Overview: For this week's Writing Exercise, I am asking you to consider how different sources provide different kinds of information that is useful for different reasons. You will run a search on your topic in different sources and report back on the differences you see. 

For a discussion of how I did the assignment and some discussion about what I'm asking you to do (and why) watch the video on the syllabus before trying to do this assignment. 

BEFORE YOU POST:

1. Determine some key words from your research question. For instance, if I am researching the cost versus benefit of attending college, one thing I might research is "Student Debt". So that could be my search term. 
2. Search for your key terms on wikipedia.  You can read about what I learned about student debt on wikipedia (if you want) by clicking on this link here. 
3. Search for your key terms in any search engine. I'm using google here, but you can use whatever you want. Here is a link to an example of what I found doing a google search.
4. Search for your key terms in a scholarly database. I'm using Jstor through the BSU library. Here is a sample of the article I located using Jstor:

Once you've run your searches and located your sources, skim them. I'm not asking you to read them super carefully. You don't need to do that for this assignment. 
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WHAT TO POST: In about 250 words, write about what your different sources have in common in terms of the kinds of information they give you about your topic. In what ways does the information seem different across these different sources? Why would you choose wikipedia over JSTOR? Is there a time when that might be the best choice? Are there other times where the google search would not work? Try to be as specific as possible. 

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BEFORE YOU POST: You might want to review the lists of verbs that we worked with last week. You can find them by clicking on this link.  Also, obviously, read the two articles listed on the syllabus for today:

​“Student Debt is Transforming the American Family” The New Yorker September 2, 2019
By Hua Hsu
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/09/student-debt-is-transforming-the-american-family

“Are Student Loans The Next Mortgage Crisis?” Forbes December 11, 2019
By Zach Friedman 
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/12/11/are-student-loans-the-next-mortgage-crisis/#5b8b66b73f86

WHAT TO POST: For this post, please compare and contrast the arguments of the two authors in 300 words, much as you did last week. Again, use at least two of the verbs included from the list; this time, however, rather than introducing the writer's argument alone, please include at least one quote from each of the articles that you introduce using verbs from our verb list. 

PRO-TIP: As you select what to quote, think about what you are trying to do: you want me to understand what the argument of each article is and to understand how the compare/contrast with each other. So select your quote or quotes accordingly.

FINALLY, once you've written your 300 words on the two articles, add a sentence or two more that tells me whether or not either of these two articles could serve as a resource for your research project and the question you are trying to answer. They might not, but they might. Part of learning how to conduct and write about research is knowing if a source is valuable to your project. 

You are not required to respond to your classmates for this post. 

BEFORE YOU POST: Read the information on this website about this project, including the Overview of the Research Project and the complete assignment instructions for the "positioning yourself as a researcher/formulating your question" assignments (available by clicking on the links here or through the drop down menu at the top of this page. 

WHAT TO POST: Try to formulate your research question based on what you understand about the assignment (again, based on the overview of the research assignment). You can try out more than one question if you are struggling to decide what to research for the project (based on the value of a college education). 

Then, try to answer the following three questions. By trying to answer them here, you will help yourself to complete the "positioning yourself as a researcher/formulating your question" assignment that is due on Tuesday, 28 December 2021. 

1. What do you feel like you know about your subject?
2. What do you feel like you don't know about your subject?
3. Finally, what kinds of experience have you had in your life that could affect your attitude toward your question and towards the research? In other word, what experiences might create bias either for or against certain kinds of information that you will find as you research the answer to your question?

THEN RESPOND TO YOUR CLASSMATES: Read through what your classmates post. Respond to at least one other classmate. Can you help them refine their research question? Are there things about the question that you think will be hard to figure out? Do you see any similarities between your question and theirs? Help each other develop the best version of their research question. 

For our second post, we are going to combine the skills that you practiced in the first post with practice writing about multiple texts at the same time--in other words, putting texts in conversation with each other. This is an important skill for research writing. Research is the bringing together of many ideas--of your own and the ideas of others--into conversation with each other. It's like a big dinner party where many people are talking all at once about one subject. 

Before you Post: Please take a look at this list of VERBS FOR INTRODUCING SUMMARIES AND QUOTATIONS. 

For your Post:
1. You have 300 words for this post. it's still not that many words. 
2. Use at least 5 different verbs from the introducing summaries and quotations lists.
3. Identify what each argument is separately.
4. Identify the ways these essays are connected to each other, in terms of argument.
5. Identify the ways these essays are different from each other, in terms of argument.

For the first official discussion board post, I am asking you to write a 250 word summary of our first reading,  “Why Go to College?” US News & World Reports June 17, 2019 By Emma Kerr. For your convenience, I am re-posting the link to the article that appears on the syllabus for our class here: 
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2019-06-17/is-college-worth-the-cost.

Before you post, you might want to watch the video about summarizing that is also available on the syllabus and, again, reposted here for your convenience:

In your 250 words, you want to make sure you:
1. Include details from the entire article, not just the beginning and end. 
2. Make an effort to identify the main point--the thesis, the main argument of the essay--or, in other words, what you think the writer wants you to know from reading the article. 
3. If there are parts of the article that confuse you, you can write about that. 
4. Keep your post to 250 words. Anyone can summarize anything if you can use as many words as you want. 

TO POST: 
Click on the "comment" button in the top right. Fill out the few pieces of info the form asks for, cut and paste your 250 words into the dialogue box.
**You don't need to respond to your colleagues for this post.
***I will serve as the "respondent" for this post. 

You are not obligated to ask questions if you don't have any, but you can use this space to ask me questions about the materials for our course. I will respond nightly. 

HOW DO I POST TO THE DISCUSSION BOARD? 
1. Notice the "comment" button that appears in the top right or bottom left of each blog post. Click on either one of them. 
2. You will be asked to fill out a few bits of information, primarily your name and email address. Fill that out.
3. In the dialogue box below the section for your name, type or cut and paste your response to the prompt question. 
4. Click enter and you are done. 
5. To respond to a colleague, click on the "reply" button on the lower right side of someone's post. Follow the same instructions as you would for posting your initial response to a prompt.