For my academic blog assignment, I decided to attend a writing workshop, titled “Using Sources Strategically”. During the workshop, there was a lot of learning involved with each various source and how they are used indifferent ways to portray an author’s way of providing examples. The instructor there was a tall, bald man who was very articulate with words and explained clearly and concisely the uses of various types of sources in a paper.
The first idea taught was the difference between primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are first hand accounts of a kind of experience, whether it is a poem written by the first person who visitedthe Grand Canyon, or an episode of a show. They are where most of the information comes from, as opposed to a secondary source, there was an analysis of a primary source.
They, the instructor gave us an acronym, ‘BEAM’ in order to remember the types of sources by. They are listed as background, exhibit, argument and method sources. Background sources include necessary information to inform you on the topic, which are undebatable data such as numbers, definitions or years. Exhibit sources include the original object, and usually consists of primary sources. These sources allow for specific examples of wide phenomenon. Argument sources are described as sources interacted with by thinkers or scholars to analyze or provide opinion on. These sources help you as a student to garner authority, credibility or ethos by quoting other scholars whohave studied the field in depth. Lastly, are the method sources, which lend framework for analysis, like theories, concepts or methods. These sources are the structure for the analysis to base on.
Through this experience, I have learned more about the types of sources and I know now where to go when I need help with writing a paper in oneof my classes.