Reflection

Nick Franze                                                                                                                          12-1-15

                                                       

Research Reflection

Through the many argues years of school, there has always been my strong suits and weaknesses.  One of those weaknesses has been English, until I took this class.  In the beginning of the course was very frightening due to the unknown, and by unknown I mean the amount of essays I was going to have to write.  I was constantly thinking about the Cliché College thought when entering my English class “How am I going to write an essay every day and how many research papers am I going to write?”  There were some other things on my mind as well; those were what goals I had for myself this semester.  Besides only goals just making it out of this class alive was going to be challenge but hopefully I could conquer this daring task.

 During this course which was a 15 week one I did accomplish multiple goals I had set for myself in the beginning of the semester.  There was a lot of additional stuff that I didn’t even know about writing wise and believe it benefited my writing immensely.  One goal is still sort of evading perfection for me is the in text citation format.  The reason being is sometimes I’m not sure how much of what I take from the source is considered plagiarism, which then causes me to want to cite it all and that’s a very repetitive thing to have to consistently read.  With more practice and more English classes to come, I shall concur my goal and become a more efficient writer.

      Now as far as my research paper(s) that I thought I would have to write, it went very well research wise.  A lot was learned about the controversial Gun Control laws and how much it has affected American lives. Ongoing arguments are formed daily and even debated over.  My personal stand point on said topic was anti-gun control and how the gun laws are so different everywhere. What was learned from researching was what little is being done to control the mentally ill or violent criminals from obtaining gun permits.  Facts on both sides of the arguments were already known to me making writing this paper fairly easy but there was much more info to learn about the topic that also made it that much more interesting.  The best part about taking time out of my day to write this paper wasn’t the hours of research trying to find articles, but the things that were learned about through reading many different articles. 

All of the articles talked not only about gun control laws, but got more specific in certain arguments and percentages affiliated with guns and the gun use issues.  It’s a very controversial issue gun control, many people disapprove and some find it does so much for our country.  So after constructing the format and how I was going to approach what paragraph was going to be talked about certain topics, I began to see elements of writing I learned from class beginning to flourish my paper.  It not only made my paper more interesting to read but allowed for information to be more professionally discussed.  Computer research has evolved from simple searches; more advanced searching techniques which allows my paper to be more interesting.  My grader will defiantly find my introduction and a few of my facts about my topic very interesting (hopefully). 

The makeup of the paper took a lot of work, in the fact that the research process was long and very, very difficult.  Not difficult so much with finding sites, but more what sites I was going to use as well as the information inside.  The topic of control was a wide variety issue and changed every day with another mass shooting or child shooting parent accidentally.  The consistent change in controversies had led my paper in so many different directions that it might not be so totally what was asked of or consistent to my actual thesis.  So many things have happened when writing this paper mass shooting, school shootings, and other non-talked about as much issues accidental shootings, hunting accidents that making sure to find articles based on one thought was a challenge. 

Research papers aren’t meant to be an easy accomplishment, it’s a process to help show how well your research is as well as how well you can put all of those events or facts all together.  Some tips to help out with writing could be more direct in your research and by that I mean don’t use your broad topic as a topic search.  If you’re trying to talk about specific events affiliated with your topic that match your thesis, then those are more helpful and will help your writing.  The research paper was a great thing to experience as well as get a grade back to help show what can be improved next time in my writing.

Portfolio Update: Francisco Elizalde

              So far we have not gone into much dept with the portfolio final assignment. According to the Rubric There are some areas I have began to look at specifically: The organization of my papers, my use of sources/evidence, and maybe the clarity/ coherence. In my research paper, the organization in my opinion is very weak. Partially I believe that the absence of a solid outline/plan caused me to be very scattered when applying my ideas and including sources. I am also not very sure about a lot of my sources, it kind of seems like I have used them as more of an opinion support, than actual data or facts. Lastly, it feels like my research paper might not be very clear. There might be parts where I have not fully explained my argument, assuming that the reader will somehow know what i'm talking about. With my reviewed copy I will have a lot to work with. It will point out where readers had a hard time understanding and what parts I need to work on.    

Portfolio x3 (Nick Franze)

How my research paper is easily identifiable,

In my paper, the thesis is very identifiable and the paragraphs are all in order of when the event took place.  The gun control is a very good topic to talk about and has a lot of argumentative sides to it. My argument is very straight forward and to the point.

 Clarity and Coherence,

Coherence of my paper I suppose could be clearer and more to the point, I do tend to get off topic from time to time and don't relate it back to the thesis.  The clarity of my paper could also be redone a little better, the points in my paper are there i just need to relate them back to the main focus and also make sure my main focus is stated better.

Use of sources and evidence,

My sources are their and they are stated pretty clearly, they just need to be related more back to the original point.  Some of the evidence that I use are pretty much supporting a different type of topic all together or I have made it relate back to my original point by either changing the way I use it, or by formatting it to help emphasis a point that is trying to be made.

Nick Franze Chapter 17

         Chapter 17 talks about how to go about integrating sources and avoiding plagiarism.  This chapter can help with understanding the difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing.  Instead of just copy and pasting, which is illegal, its teaches you how to take what one person sad and make it into your own wording which sometimes makes a sentence and turn it into a paragraph.  Synthesizing is another form of writing that can help avoid plagiarism.  It is sort of similar to paraphrasing but instead you combine paraphrasing, summaries, and quotations injunction to your own ideas.  How to avoid plagiarism can be broken down to, what kind of person are we talking about.  Avoiding plagiarism is broken down to who is willing to write their own paper and who is to lazy to that they just cant cite the work they use in their paper.  But sometimes people who are writing a paper using a source might re-write the statement but really the are writing it that another website might have it written.  These are just sometimes a coincidence in these types of situations that cant be avoided but usually don't get caught.

Chapter 17 Response: Francisco Elizalde

          Chapter 17 talks about Integrating sources and avoiding plagiarism. It is very helpful because it shows the ways you could integrate the sources gathered like the ones in our Annotated bibliographies. Those ways being: paraphrasing, summarizing, quoting, and synthesizing. Paraphrasing is when you restate someones idea and you write it in your own words. Summarizing is kind of like paraphrasing, but you also try to shorten the length of whatever you are summarizing. For paraphrasing and summarizing you will need to document the source. Quoting on the other hand is when you use the exact words of the author, and put in quotation marks, followed by a documentation. Chapter 17 is also very useful because it uses examples to illustrate how you are supposed to document sources. At the end of the chapter, there is a section on how to avoid plagiarism. It also includes a very handy list of tips of how to avoid plagiarism. The most useful tip on there is the very first one which says; Give yourself enough time to do your research and to write your paper. This was very important to me, and it will be a tip I will use in any future papers.  

http://www.mckessonhomecaretalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Homecare-documentation.jpg

Nick Franze

Ethos (Credibility), or ethical appeal, meaning that the more credibility someone has with people the more likely people will follow him or believe in the things he says.

Support bit: 1) my interview with a police officer has more credibility then an interview with someone off the street who doesn’t use a gun every day.  2) The credibility that I get to have with my military personal who is a part of the gun team is very credible.  3) There are different amount of credibility that I can have with some of my interviews will be better than others.   

Pathos (Emotional) means persuading by appealing to the reader's emotions. We as humans tend to fall into emotional situations more than others.  It’s a natural reaction when something bad happens to feel sad or when something good happens to have some sort of feeling towards it. 

Support bit: 1) it’s an emotional subject to talk about with people who have been affected by the use of a gun.  2) The use of a gun is a touchy subject to write about due to all the mass shootings that result in multiple murders. 3) Multiple crimes have been committed by the improper sale of fire arms to either mentally ill people or criminals.   

Logos (Logical) means persuading by the use of reasoning.  More times than not, people like to listen to logical thinking and this is one of those times.  The use of reasoning is a very powerful tool due to its rareness for debate or argument.  The more logical someone is, the more likely that people will believe other things he might say.

Support bit: 1) the pros and cons of owning a firearm have responsibilities that make people a little turned off to wanting a firearm. 2) Statics say that most guns that have used to commit crime aren’t stolen more through the improper sales of gun shops. 3) Mass murder shootings can be stopped through outside force which is why gun control isn’t worthy. 

chapter 16 summary: Nick Franze

To sum up chapter 16 in one word, quick.  The reason for choosing that word compared to another verb is due to the chapters reference to a easier way to find what you are looking for.  The chapter went over tips and tricks to online searching of websites and other databases by describing many ways of searching for content.  It was very insightful as well as informative, there are ways of searching for content that are way easier that I had no idea existed.  These tips will be very useful to use during my research papers for class or other research opportunities in the future.  

Part 1: Nick Franze

The use of guns in this country has gotten out of control, which has allowed a number of school shootings to occur over the past year.  Many argue that restricting guns all together is the proper way to go about this but it will be nearly impossible to accomplish and will only cause more problems.  In the New York Times, the most recent school shooting in an Community College up in Oregon has people asking not mainly for gun control, but many others are stating: 'I want to have a gun.'  One student that attends the community college told reporters that “It’s opened my eyes, I want to have a gun in the house to protect myself, to protect the people I’m with."(Vicari).  If a stricter gun control law is enforced, then this country will fall apart. 

Healy, Jack, et at "Common Response After Killings in Oregon: ‘I Want to Have a Gun’." The New York Times. The New York Times, 07 Oct. 2015. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.

Chapter 14 review: Nick Franze

Argumentation essays is basically like having a debate, but in an essay format.  It has your main idea, followed by supporting facts, and usually uses a persuasive tone when being written.  To help readers understand your appeal, writers connect a the statements being used in their paragraphs.  When choosing a thesis statement, keep in mind that it doesn't have to only be your experience's with the topic.  Using examples of other peoples experiences can bring in a new perspective as well as additional information.  Being well informed on the topic your writing about is key and can help you write a better paper.  You main focus is your own, and the paper should be written based on your position with the argument but keep it in mind that the paper should spark up a debatable position with your readers.  Different types of information that can be written in the exemplification essay's could be expert opinions, your personal opinions, other relatives or friends, or maybe even facts.  It seems that plagiarism is very difficult to do unless you choose a subject that you have had zero experiences with, but why choose something you never had an experience with.

Katherine Jamz Outline: Francisco Elizalde

Katherine’s Thesis:

-Men who have grown up surrounded by a culture of having power over women, push some women to feminism and gender equality

Possible Examples:

-Families views.

-Southern states vs Northern states Culture.

-Women’s participation in sports.

-Why women are often blamed by rapists of “provoking” rape.

-What society has made us believe.

- Does Physical strength between men and women in history play a part in the way we balance power between men and woman? Why that shouldn't influence how we balance power in present time.

https://lifeexaminations.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/reality-for-women-2/

Exemplification Thesis: Francisco Elizalde

Thesis: Social media has, and will continue shaping many individuals in this world into anti-social and disconnected members of communities, who rely on technology as their source of communication.

https://mitchbrant.wordpress.com/2013/11/page/2/