Monday, March 10

Lateral Reading, Finding and Evaluating Sources Online (30-45 min)

Read the following discussion posts from your classmates and write a little bit in response to the question that follows the discussion posts:

Milo:

A part of the reading that I found interesting was confirmation bias. I thought about how it is  very easy to get into the habit of only looking for sources that support what you may already believe. I see this a lot online especially with news and social media platforms. It is interesting that people decide to share news and information that confirms their point of view without even checking the credibility of the information. Based on the reading I am sure that I have engaged in this practice before. I found the idea of lateral reading really useful. I think this is something I should start doing more, especially when looking up information for assignments or even just scrolling through news online.

Michelle:

In most English courses, we are always told to check for reliable sources and to fact-check information by comparing it with other sources. In our class, we have touched upon the differences between primary sources and secondary sources. But one thing this chapter highlights that I found quite interesting is that bias is not only present in authors and disinformation texts, but that bias can come from the reader as well. This is called confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is when a reader intentionally seeks information and sources that solely confirm their beliefs and their claims, and disregard those that don’t. As I read this, I realized that bias is truly something we possess and often use. When choosing something to read in my free time, I only pick things that I think will be interesting or  like, this is in a way biased. People who often choose an “easier side” when doing an argumentative essay are biased because they are selecting articles that are most convenient for them. It may not be to as large of an extent as the text states, but it is true that small choices and habits we make may be influenced by  unconscious bias.

Questions:

How does confirmation bias exist when scrolling on social media vs. when doing work for your college classes? How are these things similar or different?

Steps for Lateral Reading:

  1. Leave the reading you are looking at. Has anyone else commented on this author or the things they were saying? Has anyone pointed out issues with it already?
  2. Who is the author? What are their likely motives? What would they probably want you to think or feel? Are they an expert? What organizations are they with?
  3. Where did this information come from? What website, for instance? What can we learn about this source (i.e., not the author but where the writing appears)? What or who funds or owns the source? Is the source selling anything? Does anything suggest biases of any kind? If there is a commercial part of the source, does that conflict with the information you are reviewing?

Other things to consider:

  1. When primary vs. secondary sources are relied on. A primary source is original (e.g., the original statement that the quote comes from, the data that was analyzed) whereas the secondary source is a reporting of what the primary source contains (e.g., a quote from a statement of an official, a summary from a journalist of an analysis of data by an academic). If many secondary, check out some of the primary sources those secondary sources rely on.
  2. See what other versions of the source might exist (especially for pictures and videos). Find other versions, use reverse image search in Google, etc.
  3. Getting a sense of biases of the source and your own biases (i.e., what standpoints the sources and you tend to advocate for an believe) BUT balancing that out with doing your best to decide on what makes the most sense. For instance, sources with a bias in one way or another may still provide the best evidence and argument or sources that align with your beliefs may provide the best evidence or argument. You just want to make sure, first, that you are taking the time to consider that evidence and argument so being honest with what the source is and who you are is incredibly important.

Practical steps

  1. Click on hyperlinks to see where they go.
  2. Open lots of tabs so you can make space for links and searches.
  3. Have a plan for what you are reading around the source rather than just clicking through anything and everything.
  4. Don’t just click the first thing you see. Evaluate what is in your search results and click strategically (e.g., avoid ads, avoid links that you know already are from commercial sources, skim things that might be simply repeating other things you’ve already reviewed).

Examples to try:

Now, on your own, I want you to choose one of the two examples below:

What is Keto? The Diet Explained! – Keto Nutrition (ketogenic.com)

Target stores closing: East Harlem store to close, but Mayor Eric Adams says another will open nearby – ABC7 New York (abc7ny.com)

Paraphrase and Quotation in MLA–Use Your Sources (45 min)

When working with academic sources, like when we talked about that on March 5, the concerns we talked about on finding sources online through a traditional search engine, is less of a concern. There are already vetting procedures that help you feel more comfortable with what you are looking at (though, you should still take some steps to think about how reputable, say, a given academic journal is).

No matter what your source, you’ll have to read it to get a sense of what it means (even if you don’t fully understand it) and figure out if it is useful for your research project.

Part of the work you’ll have to do, once there, is to paraphrase and direct quote.

Let’s find a paragraph from Carillo and Horning, paraphrase from it, and direct quote from it.

First, let’s find places that are paraphrased and quoted in the reading. Where does this happen? How do they do it?:

You’ll need to consider two tools to do this work:

  1. Signal words and phrases to introduce sources and the information you are quoting and paraphrasing.
  2. Conventions of in-text citation in MLA format.

Go to this Google Doc and provide what original source material you are paraphrasing and quoting from, paraphrase it, and then direct quote it. All with MLA conventions for citation and use of signal words and/or phrases.

Planning Research Essay, Draft 1 (5-10 min)

First draft is due March 17: What do you all have to do?

Let’s come up with some ideas:

  • Find sources
  • Read sources
  • Evaluate to see if you should include / making sure accuracy
  • Figure out what the argument might be
  • Make a works cited page that includes information about sources
  • Look at assignment prompt and make sure you are meeting requirements (e.g., two academic sources)

What might you do each day?

  • Monday, March 10:
  • Tuesday, March 11:
  • Wednesday, March 12:
  • Thursday, March 13:
  • Friday, March 14:
  • Saturday, March 15 (if working weekends):
  • Sunday, March 16 (if working weekends):
  • Monday, March 17 (due 9:55am!):

Next Time (5 min)

  • Would like to see the following students after class: Fati, Gilayne
  • Prof. Stephanie Hershinow will be observing our class on Wednesday, March 12.
  • Podcast Post 1: post or comment. Check sign-up sheet to see if this is your week to post or comment.
  • Weekly Private Writing: Weekly private writing of at least 10 minutes: Of the roles of producer, narrator, script writer, and audio editor: What role sounds most interesting to you? Why? What role do you think you could succeed in most based on your past experience? Why? What role most relates to future goals you have in life? Why? Consider, also, the “Digital Participation Gap.” What possible way could that help you think about a role you choose? Why or why not? Answer all of these questions.