In-class lab work : "Incorporating Sources Effectively"

1.       According to Jeffrey Miron, senior lecturer and director of undergraduate studies in the economics department at Harvard University, “Opinion polls show that marijuana legalization now commands majority support across the country.”

 

 

According to Evan Halper, the Los Angeles Times bureau chief in Sacramento, “Republicans are taking a prominent role in backing states' right to allow use of a drug the federal government still officially classifies as more dangerous than cocaine.”

 

 

2.       Jeffrey Miron is the senior lecturer and director of undergraduate studies in the economics department at Harvard University. Mr. Miron is also a senior at Cato Institute, and the author of Libertarianism, from A to Z. In Jeffrey Miron’s article, “Why Congress should legalize pot”, which appeared on cnn.com on November 19, 2014, he notes, “Opinion polls show that marijuana legalization now commands majority support across the country (Miron, cnn). Jeffrey Miron goes on stating, “Marijuana legalization is a policy no-brainer. Any society that professes to value liberty should leave adults free to consume marijuana.”

 

 

Evan Halper was the Los Angeles Times bureau chief in Sacramento before heading east. In his article, “Congress quietly ends federal government's ban on medical marijuana,” which appeared on latimes.com on December 16, 2014, Halper notes, “Republicans are taking a prominent role in backing states' right to allow use of a drug the federal government still officially classifies as more dangerous than cocaine.” Halper goes on stating, “32 states and the District of Columbia have legalized pot or its ingredients to treat ailments, a movement that began in the 1990s (Halper, latimes).”

Chapter 4

Chapter four focuses on reading critically. To read critically, you must read with an attitude. You can do this by skimming, reading for meaning, rereading passages, underlining and highlighting text, and taking notes. The difference between reading critically and evaluating is that reading critically is questioning and thinking about what has been read, rather than determining how reliable the source is. Reading the topic critically will help develop and refine the position being taken. The reading attitude will differ and change throughout the research writing process when reading critically. It is important to stay thinking critical, regardless of where you are in the process. This means to accept nothing for exactly what it is, to ask questions, and look for similarities and differences between sources. It is not uncommon to run into unreliable information and sources. It is also very important to stay open-minded for different ideas and arguments. The next step is to read actively, which can include identifying key information, ideas, and arguments, writing down questions, writing down reactions to information, identifying important passages for future reading, etc. The three most important reading strategies are to mark sources, annotate sources, and take notes. Important things to pay attention to when reading actively are the type of sources, the author’s main point, reasons and evidence to support the point, ideas and information found difficult to understand, etc. Skipping over information that is hard to understand can blindside you in the future.

chapter 3

Chapter three discusses how to develop a research question, and how to create a research proposal. An effective research question needs to focus on a specific issue that reflects the topic, at a narrow level. The first step of coming up with a research question is to reflect on the writing situation, by asking yourself questions about what understandings might have changed, what you would want to learn next, and how strong the understanding of the topic and issue is. After coming up with self-reflective questions, the next step is to come up with potential research questions. They can focus on information known, history, assumptions, outcomes, etc. These questions would then lead to different kinds of thinking processes such as evaluation, comparing and contrast, wanting to inquire new information, etc. Early research questions are usually broad, so it is important to narrow the questions down. You can test how narrow your research questions are by typing them in and searching them on an online library catalog. If the amount of information received is too much, the research question is too broad. A research proposal is a formal presentation to an instructor or supervisor that generally includes a title page, introduction, working bibliography, project timeline, etc. The title page and introduction give the readers a general view of what will be addressed in the paper. The research proposal will also include a review of the literature and sources, and how the information will be collected.

Chapter 2

Chapter two is all about exploring and focusing on the topic. Before exploring the topic, an informal research plan must be created. These research plans most commonly include a list of people who can be discussed with about the topic, a list of questions to ask, a list of settings that can be observed, a list of sources to research, and some kind of system to keep track of information. After exploring the topic, it should be discussed with others. The next step is finding and reviewing sources. Using library catalogues allows you to search for sources through a vast selection. Books and articles in scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers are all valid sources that can be found in libraries. It is also important to know about which sources that cannot be trusted, such as Wikipedia. After exploring the topic, it is important to focus on specific issues that point toward disagreements, uncertainty and concern. After exploring different issues, the strongest and most interesting issue should be focused on. Things to keep in mind when generating an interesting issue are whether or not the purposes will be achieved, whether or not the audience would want to read the paper, whether or not it is appropriate for the project, and what opportunities there would be.

Chapter 1

Chapter one focuses on the basics of getting comfortable and confident writing an appropriate topic. It explains a number of different ways to become confident with research and writing: When taking ownership of a project, one should ask themselves how the project could possibly help them pursue their personal, professional, and/or academic interests. The first chapter goes on to explain the research writing processes; learning about the topic and taking a position so it can then be shared with the reader(s). When searching for and working with sources, it is important to keep them saved so that they can be added to the paper that has information taken from the source. This not only shows people where you got your information, but also avoids plagiarism by giving credit to the author, website, article, etc. When taking a position, the writer must have a main point, which is the most important idea, insight, or argument that the writer is defending in the paper. Genre and design are two important tools used in writing. Genre is the type of document, and refers to general categories. For instance, novels and articles are two different genres. Design is the appearance of the document, ranging from different fonts, colors, page layouts, and illustrations.