I knew that this was going to be a stressful course but that is why I decided to take Marlen again. When I had took English 101 with him last spring ,I had actually learned material that I would retain for once. This is also true for English 202. One of the most difficult things for me was deciding what I wanted to write about. There are so many options to choose from and it felt nearly impossible for me to narrow down on a topic. I changed my research topic about 3 or 4 times before finally having to just choose one. If I were to go back and do my research paper over again I would have chosen a different topic. I enjoy doing autoethnographies; however, I felt that I should have conducted research which multiple participants and not just myself. I am very glad that I now know how much really goes into composing a research paper. I know that if I have the opprotunity to write another research paper, I will be able to get through it with very little dilemna. The proudest moment that I had experienced in this course was the feeling of completion with my paper. I think that everything I had experienced during this process will stick with me in my future.
May 4, 2010
Blog #16
1) The most useful assignment to me would have to be the Peer Editing. This really helped me to realize my own mistakes through other classmate’s work.
2) The most helpful feedback I received was again through Peer Editing. It was nice to have someone who was in the same boat as me giving helpful tips on what things needed improvement on.
3) The most difficult thing for me during the drafing process would be trying to figure out where I wanted to go with my paper. There are so many different ways I could have researched my topic but I could not figure out what I really wanted to do. I think the easiest part of the whole process was just the feeling of being done. I personally struggled through the whole drafing process.
4) My final essay best shows by ability as a writer through my way of connecting outside information that I had researched, to my own personal knowledge and point of view.
April 5, 2010
Blog #15
From doing my peer review projects, I have learned numerous things about writing and editing in general. Completeing this project really helped me to realize just how many of my own mistakes I make without knowing it. By having someone else look through and critique your work, it really helps to see things in a different way than you normally would. For example, simple grammer and punctuation errors that you may not have noticed before are brought to your attention. Also having another person’s opinion on how you can present your information is very important to me as a writer. I want my audience to find my work interesting and make sense to them. For my actual reasearch project, this process has helped me to get a differenct perspective on how I can rearrange my information. It also helps to be able to see what my readers find interesting and irrelevant in my information.
April 1, 2010
Blog #14
Results
The first article on the “Results section”, discussed how it gives an opprotunity for the researcher to present their data without interpretation of it (Bates College). Both the positive as well as the negative results should be reported in this section (Bates College). It is very important to relay as much information as possible for the reader (Bates College). This helps them to understand the differences of the nature and relationships (Bates College).
The second article I found on the “Results section”, talked about how using tables and figures to be concise is important (Experimental Biosciences). The previous article also stated this so it must be important. The article states that one should discuss each of their results and point out the most relevant observations to the reader (Experimental Biosciences). One thing to try and avoid is to makes sure that data discussed in this section is not repeated (Experimental Biosciences). The most important thing in both of these two articles is, to make sure that there is no interpretation of the data in the results section.
Discussion
The first article on the “Discussion section” talked about interpretating the results of what was already known about the topic, and to discuss the new understanding of the results (Bates College). The Discussion section connects to the Introduction section by the hypotheses or questions that were asked by the researcher (Bates College). However, it does not repeat or rearrange what was already stated in the Introduction; it instead talks about how the research has moved forward (Bates College).
In the second article on the “Discussion section” it discussed how the researcher should decide if each hypothesis is supported, rejected, or if you cannot make a decision based with confidence of your own knowledge (Experimental Biosciences). The researcher should not dismiss any part of the research as “inconclusive” (Experimental Biosciences). Treating the study as “finished work” is very important (Experimental Biosciences). This means to make conclusions about the results that have been found (Experimental Biosciences). I think that the most important concept out of both of these two articles is to interpret the results and support the conclusions.
Conclusion
The first article on the “Conclusion section” talked about how it allows the researcher to have a final say on the issues that were presented in the paper, to summarize thoughts, and to demonstrate the importance of ideas (Handouts and Links). It is good to include a brief summary of the main points of the paper, however, the researcher should not repeat previously stated points (Handouts and Links). The researcher should avoid beginning with an unnecessary, overused phrase such as “in conclusion,” “in summary,” or “in closing” (Handouts and Links).
In the second article on the “Conclusion section” states how the Conclusion is one of the most important parts of the paper because it allows the researcher to discuss the importance of the paper (Essay Town Academic Writing Blog). It is good to restate your thesis statement at the beginning of the Conclusion section, which is found at the end of the paper (Essay Town Academic Writing Blog).
March 30, 2010
Blog #13
I seem to continuously keep going back and changing things in my paper. I am planning on adding more sources throughout my paper, it is just a matter of seeing what information will work best in a particular section. I need to work on my transition from going from my introduction, to my lit review, to my methods section. By my final draft I hope that my whole paper will flow nicely from one section to the next. I also hope that my audience will be able to distinguish the difference between my sections.
March 17, 2010
Blog #12
For my autoethnographic methods, I will need information about advertising in the cosmetic industry. I will also need to have information on my personal reactions to these advertisements. Including law suits that have occurred over false advertising in the cosmetic industry, will also be very beneficial to my paper. I will need as much information as it takes to get my points and feelings across for an authoethnography. I will present my information by describing the documents I have read, and incorporating my feelings and reactions to these documents.
March 2, 2010
Blog # 11
The method section of a research paper answers two main questions; these are ”how was the data collected or generated” and “how was it analyzed” (Language Center)? The method affects what the results are; this is why it is so important for the reader to obain the results (Language Center). The methodology should give a good example as to why a particular method was used (Language Center). It should also include any problems that may occur, and what the steps are to prevent them from occurring (Language Center). A common problem that occurs while writing is including too much irrelevent detail (Language Center). It is important to keep in mind that the audience the paper is being written for, already has background information in that particular field of study or research (Language Center).
According to StatPac, the methodology section of the paper should describe the basic research plan. The beginning of the methodology, usually has a few introductory paragraphs (David S. Walonick). These restate the research question and the purpose of the paper (David S. Walonick). It is important to keep the exact wording of the research question the same throughout the paper (David S. Walonick).
I think that the most important concept for writing a methodology is, the two specific questions the writer should analyze. I think that these questions will really help the writer to focus on specific areas of their paper. Also, obtaining the results of your research is very important when writing the methodology. Being aware of giving your audience irrelevant information, is a common error to watch out for.
Works Cited
“Writing up Research: Method and Research Design.” Language Center Website. Web. 02 Mar. 2010. http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/el21meth.htm.
February 27, 2010
Blog Entry #10 – Rubric
| CRITERIA | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Comments |
| Organization- The introduction is inviting, states the main topic and previews the structure of the paper. |
|
X |
Does state the research question, however, it is not clear until the second paragraph. | ||||
| Support for Topic (Content) - Relevant, telling, quality details give the reader important information that goes beyond the obvious or predictable. |
X |
Gave details, however, unsure how reliable those details were. Needs to include more sources telling where the info came from and prove its relevance. Also, needs to back up the hypothesis with actual data as well. | |||||
| Focus of Topic- Writer maintains focus throughout paper and does not lose sight of what their hypothesis is. |
X |
Lost sight of what the paper was originally supposed to be written about. Information was all over the place and lacked organization. | |||||
| Commitment (Voice) - The writer successfully uses several reasons/appeals to try to show why the reader should care or want to know more about the topic. |
X |
Overall, the topic may be a concern, however, the information used and the context of the whole paper made it seem like this topic is irrelevant and needs better supporting details. | |||||
| Kept reader interest- Hooked reader’s interest in first paragraph with specific sentences and kept interest throughout. |
|
X |
Felt that the paper was all over the place and was hard to follow. Couldn’t really keep an interest while reading because I didn’t think the information was factual. | ||||
| Conclusion- The conclusion is strong and leaves the reader with a feeling that they understand what the writer is “getting at.” |
X |
It was difficult to understand where the author was getting at. The conclusion is different than the original research question. It seems that focus was lost throughout the paper. | |||||
| TOTAL =
10 / 30 |
Additional comments: Really need to refocus the paper to what you’re trying to prove as the author. Include current and factual data, using in-text citations to help support your data. Mostly, make sure that you do not lose focus in your topic, it makes it very difficult for your audience to follow along and see the hypothesis you are trying to prove. | ||||||
February 21, 2010
Blog #9
“Obama advisor blasts big business ads”
Paragraph 1: The first sentence generally explained what the article is about. In the next sentence, it became more specific by introducing who the White House advisor was.
Paragraph 2: In the next paragraph, the author gives comments that the White House advisor made, regarding the campaign ads. It helps the reader get a good understanding of how negative the advisor’s feelings were.
Paragraph 3: This paragraph goes on to discuss how the advisor’s comments were the harshet yet by a high-ranking White House official. President Obama is also mentioned in this paragraph about this problems with the campaign. I think the author is trying to emphasize how big of an issue this is to the White House.
Paragraph 4: The author puts in a quote from Obama, and then proceeds to explain what he was talking about.
Paragraph 5: Here, the author shoes how the Chamber of Commerce feels about their campaign ads being bashed. He gives detail saying how the Chamber is “spending $2 million to fight th proposal.”
Paragraph 6: He proceeds to talk about how the Chamber feels about these accusations and gives comments from the Chamber spokesman.
Paragraph 7: The author ends with a quote from the White House Advisor, that sums up their feelings on the matter as of now.
a) The purpose of this article is for White House officials to express their feelings on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s campaign ad.
b) The importance of this is that, the opponents of President Obama’s plan to create an agency to protect financial consumers, are trying to “scare people.”
c) The main research question is whether the Chamber of Commerce’s campaign ad is actually controversial or just a simple misunderstanding.
d) The method is that the Chamber announced that it will be spending $2 million to fight the proposal.
e) The article did not mention the results.
f) The conclusion of this article ended with Larry Summers, the White House advisor, saying how they have become convinced that “consumer financial regulation be carried out by an independent body whose mandate is exclusively consumer protection.”
”IBM Predicts the End of Advertising as We Know It”
Paragraph 1: The first sentence is an attention grabber I think. It made me want to continue reading more. The author sort of gives an overview of what the article is about and how IBM got their information.
Paragraph 2: This paragraph describes why traditional advertising may be at risk. It gives background information to help the reader understand what it is going on.
Paragraph 3: A quote from the Communications Sector managing partner from IBM, is then used to show how IBM is looking at the fall of traditional ads.
Paragraph 4: In the next paragraph, the author goes on to explain the four major change drivers for the advertising industry. He includes some of the statistics on how consumers react to “interruption advertising” on the television.
Paragraph 5: The author includes IBM’s research of advertising experts recognizing consumers responses, and are forseeing changes in the future. This lets you know that it is not just IBM who thinks this is occurring; they have included data to back up their hypothesis.
Paragraph 6: In this paragraph, the author gives IBM’s Media and Entertainment Strategy and Change practice leader, her point of view. The author does this by including a quote on what she thinks the changes need to be.
Paragraph 7: This paragraph explains details about what steps need to be taken in the advertising industry, so that they can survive these drastic changes occurring.
Paragraph 8: The closing paragraph discusses what IBM believes the advertising industry needs to do. It also gives you examples to help explain what their needs are.
a) The purpose of this article is for IBM to show why they feel why our current forms of advertising may be ending fairly soon.
b) The importance of this is that buisnesses who are currently doing the traditional advertising, may need to find a new way of doing it.
c) The main research question is what kinds of steps does the advertising industry need to take in order to survive?
d) The methods used in this article is that IBM surveyed more than 2,400 consumers and 80 advertising executives globally about future advertising methods.
e) The results showed that “increasingly empowered consumers, more self-reliant advertisers and ever-evolving technologies are redefining how advertising is sold, created, consumed, and tracked.
f) The conclusion is that advertisors need to really focus on consumers and create new and improved ways of getting through to them.
February 17, 2010
Blog #8
The Introductory Paragraph article was very helpful I thought. It basically described how the introductory papagraph is relatively the same as a first impression (Grace Fleming). Having a first sentence that hooks the reader into wanting to continue reading, is very crucial (Grace Fleming). I personally think that beginning with a quote is a good way to get the reader hooked. All of the sentences that are use in the introduction, build up to the thesis statement (Grace Fleming).
Another similar article I found to be very helpful as well. It states how clearly discussing what will be demonstrated in the paper, is very important (Lisa Koning). Keeping the introduction interesting, really trying to sell yourself, and not giving away the conclusion, are some key elements to focus on (Lisa Koning).
I think the most important thing to focus on is selling yourself. I know I can tell immediately whether or not I am going to like something, just by reading the first paragraph. That is your first impression and you do not get another one, which is why you should be creative when doing it.
References
Fleming, Grace. “Writing Essay Introductions and Conclusions: How to Improve the Beginning and End of Your Essay.” Study Skills. Web. 16 Feb. 2010. http://studyskills.suite101.com/article.cfm/writing_essays_the_introduction_and_conclusion.
Koning, Lisa. “Writing Essay Introductions and Conclusions: How to Improve the Beginning and End of Your Essay.” Study Skills. 17 Dec. 2008. Web. 16 Feb. 2010. http://studyskills.suite101.com/article.cfm/writing_essays_the_introduction_and_conclusion.
