Deadline #9 HW#5

The cluster project was just a glamorized outline. The one thing I took from it though is it is very easy to see the connections you make for your reasons and evidence to your central idea. For example one new source of information I came across is an interview with ex ballplayer Jose Canseco who discussed how much faster muscles rebuild themselves with the aid of steroids. From there I drew a line from my evidence to my reason of faster recovery times to my central idea of steroids should be monitored in baseball because.... Good way to write an outline before actual writing one, highly recommended.

Deadline #9 HW#4

Claim- Steroids should be allowed in baseball under strict rules and guidelines

Reason 1- They help with recovery times.

Warrant-Faster recovery times means less time on the disabled list/more seasons played

Evidence- Various medical journals

Evidence- Personal accounts

Reason 2- They will level the playing field for those who don’t want to be a suspected cheater.

Warrant- Some athletes want to be morally clean and not be branded by the media so they take the high road and use the ability they’ve been given

Evidence- Personal accounts

Evidence- Media coverage

Reason 3- They will provide audiences with superb play

Warrant- More highlights (homeruns, wall leaping catches, faster pitches) produces more fans in the stadium, gives them their money’s worth

Evidence- The Sosa/McGuire slugfest

Evidence- Barry Bonds record

Evidence- Attendance records over the years

Refutations:

-Steroids break down the body as well as help

-Addictions

-Freak accidents

Deadline #9 HW#3

Well it seems like the foundation is laid down to start writing a few rough drafts of parts of my paper now. Writing project #2 my seem as a bit tedious of a step to throw in, but I feel it greatly benefited my writing process. I'm usually the type of person to do the paper/research in a weekend, but gathering most of my sources ahead of time will allow me to come up with a better outline for my actual research paper. I came in to the library probably 3 times since WP #1 was due to gather my sources. Most of the books were here but I have yet to check them out as I wasn't quite sure about which paragraphs to paraphrase. I think I'm most proud of writing a bibliography for the first time since high school. Even then, I'm fairly sure I never wrote an annotated bibliography. I think I'm most concerned about my annotations for my sources as I wasn't quite sure how to explain in detail about a book I haven't got to read yet (two of my sources were not checked in). The one thing I did learn/used during this writing project was the APA guidelines. I've gotten so confused over the years about MLA and APA and it was nice to have plenty of helpful sources such as the book and handout to make sure my sources were properly written. The next writing project is the big salami and I'm glad I gathered my sources ahead of time. The main thing I need to do for WP#3 is to keep going to the library and checking out/highlighting/paraphrasing material I will need as evidence for my paper.

Deadline #9 HW#2

I submitted my WP2 Final to turnitin.com

Deadline #9 HW#1

This week there was quite a bit reading to go through. Chapter 7 from Everything's An Argument discussed arguments of facts. One of the things that stood out to me in this chapter was how many times people go about creating a factual argument by looking for problems in the world. The posed the steps of 1. find an issue 2. research 3. refine any claims 4. sort through evidence 5. present your evidence. Chapter 8 was about arguments of definition. What I got from this chapter is that arguments of definition are fairly hard to support as they seem to be constantly changing depending on time-frames and demographics. The two main kinds of arguments of definition are formal and operational. Formal being a straight question and operational dealing with conditions. Chapter 17, fallacies of argument dealt with the all the ways we shouldn't conduct an argument. One of my favorites, which I have been accustomed to use myself is the slippery slope argument. Basically it states that for one action, you make a statement about possible outcomes, which are all assumptions. My other favorite was the straw man argument, where you attack a claim that isn't really the main point at hand, to make it look like your argument is correct. Chapter 11 from the Bedford Researcher just went over how to outline correctly.

Deadline #8 HW#6

Well after finally scrapping up my written notes of my annotated bibliography I did upload it to google documents. Using the peer review function once again, I was able to see what my classmates bibliographies looked like, which in turn helped me. Although I uploaded my bibliography after class I forgot to correct it by alphabetizing it so I will be working more on it for next week. Being in class again this week was a big help, and the writing assignment on linking ideas together with an analysis proved quite helpful.
I posted comments on:

Stehphann's and Michael's D8 HW 4 (essay analyses)
Paulette- D8HW5
Kathy- D8HW3
Justin- D8HW1

Deadline #8 HW#5

Using the grammar girl site once again (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/default.aspx) I listened to the podcast of starting a sentence with the word "hopefully." I tend to agree with her that while grammatically it is right, it should rarely if ever be used. Think of an actual speech or a speaker, using the word "hopefully" could diminish credibility, and for someone writing a research paper, "hopefully" should certainly not be used.

Deadline #8 HW#4

The article that Jon Pareles wrote on Coldplay was quite interesting, yet I do not completely agree with him. To me he seemed like an angry critic so his audience should be intended for music buffs. His purpose was to persuade people from listening to Coldplay and what Coldplay stands for. He envisions Coldplay as just another pop culture trend and does not appreciate their seemingly musical rip-off of Radiohead. Jon is clearly disturbed by not only Coldplay's lyrics but how the singer sings them. This is so subjective that he has no basis of where he's coming from. I think this article was not very well written, rather a rant of his dislike of the band. As far as the ethos/pathos/logos goes, the only clear aspect that is addressed besides his disdain for the band, is that instrument wise, they are fairly talented musicians. As much as he hates this band, I hate his article even more, where is his supporting evidence???

Deadline #8 HW#3

After reviewing Paulette's and Stephann's annotated bibliographies I realized my numerous mistakes. First and foremost I didn't turn in my draft until today. Paulette's annotated bibliography was definitely a draft and it showed. Her sources weren't properly cited and because of that, I need to make sure that my magazine/newspaper sources are entered correctly. Stephann had the problem of numbering her sources and not alphabetizing them, something I also did. I have not had any reviews of my draft but I have a good idea about what I need to change.

Deadline #8 HW#2

I reviewed Paulette's WP#2 and and Stephann's WP#2.

Deadline #8 HW#1

All of the websites for this weeks reading were designed to aid in a research project process. They mainly emphasized how to develop and and support a thesis statement. The ability to conduct fair research, i.e. giving both sides of an argument was also stressed. Finally the website from writing.colostate.edu offered different sources one can use besides the conventional book and internet sources. Nothing new, but never hurts for a review. As far as this week's reading from Everything's an Argument, the best chapter was the one on thinking rhetorically. It stressed to always asks questions when writing a research paper, such as who is the audience, what is the purpose, and what are the interests involved. Chapter 6 was pretty much just an overview of the different ways you can structure an argument. My preferred way is to make a statement and then give evidence.

Deadline #7 HW #1

This week's readings were a bit dry but did offer some good reminders. Chapter 2-Arguments from the heart stressed the point that arguing points/subjects require mainly factual information, whereas persuading someone about your points/subjects requires more desire and conviction on your part. Chapter 2 also brought up a good point in that personal anecdotes are a great way to get the attention of one's audience and can keep their attention throughout one's speech/paper ect.. The other main point in the chapter was that humor on some levels might not only be appropriate but necessary when dealing with controversial subjects.

Chapter 3 went on to talk about people's characters and how it can affect how they are viewed by others. The three main areas that can be affected by one's character are their authority pertaining to subjects/issues, their credibility, and lastly their intentions or possibly hidden agendas. The thing I did like in this chapter is how it mentioned respect, and how it is essential trait one needs to have if they are to take opinions on issues. Not respecting the other side to your views can most certainly seal your fate in never being heard at all.

Deadline #6 HW#2

By the way, I also turned in my final draft on turnitin.com, didn't know if you had to post anything on here. Thanks for your comments guys.

Deadline #6 HW#8

Well this week I made corrections to my research proposal and I am very appreciative of the comments/corrections that were made to my draft. As I mentioned before, I really like the capabilities of the peer review function as it allows you to not only see mistakes you have made, but allows you to hear someones opinion on what you have written be it good or bad. I am getting more used to using this blog as well, as it has really helped me keep up with the class work, which I was not doing in the 2nd and 3rd weeks of the class.

I posted comments on:
Kathy D#6 HW#7
Stephann D#6 HW# 3 & 5
Jared D#6 HW#3
Coralee D#6 HW#3

Deadline #6 HW#7

For this weeks grammar assignment I corrected my mistakes for WP#1 using Google documents peer review option. I also went to the grammar girl website (grammar.qdnow.com) and listened to the section on simplifying ones writing: Simplify Your WritingEpisode 73: August 30, 2007.

Deadline #6 HW#5

Chapter 16 in Everything's an Argument lists; observations, interviews, surveys/questionnaires, experiments, personal experience, and the typical reference sources you find at the library as evidence for your research paper. For my paper (Steroids in Baseball), I will basically only be using interviews and reference sources. If I can find some surveys such as, "How many pro ballplayers do you think use performance enhancing drugs?", then I will certainly try to incorporate that into my paper. However as far as experimenting/personal experience goes, I don't think I will be taking any steroids for an english class. As far as ascertaining interviews/testimonies I shouldn't need look any further than current published sports magazines/journals.

Deadline #6 HW#3

Well so far this research process has gone smoother than I thought. I was definitely filling bogged down with the sheer amount of work that will be dedicated throughout the semester for one paper, but now I have come to terms. The research proposal for my paper in all probably took me about two to three hours to come up with. Most of this was due to the fact of trying to find/narrow my research question and revising the proposal once it was finished. I really like the google documents feature of peer reviewing, I have never used it before/knew it existed, and it is very helpful. The main issue I am having currently with my research process is finding my sources/making sure they are relevant/credible. I have been bookmarking numerous blog sites and have been checking them daily to find the most current information. I do have to admit though, I have not been using delicious and I hope that doesn't count as a grade. Maybe it would be easier, but I feel more comfortable just using the bookmarks tab on the browser. For WP#2, I will definitely need to spruce up on my annotated bibliography as it pretty much just a bunch of sources with no commentary.

Deadline #6 HW#1

Chapter 4 in Everything's an Argument lists what exactly facts, statistics, surveys, and interviews are. Although surveys aren't really relevant to my research paper, interviews and statistics are. Later on in the chapter it refers to how many people make mistakes with assumptions, and reminds us to use good judgement when collecting data for papers. The paragraph on the degree of an argument was enlightening as I do tend be one of those people that asks for example, "Well Subway has subs for 5 bucks, so Quiznos should too." Chapters 16 and 19 was nothing new as what counts as evidence/sources was covered in the library demonstration/The Bedford Researcher as was the ability to evaluate the credibility of sources.
Needless to say its always good to have a book as a fall back example in case you are uncertain about your sources.