Shannon Grill-3/5/2013

Today we started class by doing a self-evaluation. We filled out a form and rated ourselves on our class participation and left comments explaining our reasoning behind the score we gave our selves. We could also supply Ms. Lang with ideas on how to improve our individual participation.

After we all finished our evaluations, group four presented on chapter four of the Curious Researcher and taught us what to keep in our mind while writing our first draft. The first part of the presentation focused mainly on thesis statements. They discussed how to structure them and what should be included in them. They then went into discussing how to cite sources and the different ways to handle quotes. Some ways of handling are by:

            -Grafting

            -Sandwiching

            -Billboarding

            -Splicing

So when writing our first draft we should:

            -Focus on your thesis or research question

            -Vary your sources

            -Remember your audience

            -Write with your notes

            -Be open to surprises

Instead of doing the group’s project, which we will do later, Ms. Lang had us review what thesis statements are.

First, we must keep in mind that:

-Titles are italicized and capitalized while journal articles are put into quotations

-Just because it is in a database doesn’t mean it is scholarly

-And just because it is published anywhere doesn’t mean it is credible

We then watched a young girl rap about thesis statements. It was funny and annoying.

Remember that a thesis is not a:

-Statement of fact

-Opinion

-Statements of belief or faith

After reviewing what a thesis was, Ms. Lang had us do an activity. First we were required to write about our research topic and write at least five sentences. Then we passed it to the person to our left. Next we read what our neighbor wrote and summarized it in three sentences and then once again passed it to the left. Finally we read the next paper and summarized the three lines into one sentence. From this one sentence we could now create a thesis statement.

Homework:

Chapter 5 of the Curious Researcher

First Draft of our second paper (2 copies)

            Half Draft (5 pages)

                        Should have:

                        -Thesis

                        -Analysis

                        -Research

                        -Citations

                        Should not have:

                        -Conclusion

                        -Firm Structure