In class we have been talking about how to write a well structured research paper. I have always dis-liked writing research papers the most. I always find them quite tedious and time consuming. Also, I find that it can be incredibly overwhelming when the time comes to sit down and put all the information into a written paper. Now that we are reading the book They Say, I Say, I have picked up some tips on how to write a persuasive and a research essay. The only problem I have now is choosing what to write about. Originally, I decided to write about the aftermath of September 11 2001, tackling the issues of security and racial profiling. I feel this is a lot to tackle and also too broad of a topic to do an entire paper on. I cant decide what I am truly interested in, with out being truly repetitive in what everyone else always writes about. I need something new, current topics, I believe that will keep me more interested. Hopefully I can figure it out before the deadline.
Group Work:
" Awareness of ADHD: Positive of Negative Impact?" by Kate Decker (SP,77-80)
1. Decker claims that as the population has grown more aware of ADHD, and the symptoms following ADHD, people are too quick to jump to the conclusion that their child exhibits the symptoms of ADHD, there for their child has the disorder.
The purpose of the essay is to make the audience more aware of what exactly constitutes as ADHD and why every child does not fall under that categorie of that disorder.
2. Decker supports her claim using various information from different doctors. An example of that would be " The number of children who received a diagnosis of ADHD increased 250% from 1990 to 1998" stated Pomerantz, a doctor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She also used information from other medical doctors as well. I would of definitely made the same choices. By using these doctors it makes the reader believe more and might even persuade the reader.
3. Yes, Decker does use the "They Say, I Say" template in her essay. Int he very beginning she states the "they" by acknowledging how popular the topic of ADHD is in present day. She also uses, rhetorical questions like " Is ADHS a real disorder or an invented diagnosis"? I believe questions like these are very affective and get the reader to think more.
4. Decker does cite correctly, she uses MLA citation. When ever she quotes or uses direct information from her sources she uses parenthetical notation. I know that this is correct because I my self had to write papers like this in high school and am now learning to in college.
5. Decker does use the "so what, who cares"? because she offers a clear claim and also information to help back up that claim. There is not really a specific spot because she really writes all over her essay on why this matters, and shows who cares. Especially when referring back to doctors from Yale medical school and psychiatrists from Harvard.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
They Say, I Say
As I was searching through the blogs and reading the different stories I noticed how a lot of them follow the "They Say, I Say" format. A lot of the blogs may not directly use the same kind of templates the books offers but they still use the same concept. Like how the blogger's were able to summarize the ideas of others with out fully cutting out the important information. Or how they might not have agreed with a certain subject but still discussed both sides. Although I read a lot of blogs, there were still a ton of them that did not follow the "They Say, I Say" format. Some just blabbed about how they disagreed with something, never giving full information and got lost in there summaries.
For My Argument:
As an American teenager, I have often heard that my own generation is lazy and socially awkward. I do not agree with this because times have changed and what may seem lazy and socially awkward to an older person, is just an adjustment to a new generation . For instance, when America was first established, the pilgrims had to start from scratch. Through out the history of America, new things were developed to help accommodate and build the United States. All the way up to present day, technology continues to grow. Many older people look at my generation as socially awkward because we use things like our cell phones to communicate, or our computers to message some one and say hello. It is not our fault that we were born into a life full of new and innovative technology. We were introduced to a world of fast paced people who are just looking for the next best thing. Can we help it that we have faster ways of saying hello? I believe it is all a part of a growing, pioneering America. If we want to keep emerging as a country, people are going to have to get used to it.
For My Argument:
As an American teenager, I have often heard that my own generation is lazy and socially awkward. I do not agree with this because times have changed and what may seem lazy and socially awkward to an older person, is just an adjustment to a new generation . For instance, when America was first established, the pilgrims had to start from scratch. Through out the history of America, new things were developed to help accommodate and build the United States. All the way up to present day, technology continues to grow. Many older people look at my generation as socially awkward because we use things like our cell phones to communicate, or our computers to message some one and say hello. It is not our fault that we were born into a life full of new and innovative technology. We were introduced to a world of fast paced people who are just looking for the next best thing. Can we help it that we have faster ways of saying hello? I believe it is all a part of a growing, pioneering America. If we want to keep emerging as a country, people are going to have to get used to it.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Going Green?
Our research topic is about the average college student and going green. By that we mean any where from recycling to hugging a tree. We are just interested in seeing how many college kids are actually involved in saving our environment and how many don't give an ozone layer about it.
It is very interesting what I came up with while thinking about my research. I notice myself trying to "conserve" more or all the times that I do not. I also find things that I want to change in our school. Like how ridiculously hard it is to find a recycling bin around here. I end up holding on to my empty water bottle all day long until I go back to Bru. Or how long I shower now that I am not at home with a mother screaming at me to get out. I notice many kids piling up their bottles and cans in their recycling bin but not knowing what to do about it. This will all be very helpful to our research especially when we make our survey.
Hopefully taking part in a project like this will help motivate me and other students to want to take care of our environment more. Especially today, keeping our earth clean is vital and I believe that even the littlest bit counts. Even a simple research project like ours.
It is very interesting what I came up with while thinking about my research. I notice myself trying to "conserve" more or all the times that I do not. I also find things that I want to change in our school. Like how ridiculously hard it is to find a recycling bin around here. I end up holding on to my empty water bottle all day long until I go back to Bru. Or how long I shower now that I am not at home with a mother screaming at me to get out. I notice many kids piling up their bottles and cans in their recycling bin but not knowing what to do about it. This will all be very helpful to our research especially when we make our survey.
Hopefully taking part in a project like this will help motivate me and other students to want to take care of our environment more. Especially today, keeping our earth clean is vital and I believe that even the littlest bit counts. Even a simple research project like ours.
Academic Integrity
Entering college this semester came with certain expectations and rules that I was aware of. I knew that plagiarism was not an exception to these rules. I came to find just how serious of a rule it was at orientation. Sitting through a 2 to 3 hour presentation on plagiarizing really made me understand how much this school takes pride in their students academic honesty. Especially after reading the schools Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity.
Academic Dishonesty is summed up as plagiarism, cheating, academic
misconduct, or any other submission of another’s work that is not their owns. This is very important to our school because not only is it morally the right thing to do but it also defines the kind of person you are. Like they say "once a cheater, always a cheater" and that will carry you on through out life.
The consequences to violating the policy are fair I believe. In some colleges if even caught once violating the rules they are simply expelled. The College of Saint Rose issues a report form about the situation and than holds an appeal. It is basically a warning and if you are caught again the consequences are major.
I believe the policy is fair and I do not believe it will be a hard one to follow. The only thing that doesn't make sense to me is that it is considered plagiarism to use your own work twice. It may be unfair for some students but it is not really cheating if you think about it. It is recycling an old paper but I do understand where it might be unfair. Plus you are not really learning if you are just recycling an old paper.
I think that is only right that colleges issue a policy for plagiarism. Using other people's hard earned work is obviously unfair. Not only to the person's work you have stolen, or the professor that assigned you the work, it is unfair to your self. You cant learn by cheating, cheating is the easy way out of things. If a medical student cheats on their MCATS and passes, do you really want that person to be your doctor? I certainly wouldn't and that is why cheating or plagiarizing shouldn't be the answer.
http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.html
Above is an interesting link on how to avoid plagiarism and what will happen at Northwestern University if you do.
Academic Dishonesty is summed up as plagiarism, cheating, academic
misconduct, or any other submission of another’s work that is not their owns. This is very important to our school because not only is it morally the right thing to do but it also defines the kind of person you are. Like they say "once a cheater, always a cheater" and that will carry you on through out life.
The consequences to violating the policy are fair I believe. In some colleges if even caught once violating the rules they are simply expelled. The College of Saint Rose issues a report form about the situation and than holds an appeal. It is basically a warning and if you are caught again the consequences are major.
I believe the policy is fair and I do not believe it will be a hard one to follow. The only thing that doesn't make sense to me is that it is considered plagiarism to use your own work twice. It may be unfair for some students but it is not really cheating if you think about it. It is recycling an old paper but I do understand where it might be unfair. Plus you are not really learning if you are just recycling an old paper.
I think that is only right that colleges issue a policy for plagiarism. Using other people's hard earned work is obviously unfair. Not only to the person's work you have stolen, or the professor that assigned you the work, it is unfair to your self. You cant learn by cheating, cheating is the easy way out of things. If a medical student cheats on their MCATS and passes, do you really want that person to be your doctor? I certainly wouldn't and that is why cheating or plagiarizing shouldn't be the answer.
http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.html
Above is an interesting link on how to avoid plagiarism and what will happen at Northwestern University if you do.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Credible or not?
Teens should get involved with voting, whether it is local or national it very important topic. One website that I think is a credible source is http://www.blog.rockthevote.com/2009/09/pass. This website is credible because it is not only a website where you can register to vote but it talks about upcoming elections. It also was a widely advertised website around election time, specifically for teens and people in their early twenties. Rock The Vote was a nation wide slogan, I believe this source would be very credible and useful during our research. It has a press section where there are reports and figures on polling, campaign reach outs and a lot more. It also touches on health care which is another hot topic that I think we should touch on when researching this topic.
A non-credible source i believe would be http://www.student.com/vote/. First off i found it on google. Google is not always reliable and you never know what you are going to get if you use it. Student.com, although seems like a legit website, has a lot of various forms of blogging on it. Who knows, any joe schmo could be blogging about teen voting, there opinions might not be as credible as other websites we could find.
A non-credible source i believe would be http://www.student.com/vote/. First off i found it on google. Google is not always reliable and you never know what you are going to get if you use it. Student.com, although seems like a legit website, has a lot of various forms of blogging on it. Who knows, any joe schmo could be blogging about teen voting, there opinions might not be as credible as other websites we could find.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Responce to Lamb and Berman
The piece by Wally Lamb and the piece Jeffrey Berman I do not believe either one was trying to target a specific audience. At least when I read both pieces I felt as if I could relate to both. In the story that Wally Lamb wrote I could relate to the events that he so carefully detailed and sketched out in his story. I could envision the christmas day and the gathering of his family. I imagined the food that he described and almost made it like I was there right beside him at the dinner table. My own family has a big celebration on Thanksgiving day. I imagined my own family there, sitting at the dinner table mesmerized by the food our cousins so diligently worked on. I feel as each person reading the story Food and Fatalism could relate in some way. Especially when talking about Nonna, his grandmother. I know that at least one person can relate some family member, whether a grandma, grandfather, aunt or uncle; the story or events are very real.
In the piece Risky Writing: Self-Disclosure & Self-Transformation in the Classroom by Jeffrey Berman, I certainly found my self relating to the story, not that essay but the meaning behind this " Risky writing". Last year my teacher had us write a " Heart on paper" essay. Here we had to write down a very descriptive event in our life that made us sad or cry. I wrote seven to ten pages about a very traumatic event in my life and after I was done I was not so sure if I wanted to share. In the end I was happy that I did because it gave me definite closure. Like Jeffrey said that not many students have the opportunity to do this because alot of teachers fear emotional or legal troubles.
I think that both pieces relate to each other because Wally Lambs story is what Jeffrey Bernam would call "risky". He wrote a story about his family, he told secrets that most would be ashamed to even speak of. While he told the story about his grandfather, he wrote how he felt bad just talking about it let alone publishing it for everyone to see. So why would he write it? One might ask. I think that only way he could have closure with the situation is if he wrote it down and let every one who was too scared to let any one no see that it is okay. Secrets within a family is very risky, making a story about it is even more. Never the less, it needed to be done, stories are meant to be told and Lamb told an incredible story.
In the piece Risky Writing: Self-Disclosure & Self-Transformation in the Classroom by Jeffrey Berman, I certainly found my self relating to the story, not that essay but the meaning behind this " Risky writing". Last year my teacher had us write a " Heart on paper" essay. Here we had to write down a very descriptive event in our life that made us sad or cry. I wrote seven to ten pages about a very traumatic event in my life and after I was done I was not so sure if I wanted to share. In the end I was happy that I did because it gave me definite closure. Like Jeffrey said that not many students have the opportunity to do this because alot of teachers fear emotional or legal troubles.
I think that both pieces relate to each other because Wally Lambs story is what Jeffrey Bernam would call "risky". He wrote a story about his family, he told secrets that most would be ashamed to even speak of. While he told the story about his grandfather, he wrote how he felt bad just talking about it let alone publishing it for everyone to see. So why would he write it? One might ask. I think that only way he could have closure with the situation is if he wrote it down and let every one who was too scared to let any one no see that it is okay. Secrets within a family is very risky, making a story about it is even more. Never the less, it needed to be done, stories are meant to be told and Lamb told an incredible story.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Getting Started
Writing is never an easy procedure; in fact I even had trouble getting this blog started. There is always that underlying question of what to write about. Whether writing a blog or a novel, there are different ways to come about starting the process, it is just the matter of getting to that point that makes it so hard.
When reading all three passages I was very interested in how the material was different yet they were all basically relaying the same ideas about the writing process. All three authors essentially said that getting started as a writer flat out sucks but once you find out your mode of transportation, it’s an easy ride towards the finish line. The one that I can relate to the most is “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott. Her idea about how “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts” is extremely true. Especially to me because almost every essay or short story I have ever written, had a pretty shitty first draft. It’s getting around the idea that it’s just a first draft that is so bothersome. It is not impossible though, Anne Lamott proves to us that even through all her struggles with critiquing, the voices in her head telling her she cannot do it or even her own voice telling her she can’t, she got through it and eventually we all seem to.
I know there was many a night where I would be up until two in the morning trying to perfect a critical lens or a descriptive narrative. Meditation could have done me some good but of course I would never think to do that. Jon Kabat-Zinn writes about the “Praise of Non-Doing” and how it is an effortless activity. How there is a difference between non-doing and not doing anything “consciousness and intention matter her. In fact they are key”. I believe that everyone should take a moment out and practice this non-doing. It might help clear the mind, which is not only good for writing but good for living in general.
I have a journal which I only open when “talking about it” just won’t do. In the passage “How Telling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives” by Louise DeSalvo the author tells a story about writing down emotions instead of describing actual events is the most helpful in even the most traumatizing events stricken you. Having a journal with some of the most dramatic and secretive moments in my life honestly helped me get through the day to day struggles that most teens endure. I highly recommend keeping one, even if not, write down your feeling when you can might surprise yourself and who doesn’t like surprises?
When reading all three passages I was very interested in how the material was different yet they were all basically relaying the same ideas about the writing process. All three authors essentially said that getting started as a writer flat out sucks but once you find out your mode of transportation, it’s an easy ride towards the finish line. The one that I can relate to the most is “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott. Her idea about how “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts” is extremely true. Especially to me because almost every essay or short story I have ever written, had a pretty shitty first draft. It’s getting around the idea that it’s just a first draft that is so bothersome. It is not impossible though, Anne Lamott proves to us that even through all her struggles with critiquing, the voices in her head telling her she cannot do it or even her own voice telling her she can’t, she got through it and eventually we all seem to.
I know there was many a night where I would be up until two in the morning trying to perfect a critical lens or a descriptive narrative. Meditation could have done me some good but of course I would never think to do that. Jon Kabat-Zinn writes about the “Praise of Non-Doing” and how it is an effortless activity. How there is a difference between non-doing and not doing anything “consciousness and intention matter her. In fact they are key”. I believe that everyone should take a moment out and practice this non-doing. It might help clear the mind, which is not only good for writing but good for living in general.
I have a journal which I only open when “talking about it” just won’t do. In the passage “How Telling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives” by Louise DeSalvo the author tells a story about writing down emotions instead of describing actual events is the most helpful in even the most traumatizing events stricken you. Having a journal with some of the most dramatic and secretive moments in my life honestly helped me get through the day to day struggles that most teens endure. I highly recommend keeping one, even if not, write down your feeling when you can might surprise yourself and who doesn’t like surprises?
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