Assignments
1st ASSIGNMENT:
What is a research anthology?
An anthology is a collection of works that an author has assembled on a topic. There are anthologies of essays, of art, of music, and on almost any subject. The purpose of a research anthology is to demonstrate that you can find, evaluate, and use high quality research materials for an academic project. It will demonstrate that you understand that some evidence has more value than others, that you can defend your evaluation of evidence, and that you can use proper research format.
In this final project, you will choose a topic to research, and a research question to ask about that topic. You will put together a research anthology of sources that you would use to write a research paper on your topic. This assignment will require you to choose a topic, conduct research, and explain why you chose your sources, before you actually write the research paper. You will conduct research and decide on the most important and credible sources of information that you would use to write about that topic. You will then assemble those sources into your anthology, which is meant to give your reader a collection of expert sources about your topic. As the editor of your anthology, you will also write a preface explaining your choices.
After completing this project, you should be able to develop a research question, conduct independent research, evaluate the quality of research materials, and make an argument defending why the sources you chose were essential to a full and unbiased understanding of your research topic.
Choose a topic that interests you, but not one that you have used previously. Be careful to choose a subject that is arguable.
Read the five sets of notes that follow. These notes will assist you in effectively completing your research anthology. Read the notes for each of the sections and SUBMIT the five most important pieces of information you gained from each one.
• Tips for Completing Your Anthology
• Types of Sources
• Evaluating Sources
• Information on writing a Source Defense
• Information on writing a Preface
Set One: Tips for Completing the Research Anthology/From Laura McBride (CSN English Professor)
Your task is to assemble an authoritative anthology about a topic of interest to you. An anthology is authoritative when it is based on a thorough review and understanding of the research available.
Think carefully about your audience and purpose for this anthology. If you were to prepare an anthology about childhood heart disease for the parents of children with heart disease, you would include different sources than you would if your anthology were for heart doctors. Think carefully about the expertise of your intended audience. (And include your decision about this in your preface essay!)
Choose a topic in which you will PERSUADE someone about an issue. Since your primary purpose is to persuade, you will want 1-2 of your sources to provide general, non-biased information about the topic, 3-4 of your sources to provide support for your position, and 1-2 of your sources to strongly state the opposing argument to yours. As an academic writer, you MUST include the opposition argument in your anthology, and you must present the best possible version of that side. In your preface essay, you may discuss your own opinions on the topic, and the reasons why you don't find the opposing argument convincing, but academics give fair play to all sides of an issue!
It is really helpful if you can come up with some sort of a road map for the sources you want early in your research process. For example, say I want to write an essay about swimming, and my purpose is to persuade my audience that freestyle is better than backstroke...I know that I will need a source that gives a general overview of swimming strokes, and another that argues that the backstroke is better than freestyle. I'll need another several articles that support my contention that freestyle is better. I get the two singles out of the way first. Once I have found first class sources that give a general overview and endorse the backstroke, I am done with that part of the anthology. I don't need to waste any more time looking at that kind of source, and I can move on to the four freestyle essays. Knowing what you will need in advance, and crossing each one off the list, will make your research more efficient.
Keep track of all the sources you consider, even the ones you do not use as one of your six sources. The ones that you do not use should all be listed on your Works Consulted page!
Set Two: Types of Sources/From Laura McBride(CSN English Professor
What is a high quality academic source?
The quality of a source is dependent on the expertise of the author, and on the quality of the publication that the material is originally printed in. The gold standard of academic research at this level is peer-reviewed scholarly journals, because articles published in these journals are 1) reviewed by a journal editor who is an expert in the same field, and 2) reviewed by an outside group of peer experts in the same field. Here is a quick list of high, medium, and poor quality sources.
High Quality Sources are ones in which you can be sure of the author's expertise. These include
• Peer-reviewed journals
• Books published by reputable publishers, and found in academic libraries
• Government documents and websites (.gov)
• Primary research material from obvious experts (conference papers, speeches, interviews, etc.)
• Material found on the internet that was originally any of the above
Medium Quality Sources are ones in which you can trust the author to have been honest about what he or she knew, but you know the author is either not an expert in the topic or has a significant bias about the topic. These include
• Information from .org and .net websites that provide names and credentials of authors, and extensive information about the organization itself
• Established national newspapers or news magazines, such as New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Congressional Quarterly, Christian Science Monitor, Economist, Foreign Affairs, Time, USNews, Newsweek. Only use articles that have bylines and be aware that a journalist is an expert in journalism, not in the topics he or she writes about
Poor Quality Sources are ones in which you cannot verify the expertise of the author and which are not associated with reputable publications or organizations. These include
• Internet sources that do not provide author name or credentials, and are not associated with reputable publications or organizations
• Commercial sources, such as .com or advertising brochures
• Propaganda
Set Three: Evaluating Sources
Go to the Owl Purdue Website and read the following sections:
• Using Research and Evidence
• Evaluating Sources Overview
• Evaluating During Reading
• Evaluating Bibliographic Citations
• Evaluating Print vs. internet Sources
Set Four: Information on Writing a Source Defense
Go back to Owl Purdue Website and reread Evaluate During Reading.
When you write each source defense, using the information provided in this section of Owl Purdue will be a very useful guide for you. Remember, a source defense is not a summary of each source. It is your detailed explanation of why you chose each of your six sources to use as credible pieces of information in your research anthology.
Set Five: Information on Writing a Preface
THE PREFACE (Donald Bastian, The BPS Books Blog)
"A preface is best understood, I believe, as standing outside the book proper and being about the book. In a preface an author explains briefly why they wrote the book, or how they came to write it. They also often use the preface to establish their credibility, indicating their experience in the topic or their professional suitability to address such a topic. Sometimes they acknowledge those who inspired them or helped them (though these are often put into a separate Acknowledgments section). Using an old term from the study of rhetoric, a preface is in a sense an "apology": an explanation or defense" (Bastian),
In other words, a preface explains the "why" and "how" of an author's work. In your case, since you are not writing a book, you will reflect on things like why you chose your topic, your thoughts about your research process, the ease or difficulty of finding credible sources, what you learned about your topic, the CSN library, etc. Below is a list of questions you can use as a guide to assist you in writing your preface. Remember, this is a guide, so you do not have to answer all of the questions. They are there to assist you in determining what information you want to include in your preface.
• Why did I choose my topic?
• What did I hope to learn about my topic
• If I were writing the actual paper, what angle would I take on the topic? What would my thesis statement be?
• Who was my intended audience and what would they gain by reading my paper and consulting my sources?
• What difficulties did I encounter during the research process?
• How did I determine which six sources were the most credible?
• What did I learn about research?
• What did I gain/lose from the long process of writing this essay?
• What is my opinion about my topic?
Happy Researching!!! Hopefully, you will take this assignment as an opportunity, not only to explore the wealth of information available on nearly any topic you can think of, but also to become experts on determining the credibility of that information so you can formulate valid opinions supported by valid evidence.
2nd ASSIGNEMENT
Since this assignment will also count as your final examination, it is important that you earn as many points as possible to ensure you pass this class. You are almost there, so give this project your best shot.
Your source defenses will be a large part of the exam grade, therefore, this week, the goal is to ensure that you know how to write one. See the following directions, as well as an example of a source defense below:
After you review the notes in the notetaking session and determine your topic, begin researching and complete the following directions:
• Choose one source that you will use in your anthology and write your first source defense.
• Post your source defense in this week's discussion for feedback.
• Submit the same source defense to Smarthinking for feedback. Be sure to explain to your Smarthinking Editor that your submission is not an essay; it is your defense of a particular source you are using in a paper.
• Use feedback from both Smarthinking and your peers from the discussion post to revise your source defense so that you can use it as part of your Research Anthology. Once you are sure that you have written your source defense correctly, you will be able to use it as a guide for the remaining five source defenses in your Research Anthology.
Example Source Defense
Crissy Hill Hill 1
Carducci
English 101
6 December 2014
Rackl, Lori and Chris Fusco. "100 Sex Offenders Are Living in Illinois Nursing Homes." Chicago Sun-Times. 24 Apr. 2005. Web. 8 May 2015. ( MLA Citation)
The article, "100 Sex Offenders," was written for the Chicago Sun Times by Lori Rackl and Chris Fusco.
Rackl and Fusco detail a problem they believe the public needs to be aware of. The authors provide information about the growing trend of sex offenders who are placed into nursing homes without the knowledge of other residents and their families. They discuss the consequences of this practice, especially to the unsuspecting patients, since, in many cases, the sex offender's background is not exposed until there is a re-offense. They also supply evidence in support of the sex offender's rights to confidentiality. (End of Summary - should be no longer than this. Your defense of the article should begin next.)
The Chicago Sun Times, a daily newspaper, is the flagship of the Sun-Times Media Group. The publication has won eight Pulitzer Prizes for their high-quality investigative reporting. Rackl has been a writer at the Times since 2004, filling several different roles and is currently an editor. Fusco is still employed with this publication as an investigative reporter. Therefore, it is obvious that their credibility as investigative reporters has been established by their long-time employment and their recognition as ethical journalists throughout their careers. The main
focus of this article is to objectively educate the public about this problem, and that is exactly what the writers did. They remained free from bias in the article by providing relevant information and quotes that outline both sides of this controversial issue. The reporters also utilized various sources that offer solutions to the problem, including information and quotes from reputable organizations, such as advocacy groups, nursing home administrators, AARP, and Illinois Department of Corrections.
As a result, the information provided in the article is verifiable. The reporters provide several websites where concerned citizens can identify sex- offenders, since they are required to register with the state. In addition, it is easy to determine the credibility of the cases the writers use as examples, since they are criminal proceedings. This article was also featured in The IRE Journal, an award winning magazine of investigative reporters. The writers' research and expertise on the subject, their use of evidence that demonstrates the problem, and their objective reporting make this an excellent source of information to use in a paper about sex offenders. In conclusion, the article is easy to read. It is well-organized and includes only the necessary facts. (End of your defense - notice that your defense is three-fourths of the page.
3rd ASSIGNEMENT
Research Anthology Requirements
Your Research Anthology will include the following in the order listed below:
• Title Page (5 points)
• Table of Contents (5 points)
• Preface Essay (minimum 800 words) (50)
• Five One Page Source Defense Essays (1 page each)( 20 points each = 100)
• Works Cited Page (Five sources you used in your anthology) (10)
• Works Consulted page (Five sources you consulted, but did not use in your anthology (10)
• MLA Format, 8th Edition (10)
• Grammar and Mechanics (10)
MLA Format, 8th edition)
Times Roman (12 pt. font)
1. Title Page: Your title page should include the following: your name, title of anthology, date; English 101
2. Table of Contents: List the contents of your anthology in the order they appear.
3. Preface: In the Preface Essay, you will describe the full range of materials that you consulted, the decision-making process you used to decide on the six best and most representative sources, your reasons for believing your anthology to be a comprehensive and expert summation of the topic, and the most important ideas you learned about both the topic AND the research process. This essay should be at least 800 words long.
4. Source Defense: Each source defense is a one page essay (300 words minimum) describing the source (what is it, who wrote it, when published, etc.) and supporting the claim that it deserves to be considered as one of the six most important sources of information available on the topic. Three of these are required.
5. Works Cited Page: The five sources you used in your source defenses must be listed in the Works Cited Page.
6. Works Consulted Page: Every source you considered - legitimate or otherwise - should be listed on the Works Consulted page. You must have a minimum of five. (Works listed in the Works Cited page should not be repeated on the Works Consulted page.) See below:
You will consult five sources in addition to the six that you use in your Anthology. Therefore your Works Cited Page will consist of the five sources you actually use, and your Works Consulted Page will list the five additional sources you consulted, but did not use in your paper for whatever reason.
These pages MUST be in proper MLA format, 8th edition. If you are not certain about format, consult the MLA chapters in your textbook, the MLA Stylebook on the CSN library website, Owl Purdue, or a librarian.
4TH ASSIGNEMENT.
Hello Class,
This will be our last discussion post for English 101. I hope that this has been a positive experience for you. As some of you might have realized, an online English course is not for everyone. But, if you managed to make it through, congratulations to you because it is not easy to learn and complete a large amount of material and assignments in such a short time.
In this discussion post, we will do the following:
• Reflect on your online experience by sharing a pro and con about this class or anything else that is relevant to the discussion.