The goal of this section is to prepare students for the CAP assignment. Through the following days, we want them to be able to:
- Recognize the complexity of positions beyond a simple "pro" or "con" stance
- To realize that people hold positions for different contextual reasons, including one’s personal background (gender, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, class), professional experience, etc. As writers, they need to understand those reasons to argue persuasively to each audience
- One activity that can help them see this is to pick an issue, such as the legalization of medical marijuana, and divide them into groups with specific positions they have to identify (such as people taking chemotherapy might support this legislation because THC alleviates the nausea associated with chemo, while law enforcement officers might have a very different position)
- Also, help them to recognize that writers do not always use the "buzzwords" of many topics, such as "multiculturalism" to announce the issue they are discussing. They may have to dig a little without the essay announcing its purpose/issue. Remember this when they get to the issues grid, especially!
Class Goals: Evaluation of sources and why we evaluate them. Introduce annotation assignment. Consider the connection to critical reading and their writing.
Connection to Curse Goals: Understanding context and its influence on the topic and a writer’s position.
Activities:
- Group activity. Using the guidelines they read in EW, groups should practice selecting a topic/issue (based on the readings), "finding" sources (using the readings), and evaluating those sources (Gatto, Anyon, "Intro", "Report . . . ").
- Using page 116, 29a "The research process": define a topic and research question
- Once you’ve selected your group topic and question, turn to Ch. 30 in EW, "Evaluating Sources", and apply the guidelines to each source. Make a list.
- With these sources, go back to "The Research Process" and develop a working thesis.
- Present your group’s work to the class.
CSOW: How does this allow them to practice what they will need to do for the annotation they will be doing?
- Discuss
main points of evaluating sources in PHG, especially regarding internet sites. Highlight any of the databases in the library that may be of particular use to them.
- Hand out
assignment sheet for source evaluation and go over it. They’ll do for this assignment basically what was just modeled and practiced in the group activity.
Assignment: Read Tannen in PHG and Sadker and Sadker in RA (228) and write a brief source evaluation for each.