Blog 11

Exercise 5.6, p 220

In the book The Curious Researcher,  we have been completing various exercises to strengthen our writing. In chapter four we did an exercise that involved a man named Dave whom asked us questions that we had to write about for three minutes straight. Today, we are revisiting Dave and answering more questions about our essay.

1. "Hey you, I think you can't really say that one opinion is better than another one. Don't you agree?"
Yes, I do agree. Everyone's opinion matters and no one should be bashed for their beliefs. I do believe that everyone has a right to their opinion and now that I have stated my views, I do not expect anymore to put mine down. Having an opinion is an important thing to obtain because people understand your view points more and how you feel about a certain topic. I do not believe that my opinions are better than anyone else's, but I do believe that my opinion has logic and that many people may agree with me even though some people may not. Opinions can open the readers minds and allow them to research a topic more in depth. My opinion could either persuade them, or turn them into the opposite direction.

2. "There's all this stuff in the book about research as a process of discovery. What did you discover?"
What I discovered is that research is definitely key to completing a successful essay. The more information we have on a topic, shows that we truly care about the topic we are writing about. Also, it allows the reader to gain an insight on our specific topic. At first I did not always like to research, but now I do not mind it as much because it was helpful with this current essay. My topic has various amounts of research that is interesting and something that people should be aware of especially since my topic is child abuse and how people can break the cycle.

3. "What do you figure was the most challenging  problem you had to solve while working on this research project? How did you solve it?"
The most challenging problem during this research project was gathering all the information I needed. I did not want to add too more information because I did not want to take a chance on my readers becoming uninterested with my topic. Also, I did not want to add minimal research because I was skeptical that my reader did not gain much information to understand my topic more. Balance was my problem, but I think I handled it well. I solved this issue by allowing my boyfriend to read my essay and go through it.

4. "After all this work, what do you take away from this experience? What have you learned that you can use?"
After all this work I have taken away a few things from this experience. Not only did I learn how to research more thoroughly, but I also learned to add and drop things in my essay. Something that I have learned that I can use is the adding and dropping of words. Sometimes, I do not always say enough and then there are times where I say too much and the reader does not exactly have to know certain information. I am glad I had the opportunity to learn this information and I will definitely utilize these tools in the future.

Blog 10

Exercise 5.3, p 194-195

In class, we took our first raft of our next essay and cut it into separate paragraphs. We had to create a discard pile and a keep pile. After doing this, we went through a check list to make sure these paragraphs are beneficial to our essay. This checklist included evidence, explanation, illustration, importance, and question. If your individual paragraphs did not fit these criteria's, it was best to put it in the discard pile. In the end, I had both piles and got a feel for what could stay in my essay, and what could go. In this assignment, we are suppose to find at least two ways to rearrange our paragraphs and find two different set-ups. Then we were asked to write questions about this assignment.

1. How are the set-ups different?
The set-ups are different because they are in a different order and some information that came before in my original essay, does not now. I liked the new set-ups, but my original way worked well because some things that were introduced in the introduction, is present through out my essay. An example of this is my David Pelzer illustration. I talk about him in the beginning and end and putting that out of order is a bit confusing.

2. What did you learn?
I learned that it is okay to go out on a limb and to try new things. I never would have thought about rearranging my essay, but it was good for me to see that it is possible. This is a good tool to use for future essays as well so you are able to switch it up a bit.

3. How did the process help you re-see your essay?
This process helped me re-see my essay by allowing me to realize that your paper can still be well-written even if you rearrange some information. Also, it allowed me to explore other options in how to develop an essay. Not to mention by rearranging my essay, I have the opportunity to add information that will help the reader understand my essay better.

Blog 9

Exercise 5.1, p 189 (Questions)

In class and in this exercise we were asking to bring a copy of our first draft of our next essay and two different colored highlighters. With one highlighter we marked everything that was directly from a source rather from ourselves and with the other highlighter we marked things that was from our own voice. We repeated these steps throughout our paper to find out that when it comes to the end of your paper, both markings should be somewhat balanced. Now that we followed those steps, we are able to answer the questions given in the book The Curious Researcher. 

What color dominates?
The color that dominates is definitely blue. There was a lot more blue in my piece rather than yellow.

Are you turning over too much of the text to your sources?
No, I have a well balanced amount of sources.

Are you ignoring them and rattling on too much about what you think?
Not really. I believe for this essay it is important for the reader to understand how I think so they know my opinion.

Or does your source use seem appropriate to support your purpose?
Yes, my sources back up my purpose well and my quotes are helpful.

What do you notice about this pattern?
It is almost like a pattern. It is blue then yellow. You have some of my voice and some of the sources off and on.

Are you taking turns paragraph by paragraph with your sources, or is your own analysis and commentary nicely blended within paragraphs, so that the information is always anchored to your own thoughts?
My own analysis and commentary is nicely blended within the paragraphs so that the information is always anchored to my own thoughts. I try to explain how I feel without going completely off topic.

Do you surround quoted passages with your own voice and analysis?
Yes, after I write the source or quote, I try to explain what that particular source is explaining or trying to say.

Who wins the wrestling match?
My voice wins the wrestling match because I have more of my voice in this essay rather than my sources. This is good because if you have to many sources, your essay will not be your own writing.

Blog 8

Exercise 4.3, p 164-165

In this blog entry it asks us to create to leads that could potentially appear in your essay. In step one we are supposed to pick three different types of leads and create an appropriate lead for our topic. The leads we were able t chose from were anecdote, scene, profile, background, quotation, dialogue, question, contrast, and announcement. This will ultimately help us with our papers and add detail into our writing. In step one I chose profile, quotation, and the question type of leads.
Step one-
Profile
David Pelzer was around the age of five when his mother became addicted to alcohol. However alcoholism was not the only problem prevalent in the family. David's mother began torturing him and abusing him almost to the point of death. David was enduring ongoing abuse for about six years until the age of twelve. He was eventually rescued and placed into foster care. Instead of giving up, David Pelzer stayed strong and is now a motivational speaker. David Pelzer has a family and fortunately broke the cycle of abuse starting and ending with himself. David Pelzer is a living example of how abused people are able to break the cycle of abuse. Also how he is using what he went through to help others.

Quotation
“The vast majority of victims of child sex abuse are girls; the vast majority of perpetrators of child sex abuse are men" (Wilkins) This quote proves that you are able to break the cycle of abuse. If the vast majority of victims of abuse are girls, and the vast majority of perpetrators are boys, this mean that some of the girls are not continuing the cycle of abuse. Child abuse can leave permanent problems in your life and affects many people, but you can move on and become stronger. You can chose to get proper treatment and end the cycle of abuse.

Question
Have you ever heard that people who have been abused become abusers? Well, if you have, I can assure you this is not true. Do no get me wrong I am not saying that everyone can break the cycle. I am saying everyone has the potential to break the cycle and get help for the issues they may be suffering with. People may have negative affects from experiencing abuse, but this does not mean they will hurt others. Abuse is a horrible problem that needs to end and we can start by alerting people to help others who may be suffering from abuse from the past and present.

In step two we are supposed to chose which lead fits our essay the best.
Step two-
I chose the profile type lead for step two because it may grab the readers attention. Also, it describes child abuse and presents how you are able to break the cycle of abuse. I want to use a story in my opening paragraph so my readers know what I am trying to explain and they may understand better if I have an example.

In step three we are supposed to have certain questions answered about our essay.
Step three-
a. Question- What do you predict this paper is about?
Answer- Child abuse and how you are able to break the cycle.
b. Question- What might be its focus?
Answer- How to break the cycle and how you can end the cycle.
c. Question- Can you predict what my thesis might be?
Answer- Abused people do not necessarily abuse others.
d. Question- How would you characterize the tone of the paper?
Answer- Exploratory because it is giving a lot of information and it is exploring new ideas on how you can end the cycle of abuse.

Blog 7

Exercise 4.2, p 144-145

In class we have been studying argumentative and exploratory writing. Also, that it is important to have a well developed thesis. In this current exercise it asks us to develop various thesis that could fit our topic of discussion for our next essay. These types of thesis include policy, interpretation, hypothesis, value, or relationship. For this specific assignment I chose to make a relationship hypothesis.

Thesis from a Relationship Question

There is a weak relationship between people who have been abused and people who have not been abused because they do not always understand where the abused person has gone through.

I chose the relationship thesis because I believe this closely relates to the point I want to express about child abuse. I want to explain the relationship how abused people are more prone to break the cycle of abuse, but you can break the cycle.

Blog 6

Exercise 4.1, p 144-145

In this next blog post we had to design questions that someone may ask about our research paper. We had to put our self in a guy name Dave's shoes and think abut question he may come up with as a reader of our essay. After I wrote these questions, I responded to them as myself and continued to do this throughout step one of this assignment. In step two we had to answer Dave's final question which was given in the book.

Step one

Dave       

1. Why? Where? Who? When? What?

2. What do you mean by the abused become the abused?

3. How do most people see this? How do you see it differently?

4. Are you kidding? I didn't know that. What else did you find out?

5. Can you give me an example?

6. Did that surprise you?

7. What other questions does this raise?

8. Who does this affect, mostly?

9. What should we do about this?

10. I'm not sure I believe this. Why do you?

11. What do you think we should do about it? 

Me

1. Why- One reason may be because the abuser had been abused at one point of their life.

Where- People are abused all over the world.

Who- People from all cultures.

When- Every day child abuse occurs. 

What- Child abuse is when you inflict pain on your child on purpose or take your anger out on them in a physical way. 

2. Abused people often grow up and continue the cycle of abuse because they have experienced this pain in their life and do not know how to handle the situation any other way. 

3. Most people see this as something that happens in the world today. I view this as that needs to end and something people need help for. 

4. I also found out that children who have been abused can be abused so badly, that it leads to death.

5. Yes, there was a girl named Sylvia Likens who was abused by a family friend and eventually lost her life to abuse.

6. Yes! It definitely did surprise me. When I first found out about it a few years ago, I was clueless on how bad child abuse can be.

7. Other questions this may raise are how many children are abused daily, how many children die of child abuse daily, and how many children are hospitalized due to abuse daily?

8. This affects people of all ages, but mostly affects the victim.

9. We should raise awareness for abuse and educate people about abuse in general.

10. I believe this because abuse is a growing epidemic that is increasing in the world today. We need to protect the people!

11. I think that we should tell people about it so they gain an understanding of abuse.

Step two

Dave

Final question-

Okay, this is all very interesting. But based on everything you've learned so far, what's your point?

Me

My point is that child abuse can cause many different affects on people good or bad. All people who have been abused are victims, but they can indeed overcome abuse and help others in the process.

        

Blog 5

For this blog post we had to create an annotated bibliography with credible sources we may use in our next essay. In this annotated bibliography we listed five individual sources, cited these sources in MLA format, and wrote something we call a "CRAAP Analysis" to back up our credibility for each of our sources we chose. Also, to go more in depth in information for our sources. The sources we chose are supposed to help us with created our next essay. The essay topic I chose is on child abuse and each source I chose is very helpful in this process.

Annotated Bibliogaphy

Duncan, Karen. “Healing from the Trauma of Childhood Sexual Abuse.” Westport: Praeger                      Publishers. 2004.

             This article is a credible source for my research because it gives a lot of information about sexual abuse. The author’s credentials include being published through Praeger Publishers. The article was published in 2004. The author’s main goal in this article is to teach about sexual abuse. The publishing source for this article generally targets an audience that fits the following description: people who have been a victim of sexual abuse or are interested in the topic. This audience would be interested in this subject because it makes you think and realize how abuse is a huge problem and would generally agree with this author’s perspective on the topic. The author incorporates the following types of evidence: facts and insights about sexual abuse. This evidence builds credibility because the information given is accurate, but is also limited because some people may not understand. Based on my own opinion, experiences, and research, I agree with this author because sexual abuse is a huge problem. I think this article is important to include in my essay because it is a form of abuse.

            Williams, Heidi. “Child Abuse.” Detroit: Greenhaven Press. 2009.

            This article is a credible source for my research because it gives insights on my topic that are important and usable. The author’s credentials include being published by the Greenhaven Press. The article was published in 2009. The author’s main goal in this article is to inform about child abuse. The publishing source for this article generally targets an audience that fits the following description: victims of abuse or people who are interested in learning about abuse. This audience would be interested in this subject because it is something that happens in the world and would generally agree with this author’s perspective on the topic. The author incorporates the following types of evidence: facts and opinions. This evidence builds credibility because the information enclosed makes sense, but is also limited because people may not understand. Based on my own opinion, experiences, and research, I agree with this author because the author disagrees with child abuse and gives a lot of information. I think this article is important to include in my essay because it can be highly useful.

Kinnear, Karen. “Childhood Sexual Abuse.” Santa Barbara: Library of Congress Cataloging-in-                  Publication-Data. 1995.

            This article is a credible source for my research because the author makes statements that relate to my topic. The author’s credentials include being published by the Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication-Data. The article was published in 1995. The author’s main goal in this article is to inform people about a reoccurring problem in the world. The publishing source for this article generally targets an audience that fits the following description: a person who wants to know about problems in the world. This audience would be interested in this subject because it is going on in the world today and would generally agree with this author’s perspective on the topic. The author incorporates the following types of evidence: facts and knowledge about things going on in the world today. This evidence builds credibility because people have experienced it, but is also limited because not everyone has been through it. Based on my own opinion, experiences, and research, I agree with this author because abuse is a huge problem that needs to end. I think this article is important to include in my essay because I can use it to back up my topic in many ways.

            Justice, Blair. “The Abusing Family.” New York: Human Sciences Press. 1976.

            This article is a credible source for my research because it explains why children are targeted. The author’s credentials include being published by the Human Science Press. The article was published in 1976. The author’s main goal in this article is to teach people about abuse and how a family is affected. The publishing source for this article generally targets an audience that fits the following description: people who have experienced abuse or wants to know more about abuse. This audience would be interested in this subject because it gives you an in depth look on how abuse starts and continues and would generally agree with this author’s perspective on the topic. The author incorporates the following types of evidence: facts and knowledge about different aspects of abuse. This evidence builds credibility because it has to do with abuse, but is also limited because not everyone has been abused. Based on my own opinion, experiences, and research, I agree with this author because the author explains abuse and how it can damage a person. I think this article is important to include in my essay because I can use the information given to back up my research.

            Alcorn, Nancy. “Violated.” Enumclaw: Winepress Publishing. 2008.

            This article is a credible source for my research because the author explains how people are violated in many ways. The author’s credentials include being published by Winepress Publishing. The article was published in 2008. The author’s main goal in this article is to teach about abuse. The publishing source for this article generally targets an audience that fits the following description: people who have been abused. This audience would be interested in this subject because it offers Christian advice on how to cope with abuse and would generally agree with this author’s perspective on the topic. The author incorporates the following types of evidence: you can overcome abuse and seek help. This evidence builds credibility because you can receive help, but is also limited because not everyone may accept the advice. Based on my own opinion, experiences, and research, I agree with this author because with God, you can overcome your problems. I think this article is important to include in my essay because is a good biblical source and I can use it in my essay about abuse.