How To Blog

Finding Sources

So I was just browsing for maybe 10 minutes and found maybe 10 sources total for everyone's papers (i have emailed those people letting them know about sources).

Finding possible sources should feel like binge drinking. Let me explain. You should be constantly clicking and typing--looking at bibliographies and searching those articles, etc. etc. You aren't worried about the effects its going to have on your body--you just want to get drunk (with texts)--you want to saturate your possibilities until your body can't take it anymore! Once you start reading and reflecting, undoubtedly some of it will be indigestible, or useless to your body--that will be expelled and you will never have to deal with again. But after you expel it, you will feel refreshed. At first, it might hurt---your head with pound with a swirl of titles and word searches, but eventually you will regain your composure and be ready to sit down and eat a good meal (or write a good paper). Your annotated bibliography will be the small amount of stuff left in your body after a good ol' next-morning purge.

Another metaphor: Research should feel like you are romping through a field of research at warp speed plucking flowers without bothering whether or not they make a pretty bouquet.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret: researching is different than reading (I may have already said this in a previous post). Researching is about gathering possible useful material--researching is fast, furious, and almost unreflective (at first). Researching is RE-SEARCHING or RE(S)EA(R)CHING --reaching. . .reaching out.


Reading Articles (a process) 

To narrow down your article selection:

1.) Read abstracts
2.) Read the first couple paragraphs (quickly)
3.) Read the conclusion. 
4.) If it still seems relevant, skim paragraphs. 
5.) If it is a "useful" article, read most of the article and write an annotated bibliography.

My Susan Bordo Source

So, I know I told you all to focus on a textual source. But I am going to suggest that one of the most popular sources that you all found, "“It’s a Face-Lifted, Tummy-Tucked Jungle Out There,” New York Times, June 9." by Amy Spindler, is exemplified in the brilliant corporate satire/horror film American Psycho. 


This film portrays a corporate sociopath, who murders people--women and men--for no real reason. Below is the opening scene of the film, which suggests a creepy marriage between corporate life, beauty, and violence. Unfortunately, youtube will not let me embed this, so I have to merely provide a link: 


Patrick Bateman's opening scene


"There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman. Some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me." 

Synthesis Essays--Class Notes

Class,

I was pretty happy overall with the synthesis essays. I think that our work with organizing paragraphs and the sense of an argument's "movement" really helped you all improve your writing. I also think that the out of class peer review had something to do with the overall improvement of the writing. I'd like to believe that you all took a lot from each other's reviews. Yeah getting those out of class peer reviews in were a pain--not to mention, a pain to grade--but I think it ultimately served a purpose.

I hope that the style lecture on Friday helped you think about your writing on a more sophisticated sentence level. Feel free to review it via the embedded Prezi.

A couple of grammar/style/convention things I saw all across the board:

1.) Titles of essays are ALWAYS in "quotations." Italics are for books and full length featured films (among other things). Thus,  "Achievement of Desire," and not Achievement of Desire.


2.) In-text citations always go at the end of sentence right before the period. Thus, 


Rodriguez introduces the concept of the "scholarship boy," a concept culled from Richard Hoggart's Uses of Literacy (Rodriguez 516).


3.) Punctuation and quotation marks: If you are citing part of a text and you use a comma afterwards, the comma goes within the quotations. Thus, 


Wallace writes that education's purpose is to "just a little less arrogant," a little bit less self-certain (Wallace). 

4.) If you cite a passage that is 4 lines of text, use a bloc quotation, indented 1 full inch to the right. Bloc quotation do not have quotation marks around them. 


5.) A semi-colon can only be used when you have two independent clauses (two complete sentences) to join together.  Thus, 


Correct: Rodriguez argues that the scholarship boy is a great mimic; Freire would agree with this. 


Incorrect: Rodriguez argues that the scholarship boy is a great mimic; and Freire may see it the same way. 


With the addition of the "and,' the second clause becomes a sentence fragment. 


6.) In general, Watch out for run-on sentences. Sometimes we get too carried away and forget to PUNCTUATE. 

Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace

Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace on Prezi

Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography on Prezi

Student Summary/Analysis example take 2--More on Transitions

To transition means to "cross over." Transitions can take lots of time, but I hope I have no mystified them. Transitions should flow easily if the paragraphs are in the "right" order. Transitions are mostly about signalling to the reader where you have been and where you are going. As writers, it is our responsibility to "signal" to readers.

An example (from the previous student example):

In addition to body language, Kanye West’s choice of words to describe himself and to address his critics highlights his egocentric personality. West admits that he “embodies every characteristic of the egotistic,” and in the chorus, he refers to himself as a “21^st century schizoid man.” Schizoid, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is a type of personality disorder characterized by aloofness and detachment from others, little desire or enjoyment for close relationships, “difficulty relating to others, indifference towards praise or criticism, and daydreams or vivid fantasies about complex inner lives.” These characteristics may well describe Kanye West, but it is the deliberate insertion of the phrases “embodies every characteristic of the egotistic” and “21^st century schizoid man” that one realizes that West is fully aware of his arrogant, self-centered personality. This awareness empowers him to ward off any form of criticism hurled at him.

 

The above paragraph deals with the concept of "schizoid." A part of 'schizoid' is an "indifference to praise and criticisms." The writer makes the claim that Kanye West is aware of this condition (because he is referring to himself as the "21st Century Schizoid Man") and argues that this awareness (from the previous sentence) empowers him to ward off criticism. 

 

The below paragraph, then, deals with this "criticism." The topic sentence does not directly say "criticism," but describes criticism: "In the music business, great power draws greater scrutiny from the media and the public." If we wanted to maybe connect these two paragraphs even further, we could start with the word criticism: "Criticism from the media and the public at large is a common phenomenon in the media and the public." This both makes it clear how it connects to the previous paragraph, as well as tells us what the writer will discuss in the next paragraph.  

 

 

              In the music business, great power draws greater scrutiny from the media and the public. As Kanye West points out in his lyrics, many of his critics believe that West is an “abomination of Obama’s nation” or a hated figure in present-day American society.  While such a comment may have at first offended West, West simply shrugs it off and reminds critics that “at the end of the day goddamn it he is killin’ [it]/[he] knows damn well [his critics and supporters] are feelin’ [it].” In other words, despite people’s abhorrence toward him, he continues to excel in both album sales and song charts. His music still resonates with people, and based on his prolonged success in record sales and on billboard charts, people continue to value his music, which is what matters to him most.    


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A less "powerful" transition, because there is not as much connection on a "thematic" level, comes from the same paper:


. . .West deliberately positions these Athenian female characters below him to indicate that women are inferior to him. Throughout the entire video, West stares straight ahead

at the viewer, paying no attention to the characters surrounding him; by doing so, West insinuates that his focus is on his career and that he will not let anyone keep him from attaining and maintaining success in the music industry. 

 

The previous paragraph is mostly "summary," but focuses primarily on body language to show West's opinion of his own position. The next paragraph begins with a simple "cue" to the reader that they are moving on to another point: "In addition to body language. . .etc." We are to assume that body language also "highlights his egocentric personality" (which is less explicitly said in the previous paragraph, but his clearly implied-- "by doing so, West insinuates that his focus is on his career," etc.). Still, the "in addition to body language" signals to the reader that this is another "aspect" that highlights the same thing. Consider how there is a difference between that and merely saying "Also, Kanye West's choice of words." This is still acceptable, but the reader is not reminded of the previous point, which makes it seem as though this is a tacked on point, a "by the way, I also noticed this." 

 

In addition to body language, Kanye West’s choice of words to describe himself and to address his critics highlights his egocentric personality. West admits that he “embodies every characteristic of the egotistic,” and in the chorus, he refers to himself as a “21^st century schizoid man.”

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I hope these two close-readings of transitions helped you understand what I am looking for.