Transcript Academic english iii

ACADEMIC ENGLISH III
September 29, 2014
Today
Doing research on the Internet (adapted from the Purdue
Online Writing Lab – OWL)
Link: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/558/01/
Argument
One of the keystones of university learning
- Expressing a point of view & supporting it w/evidence
- Involves use of research, critical thinking, & logic
A good piece of argumentative writing:
- Demonstrates your understanding of material
- Demonstrates ability to use or apply the material
i.e.) critique, apply it to something else,
explain it in a different way.
Argumentative Writing – How to
Organizing your ideas – Make an outline
Organization type A:
Introduction (thesis statement)
Pro argument 1
Pro argument 2
Pro argument 3
Counterargument(s) and refutation [2 paragraphs]
Conclusion
Argumentative Writing – How to
Organizing your ideas – Make an outline
Organization type B:
Introduction (thesis statement)
Counterargument(s) and refutation [2 paragraphs]
Pro argument 1
Pro argument 2
Pro argument 3
Conclusion
Argumentative Essay – How to
Requires the writer to
1.Investigate a topic.
2 Collect and evaluate evidence.
3. Establish a position on the topic.
4. Support that position.
Argumentative Writing – How to
Requires the writer to
1.Investigate a topic.
2 Collect and evaluate evidence.
3. Establish a position on the topic.
4. Support that position.
The first thing you need to investigate a
topic is…
Research.
Traditionally
People went here for research
And used these:
Photo credit: blog.ivci.com
Photo credit: kmu.ac.kr
Photo credit: www.agoracosmopolitan.com
Research: Traditional vs. Online
Traditional way to put ideas into print.
Write the paper  paper is reviewed by other academics
(peers)  changes are suggested  author makes changes 
re-submits the paper
How to put ideas online
Go to website  write something  press “submit” or “post”
Research: Traditional vs. Online
Using KMU’s library
library.kmu.ac.kr
- KMU has purchased subscriptions to many academic journals
(both domestic and international).
- You can also use the library’s website to locate books in the
libarary.
Search “Applied Linguistics”
Research & the Internet
The Internet can be a great tool for research, but finding
quality web materials and using them to your advantage in
your writing can be challenging.
The need for evaluating sources
- Almost any person can publish almost anything on the
Internet.
- Unlike most print sources, web sources do not have to be
professionally accepted and edited to be published.
Looking for Sources
You want to consider:
- Relevance (to your topic)
- Quality
- Bias
Looking for Sources: Quality
Quality sources are:
- Trustworthy facts.
- Verifiable anecdotes (not, “My dad said…”).
- Expert/Well-informed opinions.
Also need to consider where the source got the information
(first hand: primary or secondhand” secondary).
Looking for Sources: Quality
Possibly Quality:
Poor Quality:
- Journal articles.
- Yahoo! Answers.
- News articles.
- Wiki answers.
- Books/ PROFESSIONAL magazines.
- Wikipedia
- Organizations’ websites.
- Personal blogs.
- Videos (i.e., TED)
- Message boards.
- Naver Cafes.
Looking for Sources: Bias
Quality sources are:
“Studying writing is awesome!”
- Why did the author choose “awesome”?
This may not necessarily be objective.
Objective sources are more reliable because they rely less
on peoples’ feelings and personal opinions.
Looking for Sources: Bias
Chevrolet Malibu (car)
- Chevrolet’s website:
http://www.chevrolet.com/malibu-mid-size-sedan.html
- Recent news story about GM recalls:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/gm-recalls-1-5-millioncars-over-power-steering-issue-1.2593275
Research on the Internet
1.Use search engines to your advantage
2. Identify the web site
3. Examine for credibility
4. Determine depth and scope of information
5. Assess date of information
Types of web pages
Informative pages
Personal web pages
Political/interest group pages
Marketing-oriented or “infomercial” pages
Entertainment pages
Search Engines
- An Internet tool that locates web pages and sorts them
according to specified keywords.
Obviously, Google is the most well-known, but there are
others.
i.e., www.yahoo.com
www.bing.com (difficult to use in Korea  go through
Daum.net)
http://www.excite.com/
Search Engines
Enter: Hong Kong democracy
into the following search engines:
www.yahoo.com
www.google.com
Meta Search Engines
These sites collect and organize results from several
search engines.
http://www.dogpile.com/
http://www.all4one.com/
http://www.metacrawler.com/
Meta Search Engines
Search for Hong Kong democracy
In
http://www.dogpile.com/
Google Scholar
Google Scholar (scholar.google.com)
www.scholar.google.com
“Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search
for scholarly literature.”
Using Keywords
Make sure to read the directions for each search engine to
get the most out of your search.
Use words like “AND” and “OR” to limit your search and get
more specified information.
i.e., If researching tobacco lawsuits and settlements
Using Keywords
i.e., If researching tobacco lawsuits and settlements
- You could use these keywords in several combinations.
Cancer
Lawsuit
Tobacco
Smoking
Teenagers
Legislation
Settlements
Using Keywords
Smart phone use in school
i.e., school smartphone statistics.
smartphones in schools.
School smartphone bans.
Smartphone use in classrooms
Using Keywords
Smartphone use in school
Altering your search – “quotation marks”
i.e.
smartphones dangerous
vs.
“smartphones are dangerous”
Using Keywords
Smartphone use in school
Altering your search - AND
i.e.
smartphones dangerous AND expensive
NOTE: Different search engines have different functions
and commands.
Evaluating sources
Use search engines to your advantage
- Identify the web site
- Examine for credibility
- Determine depth and scope of information
- Assess date of information
Evaluating sources – identify website
Assess the authorship, content, and purpose of the
web site.
This is important because
- many web sources are not checked for accuracy.
- some personal sites are used to express individual
opinions about issues, but not necessarily the facts.
- some sites may have purposes that differ from the first
impressions.
Evaluating sources – identify website
Sometimes the actual purpose of the web site may not be
clearly articulated.
Can be difficult to separate advertising from accurate
information.
Some marketing sites will offer misleading information in
attempts to sell their products.
Evaluating sources – identify website
Examples:
The Onion: http://www.theonion.com/
From last year, one famous article from The Onion:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/kim-jongun-named-theonions-sexiest-man-alive-for,30379/
Evaluating sources – identify website
Examples:
http://www.martinlutherking.org/
Martin Luther King Jr. – A True Historical Examination
Evaluating sources – identify website
The Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html
Evaluating sources – identify website
Examples:
WTO (World Trade Organization)
http://www.wto.org/
http://www.gatt.org/
Evaluating sources – identify website
Whenever possible, try to locate the home page.
You can often do this by eliminating some information from
the end of the URL.
.org .gov
.com .net
.edu .us
.au .uk
Evaluating sources – identify website
Whenever possible, try to locate the home page.
You can often do this by eliminating some information from
the end of the URL.
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue13/music/
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue13/
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/
Evaluating sources – identify website
• Who is the creator of the
site?
• What is the purpose of the
site?
• Who is the audience of this
site?
• Can you purchase products
at this site?
• Is the site affiliated with a
business or university?
• Does the site offer
information about a
particular person or
group?
Examine for credibility
Credibility may be compromised by purposeful
misinformation or by unintentional neglect.
Locating the name of the site’s creator may be challenging.
Credentials may be missing even if the author’s name is
provided.
Examine for credibility
Who is the author of the site?
What is the authority or expertise of the individual or
group?
What else comes up when you type the author’s name into
a search engine?
Does the source have a political or business agenda?
Is the site sponsored by a political or business group? If
so, what can you find out about that group?
Examine for credibility
Does the site provide a list of sources or a Works Cited
page?
Can you locate any of the source material? How reliable is
this material?
Are there links to other credible sites with additional
information?
Does the site provide a link for emailing the author or
webmaster?
Click the following link:
http://www.infowars.com/barack-obamas-de-factototalitarian-nation/
Next google search “Alex Jones”
Determine depth and scope of information
Does the material show signs of research, such as
references to other sources, hyperlinks, footnotes, or a
reference page?
Does the author consider opposing points of view?
How closely does the site really match the information for
which you are searching?
Corroborate information whenever possible!
Evaluating a website
Go to Google Scholar
www.scholar.google.com
Search: dangers of smartphones
- Click on the first result
“Paranoid Android”
Evaluating a website
Compare the following:
http://studentblog.worldcampus.psu.edu/index.php/2014/03
/the-dangers-of-smartphones-and-why-putting-it-downmay-help-you-in-school/
http://www.macdigita.com/technology/smartphones-suck/
Evaluating a website
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
DO NOT cite Wikipedia in any paper.
- It is an open-access encyclopedia, meaning almost
anyone can alter/edit the content of an entry.
- The information on a Wikipedia page may not be reliable.
Evaluating a website
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
- You may use Wikipedia as a starting point for gathering
information, though.
i.e., search “Toyota recall”
Evaluating a website
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
- You may use Wikipedia as a starting point for gathering
information, though.
i.e., search “Toyota recall”
- The “References” section provides you with possible
sources of information.
Resources
- Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab
“Searching the Worldwide Web”
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/558/01/
- Internet Detective:
http://www.vtstutorials.ac.uk/detective/