Learning New Research Techniques

When I began my research paper I felt that my previous papers I had already completed, did not have good enough context to find research on. Once I finally decided to research my technology topic I found it much easier. I did not have a difficult time finding my sources at all; I actually found about eight different ones. My strategy was once I had them all written down I would go back through each source and highlight the important points. Doing so, helped me to plan out the points that I would be making in my paper. While beginning to write my rough draft I was very confused on exactly how I was suppose to incorporate my research. Once I began to write it became evident to myself, that I was actually better at writing quotes then I thought I was.

I feel that during the completion of this paper, it helped me complete the revision process. Correcting one of our papers encouraged myself to start revising all the other papers. I now understand most of all your comments on my papers and I am able to understand all the grammar mistakes that I have been making. While making my corrections I noticed that on this paper I kept my topic based on myself all throughout the paper. Whereas on my previous papers I tended to change subjects all throughout the paper. I feel that my technique to finding research helped myself very well, so that I never forgot any important points from my sources. After correcting this paper, I feel much more prepared for this portion of my portfolio. I’m glad that I changed my point of view from the beginning of the paper to now because I would have not been able to find such good sources. In result, my main improvement on this paper was learning how to correct my technology paper so that I could tie in important research.

The New and Improved Twitter

Farhi, Paul. "The Twitter Explosion." American Journalism Review 31.3 (2009): 26-31. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Nov. 2012.

In Paul Farhi’s article “The Twitter Explosion”, he is discussing the use of this giant social networking phenomenon. He specifically focuses on the use of Twitter by journalists. Farhi stated, “All of which means that Twitter attracts the sort of people that media people should love- those whole are interested in, and engaged with, the news.” He explains that Twitter seems to be used more by the older generations that read to be informed about what is going on around them, rather than the teens that post unnecessary information. Therefore, he believes that Twitter is just a trend in this time period for over half of the users and eventually will die out. He gives the example that the users that just post what they are doing everyday are going to eventually get tired of Twitter, but the one’s that release important information are the ones that are going to stick around longer. Farhi believes that the purpose of Twitter for its users is still developing and they should stick around to realize, because it may eventually become more than just a social networking website.

Personally as a Twitter user I do see where I have found useful information from reading many different posts daily. The posts can consist of stories from family, friends, and even events going on around the world that are on some scale important and sometimes not important at all. Therefore, could Twitter possibly become a source for urgent news to be broadcasted too everyone like Farhi has envisioned? Farhi’s point proves that maybe Twitter is not just a waste of time to the users. Most of society that is not on Twitter believes that they have no purpose to have one, but with what Farhi believes is in store for Twitter’s future, maybe they should rethink this. Also for all the users that are already using Twitter, they should stick around to realize that they are not just wasting their time on a social network.

Realizing How to Form a Topic

While I began to read the different articles upon writing my social responsibility paper, I knew that I needed to read with a different outlook on the paper. When writing my previous papers I always seemed to have a difficult time creating a topic for myself that I could relate too. Therefore, this time I finally realized that I needed to listen to Dr. Horton when he told me not to think about a personal experience in particular while reading the articles, but instead just start off by choosing the article that stands out the most. After doing so, I decided to list different reasons as to why I was interested in the article, “The Last Line of Defense” and the different quotes from the article that stood out to me. Once I made a list and began to brainstorm about all the different ideas, I was instantly able to create a topic from one of the quotes.

I felt much more confident while writing this paper in result to using this method. Once I started to write my rough draft, I felt as I could write for days. I know that when I first wrote my Education Paper, I did not feel this way. I know that I have improved as a writer from my first essay to now, in that I am now able to branch out on different topics. It has taken time for me to realize that I am free to write about anything I want to, but as I continue to write each paper I do see improvement in this. Also, on the previous papers it seemed that I would start each paper off being specific and giving great examples and then towards the end I would start using general word choices. I tried very hard in this paper to stay specific throughout the whole paper, and stay away from general word choices. I hope that I did improve in this area, and that it is evident to the readers. Even though, I do see improvement I know that I am still not the best writer, so I plan to continue and push myself in the next paper to become even better.

The Favor of Elected Officials (Revised)

Bonner, Raymond. "The Last Line of Defense." The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group, March 2012. Web. 15 October 2012.

In “The Last Line of Defense”, Raymond Bonner discusses the death penalty and uses Diana Holt’s experiences as an attorney to show the affects that have come from the death penalty in her own cases. Holt states that her opinion on the death penalty is, “Despite all legal safeguards, whether one gets death or not is dependent on geography, the elected official with the power to seek it, the color of his skin, gender, the color of the victim’s skin, the victim’s gender, wealth of any of those, poverty of the defendant, mental health of any of those, and judges with agendas.” Holt comes to this conclusion after she was the defense attorney in a case where the death penalty was used against an innocent man. Bonner explains the case of Richard Johnson and how even though Holt found evidence that declared Johnson innocent, a new trial would not be conducted because that is not how the criminal justice system works. This case is what ultimately developed Holt’s opinion that indeed capital punishment is in favor of geography and the elected officials behind the case.

From reading cases like Richard Johnson’s it makes it evident to society that false cases occur all the time and anyone from the attorney, defendant or judge do not always realize. Just from Bonner's example of Holt's experience, it is evident that the criminal justice system did not care even if she did have such valuable evidence to back up the innocent man. Since they did not turn back on Holt's case, he would have to suffer and still receive the death penalty no matter what. There certainly have been times when the death penalty was used for instances that were a 100 percent true and it was the correct punishment, but there are more instances when execution is not the best option. These elected officials hold too much power to be making false decisions. Society as a whole needs to stay educated about these officials that are elected to make such crucial decisions about capital punishment. We need to keep the honest officials in office and the ones that base their decisions on the geography of the case out.

Branching Away From General Ideas

When I began to read the different articles on Technology, I became frustrated right from the start. I immediately went and got help from Dr. Horton and just from talking with him about my personal use of technology together we were able to think of a great topic for myself to write about. Once I started to write I felt it was much easier than last time when writing my Education Paper. During my last essay I felt that I tried so hard to stay close to the article and didn’t go out and expand very well on the topic. While for this technology paper I expanded from the article, and in result my paper goes into much further details and I am able to give more examples. My technology paper is much more specific than my education paper was and it makes it much more enjoyable to read.

While writing my paper this time I felt like I never ran out of ideas to talk about. This is because I kept the paper all about myself and based upon the personal experiences that I have had in my life resulting from technology. When writing my education paper I did not do well on this, I very rarely talked about myself because I just felt like it would not be right for me to write a whole essay about myself. I have finally learned from this technology paper that we are free to write about what we want, and that it is good to branch off from the original ideas and bring your own experiences into the paper. Realizing this now I feel that my papers from now on will continue to improve. As I continue to write throughout the semester I will now remember that I am free to write about what I want. Instead of trying to plan out exactly what I will say, for now on I plan to read these articles and then move on from there.

Is Rabies Just a Battle for Time?

Murphy, Monica, and Bill Wasik. “Undead: The Rabies Virus Remains a Medical Mystery.” Wired Science. Conde Nast, July 2012. Web. 25 September 2012.

In "Undead: The Rabies Virus Remains a Medical Mystery", Murphy and Wasik discuss this coma treatment that was performed by Dr. Rodney Willoughby to save a young girl affected by rabies. Willoughby began this treatment when he reasoned, “the battle against rabies might actually be a battle for time. Rabies might not be killing the brain directly, but it was causing the brain to kill the body before the body had time to fight it off”. The only information Willoughby knew about rabies was that it was known to be 100 percent fatal, but he disagreed with this. Therefore after selling this theory to others, Willoughby began the coma treatment. He uses technology to leave the young girl in a coma for a week and see if her body is able to fight off the rabies. The coma treatment worked on this young girl but it left Willoughby and rabies experts with many unanswered questions. Even Willoughby questions his own theory, is rabies just a battle for time?

Since rabies has always been known to be 100 percent fatal this leads society to wonder, was Willoughby’s coma treatment the key to survival from rabies or do all rabies cases differ? If all of the people that have either been affected by rabies or have had family or friends that have been affected by rabies stuck together and encouraged this research there could possibly become a cure for this life threatening outbreak. This could also result in answers to all of these unanswered questions that have resulted from the very few cases of people who did survive rabies. Each case differed in some way, so therefore what actually distinguishes how severe rabies is? There are much more people that have not survived rabies in comparison to those that have survived. If society encouraged the extensive research of Willoughby’s theory and found out if rabies is just a battle for time then we would have more time to save the lives that are being affected by rabies.

The Process Of Becoming Confident in Writing

When starting my paper on education I felt nervous and frustrated because I felt that I was not going to be able to write a full essay about the topic. As I began to write I noticed that it was actually a very interesting topic that I was personally able to relate to. I'm proud of my self, because this is one of the first essays that I've been assigned to write where I've had the freedom to choose what I want to write about and not have set guidelines on how to write the essay. Once I began writing it became much easier for me to continue and I no longer was having problems coming up with ideas to write about. What was difficult for me in this paper was, balancing the use of the understandings from the article and my personal experiences. I tend to always do one and not the other when writing. While in this paper, I focused very hard on balancing the two out and I think it was evident in the end and made my paper overall much better. This made me feel very confident in the usage of my personal experiences.

After writing this paper I feel that I have already began to see an improvement in my writing skills. I learned that when I do have doubts in what I am writing to go ahead and ask questions. Coming for help and asking questions overall helped me to have a better understanding of the paper and helped me to stay on topic. From this paper, I learned as a writer to not doubt myself. It is possible for me to write about many different topics, I just need to stop being negative and think that i can't. For my next paper that I start I plan to stay open minded and not become nervous and frustrated upon the start because I know that it is possible.

The Writing Recipe

Hjortshoj, Keith. “Footstools and Furniture.” The Transition to College Writing: Second Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 107-130. Print.

In the chapter “Footstools and Furniture” from The Transition to College Writing, Hjortshoj is explaining what is wrong with writings that are based off of a format. He states, “Teachers want you to use writing as a way of thinking and conveying your thoughts about a subject, not as a demonstration that you can follow a simple recipe”. Hjortshoj is referring this “simple recipe” to the format that students often use to write. Most high school students were taught this format to use during standardized tests. He compares essays to show differences in writers that use this format and writers that actually think about the topic before and while they’re writing. Therefore, it is evident the writers that divide their papers into three parts using this format.

Hjortshoj examples encourage me to think back to my previous English classes and I remember always being taught the same format year after year to writing an essay. It has always been the key to succeeding in standardized tests. After reading this chapter I now wonder, did we actually ever learn from writing these essays? Most students that are given an outline just complete them to get a good grade and to complete the assignment as quickly as possible. This is considered the “simple recipe” that Hjortshoj discussed. It’s the easy way out of thinking and learning from writing an essay. A student that receives a topic and has to write about it with no other further instructions will have to think more critically about the topic and will learn more information than a student that has half of the work done for them. To succeed in college writing, Hjortshoj states that students need to break away from this format and learn to write freely about their thoughts. Therefore, his points are important because writing with a set format will not help students learn to improve their writing skills, and also will not allow them to share their thoughts with the teacher. Hjortshoj simply wants society to understand the importance of conveying their own personal thoughts have on writing.

The Supply and Demand of Education (Re-Write)

Klein, Joel. "The Failure of American Schools." The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group, June 2011. Web. 28 August 2012.

From, “The Failure of American Schools” Joel Klein states, “But when you’re short of qualified math teachers-as virtually every major urban school district is-poor kids with the greatest needs invariably get cheated, because most teachers prefer to teach highly motivated kids who live in safe communities, and whose parents will contribute private money to the school”. Klein’s point is to argue how the money for education is not being used properly and the reasons that there are these debts. As a result, he compares the difference between a physical education teacher and a math teacher and why there pay should not be the same. A mathematician can find a more rewarding job elsewhere other than teaching and that is eventually what happens and causes these shortages of math teachers in urban areas. Therefore, the handful of math teachers that are available will choose to work in better communities for their own interest. Klein refers this to, “simple supply and demand”.

We as a society need to think about this because, what if we got an education and studied to be a mathematician and didn't get in return what we deserved? Or if a teacher is not able to work in a community that is in the best interest for themselves? These issues are eventually turning educators against the education system, and because of this people need to understand how something like this is putting a strain on the education system that could eventually ruin it. Not only are these debts and unfair pay within the education system happening in this generation but they will also continue to be a re-occurrence if they do not end. Everyone works hard to receive an outcome and these teachers are the same way they have worked hard to get an education so that they can not only get what they deserve but so that they can also teach their knowledge to others. Klein simply wants us to understand the impact that the education system has on everyone, and that he does not have to be the only one to stand up for it so can everyone else.

The Supply and Demand of Education

Klein, Joel. "The Failure of American Schools." The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group, June 2011. Web. 28 August 2012.

From, “The Failure of American Schools” Joel Klein states, “But when you’re short of qualified math teachers-as virtually every major urban school district is-poor kids with the greatest needs invariably get cheated, because most teachers prefer to teach highly motivated kids who live in safe communities, and whose parents will contribute private money to the school”. Klein’s point is to argue how the money for education is not being used properly and the reasons that there are these debts. As a result, he compares the difference between a physical education teacher and a math teacher and why there pay should not be the same. A mathematician can find a more rewarding job elsewhere other than teaching and that is eventually what happens and causes these shortages of math teachers in urban areas. Therefore, the handful of math teachers that are available will choose to work in better communities for their own interest. Klein refers this to, “simple supply and demand”.

If you got an education and studied to be a mathematician wouldn’t you want to get in return what you deserved? Or if you were a teacher wouldn’t you work somewhere that was in the best interest for yourself? Most people would say yes to both of these, and because of this people need to understand how something like this is putting a strain on the education system that could eventually ruin it. Not only are these debts and unfair pay within the education system happening in this generation but they will also continue to be a reoccurrence if they do not end. Everyone works hard to receive an outcome and these teachers are the same way they have worked hard to get an education so that they can not only get what they deserve but so that they can also teach their knowledge to others. Klein simply wants us to understand the impact that the education system has on everyone, and that he does not have to be the only one to stand up for it so can everyone else.

Breaking Away From High School

How can I move beyond "school writing"? I have never written anything besides the papers that I am being graded on or the one’s that I have been required to write. Therefore, I am not sure how I could change from this style of writing. I have many thoughts about different topics but I never think about writing them out on paper, or to write about the information that I already know about. Since high school I am so used to having a certain topic to write about and a certain format to write it in. In order for me to break away from high school I need to become better at being able to express my thoughts and opinions on my own without the help of a set topic or format. I know that my problem with writing my own thoughts is that I do not have enough confidence in my own thoughts to write about them and that is what I need to change in order for me to break away from “school writing”. To help me improve with this and become more confident it would probably benefit me if I started to write down my thoughts. If I began to write out my thoughts it could possibly make me more motivated to write about them and go further into detail. I know that once I begin to write freely I would instantly be able to adjust and not stop writing. This is because my downfall when I would write papers in high school was that I could not write about a topic that did not interest me. Therefore, I am uncertain as to how I could move away from "school writing" but I do know that if I was to it would be very beneficiary to me. It would help me to become more confident in being able to express my thoughts and become more independent as a writer.

Education Reviews

The two articles that I would choose would be, "The Case for Breaking Up With Your Parents" and "Can You Make Yourself Smarter?". I am interested in both of these articles because they both relate to what I'm experiencing in my life now. I recently moved to a new town where I am facing living on my own and starting a new school.