This assignment assessed several things including:
- thesis and/or thesis statement construction
- research and citations
- organization and rhetorical construction and success of argument.
- all the mechanical and format concerns addressed on previous papers.
Several students have noted that the thing they liked most about this assignment is the range and freedom they have to explore their interests. Oddly, but perhaps predictably, that revealed the greatest common challenge we face – the crafting of workable thesis statements.
We need to do a workshop on the difference between a thesis and a topic. I’ve started a page collecting links to resources for the explanation of what a thesis statement is and tips on how to create one. Several links have online “thesis statement generators” which might be fun.
below are some thoughts and responses to what I’ve read this week.
Research
I’m a skeptic. I also come from a different background. You may live in a world where men are dominant and incapable of nurture, and women are never found driving cabs, working construction or in positions of leadership, but I’ve lived in places – both here and abroad – where these things can’t be taken for granted.
Beware of unsubstantiated claims like, “some say,” “research shows” and “people think.” They need to be backed up with some kind of documentation. Without knowing who “they” are, these comments throw up red flags. What informs your opinion could be personal experience, a book or article you read, T.V. program, a video or other media available through ANGEL or class wiki, or whatever – but the reader needs to know where claims come from.
Even if you believe something to be true – imagine your audience. How well do you know them? Would they believe the same?
Several claims reminded me of a report I read that claimed second-hand smoke wasn’t dangerous. When I looked up the original research it came from the National Tobacco Foundation or similar such agency. The research wasn’t rigorous and it was biased. You can learn much by looking at people’s research sources.
Wikipedia is more of an example of a research essay (a tertiary research soure) and not what college professors generally consider to be primary or secondary research source. I’ve long had a love -hate relationship with wikipedia – see previous post. But with wikipedia – it is their sources that are of more use. Check out their sources and draw your own conclusions.
And even if Wikipedia falls under “common knowledge” and therefor deemed unnecessary to cite – you must put anything you quote in quotation marks and provide documentation info on your works cited page. YOU CAN’T CUT and PASTE FROM ANYWHERE on the web without giving credit to your source – and believe me – people can tell.
Quoting sources
A general rule of thumb is that if 5 words or more in a row in your paper are found in your text you must put quotes around it – or if it is over 4 lines long set it off with a block quote. See quoting sources for details.
Anything cited, referred to, or quoted in your text must have documentation info on the works cited page. If not quotes or documentation exists and your reader finds the phrase word-for-word somewhere (and it’s easy to catch – if you’ve taught a subject for a while and/or know how to use Turnitin.com)
Works Cited page
I advocate (and requested for this paper) a “Works Consulted” page rather than a “Works Cited” page per se, reasoning that any work that informed your opinion in researching this assignment should be referenced. I’m encouraging you to err on the side of caution. It’s better to have a source on your works cited page that isn’t referenced than not have a source that is used.
On the works page – each source should be formatted with a hanging indent. It’s visually obvious when that isn’t done. It screams “I didn’t make the slightest effort to use any acceptable format for citations. I spit on MLA, APA, Chicago and Turabian.” For instructions how to do this click here.
Coherence
Sleep deprivation (aka all-nighters), drugs and/or alcohol may seem like a source of inspiration – but the results are not coherent. Reread your drafts and make sure they make sense in the cold, sober, light of day.
Sources
In class, our sources have been decidedly feminist – you may be interested in:
- Cathy Young – proponent of equity feminism. Born in the USSR, but fluent in English as anyone, she’s brilliant and not embraced by either feminists or masculists
- identity politics – I just learned of the term from my dialogue with you all over this paper. I haven’t decided what to make of it or how (or if) to apply the lesson to my class
- wikipedia page on income disparity (thanks P)
- Warren Farrell – only man elected to the National Organization for Women’s board of directors 3 times. He’s now an icon of Men’s Studies.
Questions from my reading of your papers
- What is the relationship between care or nurture and dominance? Are they mutually exclusive?
- Can one provide for another without it affecting power in the relationship?
- Is gender disparity in any profession ever a good thing?
