to live to perhaps 55 or 60 years of age, and many died well before that. Therefore it was not at all unusual for women to be married just after puberty and to begin families before turning 20 (229). Taking all of this information together, it’s clear that in earlier times, teen pregnancy was the norm, so why is it considered such a problem now if it wasn’t for many thousands of years in the past? The answer may be based, in part, on the way society is and was structured.

According to an article called “Social Order and its Effect on Women’s Lives” in the Journal of Social

Sciences, Pedro Escovejo, a sociologist at the University of Michigan explains how social structure actually governs how well women fare as parents. He talks about women in general, but his finding certainly apply to teen mothers in particular. Escovejo writes:

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In many countries, even now, women begin childbirth very early and expect to have four or five children. People live in the same villages as their extended families, and everyone is expected to pitch in. Every member of the community keeps an eye out for the children.

This kind of communal living is very rare in the U.S. with the exception of special groups like the Amish. The expectation for most Americans is that they will grow up and move away from their family. Independence rather than interconnectedness is a particularly Western and even American ideal. It has its benefits, but it also fractures the family unit and provides very little safety network for mothers. (27)

Although many teens must rely on their own parents for help, this is generally seen as a burden in modern America. There is simply no expectation that the whole community be responsible for caring for all its children.

Many Americans are specifically resentful of teen parents and accuse them of burdening the welfare system.

If society was set up so that most everyone had children young and everyone was expected to help raise them, teens likely wouldn’t rely so heavily on government assistance. But that’s just not the reality in this country at this time. Social forces are different from what they were two hundred years ago, and this fact, not some deep negligence on the part of teen parents, has more to do with why teen parents and their children fall behind than anything else. But there are other factors that contribute to the problem as well.

The Effect of the Media: Most of the time reporting in the news focuses on tragic accidents and negative things that are going on in the world. Stories that will get people to buy more newspapers are often stories of tragedy and violence. Negative stories equals making more money for newspapers and TV news stations, and with all the legitimate negative statistics about teen parenting, the media seldom reports anything else. Even if there was a study released about teen parents who succeed, the media might not want to run it because they would be seen as encouraging teen pregnancy, thus they consistently illustrate the negative side of the story.

Katherine Schultz author of the aforementioned article: “Constructing Failure, Narrating Success: Rethinking the ‘Problem’ of Teen Pregnancy” states: “The media [contends] that these youths don’t care, that they have resorted to drugs, babies, and dropping out. This fails to acknowledge the complexity of the identities of adolescents living in poverty” (505). From this quote Schultz explains how the media looks at the youth and tells what is wrong with the media’s illustration of teenage parents rather than looking at what teenage living status is. Schultz goes on to say, “All to often rather than accounting for the perspectives brought by youth, discussions with and about teen parents begin with media representations that are punitive and condemning” (596). Teenage see these stereotypes and if they start to believe them they are put at an even further disadvantage. How can they maintain morale and pursue careers when all the information they receive seems to insist that there’s no hope?

Examples of Successful Teen Parents: There are good teen parents, out there, even if they are a minority, and occassionaly one does actually hear about them. For example in the Contra Costa Times newspaper published on April, 17, 2005 the headline read:

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“A 19 Year Old Mother Braves Tough Odds in a Quest to Pull Herself up From Foster Care,” by Jackie Burell.

The story was about a teenage girl name Tiffany Roberts who, had been in foster care for seventeen years and eleven foster homes. Tiffany had gotten pregnant at sixteen years old by another boy in the foster home she was staying at that time. After she became pregnant she was sent to a group home for pregnant teens. She graduated a year early with nearly a 4.0 grade point average, she was valedictorian. Tiffany is now working for the program that helped her with her pregnancy “Crossroads” (D16). This story shows that there is another side of the story when it comes to teenage parents. Some succeed in life and finish high school, and prove the stereotypes of teenage parents wrong.

Another example of a successful teen parent is eighteen year-old Terrell Pough who was honored by

People magazine in the article “A Rare Breed of Teen-aged Dads who are Trying to Raise Children” by Gail Halaban. Terrell had became a father when he was fifteen years old. Pough stood out in his rough neighborhood as a single father with custody of his daughter, Diamond. He was quoted in People as saying: “If something ever happens to me, no one can ever tell her that her dad didn’t take care of her” (22). He worked long hours were he was a night manger at a fast-food restaurant, work hard to finish school and support his daughter. Many fathers are absent from their children lives but Terrell choose to step up and take care of his responsibility. When he didn’t have a car to get back and fourth to work, he took the bus. Terrell did whatever it took to make sure his daughter was taken care of (26). A story like this is rare to find because most of the time it’s a teenage mother who take care of the child. There is a significant portion of teen parents that are defying negative stereotypes, there are many teen moms and dads who go to college, work jobs, and have successful lives Terrell is an good example how the perception of teenage parents are not always true.

What Must be Done:

From looking at the information that is available, which isn’t much, it appears that teen parents who are

successful seem to have several traits in common. For one thing, they generally have support from family and the outside community, teachers and counselors. Often the child itself provides motivation to stay in school and get a better job, and can motivate teen parents to get better jobs and finish school because they want a better life for their children something they might not of had. In the following quote, from the article “Constructing Failure, Narrating Success: Rethinking the ‘Problem’ of Teen Pregnancy” by Katherine Schultz she writes “[Teen parents are] both burdened by the added responsibility of a child and motivated by his presence in her life to complete her education and to work”(52). Having a child as a teenager doesn’t always lead to dropping-

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out and failure. Yes, the stereotypes of teens are often true but often they are also incomplete. The determination to challenge society perception of teen parents is another trait that successful teens have in common; nobody wants to be looked at as a failure these teens take the negative and turn it into a positive to prove to society they are more than just statistics. There must be more traits than just these, however, and we need to find out what they are so we can encourage them.

Nobody wants to put the money up that it takes to do research on positive teen parenting. But we need

studies on positive teen parents and we need to look at certain programs that support teens who are parents already and not just for prevention. The studies must include evaluations of the success of the parents and their children. The advantages of doing a positive teenage parenting study would be that it would show the ways in which teenage parents can become successful in life. This might help other teenage parents continue their education and employment, keeping their kids off the free lunch lists which cost public schools money, and overall lessening welfare dependency.

Some might argue that doing a large scale study of teen parenting would be cost prohibitive, but in

reality the advantages of doing it could be worth the costs. In the article “Outcomes of Teen Parenting Programs in New Mexico” in Adolescence by Susan Philliber, Linda Brooks, Linda Phillips, Merry Oakley and Sharon Waggoner, these authors research a study that had taken place in New Mexico. The report had been conducted on fifty- three programs that served 3,194 pregnant and teenage parents. The programs helped teenage parents and pregnant teens maintain or obtain employment, encouraged postponement of a second child and continuing on with their education. The results of this study concluded that:

Overall in the time period covered by this study, 77% of the young people maintained or improved their educational level. For 1999-2000, this figure was 81%. Overall, 26% improved or maintained their employment situation. Among the 552 women enrolled in these programs for 12 months or longer, 2% had a repeat pregnancy. (535-553)

From this quote one can see that if research and studies are done on positive outcomes of teenage parents it can help improve our society. We all need someone to talk to and share good news with, to encourage us, and to just listen when we are feeling low. Teen parents are real people, separate from their children; we can start having more successful teenage parents if there was more support by the media and the community at large and if more studies were done to find out how best to support teens.

Katherine Schultz author of the article: “Constructing Failure, Narrating Success: Rethinking the

‘Problem’ of Teen Pregnancy” stated:

Their difficulty in achieving these goals is attributable to their newborn child and also in part, to the fact that teachers, counselors, and even parents often gave up on them and failed to take their

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plans seriously once they had children. When the world assumed their failure, it was difficult for them to keep remaining their own success.(433)

From this quote its see that teens parents give up on success because everybody else has given up on them; if we change this around and show more support there will be more successful teenage parents. If there was a study done on positive teen parenting we need to consider teen parents from all walks of life, not just from poor or urban communities. We need the study to include every race and every class, because that’s what the world is made up of not just the poor. When doing a study of positive teen parents one would need to interact with them physically, go into there homes, go to there schools, be part of their lives, instead of dealing with numbers.

To examine long run effects of teenage childbearing requires using data on women who were teenage mothers some years ago. Society can’t measure everyone’s success, of course, but more could certainly be done.

Nobody wants to encourage teenage pregnancy, because a lot of the statistics are true and we really don’t

live in a society that supports them, but nobody should discourage teens that are already parents either. Instead, we must stop publicizing the negative and instead begin figuring out how to reduce the negative effects of teen pregnancy.

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Works Cited

Advocates for Youth Website. 22 Mar. 2004. Annie E. Casey Foundation Study on Teen Parenting. 10

September 2005. <http://www.agi-usa.org/agistudy225.05.html>

Blinderman, Steven. Our Shifting Nation. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1995.

Burell, Jackie. “A 19 Year Old Mother Braves Tough Odds in a Quest to Pull Herself up From Foster Care.”

Contra Costa Times 17 Apr. 2005: D16-19.

Chase-Lansdale, Levine and Coley, Rebekah. “Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenthood: Recent Evidence and

Future Directions.” American Psychologist 53. (11 Feb. 1998). 17 September 2005. <http://www

questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=96504228>

Escovejo, Pedro. “Social Order and its Effect on Women’s Lives.” Journal of Social Sciences 92:4 (2001): 15

27.

Halaban, Gail. “A Rare Breed of Teen-aged Dads who are Trying to Raise Children.” People 20 Aug. 2004:20

25.

Hoffman, Saul D. “Teenage Childbearing Is Not So Bad After All…Or Is It? A Review of New Literature.”

Family Planning Perspectives 30.5 (1998): 41-50.

Miller, Ralph. Women of the Verse. Boston: Little Brown & Co, 2002.

Philliber, Susan et al. “Outcomes of Teen Parenting Programs in New Mexico.” Adolescence Journal 48:151

(2003): 535-553.

Planned Parenthood Website. 26 Aug. 2005. National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. 15 September 2005

<http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ncptp/>

Schultz, Katherine. “Rethinking the ‘Problem’ of Teen Parenting.” Teachers College Record 103:4 (2001): 582.

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Worksheets & Info

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EVALUATING SOURCES - SCHOLARLY or NOT? One of the critical components of crafting a good research paper is your ability to distinguish between scholarly and un-scholarly resources. Here are some reasons why a source may not be valid: • the author is not an expert in the field or is only stating a personal opinion, • the facts are not based on balanced research and may be skewed or inaccurate, • the person making the claims has been paid by a sponsor, • the research presented is biased or deliberately unbalanced.

Directions: Consider the quotes below. Is the information legitimate? Could you use it to support a claim or back up an argument? Why? Why not? Write your notes in the space below each entry. Check your work using the key at the end of the document.

1. In his book My Year With the Penguins, Leonard Coates writes “Having quit my job as a driver’s ed teacher in New Jersey, I moved to Antarctica to study the mighty penguin, an animal that had always fascinated me.

There I found that the penguins are not at all endangered as some people claim. In fact, I saw hundreds of them, doing their traditional mating rituals. It was an awe inspiring sight” (31).

2. The article, “Modern Women, Held Back By Choice” from The Journal of Professional Accountants, written by Patricia Bloomberg and Martina Severoski, says “In a study conducted by the non-profit research group, Statistics Quo, of 1,300 women who had passed the accounting exam in 1989, only 10% remained in the field in 2005. 50% had moved on to related careers, but were not actively pursuing accounting, but 40% had left the workplace altogether.” (www.journalofaccountants.org)

3. Del Camden, who has taught ballroom dance in Princeton, New Jersey for 15 years, and who has won numerous national dance championships, when asked whether most male dancers are actually homosexual, said in an interview “The sport is about coordination, athleticism, and grace, things that many men, gay and straight, have.

From my years of experience in the sport, I have met plenty of gay men who dance, but would I say that there is a higher percentage of homosexuals participating than in other sports? Probably not. You might see more in dance than in say boxing, but I know many straight men who dance. Some get dragged to dance lessons by their wives or girlfriends and then get interested in the sport and stick with it. Plus, a ballroom gets wider recognition on television, with shows like Dancing With The Stars, it seems the sport may be opening up to a wider audience. Smart men realize that being coordinated doesn’t make you gay.” (March 3rd, 2006).

4. Pete Saunders, in an article “Cops in America” said “The police officer in America today is in danger. Racial profiling is a necessary evil. Of course stereotypes are unpleasant, but sometimes that’s what it takes to stay safe on the streets.” (www.cops.com)

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5. An article in the February 2006 edition of Esquire magazine says “the death rate in America is 100%. Sooner or later everyone’s going to die” (32).

6. Judge Samuel Ayendez, of the third circuit court of appeals in New Jersey, writes in the Law Journal article “Appeals Unappealing,” that “Many people are for the death penalty, and one reason that is commonly cited is that these criminals are expensive to keep alive. From my position on the bench, however, I have seen first hand that keeping prisoners alive is not nearly as expensive as sentencing them to death. The death penalty verdict unleashes a lengthy and expensive appeals process that costs the tax payers millions of dollars annually and slows the judiciary system to a crawl. Surprisingly, even putting someone to death is itself expensive. If people want to keep society’s worst criminals off the streets, the cheapest way would be to allow judges to rule on cases to give the worst offenders life without parole and without possibility of appeal. Letting someone live, moral reasons aside, is simply cheaper than killing them” (219).

7. In his August 1st, 2008 interview on Larry King Live, former president Bill Clinton noted, “The data on Iraq having weapons of mass destruction was inaccurate and therefore did not constitute a legitimate reason for going to war in Iraq. There may have been legitimate reasons, but this was not one of them. We knew as far back as 2000 that Sadam Hussein had not been able to procure the plutonium he needed from either the Russians or the French, the only two sources he could have gotten it from.”

8. In his August 1st, 2008 interview on Larry King Live, former president Bill Clinton said, “Yeah, Hillary and I had a great time on vacation in Italy this summer, but I have to say, Italian cooking is really going down the drain. We had muscles tarantella at this bistro outside Rome, and man was it bad. I was barfing in my presidential suit all the next day!”

9. In an article entitled “Abortions in America” that appeared in the March 2005 issue of The Journal of Public Health, professor John DeGouda of Johns Hopkins Medical center reports that “Of the twenty-two teens we tracked from the Planned Parenthood clinic in downtown Detroit, up to a year after they had the abortion, a whopping 60% were found to be depressed. Of that group, 22% had low grades and were suffering scholastically” (22).

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EVALUATING SOURCES - SCHOLARLY or NOT?

ANSWER KEY 1. In his book My Year With the Penguins, Leonard Coates writes “Having quit my job as a driver’s ed teacher in New Jersey, I moved to Antarctica to study the mighty penguin, an animal that had always fascinated me.

There I found that the penguins are not at all endangered as some people claim. In fact, I saw hundreds of them, doing their traditional mating rituals. It was an awe inspiring sight” (31).

This is NOT a scholarly source. Coates is a driving expert, not a penguin expert, and recording just what he has seen does not constitute any kind of legitimate research.

2. The article, “Modern Women, Held Back By Choice” from The Journal of Professional Accountants, written

by Patricia Bloomberg and Martina Severoski, says “In a study conducted by the non-profit research group, Statistics Quo, of 1,300 women who had passed the accounting exam in 1989, only 10% remained in the field in 2005. 50% had moved on to related careers, but were not actively pursuing accounting, but 40% had left the workplace altogether.” (www.journalofaccountants.org)

The source itself, Journal of Professional Accountants, IS a scholarly professional journal, and we can assume that the authors are legitimate because scholarly journals only publish work by those who are. Scholarly journals require that all articles undergo review to ensure standards.

3. Del Camden, who has taught ballroom dance in Princeton, New Jersey for 15 years, and who has won numerous national dance championships, when asked whether most male dancers are actually homosexual, said in an interview “The sport is about coordination, athleticism, and grace, things that many men, gay and straight, have. From my years of experience in the sport, I have met plenty of gay men who dance, but would I say that there is a higher percentage of homosexuals participating than in other sports? Probably not. You might see more in dance than in say boxing, but I know many straight men who dance. Some get dragged to dance lessons by their wives or girlfriends and then get interested in the sport and stick with it. Plus, a ballroom gets wider recognition on television, with shows like Dancing With The Stars, it seems the sport may be opening up to a wider audience. Smart men realize that being coordinated doesn’t make you gay.” (March 3rd, 2006).

On the one hand, there are no professors of ballroom dancing and no research journals dedicated to the sport. For that reason, Del Camden could be considered a legitimate authority on the topic. On the other hand, the data he has gathered is just from his personal experiences. It is unreasonable to think that he asked every dancer he ever met about their sexual orientation.

Therefore, his perspective might be helpful to back up some other data gathered through more rigorous means, but cannot stand on its own.

4. Pete Saunders, in an article “Cops in America” said “The police officer in America today is in danger.

Racial profiling is a necessary evil. Of course stereotypes are unpleasant, but sometimes that’s what it takes to stay safe on the streets.” (www.cops.com)

It is not clear that Pete Saunders has any legitimate authority on this or any other topic, furthermore, the fact that the site is called cops.com suggests it is a personal or business site. It is clearly NOT a scholarly source.

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5. An article in the February 2006 edition of Esquire magazine says “the death rate in America is 100%. Sooner or later everyone’s going to die” (32).

Although the information is surely correct, the source is a popular magazine, not a scholarly source.

6. Judge Samuel Ayendez, of the third circuit court of appeals in New Jersey, writes in the Law Journal article “Appeals Unappealing,” that “Many people are for the death penalty, and one reason that is commonly cited is that these criminals are expensive to keep alive. From my position on the bench, however, I have seen first hand that keeping prisoners alive is not nearly as expensive as sentencing them to death. The death penalty verdict unleashes a lengthy and expensive appeals process that costs the tax payers millions of dollars annually and slows the judiciary system to a crawl. Surprisingly, even putting someone to death is itself expensive. If people want to keep society’s worst criminals off the streets, the cheapest way would be to allow judges to rule on cases to give the worst offenders life without parole and without possibility of appeal. Letting someone live, moral reasons aside, is simply cheaper than killing them” (219).

A law journal is a scholarly journal and a circuit court judge is an expert. This is legitimate scholarly material.

7. In his August 1st, 2008 interview on Larry King Live, former president Bill Clinton noted, “The data on Iraq having weapons of mass destruction was inaccurate and therefore did not constitute a legitimate reason for going to war in Iraq. There may have been legitimate reasons, but this was not one of them. We knew as far back as 2000 that Sadam Hussein had not been able to procure the plutonium he needed from either the Russians or the French, the only two sources he could have gotten it from.”

There aren’t many people who are experts on top secret military information, but the president is one. Clinton is talking about information from when he was in office, so we can treat his comments as legitimately scholarly in this instance.

8. In his August 1st, 2008 interview on Larry King Live, former president Bill Clinton said, “Yeah, Hillary and I had a great time on vacation in Italy this summer, but I have to say, Italian cooking is really going down the drain. We had muscles tarantella at this bistro outside Rome, and man was it bad. I was barfing in my presidential suit all the next day!”

On the other hand, Bill Clinton is not a professor of culinary arts. He is not scholarly in this situation.

9. In an article entitled “Abortions in America” that appeared in the March 2005 issue of The Journal of Public Health, professor John DeGouda of Johns Hopkins Medical center reports that “Of the twenty-two teens we tracked from the Planned Parenthood clinic in downtown Detroit, up to a year after they had the abortion, a whopping 60% were found to be depressed. Of that group, 22% had low grades and were suffering scholastically” (22).

The author and journal are definitely scholarly, but the data being presented is limited. An uncareful reader may look at this and draw the conclusion that this small group of inner city women ended up depressed BECAUSE of having had an abortion, when, in fact, that’s not what the data really says. Young women living in urban poverty (the ones most likely to use Planned Parenthood) have high rates of depression across the board. This data should NOT be used to suggest causation.

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Quotes MLA Citation

We quote other authors to help make an argument stronger.

MLA (Modern Language Association) style citation is a system of setting up quotes in formal writing that makes it easy to see whose ideas are whose.

THERE ARE TWO PARTS TO MLA CITATION IN TEXT CITATIONS

WORKS CITED PAGE

A PAGE AT THE END OF YOUR PAPER THAT GIVES ALL THE DETAILS OF EVERY OTHER PIECE YOU QUOTED IN THE PAPER.

SHORT QUOTE Use a short quote when you want to reference a specific piece of text that is about 3 to 4 lines long.

BLOCK QUOTE Use a block quote when you want to reference a specific piece of text that is about 5 to 8 lines long.

PARAPHRASE Use a paraphrase when you want to reference a short piece of text but want to put it in your own words, not use the exact words of the other person.

Format: m First give the name of who said the quote and the name of the article or text in which they said it. m Put quotation marks “ ” on either side of the exact words the other person said. m After the quote put the page number where the words appeared in the other text, in parentheses. m Give two or three sentences explaining why you chose the quote and how it relates to your argument.

Format: m First give the name of who said the quote and the name of the article or text in which they said it. m Hit enter and start on a new line. m Don’t use any quotation marks. m Single space the whole quote. m Indent every line of the quote. m After the quote put the page number where the words appeared in the other text, in parentheses. m Give two or three sentences explaining why you chose the quote and how it relates to your argument.

AVOID PARAPHRASES. They work like the others, with the same set up info, the page number given in parentheses afterward, and then sentences tying it to the thesis. But they are easy to get wrong if you don’t understand the original information correctly, and they run a high risk of plagiarism.

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Correct short quote example In the transcript from audio podcast called “Habeas Schmabeas” the journalist, Jack Hitt, says: “Ever since President Bush announced the global war on terror, we’ve been told this is a different kind of war with different rules. The battlefield isn’t a jungle in Asia or a beach in France, it’s everywhere. Soldiers aren’t guys in uniform, they could be anybody. And prisoners of war are different too” (45). When Hitt talks about how the guys could be anywhere, he’s telling us part of the problem with how we treat possible terrorists. He’s suggesting that it is actually really easy to get the wrong person or wrong people when it’s not obvious who is really an enemy. This supports this paper’s argument that politicians can create more terror instead of less.

Anatomy of a

Short quote

quoted text Title of text source

Author’s name

In the transcript from audio podcast called “Habeas Schmabeas” the journalist, Jack Hitt, says: “Ever since President Bush announced the global war on terror, we’ve been told this is a different kind of war with different rules. The battlefield isn’t a jungle in Asia or a beach in France, it’s everywhere. Soldiers aren’t guys in uniform, they could be anybody. And prisoners of war are different too” (45). When Hitt talks about how the guys could be anywhere, he’s telling us part of the problem with how we treat possible terrorists. He’s suggesting that it is actually really easy to get the wrong person or wrong people when it’s not obvious who is really an enemy. This supports this paper’s argument that politicians can create more terror instead of less. page number

sentences explaining the quote’s connection to the student’s thesis

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quotation marks

Correct block quote example In the transcript from audio podcast called “Habeas Schmabeas” the journalist, Jack Hitt, says: In this new war, the plan was to build a prison so bleak that the detainees would give up hope and talk.

The military was given a mission and they did a good job. But many prisoners are now moving into year five. If they’re al-Qaeda, detainment is perfectly justified. No one argues that. But think about what these incarcerations are for men wrongfully and indefinitely detained. It’s like being buried alive in a coffin. Nobody knows how many of the prisoners are, in fact, the worst of the worst, and how many are innocent. But we have a way to find out, it’s called habeas corpus. (57)

Even though Hitt makes it sound like this thing called “habeas corpus,” which is a legal idea that he describes later, is a solution for the people being held wrongly at Guantanimo, the title of the podcast actually makes it sound like no one in the U.S. military is taking this idea very seriously. We usually use the pair of a word and the same word with “sh” at the front to dismiss the idea. This shows that even though a solution exists, not even Hitt believes it is going to work.

Anatomy of a

Block quote

quoted text Title of text source

Author’s name

In the transcript from audio podcast called “Habeas Schmabeas” the journalist, Jack Hitt, says:

In this new war, the plan was to build a prison so bleak that the detainees would give up hope and talk.

The military was given a mission and they did a good job. But many prisoners are now moving into year five. If they’re al-Qaeda, detainment is perfectly justified. No one argues that. But think about what these incarcerations are for men wrongfully and indefinitely detained. It’s like being buried alive in a coffin. Nobody knows how many of the prisoners are, in fact, the worst of the worst, and how many are innocent. But we have a way to find out, it’s called habeas corpus. (57)

Even though Hitt makes it sound like this thing called “habeas corpus,” which is a legal idea that he describes later, is a solution for the people being held wrongly at Guantanimo, the title of the podcast actually makes it sound like no one in the U.S. military is taking this idea very seriously. We usually use the pair of a word and the same word with “sh” at the front to dismiss the idea. This shows that even though a solution exists, not even Hitt believes it is going to work.

page number

sentences explaining the quote’s connection to the student’s thesis

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What Kind of Quote is it, and is it Given Correctly?

Directions: 1.

Read the excerpts below. Decide if the example shows a short quote, a block quote, or a paraphrase.

2.

Write short, block, or para in the margin next to each.

3.

Decide if the quote was given properly.

l Is it clear before the quote who is speaking and why they are scholarly? Is the context also explained?

l Is the quote formatted correctly?

l Is it clear how the quote relates to the person’s thesis If any element is missing or incorrect, write a note in the margin explaining it.

Check your work using the key provided at the end.

Quote 1: In the article “Top Chefs” it says: “There are many ways to judge how successful a chef really is, including how he handles his staff, how innovative his dishes are, and how well he runs his business.” (2).

Quote 2: In the article “Dangerous Deer” from Science magazine, biologist Becca Leslie describes the issues surrounding deer in suburban areas. She says:

Deer herds are growing bigger in suburban areas because their natural predators like wolves and coyotes have been driven out. This results in an increased number of deer related auto-ac cidents, but the solution is not allowing a longer deer hunting season. Hunting is one way to re duce the population, but creates another series of problems because hunting accidents are more likely in densely populated suburban areas. The only way to truly cut down the deer population effectively is to work on bringing back their natural predators (35).

This means that deer herds are expanding and hunting is not as good a way of dealing with the problem as bringing predators like wolves and coyotes back would be.

Quote 3: In the article “Nylon Lesbians” Janet Thrumbold talks about how the stereotypes of lesbians are being challenged by an increasing number of lesbians who act feminine, and wear lipstick and nylons (45).

Thrumbold shows that stereotypes are biased and unrealistic.

Quote 4: The book Executive Scandal is about white-collar criminals.

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Some people say that giving longer sentences to white-collar criminals is the best way to reduce this scourge on the American public, but unfortunately longer sentences don’t really work. (88)

Quote 5: Lars McGinty a senior official at FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Association) defends FEMA’s slow response during Hurricane Katrina in an interview published in U.S.A. Today on Nov. 3rd, 2006. He says: “We couldn’t have done more without greater assistance from the executive branch of the government. We had all hands on deck, but with no real resources there was only so much we could do”(5A). This underscores the problem: it wasn’t clear who exactly was supposed to provide the resources, FEMA or the central government.

There is an obvious breakdown in communications. So we see yet another way that we are fundamentally unprepared for real dangers on the home front.

Quote 6: On the website of the Textile Institute of Technology, a textile restoration expert, Rebecca Dibb, explains how your own saliva can be the best solvent for removing certain stains. She says:

“One way to remove small blood stains is to use a Q-Tip and the saliva of the person whose blood it was. Your body produces salivary amylase which breaks down your own proteins.” (www.tit.edu)

This is another example that helps prove how solutions to many problems can be surprisingly simple and yet unexpected.

Quote 7: The author of the website www.pedophiles.com discusses the psychiatric definition of a pedophile which includes “likes to hold young children; likes to touch and hug children; enjoys the company of children”(www. pedophiles.com). If you look at those criteria, practically every parent and daycare worker on earth could be considered a pedophile! Child sexual abuse is a real problem, but pedophiles are our modern boogey men. Our culture glorifies youth, and sexualizes it, but then gets panicked and creates a largely fictional scapegoat.

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What Kind of Quote is it, and is it Given Correctly?

ANSWER KEY Quote 1:

In the article “Top Chefs” it says: “There are many ways to judge how successful a chef really is, including how he handles his staff, how innovative his dishes are, and how well he runs his business.” (2).

Quote 1 is formatted correctly as a short quote, but it is not set up or followed correctly. The set up doesn’t make clear who said it, in what publication, and why they are scholarly. There are no sentences following that indicate how this quote supports any thesis.

Quote 2: In the article “Dangerous Deer” from Science magazine, biologist Becca Leslie describes the issues surrounding deer in suburban areas. She says:

Deer herds are growing bigger in suburban areas because their natural predators like wolves and coyotes have been driven out. This results in an increased number of deer related auto-ac cidents, but the solution is not allowing a longer deer hunting season. Hunting is one way to re duce the population, but creates another series of problems because hunting accidents are more likely in densely populated suburban areas. The only way to truly cut down the deer population effectively is to work on bringing back their natural predators (35).

This means that deer herds are expanding and hunting is not as good a way of dealing with the problem as bringing predators like wolves and coyotes back would be.

Quote 2 is formatted correctly as a block quote and it is set up properly, but it is not followed correctly. The set up indicates who the speaker is, where they said the quote and why that person is scholarly, but the sentence after the quote just repeat what it says, they don’t show how it relates to any particular thesis.

Quote 3: In the article “Nylon Lesbians” Janet Thrumbold talks about how the stereotypes of lesbians are being challenged by an increasing number of lesbians who act feminine, and wear lipstick and nylons (45).

Thrumbold shows that stereotypes are biased and unrealistic.

Quote 3 appears to be a paraphrase, which are best avoided, but when they are used they still have to be set up and followed correctly and this one is not. It not clear why the speaker is scholarly, or where the quote was said, nor is it clear how this quote supports a thesis.

Quote 4: The book Executive Scandal is about white-collar criminals.

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Some people say that giving longer sentences to white-collar criminals is the best way to reduce this scourge on the American public, but unfortunately longer sentences don’t really work. (88)

It is not clear who wrote the book or why that person is scholarly. The quote should be given in short quote format, but it looks more like a block quote and there are no sentences afterward to explain how it relates to anything. In short, this is a hot mess.

Quote 5:

Lars McGinty a senior official at FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Association) defends FEMA’s

slow response during Hurricane Katrina in an interview published in U.S.A. Today on Nov. 3rd, 2006. He says: “We couldn’t have done more without greater assistance from the executive branch of the government. We had all hands on deck, but with no real resources there was only so much we could do”(5A). This underscores the

problem: it wasn’t clear who exactly was supposed to provide the resources, FEMA or the central government.

There is an obvious breakdown in communications. So we see yet another way that we are fundamentally unprepared for real dangers on the home front.

Quote 5 contains a correctly formatted short quote. The person speaking is identified and can be considered an authority on this topic, however, the publication is U.S.A. Today newspaper. Newspapers are not scholarly journals. If you want to use a quote like this, the right thing to do is track it back to an original source, such as a transcript of a press conference or some other, more scholarly, document. The sentences after the quote do make clear how the quote supports an argument.

Quote 6:

On the website of the Textile Institute of Technology, a textile restoration expert, Rebecca Dibb, explains how your own saliva can be the best solvent for removing certain stains. She says:

“One way to remove small blood stains is to use a Q-Tip and the saliva of the person whose blood it was. Your body produces salivary amylase which breaks down your own proteins.” (www.tit.edu)

This is another example that helps prove how solutions to many problems can be surprisingly simple and yet

unexpected.

Quote 6 is from a scholarly source and it is clear where it came from and that it begins to connect to an argument. However, it it not formatted correctly: a short quote it should not be indented and single spaced. It should just go right along with the rest of the text.

Quote 7:

The author of the website www.pedophiles.com discusses the psychiatric definition of a pedophile which

includes “likes to hold young children; likes to touch and hug children; enjoys the company of children”(www. pedophiles.com). If you look at those criteria, practically every parent and daycare worker on earth could be

considered a pedophile! Child sexual abuse is a real problem, but pedophiles are our modern boogey men. Our culture glorifies youth, and sexualizes it, but then gets panicked and creates a largely fictional scapegoat.

Quote 7 shows a correctly formatted short quote and connects it to an interesting argument, however, the author is not identified and it is not clear why that person is scholarly. The fact that the source is a .com means it is not viable as a scholarly source.

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Is this Quote Suitable for a Research Paper?

Directions: Read the three quotes below and decided which are suitable to be used in a research paper and which aren’t and why. Write notes and say which aspects of the quote work and which don’t. Be specific.

Quote 1: Daniel Tammet, in his memoir Born on a Blue Day, describes what it’s like to live life as an autistic savant. He is a high functioning mathematical savant who, unlike many people with autism, is actually able to describe what goes on inside his head. He says:

If someone had told my parents ten years ago that I would be living completely independently, with a loving relationship and a career, I don’t think they would have believed it and I’m not sure I would have either…By writing about my own experiences growing up on the autistic spectrum, it is my hope that I can help other young people living with high-functioning autism to feel less isolated and to have confidence in the knowledge that it is ultimately possible to lead a happy and productive life. I’m living proof of that. (12)

Tammet’s experiences and his ability to describe them go a long way toward demonstrating that the diagnosis of autism need not lead parents to conclude their child will never be able to function in society. To the contrary, he provides insights into precisely how the autistic mind works, and thereby how we can work to support those who are diagnosed with it.

Quote 2: In the book Life on the Outside, Marion Paley describes the difficulties she faced reentering society after 23 years in prison. She had entered prison at age 18 after a series of drug arrests in New York City. In prison she kicked her heroine habit, earned a college degree in psychology, and started a highly successful program to help incarcerated women form lasting and meaningful relationships with their children outside of prison. In prison, Marion Paley had been a success story. Outside of prison, however, things were very different. She writes,

I had a college degree and work experience in the field of psychology. I even knew quite a bit about managing a small business on limited funds from having to scare up money to run the Prison Mothers program. But despite all of this, despite having paid my debt to society, despite having been clean for more than twenty years, no one on the outside would hire me. I went from one job agency to another, spent hours on the phone with my parole officer. I couldn’t even get a job at the local grocery store. As the months passed with no income I actually began to think about robbery, something I’d never done even when I was a junky! (45)

What Paley experienced is a tragedy. How is justice served if people who actually clean up their lives get no

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support once they leave prison? How do we expect prisoners to ever rejoin society? What incentive do prisoners have to reform themselves if they hear about stories like this? It’s unthinkable.

Quote 3: In a recent poll conducted by the Gallup Research Group, an independent analysis agency known for its focus on political polling, in which the results were based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,006 adults, aged 18 and older (margin of error being +/-3 percentage points) they found that “when Americans were asked whether they would vote for a presidential candidate from a minority group, most Americans were more than ready to elect a female or African-American candidate, however, just 55% of Americans said they would support a homosexual presidential candidate who was otherwise well qualified.” (www.galluppoll.org). That’s up from 23% when they first asked this question back in 1978, but it’s still lower than most other minority groups which is another indication of how gays are still a group whom many people feel it’s okay to discriminate against.

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Is this Quote Suitable for a Research Paper?

ANSWER KEY Quote 1:

Daniel Tammet, in his memoir Born on a Blue Day, describes what it’s like to live life as an autistic savant. He is a high functioning mathematical savant who, unlike many people with autism, is actually able to describe what goes on inside his head. He says:

If someone had told my parents ten years ago that I would be living completely independently, with a loving relationship and a career, I don’t think they would have believed it and I’m not sure I would have either…By writing about my own experiences growing up on the autistic spectrum, it is my hope that I can help other young people living with high-functioning autism to feel less isolated and to have confidence in the knowledge that it is ultimately possible to lead a happy and productive life. I’m living proof of that. (12)

Tammet’s experiences and his ability to describe them go a long way toward demonstrating that the diagnosis of autism need not lead parents to conclude their child will never be able to function in society. To the contrary, he provides insights into precisely how the autistic mind works, and thereby how we can work to support those who are diagnosed with it.

Quote 1 is a correctly formatted block quote. The quoted material is longer than 3-4 lines and starts on its own line, with all portions single spaced and indented with page number in parentheses afterward. It is set up properly, saying who the speaker is, where it was published and why the speaker is a legitimate source.

We could question Tammet’s authority, as he is speaking only from personal experience, however, unlike the example of Del Camden, the ballroom dancer, on page 68 of this packet, he isn’t presenting something other than personal evidence. A student using this in a research paper would need to note that Tammet is not presenting research data. The sentences that follow the quote indicate how the quote is linked to a thesis.

Quote 2: In the book Life on the Outside, Marion Paley describes the difficulties she faced reentering society after 23 years in prison. She had entered prison at age 18 after a series of drug arrests in New York City. In prison she kicked her heroine habit, earned a college degree in psychology, and started a highly successful program to help incarcerated women form lasting and meaningful relationships with their children outside of prison. In prison, Marion Paley had been a success story. Outside of prison, however, things were very different. She writes,

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I had a college degree and work experience in the field of psychology. I even knew quite a bit about managing a small business on limited funds from having to scare up money to run the Prison Mothers program. But despite all of this, despite having paid my debt to society, despite having been clean for more than twenty years, no one on the outside would hire me. I went from

one job agency to another, spent hours on the phone with my parole officer. I couldn’t even get a job at the local grocery store. As the months passed with no income I actually began to think about robbery, something I’d never done even when I was a junky! (45)

What Paley experienced is a tragedy. How is justice served if people who actually clean up their lives get no support once they leave prison? How do we expect prisoners to ever rejoin society? What incentive do prisoners have to reform themselves if they hear about stories like this? It’s unthinkable.

Quote 1 is a correctly formatted block quote. The quoted material is longer than 3-4 lines and starts on its own line, with all portions single spaced and indented with page number in parentheses afterward. It is set up properly, saying who the speaker is, where it was published and why the speaker is a legitimate source. As with Tammet in Quote 1 we could question the legitimacy of Paley as a scholarly source, but again, as she is speaking only from personal experience and isn’t presenting something other than personal evidence. A student using this in a research paper would need to note that Paley is not presenting research data. The sentences that follow the quote are not satisfactory, however. They ask questions and deliver the writer’s opinion on the situation, but do NOT connect this interesting quote to an persuasive thesis.

Quote 3: In a recent poll conducted by the Gallup Research Group, an independent analysis agency known for its focus on political polling, in which the results were based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,006 adults, aged 18 and older (margin of error being +/-3 percentage points) they found that “when Americans were asked whether they would vote for a presidential candidate from a minority group, most Americans were more than ready to elect a female or African-American candidate, however, just 55% of Americans said they would support a homosexual presidential candidate who was otherwise well qualified.” (www.galluppoll.org). That’s up from 23% when they first asked this question back in 1978, but it’s still lower than most other minority groups which is another indication of how gays are still a group whom many people feel it’s okay to discriminate against.

Quote 3 presents a correctly formatted short quote taken from a scholarly website. The core site address has been identified in parentheses following the quote, as is customary. The quote is continuous with the rest of the text and set off with quotation marks to indicate the exact words taken from the site. The quote is set up properly, indicating the legitimacy of the data even though no specific author is given. However, the material after the quote contains only the flimsiest connection to a thesis and is not sufficient for research paper purposes.

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Crafting a strong introduction: A good research paper introduction will be about a page in length and includes four key components (they can be placed in whatever order makes sense.

The components are:

OO NO H KS!

Squat before you leap.

S - Set up Qu - Key questions to be addressed A - The complex, nuanced argument (this should take three or four sentences) T - Reference to one or two of the key texts that the paper will rely on SET UP A set up is NOT the same as a “hook” or a “grabber” which is what some people have been taught to do to start a paper. A good set up clarifies what the topic is as a starting point and then moves straight on. One or two sentences is fine. Avoid making this a very general statement.

Good example: Racial politics in American have become highly contentious in the wake of incidents such as the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguston, MO last year.

Not good: Since the dawn of time, questions about race have plagued society.

KEY QUESTIONS Every paper will tackle more than one question. It helps the reader feel oriented if they know what kinds of questions the writer intends to examine. That becomes a frame of reference as they proceed. Avoid using self reference throughout the paper but especially at this point.

Good example: This paper will consider ways in which racial tensions have become more contentious in recent years. What is fueling the problem? Why, so many years after the Civil Rights Act, is informal racial segregation still a part of daily life? How might these tensions be relieved? Are the solutions ones that should be crafted through the legal system or some other means?

Not good: I have observed racial violence in my neighborhood and am forced to ask myself why this is happening. Who is to blame? What can be done? Am I the solution, or is it a matter of changing laws?

ARGUMENT As described earlier in this packet, a good persuasive argument for a research paper must be complex (have multiple parts) and take a position of some controversy but which can be supported by scholarly evidence. See the earlier sections for more on this.

TEXTS A good introduction helps familiarize the reader with one or two key texts that the paper will focus on in particular. These sources will be the readers touchstones and seeing the names of these authors earlier will help them be familiar when they are encountered later.

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Good example: One of the most prominent authorities on the questions of racial strife in America at the moment is Melissa Harris-Perry who not only has a popular television show devoted to these issues but is also an associate professor at the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University. Her book Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America will be a central text in this discussion Another key text will be The New Jim Crow, by professor and researcher Michelle Alexander with contributions from notable professor Cornel West.

Introductions Worksheet Directions: Read each introduction to a research paper and determine: • • • • • •

Does this introduction tell us the what argument the writer is making?

Does this introduction tell us the key questions to be addressed?

Does this introduction name several key sources used?

Does this introduction avoid making general statements?

Does this introduction avoid sounding like a report of information?

Does this introduction avoid self reference (no using I/me/my)?

Introduction # 1According to George Bracey, an independent researcher at Arizona State University, “U.S high-school seniors were apparently at or near the bottom in math and science literacy...”(66) in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). This study took students from industrialized nations and tested there abilities in math and science. This made me ask the question, what do the countries that perform higher do differently that could be applied to help the students in the U.S? We can look at the U.S education system and study how more successful education systems work in terms of science and math compared to the U.S. That way we can isolate the differences.

Introduction # 2This society is one where everyone wants to feel as if they belong. People are constantly searching for somewhere that they can go and relate to people like them. Most people find this place in religion. Religious groups have the same ideas about life and how you should live it. It is a place where people who feel lost can go and have hope in something. As long as there have been people, there have always been groups who come together to worship the same things. Sometimes religious groups’ beliefs do not sit well with mainstream society. Sometimes their beliefs are so extreme that they are harmful to the members of the group. This is not the way the majority of new religious groups work, but due to the actions of several cults, that is the way that we stereotype all new religions. After we have looked at all of the information it will be seen that stereotyping new religious movements may be justifiable based on the actions of religious cults of the past, but there are a few religious groups that deserve to be given a fresh new look. In order to understand where these negative stereotypes come from we need to take a must look at some of the cults that have paved the way for this mentality

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Introduction # 3For the last couple of years there has been overcapacity in the auto market; however, the hybrids and alternative fuels have gotten glitz and glamour. Until recently, as higher gasoline prices, diminished oil supplies and concern on environment and pollution increased, manufacturers have begun to seriously look into these systems again and hybrid cars in particular, are gaining popularity and acceptance. Corn fuel or soy diesel are cheaper and cleaner than gas; however some experts claim that they will eventually ruin cars fuel injector and then engine. Consequently, “In the coming years, hybrids can play a significant role in addressing several of the major problems faced by the United States and the world today” (Friedman 1). Hybrid cars are the future of the world’s energy safety.

Introduction # 4After the death of Louis the 14th in the 1700’s through the early 18th century art was dominated by aristocracy a very controlling government. It would be the equivalent of Barack Obama telling us what type of music we listen to what we can and can’t buy, how much money we keep out of our paychecks.(which w can relate to leaving in New Jersey.) It’s a government that keeps the rich rich and the poor poor. The dominant style of this time was the Rococo. Rococo was to represent a softer, elegant art that was supposed to represent a class of wealth. Impressionism art is consumed by characteristics such as expressionism ,brilliant color, it’s meaning to art, legends and icons and some of the most expensive art sold and kept in galleries through out the world. Art has come a long way. Some 30,0000 years ago the first painters and sculptors died. This begs the question what makes impressionist stand out so much in that 30,0000 year span.

Introduction #5 On September 11, 2001, the United States of American was surprised by the largest domestic terrorist attack to date. The collapse of the World Trade Center’s main towers, the partial destruction of a wing of the Pentagon, and the downing of an airliner headed for Washington, D.C. shook the nation hard. Affected by the tragic event, this country’s legislators moved diligently to protect the country from a future attack and to ensure those responsible could be brought to justice.

Introduction # 6 – The topic of the extinction of the dinosaurs is interesting to many people because it is one of those unsolved

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mysteries that continues to stand the test of time. That is why in this paper different theories will be looked at and explained and a conclusion will be made about what really happened to the dinosaurs.

Introduction #7 – Popular forensic science television programs such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation have spawned a phenomenon in court rooms that some call the “CSI Effect.” Max Houck, Director of the Forensic Science Initiative at West Virginia University, says in his article “The ‘CSI Effect” from the Journal of American Forensic Science’s November 2011 edition, that “the CSI effect is basically the perception of the nearinfallibility of forensic science in response to the TV show” (59). Prosecutors argue that the “CSI Effect” is causing jurors to acquit more defendants because they feel there is not enough scientific evidence to prove the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Defense attorneys, on the other hand, argue that because the CSI programs usually solve the case by the end of the episode using the evidence they have collected, juries believe that forensic evidence is virtually infallible when in fact errors are quite common. Forensic television programs may seem to teach us about the science behind criminal investigation but they don’t and they are, in fact, dangerous. These shows only concentrate on one aspect of crime solving: the collection and analyzing of evidence. In reality, collecting and analyzing evidence is only one step in the long process to an actual conviction. America’s growing fascination with crime solving television shows have lay people believing that they know how forensic evidence should be used to solve a crime, but “reel” life does not always follow real life and real victims can suffer in the process.

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Introductions Worksheet

ANSWER KEY Introduction # 1-

According to George Bracey, an independent researcher at Arizona State University, â&#x20AC;&#x153;U.S high-school seniors were apparently at or near the bottom in math and science literacy...â&#x20AC;?(66) in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). This study took students from industrialized nations and tested there abilities in math and science. This made me ask the question, what do the countries that perform higher do differently that could be applied to help the students in the U.S? We can look at the U.S education system and study how more successful education systems work in terms of science and math compared to the U.S. That way we can isolate the differences.

There are significant problems with this introduction. The fact that the paragraph is so short is a tip off that key elements are missing. It starts with a quote about a topic without orienting the reader to the topic, the thesis or anything else. Quotes are best saved for later in the paper, when the student begins to explain the evidence that will support his or her thesis. The intro does contain key questions that the student intends to address, but does not present a clear nuanced thesis which is the most crucial component of the paper.

Introduction # 2This society is one where everyone wants to feel as if they belong. People are constantly searching for somewhere that they can go and relate to people like them. Most people find this place in religion. Religious groups have the same ideas about life and how you should live it. It is a place where people who feel lost can go and have hope in something. As long as there have been people, there have always been groups who come together to worship the same things. Sometimes religious groupsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; beliefs do not sit well with mainstream society. Sometimes their beliefs are so extreme that they are harmful to the members of the group. This is not the way the majority of new religious groups work, but due to the actions of several cults, that is the way that we stereotype all new religions. After we have looked at all of the information it will be seen that stereotyping new religious movements may be justifiable based on the actions of religious cults of the past, but there are a few religious groups that deserve to be given a fresh new look. In order to understand where these negative stereotypes come from we need to take a must look at some of the cults that have paved the way for this mentality This introduction, like the one in the first sample, is missing many key elements. It does not identify the key questions the paper intends to address, it does not outline the most important questions, nor does it introduce any of the most relevant texts upon which the paper will rely. It presents something that hints at a thesis about stereotypes, but there is no nuanced position here. It is a set up for a report rather than a persuasive research paper. Further, it makes many generalizations that water down the topic and do not help set it up effectively.

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Introduction # 3For the last couple of years there has been overcapacity in the auto market; however, the hybrids and alternative fuels have gotten glitz and glamour. Until recently, as higher gasoline prices, diminished oil supplies and concern on environment and pollution increased, manufacturers have begun to seriously look into these systems again and hybrid cars in particular, are gaining popularity and acceptance. Corn fuel or soy diesel are cheaper and cleaner than gas; however some experts claim that they will eventually ruin cars fuel injector and then engine. Consequently, “In the coming years, hybrids can play a significant role in addressing several of the major problems faced by the United States and the world today” (Friedman 1). Hybrid cars are the future of the world’s energy safety.

Again the fact that this intro is so short is a tip-off that something is missing. The key problem is that there is no thesis (hybrids are the cars of the future is NOT a nuanced argument). The intro starts with a broad generalization, which waters down the topic. It then presents a series of “facts” without any sources to back them up and a quote with incorrect information in the parentheses. Quotes should be saved for later. This intro is not working on any level.

Introduction # 4After the death of Louis the 14th in the 1700’s through the early 18th century art was dominated by aritsocracy a very controlling government. It would be the equivalent of Barak Obama telling us what type of music we listen to what we can and can’t buy, how much money we keep out of our paychecks.(which w can relate to leaving in New Jersey.) It’s a government that keeps the rich rich and the poor poor. The dominant style of this time was the Rococo. Rococo was to represent a softer, elegant art that was supposed to represent a class of wealth. Impressionism art is consumed by characteristics such as expressionism ,brilliant color, it’s meaning to art, legends and icons and some of the most expensive art sold and kept in galleries through out the world. Art has come a long way. Some 30,0000 years ago the first painters and sculptors died. This begs the question what makes impressionist stand out so much in that 30,0000 year span.

This intro is incoherent and contains all the previously mentioned problems. If you see a peer in your group who is writing something similarly problematic, the best thing to do is pick out the most urgent issue and give them feedback on that. In this case, the most pressing problem is that the paper looks like it is a historical report. This would be a good time to let the student know the thesis isn’t working and they would be well advised to review the portions of this book that can help them get onto the right track.

Introduction #5 On September 11, 2001, the United States of American was surprised by the largest domestic terrorist attack to date. The collapse of the World Trade Center’s main towers, the partial destruction of a wing of the Pentagon, and the downing of an airliner headed for Washington, D.C. shook the nation hard. Affected by the tragic event, this country’s legislators moved diligently to protect the country from a future attack and to ensure those

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responsible could be brought to justice.

Introduction # 6 – The topic of the extinction of the dinosaurs is interesting to many people because it is one of those unsolved mysteries that continues to stand the test of time. That is why in this paper different theories will be looked at and explained and a conclusion will be made about what really happened to the dinosaurs.

Again we see something that doesn’t work on many levels, so as a peer reviewer, you need to zero in on the most urgent problem. In this case that is the fact that the topic of what happened to the dinosaurs is too broad for a 10-15 page paper, and the question remains unresolved by scientists, so can only produce a report that describes various possibilities. As with Intro #5, this student needs to review what it means to have a nuanced thesis.

Introduction #7 – Popular forensic science television programs such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation have spawned a phenomenon in court rooms that some call the “CSI Effect.” Max Houck, Director of the Forensic Science Initiative at West Virginia University, says in his article “The ‘CSI Effect” from the Journal of American Forensic Science’s November 2011 edition, that “the CSI effect is basically the perception of the nearinfallibility of forensic science in response to the TV show” (59). Prosecutors argue that the “CSI Effect” is causing jurors to acquit more defendants because they feel there is not enough scientific evidence to prove the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Defense attorneys, on the other hand, argue that because the CSI programs usually solve the case by the end of the episode using the evidence they have collected, juries believe that forensic evidence is virtually infallible when in fact errors are quite common. Forensic television programs may seem to teach us about the science behind criminal investigation but they don’t and they are, in fact, dangerous. These shows only concentrate on one aspect of crime solving: the collection and analyzing of evidence. In reality, collecting and analyzing evidence is only one step in the long process to an actual conviction. America’s growing fascination with crime solving television shows have lay people believing that they know how forensic evidence should be used to solve a crime, but “reel” life does not always follow real life and real victims can suffer in the process.

There are many ways to craft a good intro, and this one is pretty good. Though it does NOT include key questions to be addressed, it does present a central problem. It also introduces a least one key text and it contains a thesis which is that the CSI effect can cause “real victims to suffer.” The thesis would be stronger if it went on to say what might be done to reduce the problem and prevent the suffering, and a good peer reviewer would suggest to the author that they include that, but overall this is satisfactory work.

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Crafting an effective body paragraph: Each body paragraph of a critical research paper serves the same basic function which is to give more information that serves to support the complex thesis described in the introduction. Because the thesis will have several parts, the paper may be different into sections with each one focussed on supporting one portion of the thesis.

A well constructed body paragraph begins with a sentence or two that creates a transition from the previous point to the new point. Although some body paragraphs will contain summary of factual information, the majority will present quotes from scholarly sources and explain how the information in those quotes backs up a portion of the thesis. By looking at the sentences following any quote, it should be clear what thesis (or portion of a thesis) the author is trying to support.

T - Transition*/topic sentence (*For more on transitions see pages 90-95) I - Introduction of new evidence (usually in the form of a quote) E - Explanation of how evidence serves to support the thesis (or a portion of the thesis): Note: It may sometimes feel as if you are restating your thesis over and over again as you keep tying each point back to it as you go along. This is not something to worry about so long as each point is building on the one before it.

Transition + topic sentence

Introduction of new evidence

Another way that we can see that putting the burden for reducing obesity on individuals is ineffective comes from the research of Dr. T’Shawn Obrien of the School of Public Health and Policy at Harvard University. In 2009 Obrien published the results of his study of 56 medical programs designed to help obese people lower their weight to healthy levels without surgical intervention. His article, titled “Long Term Effects of Non-Surgical Obesity Intervention” was published in The Journal of Internal Medicine. In it he writes:

The programs we examined provided a variety of interventions from gym memberships and meal preparation to family therapy sessions geared toward promoting overall lifestyle changes. All the programs showed temporary effectiveness for roughly 75% of participants, but following program completion, between 10-15%, depending on the program, maintained the improvements for more than a year, a success rate no higher than what is achieved by an average person setting out to lose weight on his or her own. (345)

This confirms the idea that while programs for individual weight loss, while not harmful, aren’t the solution to the obesity epidemic either. Therefore, if emphasizing personal responsibility is not effective, then we must look elsewhere to find a way forward. Next we will consider what research shows are the more viable alternatives, strategies that can be implemented at the governmental level, such as taxing fatty and sugary foods, making incentives for creating green spaces and bike paths in urban areas, and working to reduce food deserts in poor neighborhoods.

Explanation of how evidence supports thesis

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Body Paragraphs Worksheet Directions: Read each body paragraph from a research paper and determine: • Does this body paragraph have a topic sentence that provides a transition from the previous point and

sets up the new point?

• Does this body paragraph introduce new evidence, including quotes that are correctly cited?

• Does this body paragraph explain how the material cited supports the main argument of the paper?

Body Paragraph # 1Title III of the U.S. Patriot Act implements the International Money Laundering Abatement and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act of 2001. Its purpose is to expand the current U.S. money laundering laws in order to prevent transnational criminal enterprises from conducting and expanding their operation and thus threatening the safety of American citizens. It is estimate by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that money laundering accounts for between two and five percent of global gross domestic product, which is at least $600,000,000,000 annually. The new law requires domestic financial institutions to expand their obligations to prevent money laundering and substantial revisions to existing compliance procedures. In addition the new law requires that foreign financial institutions with assets in the United States to accept new anti-money laundering obligations as a condition for doing business within the country.

Body Paragraph #2 – Another way that we can see that satellite radio will not be able to kill regular radio is because satellite does not offer local information the way regular radio does. As Jim Hopstein, a professor of Communications and Media at Williams College, says in his article “Infiltration of New Media into Mainstream Markets” from the Journal of Mass Media’s July 2010 edition, “Unlike satellite, local radio is able to offer sports updates for teams in the area, traffic updates and local weather. A survey of 2,000 radio listeners from across the nation, conducted in 2009, found that 89% of respondents listened to the radio to get local weather and traffic reports” (26). We can see from Hopstein’s statistics that having access to local content on the radio is a major draw for listeners.

He shows that a vast majority of listeners seek out local content. Even if listeners do purchase a satellite subscription, they will continue to toggle over to their regular stations for news, weather and traffic reports, showing, once again, that satellite radio will augment regular radio not put it out of business.

Body Paragraph # 3Have you ever wondered what happens in emergency situations when a mass manpower is needed to control

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a situation? Did you know that auxiliary police officers are called in as back up to regular officers? With out these dedicated men and women a small-scale emergency situation could quickly turn violent or out of control.

What happens when there is a large-scale community gathering, or public event? The local police departments of twenty-five men or less do not have the manpower, resources, or finances to be able to control some community events. That is when they call in Auxiliary Police officers to assist in controlling the situation, with extra patrol in the area, tend to first aid needs, and provide traffic assistance where needed. This frees up the full time officers to tend to other situations throughout the town.

Body Paragraph #4 – While military deployment can result in a host of mental illnesses, and many are experienced simultaneously, the most commonly reported is a very serious disorder blamed for a majority of soldier suicides – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. There are thousands of perceptions of what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is, and what causes it. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) is published by the American Psychiatric Association. It is widely used by mental health professionals across the country as a guideline to diagnose and treat every mental illnesses recognized in the United States. The DSMIV describes PTSD:

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ( PTSD ) is a anxiety disorder that develops after a severe traumatic event or experience. Several distressing symptoms are common in the person with PTSD, including Psychic numbing, emotion anesthesia, increased arousal, or unwanted re experiencing of the trauma. (446)

A requirement of PTSD is that there must be some type of traumatic incident. For deployed soldiers this risk is very high. But PTSD doesn’t show-up in its worse form immediately after a tragic event. It starts out and escalates into depression, insomnia, anxiety, alienation and rage. The DSM IV says that stress increases someone’s chance of developing PTSD after a traumatic event. Therefore, to reduce the risk of the disorder, there is a need to reduce the stress and increase training so that soldiers know what to expect, how to handle it when it occurs, and what to do when they can’t handle it.

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Body Paragraphs Worksheet

ANSWER KEY Body Paragraph # 1-

Title III of the U.S. Patriot Act implements the International Money Laundering Abatement and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act of 2001. Its purpose is to expand the current U.S. money laundering laws in order to prevent transnational criminal enterprises from conducting and expanding their operation and thus threatening the safety of American citizens. It is estimate by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that money laundering accounts for between two and five percent of global gross domestic product, which is at least $600,000,000,000 annually. The new law requires domestic financial institutions to expand their obligations to prevent money laundering and substantial revisions to existing compliance procedures. In addition the new law requires that foreign financial institutions with assets in the United States to accept new anti-money laundering obligations as a condition for doing business within the country.

This is NOT a successful body paragraph. It is a summary of information and the sources are not identified which means it amounts to plagiarism. You cannot include facts without giving sources, even sloppy MLA citation is better than none at all. This paper does not use the TIE method to help support the paper’s thesis and it could cause the whole paper to receive a failing grade due to the lack of citation.

Body Paragraph #2 – Another way that we can see that satellite radio will not be able to kill regular radio is because satellite does not offer local information the way regular radio does. As Jim Hopstein, a professor of Communications and Media at Williams College, says in his article “Infiltration of New Media into Mainstream Markets” from the Journal of Mass Media’s July 2010 edition, “Unlike satellite, local radio is able to offer sports updates for teams in the area, traffic updates and local weather.

A survey of 2,000 radio listeners from across the nation, conducted in 2009, found that 89% of respondents listened to the radio to get local weather and traffic reports” (26). We can see from Hopstein’s statistics that having access to local content on the radio is a major draw for listeners. He shows that a vast majority of listeners seek out local content. Even if listeners do purchase a satellite subscription, they will continue to toggle over to their regular stations for news, weather and traffic reports, showing, once again, that satellite radio will augment regular radio not put it out of business.

This is a successful body paragraph. It starts with a transition, introduces new information from a scholarly source correctly cited, and follows that with analysis linking it to a portion of the student’s overall thesis. We know this is just a portion of the thesis since by itself the idea that satellite radio won’t put regular radio out of business is not complex enough to sustain a full research paper.

Body Paragraph # 3Have you ever wondered what happens in emergency situations when a mass manpower is needed to control a situation?

Did you know that auxiliary police officers are called in as back up to regular officers? With out these dedicated men

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and women a small-scale emergency situation could quickly turn violent or out of control. What happens when there is a large-scale community gathering, or public event? The local police departments of twenty-five men or less do not have the manpower, resources, or finances to be able to control some community events. That is when they call in Auxiliary Police officers to assist in controlling the situation, with extra patrol in the area, tend to first aid needs, and provide traffic assistance where needed. This frees up the full time officers to tend to other situations throughout the town.

This is NOT a successful body paragraph. Instead of starting with a transition it starts with a sequence of trite questions.

Do not address the reader using “you,” as this is considered too informal for college level or workplace writing. After the questions the author goes on to present information that has no source given, but unlike the example in Body Paragraph #1 the information is not factual. It looks like the student is simply presenting his or her own personal opinions rather than introducing real evidence from scholarly sources. That does not work.

Body Paragraph #4 – While military deployment can result in a host of mental illnesses, and many are experienced simultaneously, the most commonly reported is a very serious disorder blamed for a majority of soldier suicides – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

There are thousands of perceptions of what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is, and what causes it. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) is published by the American Psychiatric Association.

It is widely used by mental health professionals across the country as a guideline to diagnose and treat every mental illnesses recognized in the United States. The DSM-IV describes PTSD:

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ( PTSD ) is a anxiety disorder that develops after a severe traumatic event or experience. Several distressing symptoms are common in the person with PTSD, including Psychic numbing, emotion anesthesia, increased arousal, or unwanted re experiencing of the trauma. (446)

A requirement of PTSD is that there must be some type of traumatic incident. For deployed soldiers this risk is very high.

But PTSD doesn’t show-up in its worse form immediately after a tragic event. It starts out and escalates into depression, insomnia, anxiety, alienation and rage. The DSM IV says that stress increases someone’s chance of developing PTSD after a traumatic event. Therefore, to reduce the risk of the disorder, there is a need to reduce the stress and increase training so that soldiers know what to expect, how to handle it when it occurs, and what to do when they can’t handle it.

This is a successful body para

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TRANSITIONS TRANSITIONS Once you have become familiar with the basic critical essay format, you can begin to make your writing flow more smoothly by using transition words and phrases.

• •

•

A good transition looks back to where you’ve been, and forward to where you are going Good transitions are needed particularly at the beginning of paragraphs, but also within paragraphs to make relationships between ideas clear.

Use transitions at the start of each body paragraph in an essay.

Type of transition Sequence

Comparison Contrast

Example

Cause and effect Shift in direction

Words another way, also, again, and, and then, finally, first, second, third, next, still, further, continuing Again, also, in the same way, once more, similarly although, but, despite, even though, however, by contrast, instead, on the contrary, on the one hand, on the other hand, still though, yet such as, to illustrate, for example, for instance, one example, one way, another way as a result, because, consequently, for this purpose, so, then, therefore thus far, separately, looking at it a different way, considering, moving on, further, a new way, to this point

How it works Items flow in a LOGICAL ORDER, one idea follows from the next Demonstrates how points or items are SIMILAR Demonstrates how points are NOT THE SAME and exactly what causes them to be different.

Shows how something is a CLEAR EXAMPLE of what was given before.

Shows how one element is a direct CAUSE for another.

Shows author shifting to address a NEW CONCEPT

Good example (two shift in direction transitions): To this point we have examined the various ways that research suggest “stop and frisk” policies by the police may unintentionally raise crime levels and incite racial animosities in urban areas. Moving on we can see that this problem is compounded if the population in the area is predominately African American while the police force is not. This may seem obvious, but the data behind it is striking. In her book Out of Bounds: Police Brutality and Crime, author and professor of socio-economics at Harvard Dr. Linda Pingree writes: “In the study of seventeen urban police departments in mid-sized cities of 100,000 to 500,000 citizens, conducted over a period of seven years, we found that the number of incidents of racial violence was directly proportional to the number of non-minorities serving in the police force” (227). This goes to support the notion that one key way to begin to reduce racial tension and violence must be to recruit and train minorities in order to insure police departments are well integrated.

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Good example (two sequence transitions): Another way we can see that college graduation rates are linked to the over use of part time faculty to teach core classes is presented in the research of Dr. Min-jun Huang, a professor of Sociology at Teachers College of Columbia University. In his article titled “Proportional Response: Student Outcomes and Faculty Composition” published in the June 2013 edition of Higher Education Research, he writes: “Research on 1,082 two and four-year colleges found that when reliance part-time faculty numbers rose above 50%, dropout rates increased on average by 2%. As the numbers of part-time instructors rose, so the graduation rates fell at a steeper and steeper curve, across the board” (93). Huang’s study is particularly valuable not only because it looked at such a large number of colleges, but also because it examined results for both two and four year colleges. This serves to support the idea that Mercer County Community College, where more than 80% of core English and Math classes are taught by part-time faculty, is not likely to increase student graduation rates without committing funding to hiring more full-time faculty in these disciplines. Next we will look at evidence that shows how the costs of hiring more full-timers would likely be off-set by the overall increase in tuition generated by students staying in school to completion.

Good example (two contrast transition): Although many parenting groups have argued for tighter restrictions and more warning labels on CDs, DVDs and video games that contain violence and sexuality, there is no research evidence to suggest that these labels have had any effect in reducing teen violence or even reducing the numbers of teens encountering this media. On the contrary, significant research exists that suggest that labeling has actually increased the interest male teens have in accessing violent media. In a research study published by the National Institutes of Health on their website nih.gov in July of 2014, the authors reveal that:

A group of 350 males aged 13-19, made up for individuals from different socio-economic and racial backgrounds to mimic the population of the United States, when presented with the option to play one of two new video games, neither of which had any image on the front but one having a warning label and one without a label, the participants were 13% more likely to select the one with the warning.

Males with a history of aggressive behavior were on average 33% more likely to do so, a fact that remained almost the same regardless of race or economic status. The effect was even more pronounced among the older age group of 17-19 year olds. (www.nih.gov)

It would be easy to look for flaws in the NIH research or pass this off as a single study, but we find similar results on in other research that we will look at as well. All of the strongest research and most unbiased research goes to support the notion that labeling is harmful and that special interest groups are not only encroaching on First Amendment rights by lobbying to apply warning labels, but are working to worsen the very problem they seek to address. The only good news here is that compared to how many people play violent video games, the numbers of those who actually commit any form of violent crime is tiny.

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Transitions Worksheet Directions: Read over the types of transition words and when they are used. A good transition sentence looks back at where you’ve just been, but points to where you are about to go. Read the sample transitions, underline any transition words you see, then determine if the transition is successful overall.

Transition #1 – We’ve seen that students in community colleges who achieve success by graduating and then going on to wellpaying careers have ambition in common. Another way that this group is linked is that the vast majority have family support systems that value education.

Transition #2 – According to research there are not enough paying jobs for firemen in New Jersey even if they come out of Fire Science training programs. The fire companies need recruits who are well trained, but they don’t have the resources to pay them and recruits usually can’t go on serving in a volunteer capacity forever because they need a paycheck.

Transition #3 – On the one hand, as we’ve seen, childhood obesity has a great deal to do with family habits, but on the other hand many families living at or below the poverty line frequently have no access to healthy food options such as fresh fruits and vegetables.

Transition #4 – Education is synonymous with the overall path of one’s life; it may not always be formal like school, by observing, listening, conversing and other functions in life we are learning. As the years passed, to “educate” became more formalized and institutionalized, this is part of the downfall to the modern educational system.

Transition #5 – Like exposure domestic violence, low intelligence is another factor that can lead to both high TV viewing and high aggression. Dr. L.R. Huesmann, a biopsychologist from Duke University, in his article “Psychological processes promoting the relation between exposure to media violence and aggressive behavior by the viewer” provides the following findings of the research: “Children of lower intellectual achievement generally watch more television, watch more violent television, believe violent television reflects real life, and behave more aggressively.”(8) This means that more intelligent children might be less negatively influenced by viewing violence, as they do not consider it realistic. On the other hand, most school shooters demonstrate high IQs and score well on intelligence tests.

Transition #6 – The growth of the fast food industry derived from the need for less time required to prepare food. The numbers of single-parent households have increased by 30% over the last two decades and even the majority of twoparent households have both adults work outside the home. This leaves little time for meals prepared with fresh ingredients. There is often little motivation for single individuals to cook for themselves.

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Transitions Worksheet

ANSWER KEY

Transition #1 – We’ve seen that students in community colleges who achieve success by graduating and then going on to well-paying careers have ambition in common. Another way that this group is linked is that the vast majority have family support systems that value education.

Transition #1 demonstrates successful use of a sequence transition (Another way) to move from a previous point to a new one.

Transition #2 – According to research there are not enough paying jobs for firemen in New Jersey even if they come out of Fire Science training programs. The fire companies need recruits who are well trained, but they don’t have the resources to pay them and recruits usually can’t go on serving in a volunteer capacity forever because they need a paycheck.

There is no actual transition here. It appears to be a sentence that introduces new evidence but it doesn’t say what research it is talking about. With more specifics this could be a useful portion of a body paragraph, but it is NOT a transition.

Transition #3 – On the one hand, as we’ve seen, childhood obesity has a great deal to do with family habits, on the other hand many families living at or below the poverty line frequently have no access to healthy food options such as fresh fruits and vegetables.

Transition #3 shows the successful use of a pair of contrast transitions.

Transition #4 – Education is synonymous with the overall path of one’s life; it may not always be formal like school, by observing, listening, conversing and other functions in life we are learning. As the years passed, to “educate” became more formalized and institutionalized, this is part of the downfall to the modern educational system.

There is no transition here, just a sequence of general ideas without support. Generalizations become filler in a paper and do not help make it more persuasive.

Transition #5 – Like exposure domestic violence, low intelligence is another factor that can lead to both high TV viewing and high aggression. Dr. L.R. Huesmann, a biopsychologist from Duke University, in his article “Psychological processes promoting the relation between exposure to media violence and aggressive behavior by the viewer” provides the following findings of the research: “Children of lower intellectual achievement generally watch more television, watch more violent television, believe violent television reflects real life, and behave more aggressively.”(8) This means that more intelligent children might be less negatively influenced by viewing violence, as they do not consider it realistic. On the other hand, most school shooters demonstrate high IQs and score well on intelligence tests.

Transition #5 demonstrates the effective use of both the sequence and contrast transitions.

Transition #6 – The growth of the fast food industry derived from the need for less time required to prepare food. The numbers of single-parent households have increased by 30% over the last two decades and even the majority of two-parent households have both adults work outside the home. This leaves little time for meals prepared with fresh ingredients. There is often little motivation for single individuals to cook for themselves.

There is no transition here, and while parts of the paragraph may work as a portion of a paragraph, the statistics must be attributed to a source to avoid plagiarism.

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The 80-20 Principle Analysis vs. Summary of Information

It is not possible to write a research paper where you never sum up information or provide a quote where the only goal is to introduce facts that will help explain the problem you are examining. On the other hand, that information must be cited properly and should only make up roughly 20% of the paper overall.

Eighty percent of your paper should be argument and analysis. That mean the presentation of each piece of supporting evidence and then the discussion following that explains why that evidence is valuable, what it adds up to and why according to the author of the paper.

As weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen in the previous exercise on transitions, summarizing information does little to help craft a good persuasive argument.

PRO TIP

A good research paper contains only 20% summary of facts and information (all cited). 80% is analysis of that information that adds up to a well supported argument.

Analysis & Argument

Summary of Factst

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HOW TO CONSTRUCT A COUNTER ARGUMENT Q: Why bother with counter-arguments?

A: They are a great way to strengthen your position in a persuasive essay.

Q: What kinds of counter-arguments are there?

A: There are essentially TWO kinds of counter-arguments TYPE 1 k A counter-argument that looks at the opposite position to your main thesis. Place this just before your action horizon section.

TYPE 2 k 2. A counter-argument that looks at an opposing position to any supporting point you’re making throughout the course of your essay. You may use many of these woven through your paper.

Q: How do I write a counter argument?

A: For both types the steps are the same.

1. Describe how someone who held a conflicting position to your own would view at the topic/issue/texts.

2. Give an example of what kind of evidence or interpretation would lead that person to their conclusion.

3. Then explain exactly why that evidence or interpretation is inaccurate, unfounded or not the best.

4. Finally return to your own position and say why it’s superior.

To see a good example of a counter argument, see page 61 of Takia’s paper in the samples section of this packet.

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Practicing Writing Counter-Arguments Directions: 1.

First write your own thesis statement for your research paper on the lines provided.

2.

Next, in the space provided write a counter-argument (it may come from your actual research) 3.

Then discuss the flaws in the counter-argument 4.

Finally, explain why your argument is the better/stronger one.

5.

Take this home with you and use this work to add a counter-argument to your essay.

6.

Attach this sheet to your final draft when you submit it.

MY THESIS STATEMENT IS: __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ A POSITION THAT WOULD CHALLENGE MY POSITION WOULD BE: __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ EVIDENCE THAT COULD SUPPORT THIS COUNTER-ARGUMENT WOULD BE: __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

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__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ HOWEVER, THAT POSITION IS NOT AS STRONG AS MY OWN BECAUSE: __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ Note: Use the work you did here in your actual research paper!

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Action Horizon – Explanation and Worksheet An “action horizon” is a form of conclusion for a paper, that moves beyond saying “In conclusion,” and then summing up the paper. Instead it provides starting points for further thinking on the topic, considers additional questions that might be helpful to consider, or looks for practical next steps in addressing the matter at hand.

Directions: Read each action horizon to a research paper and determine: • Does this action horizon go beyond summing up the previous points?

• Does this action horizon examine further questions the research raises?

• Does this action horizon try to identify possible action that is needed and suggest ways it could

legitimately be implemented?

Action Horizon # 1In conclusion, believing everything you see on television can be hazardous to your health and to the health of others. As the research has shown, basing life and death decisions on what you think you know about a subject that you have learned about it from a fictional television show is never a good idea. Forensic evidence analysis needs to be left to the experts to perform, and juries need to disconnect themselves from the belief that CSI programs on television are 100% accurate.

Action Horizon # 2 – The data this paper has examined in detail shows the many ways that veterans are suffering, not getting the care they need and ending up committing suicide in high numbers. We’ve seen how one key problem is failed intimate relationships but obviously the military can’t be asked to prevent all relationships from deteriorating.

Still providing more family and relationship counseling would improve each soldier’s support system. We’ve also seen how the military must work to improve education to all troops if suicide rates are going to be reduced rather than increasing as they have over the last ten years. Soldiers must be taught, not only after they leave combat but throughout their time in service, the types of treatment available, how recognize the signs of PTSD, and possible suicidal tendencies in themselves or in their comrades. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen, resources aren’t being committed to these tasks despite how clearly the research shows it would save lives. So what could be done to pressure the military to do the right thing and put less money into weapons development and more money into caring for veterans? Up to now, one of the only things that has worked to change the way things are done in the Department of Defense is public pressure. Recently documentary filmmakers have exposed the problem of rape in the military and journalists have exposed the poor conditions at places like Walter Reed

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Veterans Hospital. The films and news articles have cause slow but clear changes to occur. Therefore, the best step going forward has nothing to do with conducting more research studies and everything to do with publicizing the research that already exists more effectively, putting a human face on it and distributing it to the mainstream media so that the public begins to care and applies the pressure the government needs to feel like making the changes is worth the effort.

Action Horizon # 3 – The USA Patriot Act, enacted in response to 9/11, has vastly effected both the law and business in ways that have yet to been fully determined, as we have seen. Title II has provided government law enforcement agencies and intelligence services with enhanced surveillance tools that will impact telecommunications, wireless, and Internet service providers. The new law amends previous laws and expands government authority to request subscriber information from these service providers, essentially bypassing the checks and balances that are in place to limit government authority. Title III serves to expand the existing U.S. money laundering laws that are currently in place. Several privacy issues have arisen in regards to the USA Patriot Act because of the amount of authority the government is granted, however many of the controversial sections in Title II are set to expire under section 224 on December 31, 2011 unless congress affirmatively votes to renew them. Requirements under Title III have been made permanent effective the beginning of fiscal year 2005 when Congress missed the deadline to pass a joint resolution. The USA Patriot Act has been a colossal force in shaping U.S. foreign policy since 9/11 and will continue to be the subject of debate as its affects on law and business in the fight against terrorism are scrutinized by many who feel their civil rights are being infringed upon.

Action Horizon #4 – The amount of lives an auxiliary police officer saves or the amount of crime he stops a year just by doing his job will never be known, and for the most part never be recognized. All because some people do not take them seriously people ask foolish questions or make ignorant comments such as “ your not a real cop “ or “ you don’t carry a gun you’re a rental cop” because they are not necessary in their eyes. I think it’s proven that they are necessary.

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Action Horizon Worksheet

ANSWER KEY Action Horizon # 1-

In conclusion, believing everything you see on television can be hazardous to your health and to the health of others. As the research has shown, basing life and death decisions on what you think you know about a subject that you have learned about it from a fictional television show is never a good idea. Forensic evidence analysis needs to be left to the experts to perform, and juries need to disconnect themselves from the belief that CSI programs on television are 100% accurate.

This is not an effective action horizon conclusion. It is a summary conclusion. No new points are raised, no ideas for future research or study are presented, no possible courses of action are given.

Action Horizon # 2 – The data this paper has examined in detail shows the many ways that veterans are suffering, not getting the care they need and ending up committing suicide in high numbers. We’ve seen how one key problem is failed intimate relationships but obviously the military can’t be asked to prevent all relationships from deteriorating.

Still providing more family and relationship counseling would improve each soldier’s support system. We’ve also seen how the military must work to improve education to all troops if suicide rates are going to be reduced rather than increasing as they have over the last ten years. Soldiers must be taught, not only after they leave combat but throughout their time in service, the types of treatment available, how recognize the signs of PTSD, and possible suicidal tendencies in themselves or in their comrades. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen, resources aren’t being committed to these tasks despite how clearly the research shows it would save lives. So what could be done to pressure the military to do the right thing and put less money into weapons development and more money into caring for veterans? Up to now, one of the only things that has worked to change the way things are done in the Department of Defense is public pressure. Recently documentary filmmakers have exposed the problem of rape in the military and journalists have exposed the poor conditions at places like Walter Reed Veterans Hospital. The films and news articles have cause slow but clear changes to occur. Therefore, the best step going forward has nothing to do with conducting more research studies and everything to do with publicizing the research that already exists more effectively, putting a human face on it and distributing it to the mainstream media so that the public begins to care and applies the pressure the government needs to feel like making the changes is worth the effort.

At first Action Horizon #2 looks like it is just summarizing data, but half way through, when it gets to the “So

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what could be done...” moment, it becomes an effective action horizon. After looking at the problems and solutions in details, the paper makes an analytic leap in suggesting that the real solution may come not from research or from the death of veterans, but from Hollywood. Here the writer is taking a step back and looking at all that they have presented in a new way. That is an effective conclusion.

Action Horizon # 3 – The USA Patriot Act, enacted in response to 9/11, has vastly effected both the law and business in ways that have yet to been fully determined, as we have seen. Title II has provided government law enforcement agencies and intelligence services with enhanced surveillance tools that will impact telecommunications, wireless, and Internet service providers. The new law amends previous laws and expands government authority to request subscriber information from these service providers, essentially bypassing the checks and balances that are in place to limit government authority. Title III serves to expand the existing U.S. money laundering laws that are currently in place. Several privacy issues have arisen in regards to the USA Patriot Act because of the amount of authority the government is granted, however many of the controversial sections in Title II are set to expire under section 224 on December 31, 2011 unless congress affirmatively votes to renew them. Requirements under Title III have been made permanent effective the beginning of fiscal year 2005 when Congress missed the deadline to pass a joint resolution. The USA Patriot Act has been a colossal force in shaping U.S. foreign policy since 9/11 and will continue to be the subject of debate as its affects on law and business in the fight against terrorism are scrutinized by many who feel their civil rights are being infringed upon.

This is not an effective action horizon conclusion. As with AH #1 the paragraph sums up a lot of information that appears to have be stated earlier based on the words “as we have seen” at the end of the first sentence. It draws out no new ideas, just reiterates facts that we can only hope have been cited earlier in the paper. It feels like a laundry list of information rather than a satisfying and intriguing conclusion.

Action Horizon #4 – The amount of lives an auxiliary police officer saves or the amount of crime he stops a year just by doing his job will never be known, and for the most part never be recognized. All because some people do not take them seriously people ask foolish questions or make ignorant comments such as “ your not a real cop “ or “ you don’t carry a gun you’re a rental cop” because they are not necessary in their eyes. I think I have proven that they are necessary.

This is not an effective action horizon. It is a statement of the author’s opinion that he has done a good job proving his earlier points. Besides the fact that you should not include words like I, me or my in a research paper, a conclusion like this lacks any real depth and that probably means the paper isn’t full length. A good peer reviewer would see a conclusion like this and encourage her classmate to rework it so it becomes more complex and completes the mission the paper set out at the very beginning.

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Understanding Close Text Reading Q: What is close text reading?

A: Close text reading is a way of using quotes and text passages to support a position, by focusing in on specific words and phrases that give a quote a particular meaning.

Q: What is the point of close text reading?

Close text reading forces the author of an essay to be accountable to the texts from which he or she has drawn.

Close text reading also makes points more convincing, because they are rooted in precise analysis of another text.

When do you use close text reading?

You use close text reading any time you are using a quote to support a point. In the sentences following the quote, you direct the reader’s attention to specific key words and phrases from the text that are most important.

Example: In the book Life on the Outside, Marion Paley describes the difficulties she faced reentering society after 23 years in prison. She had entered prison at age 18 after a series of drug arrests in New York City. In prison she kicked her heroine habit, earned a college degree in psychology, and started a highly successful program to help incarcerated women form lasting and meaningful relationships with their children outside of prison. In prison, Marion Paley had been a success story. Outside of prison, however, things were very different. She writes,

I had a college degree and work experience in the field of psychology. I even knew quite a bit

about managing a small business on limited funds from having to scare up money to run the

Prison Mothers program. But despite all of this, despite having paid my debt to society, despite

having been clean for more than twenty years, no one on the outside would hire me. I went from

one job agency to another, spent hours on the phone with my parole officer. I couldn’t even get

a job at the local grocery store. As the months passed with no income I actually began to think

about robbery, something I’d never done even when I was a junky! (45) The quote from Paley begins to uncover the way in which the system sets up inmates to fail following their release. When she says “despite all of this, despite having paid my debt to society, despite having been clean for more than twenty years…” the repetitive use of the word “despite” serves to show the increasing frustration Paley is feeling. She talks about paying her “debt to society” which shows the contrast in expectations between the prisoner who thinks she is meant to be rehabilitated and the offender who the system sees as needing to be punished.

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From: New York Magazine

“How Not to Talk to Your Kids: The inverse power of praise.”

By Po Bronson Published Feb 11, 2007

According to a survey conducted by Columbia University, 85 percent of American parents think it’s important to tell their kids that they’re smart. In and around the New York area, according to my own (admittedly nonscientific) poll, the number is more like 100 percent. Everyone does it, habitually. The constant praise is meant to be an angel on the shoulder, ensuring that children do not sell their talents short.

But a growing body of research -and a new study from the trenches of the New York public-school systemstrongly suggests it might be the other way around. Giving kids the label of “smart” does not prevent them from underperforming. It might actually be causing it.

For the past ten years, psychologist Carol Dweck and her team at Columbia (she’s now at Stanford) studied the effect of praise on students in a dozen New York schools. Her seminal work -a series of experiments on 400 fifth-graders- paints the picture most clearly.

Dweck sent four female research assistants into New York fifth-grade classrooms. The researchers would take a single child out of the classroom for a nonverbal IQ test consisting of a series of puzzles - puzzles easy enough that all the children would do fairly well. Once the child finished the test, the researchers told each student his score, then gave him a single line of praise. Randomly divided into groups, some were praised for their intelligence. They were told, “You must be smart at this.” Other students were praised for their effort: “You must have worked really hard.”

Why just a single line of praise? “We wanted to see how sensitive children were,” Dweck explained.

“We had a hunch that one line might be enough to see an effect.”

Then the students were given a choice of test for the second round. One choice was a test that would be more difficult than the first, but the researchers told the kids that they’d learn a lot from attempting the puzzles. The other choice, Dweck’s team explained, was an easy test, just like the first. Of those praised for their effort, 90 percent chose the harder set of puzzles. Of those praised for their intelligence, a majority chose the easy test.

The “smart” kids took the cop-out.

Why did this happen? “When we praise children for their intelligence,” Dweck wrote in her study summary, “we tell them that this is the name of the game: Look smart, don’t risk making mistakes.” And that’s what the fifth-graders had done: They’d chosen to look smart and avoid the risk of being embarrassed.

In a subsequent round, none of the fifth-graders had a choice. The test was difficult, designed for kids two years ahead of their grade level. Predictably, everyone failed. But again, the two groups of children, divided at random at the study’s start, responded differently. Those praised for their effort on the first test assumed they simply hadn’t focused hard enough on this test. “They got very involved, willing to try every solution to the puzzles,” Dweck recalled. “Many of them remarked, unprovoked, ‘This is my favorite test.’ ” Not so for those praised for their smarts. They assumed their failure was evidence that they weren’t really smart at all. “Just watching them, you could see the strain. They were sweating and miserable.”

Having artificially induced a round of failure, Dweck’s researchers then gave all the fifth-graders a final round of tests that were engineered to be as easy as the first round. Those who had been praised for their effort significantly improved on their first score - by about 30 percent. Those who’d been told they were smart did worse than they had at the very beginning -by about 20 percent.

Dweck had suspected that praise could backfire, but even she was surprised by the magnitude of the effect. “Emphasizing effort gives a child a variable that they can control,” she explains. “They come to see themselves as in control of their success. Emphasizing natural intelligence takes it out of the child’s control, and it provides no good recipe for responding to a failure.”

In follow-up interviews, Dweck discovered that those who think that innate intelligence is the key to success begin to discount the importance of effort. I am smart, the kids’ reasoning goes; I don’t need to put out effort. Expending effort becomes stigmatized - it’s public proof that you can’t cut it on your natural gifts.

Repeating her experiments, Dweck found this effect of praise on performance held true for students of every

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socioeconomic class. It hit both boys and girls -the very brightest girls especially (they collapsed the most following failure). Even preschoolers weren’t immune to the inverse power of praise.

The teachers at the Life Sciences Secondary School in East Harlem have seen Dweck’s theories applied to their junior-high students. Last week, Dweck and her protégée, Lisa Blackwell, published a report in the academic journal Child Development about the effect of a semester-long intervention conducted to improve students’ math scores.

Life Sciences is a health-science magnet school with high aspirations but 700 students whose main attributes are being predominantly minority and low achieving. Blackwell split her kids into two groups for an eight-session workshop. The control group was taught study skills, and the others got study skills and a special module on how intelligence is not innate. These students took turns reading aloud an essay on how the brain grows new neurons when challenged. They saw slides of the brain and acted out skits. “Even as I was teaching these ideas,” Blackwell noted, “I would hear the students joking, calling one another ‘dummy’ or ‘stupid.’”

After the module was concluded, Blackwell tracked her students’ grades to see if it had any effect.

It didn’t take long. The teachers -who hadn’t known which students had been assigned to which workshopcould pick out the students who had been taught that intelligence can be developed. They improved their study habits and grades. In a single semester, Blackwell reversed the students’ longtime trend of decreasing math grades.

The only difference between the control group and the test group were two lessons, a total of 50 minutes spent teaching not math but a single idea: that the brain is a muscle. Giving it a harder workout makes you smarter. That alone improved their math scores.

“These are very persuasive findings,” says Columbia’s Dr. Geraldine Downey, a specialist in children’s sensitivity to rejection. “They show how you can take a specific theory and develop a curriculum that works.”

Downey’s comment is typical of what other scholars in the field are saying. Dr. Mahzarin Banaji, a Harvard social psychologist who is an expert in stereotyping, told me, “Carol Dweck is a flat-out genius. I hope the work is taken seriously. It scares people when they see these results.”

Since the 1969 publication of The Psychology of Self-Esteem, in which Nathaniel Branden opined that self-esteem was the single most important facet of a person, the belief that one must do whatever he can to achieve positive self-esteem has become a movement with broad societal effects. Anything potentially damaging to kids’ self-esteem was axed. Competitions were frowned upon. Soccer coaches stopped counting goals and handed out trophies to everyone. Teachers threw out their red pencils. Criticism was replaced with ubiquitous, even undeserved, praise.

Dweck and Blackwell’s work is part of a larger academic challenge to one of the self-esteem movement’s key tenets: that praise, self-esteem, and performance rise and fall together. From 1970 to 2000, there were over 15,000 scholarly articles written on self-esteem and its relationship to everything - from sex to career advancement. But results were often contradictory or inconclusive. So in 2003 the Association for Psychological Science asked Dr. Roy Baumeister, then a leading proponent of self-esteem, to review this literature. His team concluded that self-esteem was polluted with flawed science. Only 200 of those 15,000 studies met their rigorous standards.

After reviewing those 200 studies, Baumeister concluded that having high self-esteem didn’t improve grades or career achievement. It didn’t even reduce alcohol usage. And it especially did not lower violence of any sort. (Highly aggressive, violent people happen to think very highly of themselves, debunking the theory that people are aggressive to make up for low self-esteem.) At the time, Baumeister was quoted as saying that his findings were “the biggest disappointment of my career.”

Now he’s on Dweck’s side of the argument, and his work is going in a similar direction: He will soon publish an article showing that for college students on the verge of failing in class, esteem-building praise causes their grades to sink further. Baumeister has come to believe the continued appeal of self-esteem is largely tied to parents’ pride in their children’s achievements: It’s so strong that “when they praise their kids, it’s not that far from praising themselves.”

By and large, the literature on praise shows that it can be effective -a positive, motivating force. In one study, University of Notre Dame researchers tested praise’s efficacy on a losing college hockey team. The ex-

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periment worked: The team got into the playoffs. But all praise is not equal -and, as Dweck demonstrated, the effects of praise can vary significantly depending on the praise given. To be effective, researchers have found, praise needs to be specific. (The hockey players were specifically complimented on the number of times they checked an opponent.)

Sincerity of praise is also crucial. Just as we can sniff out the true meaning of a backhanded compliment or a disingenuous apology, children, too, scrutinize praise for hidden agendas. Only young children -under the age of 7- take praise at face value: Older children are just as suspicious of it as adults.

Psychologist Wulf-Uwe Meyer, a pioneer in the field, conducted a series of studies where children watched other students receive praise. According to Meyer’s findings, by the age of 12, children believe that earning praise from a teacher is not a sign you did well; it’s actually a sign you lack ability and the teacher thinks you need extra encouragement. And teens, Meyer found, discounted praise to such an extent that they believed it’s a teacher’s criticism -not praise at all- that really conveys a positive belief in a student’s aptitude.

In the opinion of cognitive scientist Daniel T. Willingham, a teacher who praises a child may be unwittingly sending the message that the student reached the limit of his innate ability, while a teacher who criticizes a pupil conveys the message that he can improve his performance even further.

New York University professor of psychiatry Judith Brook explains that the issue for parents is one of credibility. “Praise is important, but not empty praise,” she says. “It has to be based on a real thing: some skill or talent they have.” Once children hear praise they interpret as meritless, they discount not just the insincere praise, but sincere praise as well.

Scholars from Reed College and Stanford reviewed over 150 praise studies. Their meta-analysis determined that praised students become risk-averse and lack perceived autonomy. The scholars found consistent correlations between a liberal use of praise and students’ shorter task persistence, more eye-checking with the teacher, and inflected speech such that answers have the intonation of questions.

Dweck’s research on overpraised kids strongly suggests that image maintenance becomes their primary concern; they are more competitive and more interested in tearing others down. A raft of very alarming studies illustrate this.

Students turn to cheating because they haven’t developed a strategy for handling failure. The problem is compounded when a parent ignores a child’s failures and insists he’ll do better next time. Michigan scholar Jennifer Crocker studies this exact scenario and explains that the child may come to believe failure is something so terrible, the family can’t acknowledge its existence. A child deprived of the opportunity to discuss mistakes can’t learn from them.

It turns out that the ability to repeatedly respond to failure by exerting more effort -instead of simply giving up- is a trait well studied in psychology. People with this trait, persistence, rebound well and can sustain their motivation through long periods of delayed gratification.

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Practice with Close Text Reading Directions: Read the excerpt from “How Not to Talk to Your Kids” by Po Bronson from New York Magazine.

As you read, look for quotes you could use to support the following thesis statement: THESIS: Despite the fact that many people blame low self-esteem for their various problems, when parents and teachers try to build self esteem by offering praise –sometimes even offering praise beyond what is warranted— they don’t make students stronger, in fact, they undermine students.

Write down a quote from the reading that supports the statement above, being sure to write down all of the quote that is relevant but no more than is needed. __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

Read the quote you have selected over and circle the specific words or phrases in the quote are most important for supporting the statement above.

In the space below, write two or three sentences connecting your quote with the thesis statement. Be sure to focus on the words and phrases you circled and explain exactly how they help prove the thesis statement. __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

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Rough Draft Peer Review Instructions NOTES BEFORE YOU BEGIN

m Always bring THREE PRINTED COPIES of your rough draft on peer review days. Do not be late for class because you are printing. m Any student who fails to complete the peer review assignment will automatically have their final paper grade reduced by a half grade (B becomes B-, C+ becomes C etc.). m It does not matter whether the paper you are reviewing is more or less successful than your own, you still have the capability to help the other writer improve. m Each paper should take roughly 35 minutes to review. Set aside the needed time, and don’t skimp. People who are not serious about reviewing their peers’ work and give only brief comments will have points taken off of their own papers. m Before reading the whole paper through, first complete the “first scan.” m Be firm yet polite with your comments. Do not say “this really sucks” and do not say “Oh, this is perfect, don’t change a thing!” Neither of these extremes is particularly useful for a classmate. Look at what’s there and find a way to help whether the paper is stronger or weaker than your own work. m When you submit your final draft, also submit all peer comments your received.

FIRST SCAN

Check all the basics: If any of these items is missing, make a note in the margins! Does this essay have: m

Page numbers (typed, in the lower left of right hand corner of each page)?

m

A good title (this should reflect the argument the author will make. The title should have proper capitalization and be centered)?

m

The student’s name, the date, and the draft number written in the upper left hand corner of the first page (single spaced)?

m

The whole paper double-spaced after the title (not including block quotes)?

m

No extra blank lines between paragraphs?

m

Consistent normal margins (any Word program will do this automatically)?

m

Times New Roman, 12-point font (should look exactly like the font used here)?

m

Evidence of quotes?

After doing the first scan you are ready to read the whole paper (see other side of this page).

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FULL PEER REVIEW READ THROUGH STEP 1 - Check Intro - Pages 1-2

m Did the author introduce the texts being addressed by giving the authors’ full names, and full text titles, along

with basic context? Is it clear why each source is legitimately scholarly? m Did the author introduce of the question to be addressed in his or her own words? m Does the author have a functioning critical thesis presented here?

NOTE: If the texts or the question are not introduced, then write a note in the margin. If the thesis is missing or weak (or if you even suspect it may be) write them a note saying so.

STEP 2 - Check the content - Middle Pages

m Write a brief note if you see paragraphs or ideas that seem out of order. m Write a brief note if you think there’s something wrong with the claims or evidence given to support them. m Write a brief note if the paper is generally too wordy. Make suggestions for cuts. m Make a note of which is the strongest and which is the weakest paragraph. m Is there a counter-argument? If not. Suggest the student use one. m Is there an action horizon? There may not be one yet, but if you can think of a good direction for the action

horizon (conclusion) to take, do suggest it.

STEP 3 - Check the quotes and evidence used to support the thesis:

m Check that each quote is given correctly using MLA format and that there are sentences on either side of it

that introduce it (giving speaker, why they are scholarly, the title of the piece and the context) and then that follow it explaining its relevance to the argument. m Check that the sources of the quotes are from scholarly sources and the data doesn’t seem biased.

NOTE: If there is any problem with a quote, make a note explaining the issue.

STEP 4 - Check for Mechanical Problems (grammar, spelling, typos etc)

m Do a brisk once over for mechanical issues; bear in mind this is a ROUGH draft. If there are significant

grammar problems, or if student seems to have chosen the wrong word here and there make a note of it but let them fix the issues, you do not need to do that for them. If it’s clear the student has serious grammar issues, do not mark 100 different problems; just make a note saying there seem to be on-going issues. Don’t overwhelm or discourage your peers! m If you notice an awkward transition between paragraphs or ideas, make a note of it.

STEP 5 - Write Final Note

m Finally, when you’ve completed all the other steps, you should compile all your notes into once clear comment

written at the end of the student’s paper.

117

Research Presentation Preparation STEPS FOR PRESENTATIONS: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Set up your slides Introduce yourself and your topic Explain your thesis and key points from the slides Take questions

Should take 5-10 minutes

Your PowerPoint* presentation must include: • 5-10 slides including a title slide • one slide should give your thesis • other slides should name the basic sections of your paper – but you will describe what you

did in that section with your words out loud • slides should be mainly visual with only a little bit of text *ONLINE STUDENTS MUST ALSO ADD VOICE OVER NARRATION EXPLAINING EACH SLIDE

Goals for public speaking: • • • • • • • •

Be loud enough that everyone can hear you Speak clearly and not too fast Recover quickly from distractions Be willing to quickly acknowledge anxiety so it is easier to get rid of Not chew gum Make eye contact and interact as you go Be friendly and engaging if possible (humor is fine, but not necessary) Know your material but be willing to admit when you don’t

NOTE FOR ONLINE STUDENTS: For online students there are two separate speaking components, a SKYPE interview in which the student explains his or her topic to the professor in detail and takes questions, and the PowerPoint that includes voice over narration that explains the key points of your work as you would for a face-to-face presentation.

118

Presentation Eval Sheets The remaining pages of this packet are intended for face-to-face classes where students are required to evaluate peer performance for each presentation. Students may tear these pages out to give to each peer after their presentation is complete.

119

120

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

121

122

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

123

124

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

125

126

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

127

128

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

129

130

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

131

132

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

133

134

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

135

136

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

137

138

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

139

140

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

141

142

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

143

144

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

145

146

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

147

148

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

149

150

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

151

152

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

153

154

Peer Presentation Evaluation Sheet Directions: The research paper presentation includes the slide show and the public speaking. Your job is to evaluate how successful your peer was in meeting the needs of his or her audience.

Student presenter’s name: __________________ Evaluator’s name:________________

OVERALL EVALUATION

Could you understand the student’s primary thesis? Did it seem complex and meet the demands of a good research paper? If not, offer a short piece of advice.

SLIDE SHOW EVALUATION

Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student’s slide show have a title slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show have a thesis slide?

Y

N

S

Did the student’s slide show include visual accompanied by some text?

Y

N

S

Was there too much text on the slides?

Y

N

S

Were the visuals on the slide sloppy, hard to read, or childish?

Y

N

S

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVALUATION Directions: For the questions below choose Y for yes, N for no, or S for somewhat.

Did the student mention areas for further research?

Did the student discuss finding that didn’t support his or her thesis?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Was the student able to answer basic questions about this topic?

Y

N

S

Did the student speak clearly enough to always be understood?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student make good eye contact?

Did the student stand up straight but look comfortable?

Y

N

S

Was the student dressed well, not chewing gun, and not swearing?

Y

N

S

Y

N

S

Did the student withstand minor distractions?

Write one piece of advice you have for this student:

155

156

Prof. Holly Johnson

Course Evaluation Form Please take a moment to fill out this anonymous course evaluation form. What you write here is confidential. It will be used to help improve the course for future learners. Write as much or as little as you like. This is two sided - please complete both sides.

What grade do you think you currently have in this class at the moment?_________ Do you feel this grade accurately reflects the work you have done in the class?

About how much time did you spend on work outside of class each week?

Was the amount of work required in this class (circle one): a. too much b. a lot but not too much c. too little d. just right e. other (please describe) ____________________________________________ Which assignments did you find most useful this semester? Least?

Which in-class activities did you find most useful this semester? Least?

If another student needed to take this class, would you recommend this instructor?

157

Course Evaluation cont.

What three words would you use to describe this professor?

1. ___________________________ 2. ___________________________ 3. ___________________________ If you could change anything about this class, what would it be?

What was the most challenging aspect of this class for you this semester?

Is there any other feedback --positive or negative--- that you would like to offer?

158

Scavenger Hunt Name ____________________________ Directions: To help familiarize you with the course, the college and your instructor, complete this activity in the time given. When teams are assigned they must work together.

Part I: Syllabus 1. According to your syllabus, when does your professor have office hours?

2. According to your syllabus, what percentage of your final grade does class participation count for?

3. What does S.L.A.N.T. stand for?

4. Do you have to come to class the Tuesday after you take your final exam? On what page did you find this information?

5. How many papers will you be asked to write in this class?

6. If you are caught cheating, is there something the instructor is required to do? If so, what?

7. Every team member who has a phone must take a photo of the course deadlines listed in this packet.

Part II: The Campus 1. The Learning Center provides tutoring services for students enrolled in ENG 024. Tutors can work with you to help you become a better writer. Where is the Learning Center located and during what days and hours is it open? One team member must take a picture of the door (extra points if the hours are in the picture) 2. Computers are available in several places on campus. Name at least two locations where computers are located?

3. Which lab has the most computer terminals? One team member must take a picture of the lab with the most terminals.

4. On what days and during what hours is the library computer lab open?

5. To print in the computer lab you need to buy a print card. Where do you buy one? Take a picture of it.

Part III: Email Use an open computer lab to enter your MyMercer homepage (follow the link at mccc.edu). Sign into your account. Send a brief email to me at johnsonh@mccc.edu from your MercerMail account. Use your best English spelling and grammar. In your email, tell me: your name, your current job, your dream job, any languages you speak other than English, your intended major at MCCC, and one thing you like to read.

159

Notes:

160

Notes:

161