Academic Writing—Peer OR Self-Reviewing an Argumentative Essay Draft

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Reviewer:

Writer:

What is the writer’s thesis statement? (If you cannot figure it out, ask the writer):

For each area that needs additions and/or reworking, mark your peer’s paper with the appropriate symbol, for example, “1b” if the writer needs to work on the five or six paragraph format.

1. Essay format and development of body paragraphs:

a. The paper needs to be expanded to meet the 500-700 word length (Mark with 1a).

b. The writer needs to work on developing the five or six paragraph format (1b).

c. The writer needs to develop one or more of the body paragraphs (1c).

2. Research sources and use of sources:

a. The writer has not used any outside research sources (Mark 2a and return the paper to the writer, who should see me immediately).

b. The writer needs to use more outside research sources (2b).

c. The writer needs to refer to the source within the text itself, for example, “According to Smith (2009)...” or “The author of ‘Child Development’ (2006) stated that...” (2c).

d. The writer needs to work on his or her reasoning skills, to develop inferences, and to arrive at his/her own opinions, supported by his/her research sources (2d).

3. Paraphrasing and quoting (based on the source brought to class by the writer):

a. The writer has plagiarized by cutting and pasting a significant amount of source material without using quotation marks. (Mark with 3a and return the paper to the writer, who then should see me immediately–not to be punished, but to be advised).

b. While the writer has made an attempt to paraphrase the source material, he or she still needs to work on the proper paraphrasing of research sources (3b).

c. The writer needs to use quotation marks around text that is more than three consecutive words from the original, unless it is a common English phrase. If you are not sure, ask the instructor (3c).

4. Counterarguments:

a. The writer needs to recognize one or more counterarguments (4a).

b. The writer needs to accommodate one or more counterarguments (4b).

c. The writer needs to refute one or more counterarguments (4c).

5. Introduction and conclusion:

a. The writer needs to develop an appropriate and interesting introduction, with the thesis at the end of the paragraph (5a).

b. The writer needs to develop an appropriate and interesting conclusion, which includes a restatement of the thesis, but in different words (5b).

6. Transition signals:

a. The writer needs to incorporate some appropriate transition signals from paragraph to paragraph and for comparing and contrasting ideas within paragraphs. (“In addition,” “however,” “thus,” “on the other hand,” etc.) (Mark areas with 6a). See the handout from Fall 2009 semester.

7. Overall writing quality (Choose ONE–and be honest, please):

a. Even for a draft, the overall writing quality is good; however, the writer should expect to do some minor editing and revision for the final paper (7a).

b. The quality of writing is what one would expect of a rough draft, but the writer should expect to do some significant editing and revision (7b).

c. The quality of writing is lower than one would expect, even for a draft, so the writer should expect to do some extensive editing and revision (7c).

8. APA documentation:

a. Missing internal citations. The writer needs to incorporate internal citations within the text to attribute all source material (Mark, within the text itself, all missing citations with 8a).

b. Incorrect internal citations. The writer needs to incorporate proper internal citations within the text to attribute properly all source material (Mark, within the text itself, all incorrect citations with 8b).

c. Missing References list. At the end of the essay, the writer needs to add a reference list, following the format as specified in the APA handout (Mark the end of the essay with 8c).

d. Missing Reference entries. The writer needs to add one or more reference entries in the reference list, following the format as specified in the APA handout (Mark, within the reference list itself, missing entries with 8d).

e. Incorrect References. The writer needs to develop a proper reference list, following the format as specified in the APA handout (Mark, within the reference list itself, all incorrect citations 8e).

f. Alphabetical order of References. The writer needs to re-order the list in alphabetical order, according to the author’s last name or (if the name of the author is unknown) according to the first word of the article’s title (Mark, after “References” title, 8f).

9. Reviewer’s narrative comments (about three or four sentences that focus on the most urgent areas that the writer needs to work on and/or correct–and be honest, please):

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Academic Writing--The Persuasive Essay: Introductions and Conclusions (Marked Group Work)

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Click on each image for a larger view:

Groups 1 and 5


Group 2


Group 4

The unreadable blue highlighted text in dialogue bubble JSS10:

Very good conclusion.

Your group is the only one that wove in the thesis statement very seamlessly.

It’s short and to the point, but very powerful.

___________________________________________

Source for exercise (includes the complete essay):

Cell [Mobile] Phone Use Should be Banned While Driving.

_________________________________________

Note: the original essay does NOT have good internal documentation, but, for this exercise, we were concerned only with developing solid introductions and conclusions.
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American Literature--The Story of Little Black Sambo (Helen Bannerman, 1889)

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1899 cover, Illustrated by Helen Bannerman
(Note to the casual reader: this story and the accompanying graphic have been posted as part of a lesson on Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison. The webmaster is well-aware of the controversy surrounding this story, written by a white English lady in 1889, who had lived in India for 32 years. If you disagree with the webmaster's decision to post this story, you are entitled to your opinion. However, please do not email about why this piece should or should not be posted on an academic site. I will ignore all emails regarding this matter. Thank you.)

PREFACE
There is very little to say about the story of LITTLE BLACK SAMBO. Once upon a time there was an English lady in India, where black children abound and tigers are everyday affairs, who had two little girls. To amuse these little girls she used now and then to invent stories, for which, being extremely talented, she also drew and coloured the pictures.

Among these stories LITTLE BLACK SAMBO, which was made up on a long railway journey, was the favourite; and it has been put into a DUMPY BOOK, and the pictures copies as exactly as possible, in the hope that you will like it as much as the two little girls did.

The Story of Little Black Sambo.

Once upon a time there was a little black boy, and his name was Little Black Sambo.

And his mother was called Black Mumbo.

And his father was called Black Jumbo.

And Black Mumbo made him a beautiful little Red Coat, and a pair of beautiful little blue trousers.

And Black Jumbo went to the Bazaar, and bought him a beautiful Green Umbrella, and a lovely little Pair of Purple Shoes with Crimson Soles and Crimson Linings.

And then wasn't Little Black Sambo grand?

So he put on all his Fine Clothes, and went out for a walk in the Jungle. And by and by he met a Tiger. And the Tiger said to him, "Little Black Sambo, I'm going to eat you up!" And Little Black Sambo said, "Oh! Please Mr. Tiger, don't eat me up, and I'll give you my beautiful little Red Coat." So the Tiger said, "Very well, I won't eat you this time, but you must give me your beautiful little Red Coat." So the Tiger got poor Little Black Sambo's beautiful little Red Coat, and went away saying, "Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle."

And Little Black Sambo went on, and by and by he met another Tiger, and it said to him, "Little Black Sambo, I'm going to eat you up!" And Little Black Sambo said, "Oh! Please Mr. Tiger, don't eat me up, and I'll give you my beautiful little Blue Trousers." So the Tiger said, "Very well, I won't eat you this time, but you must give me your beautiful little Blue Trousers." So the Tiger got poor Little Black Sambo's beautiful little Blue Trousers, and went away saying, "Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle."

And Little Black Sambo went on, and by and by he met another Tiger, and it said to him, "Little Black Sambo, I'm going to eat you up!" And Little Black Sambo said, "Oh! Please Mr. Tiger, don't eat me up, and I'll give you my beautiful little Purple Shoes with Crimson Soles and Crimson Linings."

But the Tiger said, "What use would your shoes be to me? I've got four feet, and you've got only two; you haven't got enough shoes for me."

But Little Black Sambo said, "You could wear them on your ears."

"So I could," said the Tiger: "that's a very good idea. Give them to me, and I won't eat you this time."

So the Tiger got poor Little Black Sambo's beautiful little Purple Shoes with Crimson Soles and Crimson Linings, and went away saying, "Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle."

And by and by Little Black Sambo met another Tiger, and it said to him, "Little Black Sambo, I'm going to eat you up!"

And Little Black Sambo said, "Oh! Please Mr. Tiger, don't eat me up, and I'll give you my beautiful Green Umbrella." But the Tiger said, "How can I carry an umbrella, when I need all my paws for walking with?"

"You could tie a knot on your tail and carry it that way," said Little Black Sambo. "So I could," said the Tiger."

Give it to me, and I won't eat you this time." So he got poor Little Black Sambo's beautiful Green Umbrella, and went away saying, "Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle."

And poor Little Black Sambo went away crying, because the cruel Tigers had taken all his fine clothes.

Presently he heard a horrible noise that sounded like "Gr-r-r-r-rrrrrr," and it got louder and louder. "Oh! dear!" said Little Black Sambo, "there are all the Tigers coming back to eat me up! What shall I do?" So he ran quickly to a palm-tree, and peeped round it to see what the matter was.

And there he saw all the Tigers fighting, and disputing which of them was the grandest. And at last they all got so angry that they jumped up and took off all the fine clothes, and began to tear each other with their claws, and bite each other with their great big white teeth.

And they came, rolling and tumbling right to the foot of the very tree where Little Black Sambo was hiding, but he jumped quickly in behind the umbrella. And the Tigers all caught hold of each other's tails, as they wrangled and scrambled, and so they found themselves in a ring round the tree.

Then, when the Tigers were very wee and very far away, Little Black Sambo jumped up, and called out, "Oh! Tigers! why have you taken off all your nice clothes? Don't you want them any more?" But the Tigers only answered, "Gr-r-rrrr!"

Then Little Black Sambo said, "If you want them, say so, or I'll take them away." But the Tigers would not let go of each other's tails, and so they could only say "Gr-r-r-rrrrrr!"

So Little Black Sambo put on all his fine clothes again and walked off.

And the Tigers were very, very angry, but still they would not let go of each other's tails. And they were so angry, that they ran round the tree, trying to eat each other up, and they ran faster and faster, till they were whirling round so fast that you couldn't see their legs at all.

And they still ran faster and faster and faster, till they all just melted away, and there was nothing left but a great big pool of melted butter (or "ghi," as it is called in India) round the foot of the tree.

Now Black Jumbo was just coming home from his work, with a great big brass pot in his arms, and when he saw what was left of all the Tigers he said, "Oh! what lovely melted butter! I'll take that home to Black Mumbo for her to cook with."

So he put it all into the great big brass pot, and took it home to Black Mumbo to cook with.

When Black Mumbo saw the melted butter, wasn't she pleased! "Now," said she, "we'll all have pancakes for supper!"

So she got flour and eggs and milk and sugar and butter, and she made a huge big plate of most lovely pancakes. And she fried them in the melted butter which the Tigers had made, and they were just as yellow and brown as little Tigers.

And then they all sat down to supper. And Black Mumbo ate Twenty-seven pancakes, and Black Jumbo ate Fifty-five but Little Black Sambo ate a Hundred and Sixty-nine, because he was so hungry.

Controversial History of “Little Black Sambo”

“Little Black Sambo,” A Later Cover

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Creative Writing--Prompt #7

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Keep in mind that you are NOT required to use these prompts for your drafts. They are just brainstorming tools. However, you MAY use these prompts to develop your drafts. In short, it is up to you. You can also use them at another time during the semester, not just this week.

Option #1 (200-250 words):

Write a short memoir about a time that you said or did something embarrassing and/or nasty to someone, an action for which you later regretted. In your piece, note how the wronged person reacted, and develop a scene that includes some recreated dialogue between you and that person, which may or may not include an apology. If the event took place a long time ago, reflect on how your actions affected your subsequent relationship with that person. In order to protect the innocent person, you may change the name of the wronged person. If you submit such a piece, I will assume that this is private writing, unless you tell me otherwise.

Option #2 (200-250 words):

Write a short memoir about a time that someone else said or did something embarrassing and/or nasty to you. In your piece, note how you (1) WANTED to react to this person’s actions and (2) how you REALLY reacted. If this person apologized to you, discuss whether or not the apology was acceptable to you. In other words, did the apology seem sincere? In this mini-memoir, develop a scene that includes some recreated dialogue between you and that person. If the event took place a long time ago, reflect on what that person’s action means to you now and how that person’s action has affected your subsequent relationship. In order to protect the guilty person, you may change the name of the wrong-doing person. If you submit such a piece, I will assume that this is private writing, unless you tell me otherwise.

Option #3 (200-250 words):

Write a travel essay about an important journey (meaning “vacation” in American English or “holiday” in British English).

A special suggestion for 4th year students: compare and contrast your traditional 4th year trip to your metaphorical journey through your four years of university.

For Option #3

Here are some examples of travel writing: Traveler Tales

Some characteristics of good travel writing: Suite101

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Creative Writing—Prompt #6

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Keep in mind that you are NOT required to use these prompts for your drafts. They are just brainstorming tools. However, you MAY use these prompts to develop your drafts. In short, it is up to you. You can also use them at another time during the semester, not just this week.

Option #1 (200-250 words):

In the style of Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants write, from the 3rd person, objective point of view, a recreated dialogue between you and a real significant other. In a sense, I’m asking you to observe yourself interacting with another person but from a “dispassionate distance,” which means you won=t have access to your own thoughts; you will simply observe yourself as others observe you. In the objective point of view, the “narrator” is an invisible presence, very much like a journalist or video camera that does NOT offer “evaluations” of the characters or action, but simply “records” concrete details and dialogue. You may incorporate description of action and setting, but it must be rooted in the physical world, having to do with the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell—in other words, nothing abstract or “evaluative” in the narrative sections.

Option #2 (200-250 words):

In the ironic and sarcastic style of Zoo York a New Yorker “casual,” write an essay about Skopje 2014 or any government project or policy with which you disagree.

Option #3 (200-250 words):

No matter what genre, a good writer often describes vivid physical details about the people, time, and place of an event. In this exercise, study the above photograph of the child at the fence, and describe the physical details, just as you see them, with no interpretation as to meaning. Just describe what you actually see.

Option #4 (200-250 words):

Select a favorite family photograph that was shot during an important family event. Write an essay about that event, using the photograph to describe setting of time, setting of place, and descriptions of family members.

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Academic Writing--Marked Paraphrasing Group Exercises

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Your marked paraphrasing group work is posted below, as jpeg files. To read the content, click on the image, and it will be large enough to read.

The links are to the original essays.

Group 1--Should Dangerous Sports be Banned? Yes!


Groups 2 and 3--Save Our Sports!


Group 4--Should Parents Resort to Physical Punishment in Order to Discipline Their Children?


Group 5--Should Animals be Tested for the Advancement of Scientific Research?

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Creative Writing--Prompt #5

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Keep in mind that you are NOT required to use these prompts for your drafts. They are just brainstorming tools. However, you MAY use these prompts to develop your drafts. In short, it is up to you. You can also use them at another time during the semester, not just this week.

Option #1 (200-250 words):

Starting with today's date, begin a 7-day journal. In this journal, you should make important and vivid observations about the world around you, recalling conversations/scenes with friends and others, offering background information on yourself and others, recounting activities done for that day, and noting mini-epiphanies experienced throughout the week.

After one week, refer to this mini-journal and write an essay that spotlights the high or low points of your week.

Option #2 (200-250 words):

Read the “found” poem called “The Coffee Fortune Wall of Shame” (see below). I “found” this poem by collecting these coffee fortunes from my various café excursions throughout Skopje and also swiping them from coffee drinkers who left these cute brown slips of miswritten (albeit charming) bits of wisdom behind. There is no rhyme or reason to this poem—I am simply the note taker.

Select one bit of wisdom from this “poem,” and write an essay, using one of the fortunes (misspellings, odd grammar, etc.) as the title. OR make up your own coffee fortune and build an essay around it.

The Coffee Fortune Wall of Shame—A Found Poem

You are wonderful.

Flert.

Don’t fish on a tree.

Unexpected meeting.

Govern without being present.

Pick your words.

Whatever you make, that’s it.

Breathe.

Jealousy is selfishness.

An empty pocket is a load.

Be punctual.

Stand out, don’t be out.

The tired make mistakes.

Help! I’m trapped in an espresso machine!

(Sorry. I made that last one up.)

Option #3 (200-250 words):

Interview a stranger (a store clerk, café server, plumber, etc.) or someone you don’t know very well, and find out some basic information about that person. Then, based on what you have found out, write an essay in that person’s voice. (For an example, see “The Bell Ringer,” by Greg Hershey, which I have emailed to you. After you read this essay, these images will make sense).

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Academic Writing—Counterarguments Worksheet--Assignment #4

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(Due March 19)
Paragraph #5: Counterarguments

I. Please restate your “Working” or Revised Thesis Statement:

5. Paragraph #5: Recognize at least 3 counterarguments and then write a counterargument paragraph (Include URLs for each counterargument):

a. Counterargument #1 (Include URL or book/article author and title)

• Recognition:

• Refutation with Concession OR Partial Accommodation:

b. Counterargument #2 (Include URL or book/article author and title)

• Recognition:

• Refutation with Concession OR Partial Accommodation:

c. Counterargument #3 (Include URL or book/article author and title)

• Recognition:

• Refutation with Concession OR Partial Accommodation:

d. Based on the above counterarguments, write a 100-150 word counterargument paragraph, complete with APA internal citations.

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Academic Writing—Counterarguments

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You may question why a writer taking a position on a controversial topic would want to remind his or her opponent of their disagreement on the subject by presenting counterarguments.

Answer: It is an effective rhetorical strategy.

Orators and writers who include counterarguments are more respected by friend and foe alike. Besides, your opponent is not going to “forget” his or her position and will already have his/her arsenal of reasons why he/she is right.

1. Recognizing possible counterarguments accomplishes three goals:

• Recognition of counterarguments tells your opponent that you have prepared your argument well and have considered the topic very carefully and from all possible angles. You arrive at the debate from a position of strength.

• Recognition of counterarguments shows respect (and everyone wants to be respected) for your opponent, which can be very disarming to both foe and his/her followers, especially those who may be lukewarm in their support of your opponent.

• Recognition of counterarguments offers you a chance to refute your opponent’s viewpoint.

2. Refuting your opponent’s viewpoint well can be one of the most powerful rhetorical devices that you can use. For example,

Recognition: “My opponent contends that all types of homicide are morally wrong;…

Refutation: …however, one can view capital punishment as a case of “justifiable homicide,” which acts as a deterrent for future cold-blooded homicides.”

3. Why concede part of an argument?

• Sometimes what your opponent says will make sense, which would be foolish to ignore. For example,

“I recognize that my administration did not handle the financial crisis well; in hindsight, we should have fired the treasury secretary sooner, but I assure you, that as we move forward, we will solve this crisis in a timely manner.”

In short, even the “best” side can make mistakes; thus, it is best to acknowledge and concede that mistakes were committed, and then promise to move on in a more positive direction.

4. Now why, in some cases, should you accept/accommodate any part of your opponent’s argument?

Accommodating a counterargument simply means that you have accepted part of your opponent’s viewpoint, and, thus, are willing to include that part into your own argument.

• The topic may be so controversial that compromise may be necessary. For example, while you may disagree with your opponent’s pro-abortion viewpoint, you may accept that abortion may be necessary to save the life of the mother. Conversely, if your opponent is anti-abortion, you may need to concede that aborting a 9-month fetus would be murder of an infant and not just a fetus.

• An opponent may have a good point. For example, if you support the death penalty for those who commit capital crimes, you may have to accept the definition of “homicide” as the murder of another human being, for, technically, killing anyone is an act of homicide, whether it is an accidental homicide (killing a pedestrian with a car), intentional homicide (murdering someone in cold blood), or executing a prisoner. But you can still argue for the definition of “justifiable homicide” (killing in self-defense and execution of a cold-blooded killer).

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American Literature—The Color Purple: Guide Questions

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(For those who have not read the book or seen the film, this is a spoiler alert!)
1. In your opinion, does the epistolary structure of the novel work well?

2. How might have this novel worked in a traditional story structure? What would the story gain and/or lose?

3. How is the time period and the setting of the novel/film important?

4. Why does Celie speak in a dialect and Nettie does not?

5. Why does Celie agree to marry Mr._______, even though she is repulsed by him?

6. What does Celie think of Mr._________’s children, and how does she treat them?

7. In your opinion, what stops Celie from cutting Mr.________’s throat with that nasty-looking straight razor (film)?

8. What was Shug Avery’s first reaction to Celie? Over time, how has that opinion changed?

9. What is the relationship between Celie and Shug Avery? Are they Lesbians? Why or why not?

10. What is the relationship between Celie and Mr.____________?

11. After Celie’s sister Nettie refuses Mr._____________’s advances and is cast out of his house, he tells Celie that he will exact his revenge. How does Mr._____________ follow through with his revenge?

12. What is the relationship between Shug Avery and Mr.____________? And why, at first, Celie is relieved at Shug’s presence, even though Celie is afraid of her?

13. On page 112, Shug asks Celie, “You still a virgin?” And Celie answers, “I reckon.” What does this mean?

14. Why do you think that the film de-emphasized the Africa scenes with Nettie, Corrine, Samuel, Olivia, Adam, Tashi, and the Olinka?

15. What is the relationship between Harpo and Sofia?

16. How did Sofia end up in prison for 10 years? What is the difference between the two Sofias: before going to jail and after being released from jail? What does Sofia represent? And why?

17. How does Celie feel when she discovers that the man she has always known as her father is, in fact, not her father?

18. How does Celie finally break away from Mr.___________?

19. Toward the end of the novel, how does the relationship between Celie and Mr._________ shift? Are you surprised? (More obvious in the book.)

20. How does Mr.__________________ redeem himself?

21. What is the significance of the color purple?

22. What do you think of the ending of the book and film?

23. Why does the book open with “Dear God?” and end with “Amen”?

24. The main characters of the book are Celie, Nettie, their father, Mr._________, Shug Avery, Harpo, and Sofia. Director Steven Spielberg refers to the mailbox as “The Eighth Character.” How might this be true for both the book and the film? In other words, what central role does the Johnson mail box play in this story?



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Creative Writing--Bonus Prompt: "I Like You!"

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The following gem popped up in my spam box:

My dear friend!

Come with me to the clover field...

Let our laughter serenade the night, among the red lilies still in bloom.

Make me a bed of purple passion beneath the starry autumn night...

And you will have my sensual heart before the night dissolves into light.

I have no secrets to hide from you. All that I am is yours to keep.

Fear not my hand should leave yours because two our souls are now entwined as one.

Sometimes I cannot find those words to let out what is inside

because you are holding the keys of my heart. I know that I can love you

if you're ready and willing to try. I want to be your best...

Take my hand, take my heart, live in love and bring light in the dark

All I want is you... and you can have me too...

Hugs and kisses

Nika

______________________________________________________________



Most of the time, I don't even read my email spam; I simply delete it.

However, for some reason, I clicked on this message--I think because the subject line said, "I like you!" And who doesn't like to be liked?

The message did not disappoint--What a charming piece of purple prose!

Come on.

Admit it! You have written your share of turgid prose, in both Macedonian and English. I know I have--well, maybe not in Macedonian.

In this "bonus" prompt, I challenge you to write a narrative non-fiction piece, about any event or person from your life, using the most overwritten prose that you can muster.

Then go back and edit out every adjective and adverb.

Compare the two pieces.

Between the two drafts, you just may have the beginning of a polished piece of writing.
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Academic Writing--Types of Web Pages You are Likely to Encounter

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In order of importance, authority, and objectivity:

1. Online publications that had their start as print or visual media,

Including newspapers, TV stations, scholarly journals, and popular magazines. These web pages are likely to be reliable and authoritative. However, for the more popular sites, expect a lot of flashing, banner, pop up, pop under, and slide across ads.

For example, see CNN.

2. Online publications that got their start online,

For example, The Huffington Post and The Smoking Gun. These may or may not be authoritative. Some of them, like The Onion, are spoof/humor pages and should not be used for serious research.

3. Online directories,

For example, Yellow Pages offer basic information on individuals and businesses, such as maps, phone numbers, and addresses. These are fairly reliable, but they are usually filled with ads, like those mentioned in #1.

4. Business sites,

Such as Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer, Pizza Hut, etc. These are basically sales sites that are pushing specific products, so they are not objective and should be avoided for unbiased information.

5. Blogs and personal web pages.

These may or may not be authoritative. For example, my site is actually a blog, but I have a certain amount of experience in my field, so it should be fairly authoritative, and certainly authoritative for my students. However, it may hold very little authority for someone else’s students.

6. Political pages, which always have their biases.

If you use a political page (Democratic National Committee or Republican Party), for a more objective slant, you may want to check out the opposing political viewpoint web page. Some of these pages are operated by downright wing-nuts (or wingnuts, a new word for your lexicon) and hate groups. Be careful.

7. “Made for advertising” pages.

These are quickie “informational” pages thrown up with the intention of making money for the owner after you click on the ads. The content of these pages is usually short, poorly written, and often inaccurate. They usually have adsense banners plastered throughout the page, with pop-ups, etc. Could be dangerous for your computer. Avoid.

8. “Parking” pages.

A “domainer” buys a domain name and parks it on a site like Sedo, Fabulous, WhyPark, etc.; the page is simply a list of links that will navigate you to a company that sells products related to the domain name. The domain owner and parking company then share in the profits. Avoid for research projects.

9. Internet forums, music sites, video sites.

These are simply specialized chat areas for members, children, teens, "internet trolls" (people who spew hate and nastiness over the internet), nuts, etc.

For example, Poets.org and Youtube.com. Typically, not good sources for research projects.

10. Malicious pages!

Clone sites or pages that look like well-known sites, such as Paypal and ebay. These pages are likely to be filled with malicious codes (which can destroy your stored files/programs and/or make your computer into a clone or slave) or phishing links that ask for your user name and password. Often the domain name is CLOSE to the genuine URL, for example, http://wwwebay.com instead of www.ebay.com. See the difference between the two site names?

Sooner or later, you will land on one of these pages, which is why you need to load an up-to-date virus protection program on your computer.
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Creative Writing--Prompt #4

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Keep in mind that you are NOT required to use these prompts for your drafts. They are just brainstorming tools. However, you MAY use these prompts to develop your drafts. In short, it is up to you. You can also use them at another time during the semester, not just this week.

Option #1 (250-500 words):

Take a real event from your life and write it in a drama format. For an example, see

A Possible Scenario at the Police Station

“A Possible Scenario at the Police Station,” an excerpt from my memoir, stretches the boundaries between non-fiction and fiction.

I took a real event from my life: a conversation between Harley D. Semple, my grandfather, and the Sioux City (Iowa) Police Matron, which resulted in my involuntary commitment to the mental institution.

I was NOT present during this conversation; I was locked in another room at the police station.

In the resulting “playlet,” I made a supposition about the conversation that transpired between these two people.

I based this short scene on an important clue that I discovered in my commitment papers: in August 2004, I was able to procure photocopies of them from the Woodbury County Court House. As I read through them, I discovered that my grandfather had originally signed the legal papers for my commitment; however, his name was crossed out and the police matron’s name was substituted.

For 35 years, I had questions about who had really signed the papers. My grandfather had denied vehemently that he was responsible, and, technically, that was the truth. However, these papers proved, beyond a doubt, that he was, indeed, responsible for my commitment; he had somehow “dodged” the technical responsibility by (possibly) convincing the police matron to sign those papers.

My grandfather signing the papers and the police matron crossing out his name and substituting her own name is verifiable. The content of my “playlet” is not verifiable.

The “how” and “why” are unknown; thus, my short drama attempts to answer those unknowns with an educated guess. The absolute truth will never be known, given that the two people involved are now dead.

Is this non-fiction? I’m saying, “Yes and no.” In any case, I have stretched the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction.

Is what I have done ethical? I think so, but I suppose that question is open to debate.

Option #2 (250-500 words):

Take a situation from your own life that made you very angry. In a brainstorming piece, spew that anger on paper, censoring no emotion or vitriol. Just get it down on paper. If necessary, write it in Macedonian (you can always translate it later).

This piece will NOT be art. It will be messy, disorganized, and chaotic. But don’t worry about that—just get the rawness down on the page.

Later on—maybe even months or years from now—revisit this piece and see if an artistic and publishable piece might emerge from this.

Even if you write this piece, you don’t have to share it with me.

I have sent to you (but have not posted and will not post) a brainstorming piece about the room situation that we experienced last class. At this point, I would not want to share this piece with a wider audience, given my visitor status here at the university. However, I am entrusting this class with this very rough and somewhat angry piece. Later on, I may write an essay about this situation, but it would be more moderate than the raw emotion spewed in this draft. But, then again, this piece may go nowhere but here.

I just want to show you that all writers write pieces that may never see revision and publication.

Option #3 (250-500 words):

Develop ONE short scene, complete with narrative, dialogue, description, and action. In this scene, reveal something vitally important about yourself or another person without revealing the information directly; in other words, "Show, don't tell." (You may revise a scene from one of your existing personal essays/memoirs/short stories based on real life).

Remember Milena’s scene with the triplets? Something like that might be a good starting point.

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Creative Writing (Creative Non-fiction): Prompt #3

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Keep in mind that you are NOT required to use these prompts for your drafts. They are just brainstorming tools. However, you MAY use these prompts to develop your drafts. In short, it is up to you. You can also use them at another time during the semester, not just this week.

Option #1 (200-250 words):

Write a letter to your future husband, wife, child, etc., and tell him/her about your life before he/she came into it. If that person is already in your life, write from your past perspective. (From Writer's Digest online)

(You may recognize this idea from last semester as a fiction prompt.)

Option #2 (200-250 words):

Read “Richard Hickock”: From In Cold Blood (Truman Capote) from Life Writing, pp. 231-237. OR see In Cold Blood, pages 213-219.

In this book, author Truman Capote reported on the brutal Clutter murder, which took place in Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959. Capote invented or, at the very least, expanded on a style of non-fiction writing called “new journalism” (also known as “literary journalism”) in which the “reporter” participates in the “story,” even though he or she was not there, and sometimes long after the event has occurred.

In a “new journalism”/“literary journalism” piece of your own, write about a familiar event that occurred, but one in which you did not actively participate. However, in your essay, pretend that you were there and taking down notes as the event unfolded. You may have to interview people (perhaps start with a family event). You may recreate dialogue (Capote sure did).

The event you choose does not have to be about a brutal event, such as a murder and execution. You may also use a photograph (see Option #3) to write your new or literary journalism piece.

Option #3 (200-250 words):

Find a favorite photograph of a person, pet, or event and write a mini memoir about that person, pet, or event.

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Academic Writing: Topic Sentences and Body Paragraphs—Worksheet (Assignment #3)

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The Scream (Horizontal Mirror), Edvard Munch
_______________________________________________________________________

Before filling in this worksheet, please read this.

I. “Working” Thesis Statement:

1. Paragraph #1: Introduction: (To be developed later)

2. Paragraph #2:

a. Topic Sentence:

b. Body of paragraph (about 100-150 words): Support for your argument or proposed solution, which will consist of solid evidence, offered by expert authors and authoritative publications (both print and electronic), and inferences/ interpretations of your findings.

URLs for research sources:

3. Paragraph #3

a. Topic Sentence:

b. Body of paragraph (about 100-150 words): Support for your argument or proposed solution, which will consist of solid evidence, offered by expert authors and authoritative publications (both print and electronic), and inferences/ interpretations of your findings.

URLs for research sources:

4. Paragraph #4

a. Topic Sentence:

b. Body of paragraph (about 100-150 words): Support for your argument or proposed solution, which will consist of solid evidence, offered by expert authors and authoritative publications (both print and electronic), and inferences/ interpretations of your findings.

URLs for research sources:

5. Paragraph #5: Counterargment Paragraph: (To be developed later.)

6. Paragraph #6: Concluding Paragraph: (To be developed later.)

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Academic Writing—Topic Sentences and Body Paragraphs (For Assignment #3)

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The Scream (Vertical Mirror Image), Edvard Munch
________________________________________________________________________

After reading this page, please fill in this worksheet.

I. “Working” Thesis Statement:

Important:

Your thesis statement is the foundation upon which your essay will be built.

· By the time you are ready to work on topic sentences and body paragraphs, you must have already developed a “working thesis statement,” which simply means that you have created a thesis sentence that (as you work on your issue or call-to-action essay) will be subject to minor changes and “tweaking.”

· Eventually, your final thesis statement will be part of your introductory paragraph.

1. Paragraph #1: Introduction: (To be developed later)

RESIST the temptation to begin your paper by writing the introduction first.

· You should delay working on the introduction because you are still developing your topic sentences and body paragraphs. In other words, you cannot develop an introductory paragraph when your body paragraphs have not yet been written.
· The introduction should be the second-to-last paragraph that you write.

2. Paragraph #2 (Each paragraph MUST support your overall thesis sentence, which is why numbers 1-6 are subsets of “I.”

· Topic Sentence:

This sentence is a summary of the argument or possible solution being covered in this body paragraph.

· Body of paragraph:

Support for your argument or proposed solution, which will consist of solid evidence, offered by expert authors and authoritative publications (both print and electronic), and inferences/interpretations of your findings.

3. Paragraph #3

Topic Sentence: (Same as paragraph #2)
Body of paragraph: (Same as paragraph #2)

4. Paragraph #4

Topic Sentence: (Same as paragraph #2)
Body of paragraph: (Same as paragraph #2)

5. Paragraph #5: Counterargment Paragraph: (To be developed later.)

6. Paragraph #6: Concluding Paragraph: (To be developed later.)

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Creative Writing (Creative Non-fiction): Prompt #2

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Option #1 (250-500 words):

Describe, in some detail, your BEST or WORST elementary, middle, or high school experience.

Option #2 (250-500 words):

Write a personal essay about a tragic local, regional, or national event from your own perspective. It doesn't matter if you were directly involved, but your personal perspective on the tragedy does matter.

For examples, see,

Leap

by Brian Doyle

9/11: Where Were You on That Terrible Tuesday?

by Jennifer Semple Siegel

Option #3 (250-500 words):

Write a complete mini-memoir, following the traditional story structure (beginning, rising action, climax, falling action, epiphany, and resolution), that covers no more than about five minutes. In other words, reach back into your past and select a moment from your life that has had a tremendous effect on your life.

___________________________________________________

Note: You are NOT required to use any of these prompts. These are simply tools to help you overcome writer’s block.
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Academic Writing--Brainstorming Your Topic Worksheet

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Circle ONE:-----Issue Essay-----OR-----Call-to-Action Essay

1. Develop a Broad Topic. Find an interesting controversial issue (Issue Essay) or a problem that needs to be solved (Call-to-Action Essay):

2. Narrow your focus. Develop a specific research question so that you can cover the issue or call-to-action in 500-700 words:

3. Research your issue first on Wikipedia and then other sources. What have you found to help support your topic? Please include website names and links:

4. Assuming that your preliminary search proves that your topic is viable, consider the issue (Issue Essay) or solution to the problem (Call-to-Action Essay) from several perspectives:

5. Develop your thesis. Take a position (Issue Essay) or propose a solution (Call-to-Action Essay) by answering your original research question (#2):

6. Define your purpose for writing the essay (other than the essay has been assigned to you):

7. Define your audience:

8. Counterarguments: List every possible counterargument to your viewpoint (Issue Essay) or alternative solutions (Call- for-Action Essay) and think about how you might recognize, refute and/or accommodate them:
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Academic Writing—Brainstorming for a Topic

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For those who have decided to accept “The Research Challenge,” please select a topic that will hold your interest for the rest of the semester because you’ll be working with it until May.

First, you should be aware that there are two types of argumentative essays:

1. Issue Essay (Arguing a Position)

In an issue essay, you take a position on an issue (usually controversial and up for debate), defend it, and try to convince your audience to accept your viewpoint.

2. Call-to-Action Essay (Proposing a Solution to a Problem)

In a call-to-action essay, you define the problem (which most reasonable people would agree is a problem), propose some solutions to the problem, argue why your solution is the best possible choice, and why your solution(s) should be adopted by your audience. For example,

In the U.S., universal health care is currently being widely debated; most reasonable people believe that our health care system is broken and needs to be fixed. However, there is lively debate regarding HOW the health-care crisis should be solved.

In Macedonia, just about everyone agrees that there is a “brain-drain” problem (smart young people leaving the country to find jobs abroad), but there may be disagreement as to how to solve this serious national crisis.

But where to start? Brainstorming!

BRAINSTORMING! (Issue Essay)
1. Develop a Broad Topic.

Find an interesting controversial issue, such as “The Macedonian Question.”

2. Narrow your focus.

Develop a specific research question so that you can cover the issue in 500-700 words, for example,

Should Macedonia risk losing inclusion in the European Union by insisting on retaining ‘Macedonia’ as its name?

3. Research your issue first on Wikipedia and then other sources.

Wikipedia, a good preliminary source, will reveal if your topic is viable and may offer, in its reference section, some great research sources, both online and offline. However, you may NOT use Wikipedia as a source for your final paper. Everybody loves Wikipedia, but its authors, not vetted by Wikipedia editors, can be wildly inaccurate or can have specific agendas to push or axes to grind.
Check to see if valid and authoritative online sources are available for your issue; otherwise, you will not be able to support your viewpoint.

4. Assuming that your preliminary search proves that your topic is viable, consider the issue from several perspectives—even if you think you already know your own position on it.

This process will help you see the issue in different ways and formulate your counterarguments.

5. Develop your thesis.

Take a position by answering your original research question:

Macedonia should insist on retaining “Macedonia” as its name, for history and the future of Macedonian identity are more important than the current economic crisis.

OR
In the interest of economic viability, Macedonia should adopt another name so that inclusion into the European will be more likely.

6. Define your purpose for writing the essay (other than the essay has been assigned to you), for example,

“My purpose is to convince reasonable fellow citizens and sympathetic Greeks that my position on this issue is the best viewpoint to endorse.”

7. Define your audience.

For example, your audience for the above topic should be fellow Macedonian and Greek citizens and politicians who may be indifferent to or wavering on the issue. Why?

• Explaining the naming question to the entire planet would require too much background and historical information, which is beyond the scope of a 500-700 word paper. In this case, your audience ought to have some basic knowledge about the issue as opposed to John Doe from Peoria, Illinois, who will have zero knowledge about the Macedonian Naming Question.

• It would be futile to try convincing hardcore opponents, so you may have to concede that particular audience to the other side of the issue.

• There is no point in trying to convince your supporters. You already “own” them (In the U.S., this is referred to as “Singing to the Choir”).

So if you know that your audience will consist of both Macedonians and Greeks who are indifferent or not quite sure what to think about the Macedonian Naming Question, you have a real opportunity to persuade many of them to adopt your viewpoint by tailoring your argument specifically to them.

8. Counterarguments:

List every possible counterargument to your viewpoint (as you delve deeper into your research, you may discover even more counterarguments) and think about how you might recognize, refute and/or accommodate them.

BRAINSTORMING! (Call-to-Action Essay)
1. Develop a broad topic.

Find a current problem, one in which there is little debate as to the existence of the problem. In other words, if the problem itself is not widely recognized as a problem, then any proposed solution would be pointless. For example, the Macedonian Naming Question would be too controversial and open to debate. However, “solving the financial crisis in Macedonia” would be a good broad topic because few Macedonians would disagree that a financial crisis exists.

2. Narrow your focus.

Develop a specific research question so that you can cover the your proposed solution in 500-700 words, for example,

How can Macedonia stop the “Brain-Drain” problem, resulting in the systematic loss of our best and brightest young people who immigrate to foreign countries for job opportunities?”

3. Research your problem first on Wikipedia and then other sources.

Wikipedia, a good preliminary source, will reveal if your topic is viable and may offer, in its reference section, some great research sources, both online and offline. However, you may NOT use Wikipedia as a source for your final paper. Everybody loves Wikipedia, but its authors, not vetted by Wikipedia editors, can be wildly inaccurate or can have specific agendas to push or axes to grind.

Check to see if valid and authoritative online sources are available for your issue; otherwise, you will not be able to support your viewpoint.

In this case, for support of your solutions, you might find examples of how other countries are working with their “Brain-Drain” problem and how others have solved the problem. You are not likely to find specific proposed solutions for Macedonia in a global resource. You may need to find regional local resources, such as local newspapers, magazines, and books.

4. Assuming that your preliminary research proves that your topic is viable, consider several different solutions to the problem—even if you think you already know what solutions to propose.

For a call-to-action essay, it’s best to keep an open mind because your research may reveal better solutions than your original ones. At the very least, this process will help you see the different ways in which a problem can be solved and will help formulate your counterarguments—in this case, opposing solutions.

5. Develop your thesis.

Answer your original research question by offering some proposed solutions within your thesis sentence:

Macedonia can stop the “Brain-Drain” problem, which results in the systematic immigration of our best and brightest young people to foreign countries for job opportunities, by implementing the following solutions (Proposed Solution #1) , (Proposed Solution #2), and (Proposed Solution #3).

6. Define your purpose for writing the essay (other than the essay has been assigned to you), for example,

“My purpose is to offer the best possible solutions for solving the “Brain-Drain” problem that currently plagues Macedonia.”

7. Define your audience.

For example, your audience for the above topic should be fellow Macedonian citizens and politicians who may agree that there is a problem but who may at a loss as to how to solve this growing problem. Why just a Macedonian audience?

• Offering Macedonian solutions to the entire planet would be irrelevant and beyond the scope of a 500-700 word paper. In this case, your audience ought to have some basic knowledge about the problem as it pertains to Macedonia. While it is true that Joe Smith in Detroit, Michigan, may have similar Brain-Drain concerns (given the state of the U.S. auto industry as workers flee to other cities and states), any proposed solutions for Detroit are likely to be different from that of Macedonia.

• With your proposed solutions tailored just for a Macedonian audience, you will not have to explain the historical background to your audience.

So if you keep your audience small and focused, you have a real opportunity to offer in-depth solutions to a specific problem.

8. Counterarguments:

List every possible alternative solution to the problem and think about how you might recognize, refute and/or accommodate them (as you delve deeper into your research, you may discover even more alternative solutions).

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Academic Writing--How to Evaluate a Web Page

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1. Introduction

The amount of information that is available on the internet can be overwhelming and daunting, an endless cornucopia of fact, opinion, banality, and chatter.

You can find information on every known topic on the planet, but not all of it is valid. In fact, most of what you read on the internet is just plain wrong or someone’s uninformed opinion (and not necessarily a fact). You might be tempted to use any information that you find on first search and be tempted to run with it—but never just settle for low-quality sources.

So proceed with caution. While there is a lot of information available, much of it is inaccurate, out of date, or just plain incorrect. Before you use any information, you need to evaluate the source to determine if the information is credible.

Areas that should be evaluated:

--Authority of the site’s webmaster and/or writer

--Accuracy of the site

--Objectivity of the site

--Type of coverage the site offers

--Currency of the site (for example, the last update should be recent)

Only after evaluating all these areas should you decide if you want to use the information that you have found.

2. Authority

Is this website a personal web page? Does the address include a term that includes the name of a free provider, such as Blogger (blogspot address)? If it does, or if it appears to be hosted by a service that allows people to post web pages for free, you may be looking at a page that someone created as a hobby. This is not necessarily a reason for automatically dismissing the information, but you should determine if the person who created the page is knowledgeable about the information he or she is posting.

Here is how to determine if a webmaster or writer is qualified to offer certain statements as fact:

• Does the domain name/URL reflect a well-known company name? This information is more likely to be of high quality and should be accurate, although it may be biased (More on objectivity later).

• Determine if the person or company’s name is mentioned on the website (other than in the URL).

• Is the domain an “expensive” generic or short intuitive term and NOT parked on a directory page, filled with ads? If so, it is more likely that the information contained within the site will be more accurate. Such highly sought-after domains are very expensive and have been known to sell on the secondary market for up to $x,xxx,xxx, so it is less likely to be a hobbyist/amateur page.

• Does the page reveal where the person teaches or works? Use a search engine, such as Google, Yahoo!, or Bing, to find information about the person (thus, you need to evaluate research sites by checking out the webmaster/owner and what he or she does for a living).

• Is the author an expert in the subject presented on the website, and is there a link to a professional page that verifies those credentials?

• Is the author biased toward one narrow viewpoint and/or has an ax to grind with another person or group? Is his/her viewpoint controversial and does not recognize other viewpoints that might be considered more valid?

• Does the author belong to a fringe or hate group? (Sometimes these hate mongers are very good at “masking” their true agendas and biases. It is only after you take a careful look at their sites that you realize the author/webmaster’s viewpoint. For an example of a hate site in “sheep’s skin,” see http://www.martinlutherking.org)

• Check Whois (Domain name registration information): All domain registrars maintain registration of domain names, such as Network Solutions, Go Daddy, etc. A good neutral site to check: http://whois.domaintools.com/, which offers very detailed and accurate information about registered domain names.

• Is the domain owner using a proxy privacy service (such as Domains by Proxy) to “hide” his/her contact information? If so, this is a red flag, and you should probably view any information on the site with skepticism.

In short, you will need to determine if the webmaster/writer is truly an expert on the topic he or she is presenting.

What can the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) reveal to you?There are clues that can be found within the domain name itself.

The global Top Level Domains (gTLDs) include the following major extensions: .com, .net, .org, .info, .us, .biz, and .tel (among some lesser known ones), and you will find anything and everything on these gTLDs: the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.

However, official TLDs (such as .gov, .mil [now rare], and .edu) often contain better information than the gTLDs. For example, government websites (.gov, or .mil TLDs) typically contain high quality and accurate information. However, the information is produced by government agencies, which contains information written from their point of view. Therefore, you will need to evaluate if the information is biased towards that government’s point of view.

School websites (.edu) are a little trickier to evaluate. If the page is produced by a department or a professor, the information presented should be accurate and of good quality. However, some schools allow students to produce student websites, which should be evaluated as you would any personal page. These pages are often preceded by a tilde (~) in the URL after the .edu (for example, vt.edu/~etc), but not always. If you are not careful, you may be using a student’s science project as a source, which may or may not be valid.

Country codes (.us, .de, .mk, co.uk, .es, .me, etc.), also known as country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs), are no longer primary indicators of validity and should be evaluated in the same light as gTLDs. In the past few years, country code registrars have opened registration to almost anyone who can pay yearly registration fee and not just government officials and official agencies. NeuStar, the registrar that operates the .us ccTLD, forbids private/proxy registration, and registrants must be citizens of the U.S. or own a business that has U.S. interests, but scammers always seem to find their way around these regulations. Each country regulates its own ccTLD, and some are more restrictive than others. Finding information for each ccTLD can be difficult, so, for your purposes, simply assume that ccTLDS have the same pitfalls as the gTLDs.

A note about .org: when the .org TLD was created, an entity had to be a registered non-profit organization. This is no longer true; this author owns several .org domains, and she has never had to provide non-profit documents to the registrar. Therefore, again, .org domains can no longer be automatically considered safe and valid.

SIDE NOTE: Beware of typo and lookalike domain URLs, such as yuotube.com or youtub.com, when you intended to type in youtube.com. Scammers make big money on typo domains, either through email phishing (fishing for passwords via email or site links) or downloading malware (viruses, Trojan Horses, zombie programs, and unwanted programs that harm and/or slow your computer down) on unaware users’ unprotected computers.

For example, can you see the difference between “savvy” and “sawy”? In some fonts, “w” and “vv” are difficult to tell apart, especially when they are not side-by-side, so be cautious. “1” and “l” are NOT the same characters (The first is the number one, and the second is lower case L)! When in doubt, highlight the URL, place it in a word document, and increase the size—this will offer you a clearer picture. For “1” and “l”: highlight the term, and see what happens when you use capitalize the characters using the font feature: “1” and “l” becomes “1” AND “L.” Also, be aware of the difference between O (a letter) and 0 (zero). IPOD and IP0D are NOT the same (ipod and ip0d in lower case)!

Who wrote the page? You should find out who created (webmaster) the website and who wrote (author) the page content. They may or may not be the same person.

Information about webmasters and authors can be surprisingly difficult to find. Try to find any links that might reveal anything about the author or the site.

Check to see if the author or organization is listed on the bottom of the page in small print, usually in or near the copyright notice. Also look for links that say “About Us,” “Contact Us,” or “About this Page.”

If you can’t find a link that leads you to information about the organization that owns the site, look at the URL. Usually, a reputable organization or business will own the exact domain of its company name (between the www and the TLD (.com, .edu, .gov, or .org, .us, etc.).

For example, if you are looking for information on drunk driving, you might use “drunk driving” as a search term, which will bring up http://www.madd.org/Media-Center/Media-Center/Media-Library/Laws.aspx as an option.

This looks like it might be a good site, but you need to discover who is responsible for the website. Navigating to the page, you will discover that MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is responsible for the page, its acronym at the top of the page and copyright notice at the bottom. If you look at the URL, you will see that MADD is part of the URL. However, if the search engine brings you to MADD.com or MADD.net, these domains may not even belong to MADD but could be “clone” pages filled with malicious code. A clone page, developed by “scraping” the code from the original page, is a replica of that page, often with added malicious code and/or viruses. Unfortunately, most original pages are easy to scrape, and even a non-tech person can do it easily.

In this case, if you check Whois, both .com and .net, along with the .org, appear to belong to the MADD organization (although neither .com nor .net URL redirects to madd.org homepage).

Always scan Whois for more details about the webmaster/owner, such as the Whois Record, Site Profile, Registration, and Server Stats. For some eye-opening facts about the racist webmaster who operates the so-called Martin Luther King site, see http://whois.domaintools.com/martinlutherking.org

Pay attention to the length of time a domain has been owned by one registrant. The search engines reward longevity, and it can be one indicator of validity (although some hate groups are tenacious and tend to hang around for a long time).

Truncating a URL. Search engines do not always bring you to a site’s homepage; they send you to its most relevant page, often a sub-domain URL, having to do with your topic, and, often, the landing page does not reveal what you need to know. To find out more information about the website, you need to “truncate” the URL.

For example, http://www.madd.org/Media-Center/Media-Center/Media-Library/Laws.aspx does not navigate to MADD’s homepage, but, rather, directs to a page that offers links to legal issues connected with drunk driving. To arrive at the homepage, simply delete the sub-domains (URL string AFTER .org, for example, “/Media-Center/Media-Library/Laws.aspx”). You will be left with http://www.madd.org, MADD’s homepage.

Reading sub-domains.There are two types of sub-domains.

The first type places the sub-domain after the Top Level Domain (TLD, such as .org). In http://www.madd.org/Media-Center/Media-Center/Media-Library/Laws.aspx, each “/” indicates a sub-domain. This particular URL has four sub-domains, which could be outlined in a hierarchy as follows (slashes enlarged and in red and bold for emphasis):

.org (1st level or Top Level Domain or TLD, also known as a domain extension)

http://madd (2nd level, not a sub-domain.)
A website does not actually need the “www” alias sub-domain, although some sites will not resolve without it because of incorrect settings in the owner’s domain and hosting panels.

/Media-Center (3nd level, 1st sub-domain)

/Media-Center (4rd level, 2nd sub-domain)

/Media-Library (5th level, 3rd sub-domain)

/Laws.aspx (6th level, 4th sub-domain)

The second type of URL, typically used by large corporations that often have thousands of pages in several categories that need to be indexed, presents its sub-domains in this manner:

http://Laws.Media-Library.Media-Center.MediaCenter.madd.org
(this does not resolve—this is just an example)

Note that there is no “www,” which is really just an “alias” sub-domain, in this type of arrangement. Each period (enlarged and in bold) between the terms indicates a sub-domain, for example:

http://Laws. (6th level, 4th sub-domain)

Media-Library. (5th level, 3rd sub-domain)

Media-Center. (4th level, 2nd sub-domain)

MediaCenter. (3rd level, 1st sub-domain)

(In this setup, each sub-domain needs a different name/designation, so, for this example, I eliminated the hyphen.)

madd.(2nd level, not a sub-domain and no “www”)

org (1st level or Top Level Domain or TLD, also known as a domain extension)

3. Accuracy

Does the site contain accurate information? To determine this, there are several points to consider, for example:

• Is the author qualified to cover the topic? If you can’t determine the author’s credibility or who sponsored the web site (see “Authority”), assume that the information is inaccurate and move on to another source.

• Scan the page quickly. Are there many misspellings, non-standard/awkward sentence structure, and/or faulty grammar? These can be indications that the information may not be accurate, although the webmaster and/or writer may be from a country where English is not the native language. However, on a credible website, country of origin and organization affiliation will be clearly disclosed.

• Read the page for content. At this point in the research process, you should have a basic knowledge of your topic. Does the material on the site fit in with what you have discovered found from other sources, including print sources?

• Are you able to verify the author/webmaster’s claims with known valid sources? If not, then don’t use it.

4. Objectivity

How objective is the website? While Pfizer.com, a major drug company headquartered in New York City, New York, U.S.A., may offer some valuable information regarding the efficacy of its drugs, you should carefully evaluate the company’s claims. For example, perhaps you are doing research on drugs that can help alleviate the symptoms of Parkinsonism. You discover that Pfizer manufactures Benadryl® and claims that this drug is the best one on the market for Parkinsonism. Should you take that claim at face value? Probably not.

On the other hand, Pfizer’s page regarding chemical composition, dosage, usage, indications, and contraindications of its products will most likely be accurate because drug companies in the U.S. are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and factual information about their products must be accurate and up-to-date.

In essence, if a website is trying to sell you a product, you must question its objectivity in terms of deciding whether or not you should buy that product—or use the site as a source to make an argument supporting or disagreeing with that company’s claims. Of course that site is going to hype its products and do whatever it takes to make consumers buy their products, but hype does not equal fact.

Therefore, if you agree (or disagree) with Pfizer about its product efficacy, then you must find one or more accurate, detailed, and objective sources (and not competing drug companies) that support or disagree with Pfizer’s claims.

The same criteria should be applied to political, cultural, ethnic, and religious sites that offer a narrow view of the world. Any site that is slanted toward one viewpoint with no room for opposing viewpoints should be avoided or at least balanced with other sites that espouse the opposite viewpoint and some neutral sites that just report on the issue. While you may personally agree with, say, a religious site’s beliefs, your audience may not buy into your argument if your sources are not balanced and objective.

Even government sites must be considered carefully. For example, Whitehouse.gov reflects the political slant of the current U.S. president and his party. Straight factual information will probably be okay, but content that pushes a certain point of view will need to be balanced by more objective sources.

In short, you will need to determine the objectivity of a website and what affect any biases are going to have on your argument.

How can you determine objectivity? You need to find out who developed and/or sponsored a website, and the best way to determine this: check the authority of the webmaster/author, which will bring you right back to section 2 (Authority).

Objectivity is one of the most difficult aspects to determine, but if you are serious about your research work, you must select your sources carefully, which means taking the time to understand the viewpoints of your various sources.

5. Coverage

Does the source adequately cover the information that you are seeking (sometimes the blurbs can be deceiving and meta-tags—codes that you cannot see, except in html—may be irrelevant and simply the fruits of the webmaster’s “keyword spamming” project)? Does it cover your topic in depth? Does the source try to offer a balanced coverage of the topic? Finally, does the website offer related links to other websites, even those that offer opposing viewpoints? If so, this website could be useful for your research, assuming that the site also passes the Authority, Accuracy, Objectivity, and Currency tests.

Make sure that your source offers real content, not just an abstract or summary of an article. If you find the abstract intriguing and relevant to your topic, then try to find the full article, even if you have to read it in print. Often, colleges and universities belong to interlibrary loan consortiums, which offer you access to more sources than your college library can offer on its own.

6. Currency

Two crucial questions for determining currency: when was the page last updated, and how will the age of the information affect your argument?

If you are searching for biographical information on William Shakespeare, a page that was last updated seven years ago will probably still offer solid information (if not great recent scholarly discoveries, such as newly-discovered manuscripts), assuming that the site passes the Authority, Accuracy, Objectivity, and Coverage tests.

However, if you are researching topics that are changing at a rapid pace, the information on a site that was last updated six months ago could be stale and seriously out-of-date, for example, scientific discoveries and the newest computer gadgets and software.

Determining currency is relatively easy; blogs automatically include a complete date for each update (although dates on blogs can be manipulated). For regular websites, check the copyright dates. Many abandoned and old sites will have older copyright dates.

Read the content. If the writer hails the 1-gigabyte hard drive as the greatest technological discovery since sliced bread, then you know your information is seriously out-of-date.

Click on the links; if many of them are broken or lead to irrelevant sites, then you are likely looking at an outdated site.

Check the Registration tab in Whois. If the site registration is about to expire or is in “Redemption Period” or “Pending Deletion,” chances are the domain name (and, perhaps, the site itself) will soon be owned by someone else.

Just use common sense when using website sources for information that needs to be current and on the cutting edge.

In conclusion, much of the information presented here on Authority, Accuracy, Objectivity, Coverage, and Currency can also be applied to print sources. However, these sources tend to be easier to evaluate, simply because print materials, for non-professional publishers, are often too expensive to produce. On the other hand, websites are often hosted for free or very little money, so on the web, anyone can be a publisher.
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