Week 7

Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species -- man -- acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world.

–Rachel Carson

Good morning, good evening. Hope you all have been well since last we met.

Today's classwork focuses on using sources to generate essay ideas and perspectives. There are two basic kinds of sources used in conducting research, primary and secondary. Primary sources are defined as those whose information comes firsthand to the writer or researcher, such as original experiments you conduct, field notes and observations you make, interviews, eyewitness accounts, and works of art or artifacts you examine and evaluate, including photographs and films, sound recordings and historical documents (letters, diaries, records of all sorts, speeches, etc.). Secondary sources are the descriptions, interpretations, and research work and conclusions others have done on a given subject of inquiry, be it a work of art or an artist, natural phenomena such as hurricanes or volcanos, human biology, cancer, etc. News reports, reviews, biographies, encyclopedia articles, among others, fall in this category. Often research projects involve use of both kinds of sources, primary and secondary.

Research is basic to many of our daily activities and decisions. We want to see a movie, a good movie, so we read the reviews of recent releases and make a decision one way or another. We want to buy a new car, computer, whatever, and so we gather information about the products available, learn their relative merits as compared to others in their class, then test run them, try them firsthand before we commit ourselves to a purchase. Your purpose in research is ordinarily defined by your interest in a subject. In college writing, the central goal of research is to develop and show a clear understanding of a particular subject. Perhaps you are asked to explain a problem, and to illustrate measures being taken to address the problem; at last, you find yourself arguing a position or advocating a certain course of action.  Having made a thorough review of the most timely, authoritative literature on your subject, you are, presumably, an expert, and in a position to advance a position or claim and to support it with reference to your various sources.

As a class we'll look at a topic of general interest–civility, in a chapter from a book called Choosing Civility,–which discusses its role in supporting healthy relationships and societies and sample quotations. Your essay assignment involves summary description or definition of a problem, perhaps its causes and/or effects, and the measures being taken to assess and address the problem by those working in the field. Your audience will be your classmates and all those who might justifiably find the subject interesting and important.  Look at a number of  online sources, including photo sources, if you wish, and draw from these the information to make a considered claim about your chosen subject. You must develop your own slant, as with any original essay work.

Assignment (#6):  a 350- word essay on a subject/issue of public concern, with summary overview of one published article and direct quotation of material from the title article.

Directions for assignment #6:  You may work with another classmate, if you wish, to find source material.  To begin, published articles and links may be found by googling the topic keywords.  Look for the most recent and authoritative or reliable of sources.  Summarize the findings reported in the article, identifying key points, observations, descriptions, facts, concerns and questions raised in the article. Briefly describe several of the photo illustrations, if any. Choose one or more textual passages to quote directly to support your summary material. Identify references within the article– to important individuals, organizations, places, key terms– that may serve as additional source material.  Then,  Google these keywords. Share this research work, and share your findings, if working with another student.   Explore what each new source has to offer, even if you have only time for a cursory look or textual scan. Then, individually, each of you must compile a brief essay incorporating the article title and author references, summary and quotation, and your own thoughts on the subject matter.

*Review verb tense and pronoun use.