The beginning of 'No Impact Man" is a summary of why the author wants to go an entire year without producing waste and carbon dioxide. At first he wanted to write a book that involved telling people what they are doing wrong and how terrible of people they are for emitting too much carbon dioxide. Producing carbon dioxide is inevitable. Everyone produced it, even while breathing. But the author soon came to realize that basically telling readers that they are terrible people would not be a productive way of approaching the situation. As a fellow polluter, he decided that the best way to teach people about their harmful ways and how to solve them is to be an example. He will go a year without producing carbon dioxide and what carbon dioxide he does produce, he will counter with the elimination of others emission such as cleaning waste from a river.
Chapter two starts his long process. During his first approach to being a "no-impact" man, he failed miserably by using a paper towel to blow his nose. The first day. The first time he had to make a decision for the benefit of the planet. He failed. Then he realized something: "This is going to be hard." He went on with his day and came upon another problem. When grocery shopping, does he choose paper or plastic? He later figured out that a re-usable bag was the way to go. He was frustrated with himself because he doesn't know all that he needs to do. He needed to adapt as he learned what the right things to do were exactly. As he moves on through the process he and his family start to discuss what problems they will meet and what they have decided to do in order to lower their emissions.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Ch. 4-5, RR #3
In chapter 4, Wadsworth explores how you determine what you know about your topic, identifying what you need to learn about your topic and developing a plan for finding any secondary resources that are available that will support any research you have completed thus far. There are two kinds of research: Primary Research and Secondary Resources. Primary research is when you go straight to the source of your topic to answer any questions that you still may have. A Secondary Resource, is when the information you receive about your topic, does not come directly from the primary source. The book goes on by helping the reader choose when they should use primary research or secondary resources by focusing on the audience, the topic/question and the author. Multiple types of resources are provided such as: Static, syndicated and dynamic. Also, there are three ways that texts are viewed: Edited, peer reviewed and self-published.
In chapter 5, Wadsworth explored how to go about developing a research plan, what ethical considerations are important to keep in mind, how to interpret and present the results of primary research and when and how to conduct interviews, observations and surveys. According to Wadsworth, there are three types of primary research: Observations, Interviews and Surveys. Also, there are three methods of data collection: Gathering your data through your own senses, asking questions of one or more people in person and asking questions of larger groups of people. Double-entry journals are used in order for writers to keep their observations and analysis/responses separate.
These chapters were very helpful when reading. When conducting research, it is important to make a list of what you already know about your topic and what you don't know yet, but need to know in order to write your paper. Writing down these items will not get the answers for you, but instead you as the writer need to come up with an organized and efficient way of coming up with the answers needed. Determining when to use primary research and secondary resources is now understandable. This only flowed over into chapter five when the book explored how to go about developing a research plan which was very helpful to me because coming up with a research plan has never been a practice I had acquired during research activities.
In chapter 5, Wadsworth explored how to go about developing a research plan, what ethical considerations are important to keep in mind, how to interpret and present the results of primary research and when and how to conduct interviews, observations and surveys. According to Wadsworth, there are three types of primary research: Observations, Interviews and Surveys. Also, there are three methods of data collection: Gathering your data through your own senses, asking questions of one or more people in person and asking questions of larger groups of people. Double-entry journals are used in order for writers to keep their observations and analysis/responses separate.
These chapters were very helpful when reading. When conducting research, it is important to make a list of what you already know about your topic and what you don't know yet, but need to know in order to write your paper. Writing down these items will not get the answers for you, but instead you as the writer need to come up with an organized and efficient way of coming up with the answers needed. Determining when to use primary research and secondary resources is now understandable. This only flowed over into chapter five when the book explored how to go about developing a research plan which was very helpful to me because coming up with a research plan has never been a practice I had acquired during research activities.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Wadsworth Ch. 2-3, RR #2
Chapter two focuses doesn't focus on step on how to write a paper, but the research and writing process instead. It covers the steps on planning and researching materials so that when you do need to start writing the paper, you have already began the planning for it. Chapter two explores four main points in the research and writing process: Myths about writing and research, classical and contemporary writing processes, basic research and comparisons of writing and research in different academic disciplines.
There are three myths provided: 1) You must complete each step in the writing process. This is a myth because it is not always necessary for the writer to cover each step in the writing process. Only do what is necessary in writing a paper. 2) Each step is equally important and time-consuming. This is a definite myth because in writing, not only are the steps not equally important but they also take different amounts of time to complete. 3) The steps are linear. There is not a defined way that you must go about using these steps in the writing process. A writer may jump from one step to another when writing a paper (Shown in Figure 2.3 on page 19)
When covering the foundations in Classical Rhetoric, five key terms are given: Invention, Arrangement, Style, Memory and Delivery. These five terms construct available means of persuasion.
In chapter three, the book explored three main points: Analyzing a writing situation, choosing a topic and focusing a topic by research question. The first topic covered in "Analyzing a writing situation" is the term: Kairos. Whenever communication is needed in a situation, the situation can be considered "Kairotic." The book continues to go and gives ways to take advantage of Kairos.
When considering the situation you are in, you need to think of related topics to your writing topic such as the purpose of your writing, who the audience is and the author of the book.
When generating topics it is best to first find out what you really find important. Finding a topic to write about is one of the most difficult steps in writing a paper. It's the first decision you have to make.
In my personal situation, coming up with my topic has always been the hardest part of writing a paper. I would never fully commit to a topic and I would always second guess the topic I did write about. It's best for me to start by writing down multiple topics that interest me. From there, I continue on by narrowing down my options until I come up with a couple choices that I feel are efficient. From there I can choose which topic I feel is the best one for my paper.
There are three myths provided: 1) You must complete each step in the writing process. This is a myth because it is not always necessary for the writer to cover each step in the writing process. Only do what is necessary in writing a paper. 2) Each step is equally important and time-consuming. This is a definite myth because in writing, not only are the steps not equally important but they also take different amounts of time to complete. 3) The steps are linear. There is not a defined way that you must go about using these steps in the writing process. A writer may jump from one step to another when writing a paper (Shown in Figure 2.3 on page 19)
When covering the foundations in Classical Rhetoric, five key terms are given: Invention, Arrangement, Style, Memory and Delivery. These five terms construct available means of persuasion.
In chapter three, the book explored three main points: Analyzing a writing situation, choosing a topic and focusing a topic by research question. The first topic covered in "Analyzing a writing situation" is the term: Kairos. Whenever communication is needed in a situation, the situation can be considered "Kairotic." The book continues to go and gives ways to take advantage of Kairos.
When considering the situation you are in, you need to think of related topics to your writing topic such as the purpose of your writing, who the audience is and the author of the book.
When generating topics it is best to first find out what you really find important. Finding a topic to write about is one of the most difficult steps in writing a paper. It's the first decision you have to make.
In my personal situation, coming up with my topic has always been the hardest part of writing a paper. I would never fully commit to a topic and I would always second guess the topic I did write about. It's best for me to start by writing down multiple topics that interest me. From there, I continue on by narrowing down my options until I come up with a couple choices that I feel are efficient. From there I can choose which topic I feel is the best one for my paper.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Engaged in Research
Being interested in writing is not a common experience for me. Since I have never been the best at writing, finding a way to be interested in writing was always a challenge. However, last semester in English 103, I came to realize that in order to be interested in writing, I must be interested in the topic I'm writing about; and for the first time of my life, I was.
The assignment was: Problem and Solutions of America. In this assignment we were told to approach a problem of America and give our solution to it. Since I got to choose my topic and I had the power to make it an interesting one, I decided to write about a problem in my major; specifically: Urban Design. My paper would cover the importance of transforming urban environments into an environment that would have the same characteristics of a village; trees, a community feel and detailed buildings, streets and accessories.
Since this was the first time I had ever truly felt an interest in writing, I spent hours working on this project. I was able to use many of my books from my architecture classes as well and interview some of my professors. After multiple drafts and many hard-working hours, I created one of my best papers.
After realizing that I could actually enjoy my time writing if I have a topic I can relate to, I was filled with anticipation to see my grade. A few weeks later, that day came. I got a B. Just a B. Here, I thought this was one of my best papers ever and in my professors eye, it was barely above "average" work.
I realized at that moment that this was a time for learning. Although I had found a topic that I considered enjoyable and spent numerous hours constructing what I considered my best paper, I learned that I didn't care that I received a B instead of an A. That was one person's opinion and I was not going to let that bring down my excitement towards this project. This was my best paper and I was confident in my approach.
The assignment was: Problem and Solutions of America. In this assignment we were told to approach a problem of America and give our solution to it. Since I got to choose my topic and I had the power to make it an interesting one, I decided to write about a problem in my major; specifically: Urban Design. My paper would cover the importance of transforming urban environments into an environment that would have the same characteristics of a village; trees, a community feel and detailed buildings, streets and accessories.
Since this was the first time I had ever truly felt an interest in writing, I spent hours working on this project. I was able to use many of my books from my architecture classes as well and interview some of my professors. After multiple drafts and many hard-working hours, I created one of my best papers.
After realizing that I could actually enjoy my time writing if I have a topic I can relate to, I was filled with anticipation to see my grade. A few weeks later, that day came. I got a B. Just a B. Here, I thought this was one of my best papers ever and in my professors eye, it was barely above "average" work.
I realized at that moment that this was a time for learning. Although I had found a topic that I considered enjoyable and spent numerous hours constructing what I considered my best paper, I learned that I didn't care that I received a B instead of an A. That was one person's opinion and I was not going to let that bring down my excitement towards this project. This was my best paper and I was confident in my approach.
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