Hey guys, Group 3 here. Here is a link to our website for any of you that were interested in checking it out. We are still looking for anything we could use to spruce it up a little bit, so if you have any suggestions or run into any pictures we could use let us know. Hope you like it.
Group 1
Preparing for Library Presentation Assignment [Due Monday, 10/17/16 @ 8:00 am]
The Goal of this assignment is to prepare you to maximize your time with the librarian and with the computers by having solid research questions and a clear understanding of the assignment you are about to undertake.
The Objectives:
1- Revise your research questions or topics based on the feedback you receive from me.
2- Familiarize yourself with the annotated bibliography assignments (which includes understanding what an an annotated bibliography is).
3- Practice generating an annotated bibliography for different audiences.
Assignment Directions:
Part 1:
Part 1 is fairly straight forward. I should give you some feedback by the end of the week (10/14/16). Address my feedback either by email or updating your post or both depending on what I specify in my feedback. Due: Monday, October 17th at 8:00 am.
Part 2:
- Read (YES AGAIN) the assignment description for the annotated bibliography
- Read the two handouts on Annotated Bibliographies (listed on the “tool box page”)
- As a group identify and read a popular or news media source related to one of your narrowed themes and research questions.
- Generate an annotated bibliography for this source.
- Your bibliographic entry should be formatted according to MLA guidelines.
- Your annotation should be a 3-5 sentence paragraph.
- You annotation should meet the guidelines for annotations in the final project.
- Note: While you are not having to pick a scholarly source here, your source should still be a reputable source. Meaning it should not be not be a random person’s blog or a gossip column with no sources. You should also avoid straight anonymously authored reference sites like Wikipedia or Dictionary.Com.
- As a group convert the above annotation into a form that might be suitable for a social media outlet of y our choosing.
- Repeat step four for a different social media outlet.
- Post all three citations on your project site by Monday, October 17th at 8:00 am.
- Make sure that a link for your project site has been emailed to me and is available on our class site for others by 10/17/16 at 8 am.
Narrowing Your Focus and Developing Research Questions Assignment [Due Mon. 10/10 @8:00 am]
Narrowing Your Topic and Developing Research Questions Assignment
Overview: Your groups have broad topics right now. The purpose of this project is to begin to focus your topic in order to facilitate your research and make coherent final projects. Note: Focusing your topic, generating pointed questions, and even making hypothesis are not the same as making a thesis statement before you’ve done any research.
Main Goals:
- Start focusing more intentionally on the final project which will begin to pick up speed as we move into the second half of the semester.
- Prepare for library presentation so you can maximize the resources of the librarian and the lab.
- Understand what a research question is and how to go about making one.
- Practice generating research questions that will guide you for the next assignments.
Primary Objectives:
- Identify three more specific areas of focus within your current group themes.
- Generate two or three research questions for each area of focus.
General Directions:
- Follow ALL the “Specific Steps” listed below.
- Complete the two related worksheets.
- Post the required update on your project site (see #8 below) by Monday, October, 10th at 8:00 am.
- Email me the completed worksheets by Monday, October 10th at 8:00 am.
Specific Steps:
- Read annotated bibliography assignment (so that you have a clearer sense of the assignment coming up) [located at the end of the “assignments” page]. Read handouts on focusing research topics and drafting research questions [located on the “tool box” page].
- Meet as a group (in person, on the phone, via chat, skype; on a Google Doc, etc.).
- Discuss everyone’s individual research/writing/intellectual/etc priorities for the project.*
- Complete the individual group members interest form.
- As a group decide on 3 more focused areas of research.
- As a group come up with 2-3 solid research questions for each of these topics.
- Complete the group priorities form.
- Post a 3 -4 sentence paragraph description of how your group understands your general topic (with its focused areas for research) and a list of your research questions on your project site.
- Email the Individual and Group priorities form to me.
- Email me a link to your project site.
* Some potential questions you might discuss as a group: How does each group member interpret what the group topic means? What does each member find most compelling, resonant, interesting, and or urgent about this topic? How does each member currently envision the end project website working? How would you like to present/explore/challenge/etc. this topic in a wider public space (i.e. beyond Professor Curseen reading your paper to see if you have an arguable thesis)? What are everyone’s top three areas of interest related to your group topic? What would each person most want to spend time researching, thinking, writing about, etc.
These directions and the Individual and Group Research Priorities Worksheets can be accessed by clicking the below link:
Group Assignments Due 10/10 and 10/17
By the end of today, I should have received everyone’s paper. Now we need to start focusing on the final projects and researching for the annotated bibliography assignments. Between today and when we see each other on Tuesday, October 18th (in the computer lab in VC 6-155), your group should complete two assignments.
- Narrowing Your Focus and Developing Research Questions Assignment [turn in by Monday, October 10th at 8:00 am]
- Preparing for Library Presentation Assignment [turn in by Monday, October 17th at 8:00 am]
The assignments directions and related worksheets are available on the two following posts.
Draft 1 Peer Review Groups
Group 1
Akshay
Emir*
Daisy *
Group 2
Danay*
Aidan*
CJ
Group 3
Ilias*
Katrina
Taseer *
Group 4
Jordan
Kelsey*
Shin*
Group 5
Samie
Kayla*
Franklin*
Group 6
Sherpa*
Abby
Kwame*
Group 7
Judith
David*
Moctar*
Group 8
Vanessa*
Amson*
Anthony
Revision Strategy Worksheet
[Part of your peer-review grade depends on your thorough and timely completion of the below worksheet. The purpose of the worksheet is to help you reflect on the peer-review experience, and to utilize that feedback while it is still fresh in your mind to make a revision strategy. You may also download a Word version of this worksheet, by clicking the following link: revision strategy worksheet ]
Revision Strategy Worksheet
Due electronically by Wednesday, September 21 at 8:30 pm
Your Name:
Name of people in peer review group:
1) Summarize your experience of the workshop. (Your summary should answer the following questions: How do you feel about sharing and getting response back? How do you feel about reading your paper aloud? Did you feel supported by your group?)
2) To the best of your understanding, what did your group see as the strongest and weakest aspects of your current draft?
3) Reflecting on the feedback you received, what piece of feedback do you most agree with (and/or what makes most sense to you)?
4) Reflecting on the feedback you received, what piece of feedback is the most difficult to take in (because you disagree and/or you don’t understand the feedback)?
5) In order of importance, name 4 things that need to be fixed in this draft. At least 3 of the things on the list should be substantial revisions rather than small edits. (Ex. small edits: fixing typos on page two and adding a period in the last sentence.)
6) Identify 2 SUBSTANTIAL items from that list that you want to focus on.
7) Describe your plans for fixing these two items? What will you do SPECIFICALLY? You can give me a timeline for working? You can tell me that you will go back to text and think more about how such and such a word will work? You can tell me that you will reverse outline your paper so you can figure out BLANK?
Crafting a Thesis Recap
Object (What thing will I actually be analyzing in this paper?)
-object vs. universal. you should not be writing about a universal concept or abstract idea. (You are not writing about Freedom or Equality. You are not writing about the perseverance of the human spirit).
-scope of object. your object (i.e. text) should be something you can put your finger on. It should be something you can bring to class, and show to the class. So even though Marilyn Monroe is not an abstract concept, you cannot bring her into class (not only because she is not alive, but also because she doesn’t belong to you and she is not available for your personal analysis). You can however bring a film clip from her last film OR a letter she wrote to a friend, which you found in an archive OR a passage from the most famous biography on her OR a shoe she used to own and then you paid a ridiculous amount of money on to purchase on ebay. In this event your object is not Marilyn Monroe; your object is the letter or the shoe.
Argument (After analyzing the text, what is my claim about how I see some aspect of this text working?)
-arguable. are you making a claim that has to be proved and can be question or challenged? Or are you giving summary? or restating the explicit main point?
-analytic not evaluative. If the stakes of your argue are really about judging the quality of the text or its author or its message, then you might have an evaluative argument. Evaluative arguments only really work when 1) we’ve invested in the evaluator’s expertise and 2) when we actually want/need evaluation.
-scope of argument.
-Is your argument actually about what some part of your object is? (Or are you writing above the object and maybe vaguely using the object as an example?)
-Are you addressing what the text does or just the content in the text? So yes, maybe the letter from Marilyn Monroe tells us about a birthday celebration where she and a group go to a restaurant and laugh and dance all night. Okay that’s the content. But how does the letter relay that information? Does it do it in elaborate detail? Is it whimsical? Does it seem to apologize for having fun? What is the tone? Does she tell jokes? You should be making a claim about how the letter works to communicate X (or challenge Y or promote J or to style the speaker as Z).
-Have you narrowed down the specific textual aspect and the specific argument you’re making? If you argument statement could be applied generally to any part of Douglass’s speech or even to any political speech in general, then your argument is too broad.
Group B post
“Man, where is your part?” a question made by Sojourner Truth in her “Address at the Woman’s Rights Convention” in Akron, Ohio. This question, found in the Robinson version, was made to bring to attention all that women can do and have done throughout the years. For example, she claims that women can “plow, reap, chop, mow, and husk” exactly as much as men do while also, questioning if they can do more than that. In the Gage version however, it opens up by explaining the difference between what should be the treatment of all women but only happens in the North. In the North, women are being helped into carriages and over ditches meanwhile, the southern women, like her, are forced to plow, plant, receive lashes, etc. And she questions, “Aren’t I a woman?”
Woman’s rights and equality issues have been discussed for decades in all kinds of political gatherings and events. But why is it that, even after being spoken about for so long there is still no change? As Sojourner Truth eloquently expressed in her speech, women can work just as hard as men and still not be granted the same rights as men. But what should further astonish you is that this is still very much alive and an issue today.
UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson gave a well-known speech at the United Nations Headquarters, where she fully attacked the issue of gender inequality and woman’s rights. She spoke about the issues not only considering the gender pay gap, but also how women still are not receiving a secondary education in some countries, and continue to be married off as children. In her speech, she brings upon calling forth both men and women into action but in particular men. As Watson expresses in her speech, men have long been afraid of the word feminism due to the negative connotation that feminism means man hating. And as she clearly exclaims it has to stop, but why is it that the word feminism or simply a woman who seeks to be paid the same as her male counterparts, be seen as intimidating or rather appalling?
http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of independence is held in its spirit. Today it is celebrated as the day the United States of America was born with fireworks and barbecue. The signed document by representatives in the summer of 1776 lists the causes of the intentions for political separation from King George III. Several abuses endured by the Thirteen Colonies made it imperative for a revolution, as petition resulted in much harm. Freedom from oppression was a necessity and now is.
The people have a right to change or bring to an end any government that does not support the safety and happiness of the governed. Although the Declaration suggests the former, it notes that it might not be best for established governments to be changed on trivia and short-term issues. There have been changes in power from Democrats to Republicans and Republicans to Democrats since the Declaration of Independence. Do these suggest that generations has suffered similar causes and thereby felt the need to change governments? .
We have seen in the past two decades, that terrorists have oppressed the United States of America. This can be seen through the 9/11 attacks and other bombings and shootings.
This Brings me to Donald Trump Ideas of upholding the Constitution or Declaration of Independence as thought out by the founding fathers. He has claimed on many points that the current government has failed on matters of the constitution.
Thus, his rigorous policies on immigration, border protection and terrorism. He considers these policies as a means of protecting the rights of the Citizens and legal residents of United States. He demonstrates illegal immigrants in the nation, Mexicans trying to cross the border and certain groups like Muslims trying to enter the country to be a threat. A threat to safety and happiness of “We The People”. Illegal immigrants increases health care, welfare, housing and educational costs and crimes to Americans, he enumerates But one will consider his assertions carefully, is he just thinking contrary to the Declaration of independence?. The Declaration states that all men are created equal, Trump suggests ending of birthright Citizenship.
Hancock, J. “Declaration of Independence” Avalon Project – Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. Yale Law School, 2008. Web. 05 Sept. 2016.
FoxBusinessNetwork. “Trump: We Will Build a Great Wall along the Southern Border.” YouTube. YouTube, 31 Aug. 2016. Web. 11 Sept. 2016.
By a 2:1 Margin, Voters Say It’s the Wrong Policy, including Harry Reid Who Said. “Immigration Reform.” Make America Great Again! N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2016.