Category Archives: Class notes

Citing sources

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Brainstorm: what are the reasons you can think of to cite sources? It might help to think about this from the point of view of when you are the author and when you are the reader.

  • proof of information or fact (it must be true because someone else said it)
    • incorporate info from authority
      • makes us an authority/ adds to the authority of what we’re writing
    • data to support claim
    • backs up a point
    • draw on more information than we can produce ourselves
    • credible source?
  • helps readers understand theme or message
    • provide examples
    • use different language to say what you’re saying
    • brings different voices into your work
    • can show how what you’re saying makes sense
    • can bolster what you’re saying
    • can give a path through more information
    • gives the reader information about where to find sources
  • if we use sources, we must cite them to give them credit for their work, words, ideas
    • avoid plagiarism
    • gives credit to the original source
    • makes it clear it’s not your idea/language

How do you cite sources?

  • linking out to the source
  • include the URL
  • MLA, (APA)
  • use something like Purdue OWL citation guide for MLA
  • use database to generate citation
  • use Easybib to generate a citation
  • Works Cited comes at the end (bibliography)
  • In-text citations
    • parenthetical citations

According to Graff and Birkenstein in They Say, I Say, these are some advisable ways to incorporate others’ ideas into our writing:

A argues _______, and I agree because __________________.

A claims ________, and I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I agree that __________________. On the other hand, I still insist that _______________________.

A advocates ________________.

argue, assert, believe, claim, emphasize, insist, observe, remind us, report, suggest

I acknowledge _________.

agree with, admire, celebrate the fact that, corroborate, do not deny, endorse, extol, praise, reaffirm, support, verify

According to…

In a 2017 NYTimes article,

Fortin, Jacey. “Toppling Monuments, a Visual History.” New York Times, 17 Aug. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/08/17/world/controversial-statues-monuments-destroyed.html.

In a recent study,

[information]. A recent study reports on this.

We can use an ellipsis to omit … irrelevant parts of a quotation.

Drafting a thesis statement

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In class today, we talked about what a thesis statement is and how we might draft one for Project #2-Part 4. Here is our list of what a thesis statement is:

  • it’s the main point
  • it’s in the introduction–usually the end of the introduction
  • it’s usually 1-2 sentences
  • it’s a statement, not a question
    • if your draft of a thesis statement is a question, try writing the answer to the question as a new draft
  • it’s an opinion, not a fact
    • that means there’s a difference between the topic and the thesis statement
  • it’s supportable by using examples
    • for this project, each criterion would be a support for your thesis statement
    • also, ideas from the articles each group shared could be incorporated as support for the thesis statement
  • Each introduction and each essay answers three questions:
    • what’s up?
    • how come?
    • so what?
    • (borrowed from Hildegard Holler)
    • In the introduction, the thesis statement is the “so what?”
    • the essay overall uses the thesis statement to say “what’s up?” and concludes with the “so what?” that pushes the ideas of the thesis statement to the next level
  • it’s a road map of the whole essay
    • that means it should give a sense of what readers can expect to find in the essay and in what order
  • it’s something you draft and work on in stages
    • you might not write it first
    • you can come back and refine it
    • it should reflect the essay you complete
    • you can change it if your work goes in a new direction
      • BUT, make sure your essay overall and the thesis statement fit the assignment requirements

Here were two drafts that we might think about:

These monuments must not represent hate in any form, so we must consider removing any that no longer represent A, B, and C of the majority of our community members.

 

(These monuments must not represent hate in any form, so we must consider removing any that no longer represent beliefs, values, and ethics of the majority of our community members.)

Although these monuments were relevant when erected, we need to evaluate them based on our current sense of X, Y, and Z of our community members.

(Although these monuments were relevant when erected, we need to evaluate them based on our current sense of racial justice, inclusiveness, and positive contribution of our community members.)

Please add your thesis statement draft in a comment, and check back to offer critiques of your classmates’ thesis statement drafts.

Why Collaborate

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In the article Why Collaborate by Ellen Lupton she explains her views on the ups and downs of collaboration. The author loves to collaborate only under one circumstance, the other members need to have different skill sets and roles. Ellen states that ” A museum exhibition, like a Hollywood film, can’t be produced by one person; everyone involved must learn to get along (curators, educators, designers…” Basically everyone involved in the collaboration is like a piece to a puzzle. Also everyone needs to weigh in and do heavy lifting in the collaboration. Early in the article the author says ” I’d love to collaborate, as long as i can work alone. I often have felt that way about collaboration. Sure its a great idea as long as it doesn’t violate my personal work schedule or on my sense of control and authorship.” Basically she was a lone wolf and didn’t really like to work in groups. As the article goes on she tells us that collaboration is very important, for example Lorraine, Louise, and Rick are in a partnership and they work together to tackle big commissions that draw on all of their talents. Collaboration is important because you can come up with different ideas together with other group members.

Why collaborate?

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In Ellen Lupton’s “why collaborate”, she states both why she like and also dislike about working in group. Group work can go either way, the good way or the bad way. Having a nice group will benefit you not only on your study but also your grade. Ellen Lupton state that “It’s a joy to work on a team whose members have clearly defined roles and distinctive skill set.” Im sure everyone here can relate to what Ellen mean. Having a group of member who know what they’re doing can make the project way easier. Group project can also be frustrating if you have members who decided to slack off “…however, when a few people are doing the heavy lifting and the others are there only to “insure consensus” or “weigh in” on concepts.” In some group work, slackers might exist just for taking other people’s credit, we call them the weight, which is use to describe as them pulling the rest of the group down.

Why summarize?

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In “Why Collaborate?” an essay written by Ellen Lupton in 2005, she talks about the types of group work she enjoys. She likes voluntary and impromptu collaborative efforts in the classroom, but frowns upon arbitrary forced group work. She goes on to talk about how the friends and social networks you create can stick with you for life. These social networks can be a source of artistic inspiration, healthy competition, and informal education. All of which could be more useful than anything you learn in school. She talks about how outside of forced group work and school, many groups of people have voluntarily worked together to do amazing things. New software designers such as the team behind Open Office, are able to create amazing products by pooling together their financial, social and intelligence resources. These young teams of creators are collaborating to create great things. They are able to achive far more than the individual. They also allow the individual to achive much more by giving them exposure. An example is a group of MICA students who collaborated to create a book full of DIY (do it yourself) instructions. They were able to collectively release a book, but also give every author an individual spotlight. So collaborating is one of the skills that actually transend the classroom. Successful collaborations are essentially small democracies. Collaborations help people come to consensus. They help to create greater thinkers and better things

Note-taking

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What kinds of notes did we take?

  • quick summary of each paragraph in the margins
  • underlined anything interesting and annotation in the margin to say what was interesting about it
  • circled words to look up
  • who is the article about
  • the setting of the essay
  • voice/tone of the article
  • look for patterns (creating oppositions of positive and negative about collaboration)
  • highlighted things we agreed with