Top 3 topic choices

1. Is it Better for Children to Have a Stay at Home Mother?

• The opportunities I have will be the research that has been done already. I should have enough material to read and support my argument. I may be able to provide information to the reader that is not already known.
• The challenges with this topic is that even though I may be able to argue that it is better for mothers to remain in their homes with the children, it is not an option for many. For many mothers it is not something they can do even if they wanted to. I could have challenges finding factual evidence.

 2. Do Children Behave Better with Strict Parents?

• The opportunities with this topic are that I will be able to learn myself from the research I would do. This is a topic I have interest in researching for my own parenting questions. I would be motivated to find all the information I could about the subject. 
• The challenges with this topic could be that I may not be able to support my claim effectively.  I don't know yet but I may not have sufficient evidence.

3. Should the Government Require Drug Testing Before Approving Food Stamp Benefits?

• Opportunities with this topic I have are that it is very current and relevant to today's issues. I will be able to find plenty of data to support my claim and be able to address counterarguments. I think the information is readily available to research. I do have a very strong opinion and I am interested in this topic.
• The challenges could be that this issue has already been beat to death.

Summaries

I found that writing a summary was hard. I felt like I didn't get as much information as I needed or maybe just not the right understanding in the summary. I found myself reading the article more than twice to see if I understood what the author was trying to say. However the more I read it, the more I got out of the article. I think it is a good idea to write the summary as soon as your finished reading.

One common issues that can make a summary less useful or trustworthy is that the reader does not understand what the author is trying to say. Another issue is misreading.

Summary of Death to the Classics!

Should the classic literature that has always been taught continue to be the same or is it better to change with the times? The old way was to use the classics that have always been on the reading list, such as William Shakespeare, because they are the foundation of much of the literature we now have. As times changes, to the classics was then added foundational Western classics. This was to incorporate women and minorities into the books that were read. Again as times have changed the books seemed to become too long and too hard. Now just to have students read is an accomplishment no matter what they are reading. Is the answer to let the students choose for themselves what is best for them to read? Would it be better to have the students read something they can relate to? The question is should the reading list stick to the classics or be ever changing with the times? Is there a right answer?

I don't know if this is the right way to write a summary, but this is what I got out of reading" Death to the Classics". It isn't much like the example in the book. ??

Exercise 2.2 Campus Article

1. I read an article about 'Idaho State of Mind' a television program produced at ISU.

1. The most important thing I learned from this piece was that it will provide students with a unique educational experience and will increase their skills and help them prepare for their future careers. It will give the students opportunities to polish their talents and the program will be broadcast statewide.
2. The evidence the author uses to support the claim convincingly is stating that the students will have hands-on experience to produce a show and have it aired on a network. The students will be in a better position to compete with others for careers.
3. The concluding insight the author left me with is that with the opportunities presented to the students of ISU majoring in the mass communications, they will have an advantage and be competitive when the are entering  their future careers.

2.  The value of prereading to me is that it is an effective way of obtaining specific, brief information and determine the central purpose and key points. This will help me in reading articles that I will be using to write my paper. It also will be a good way to read my draft to see if it is easy to find the central purpose of my paper. I think it will help me save time also, which is very valuable to me.

Topics I am considering

List of topics I am considering for my research paper.

• The Behavior of Children
• Do children behave better with strict parents?
• What are common factors, if any, do well behaved children have?
• Poverty
• How does poverty effect judgement or does it?
• Poverty and the effects on self esteem.
• Working Mother
• Do children have an advantage in life if their mother worked from home?
• Are children who are home alone after school more likely to use drugs?
• Food Stamps
• Should the Government require drug testing before approving food stamps.
• Cosmetic Surgery
• How young is too young for cosmetic surgery.
• Does cosmetic surgery really improve peoples self esteem?

Exercise 7.6

1. a. not common knowledge
    b. common knowledge
    c. common knowledge
    d. not common knowledge

2 .I chose the argument , Patriot Act, to evaluate. The author cites factual information from the last date the Patriot Act was renewed. She does not have any information cited after 2009 and there could be some updated facts since then she could have used.
The facts are relevant to the topic of the paper. She cites information that can be connected to and supportive to the disillusionment that the Patriot Act is intrusive on Americans.
I found the paper to cite reliable sources. Some of the information given was facts from the Library of Congress and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The writings were clear and easy to understand. She did not need to paraphrase much.
I think when it comes to thoroughness, I would have to say that there was more potential to add more statistics and facts. I think the topic is very debatable and needs to provide more data to be convincing.
3. Paraphrase A is unacceptable because is it plagiarized. The writer does not acknowledge any author and gives no indication that the information was taken from Scott Wallace's article. It is written as though the ideas were his own.
Paraphrase B is acceptable.
Paraphrase C is unacceptable. The paraphrase is faulty because it has distorted the original idea by stating that "timber barons are murdering anyone who gets in their way".

Exercise 1.5 strengths and weaknesses

In reading the essay, High Score Education, I think one of the strengths in the body is that the author is very persuasive and used clear and concise language. Another strength I think the author  has is that he is able to relate to his audience and use examples of games that are relevant and current. He shows that he has experience using the video games also.
I think one of the weaknesses in the essay is that it does not include any evidence to support his claim that video games are a more powerful form of learning than a classroom. He does not show that he has carefully researched the issue and gathered statics that are reliable to be convincing.

Steps to take to avoid common problems with research papers

1. Use the initial response to a problem as the starting point for laying the foundation. Start from a different point to make the problem clear.
2. Be sure that I am able to show specific reasons why the changes I am arguing are needed and are important. Start writing the reasons I feel that changes are necessary and how others feel about their importance.
3. Make sure that I have specific, relevant evidence to back up my thesis statement. Look up things that I can use to back up my thesis that are current and accurate
4. Use the different types of appeals, get into the hearts, minds and souls of the readers. Start thinking of ways I can use appeals to bring out emotions in the audience and be convincing.
5.Go over counterarguments. Test my thesis by thinking of ways it can be contested, and look at those arguments.

Appeals and Argumentative Models

Appeals

In my own words I would describe an ethical appeal as a way of convincing the audience that what is stated is very important to all of us and is the right (or wrong) thing to do. I would say that it is a way to convince them to believe that as human beings we should value the argument and should see it as important and credible.

I would describe a rational appeal as something that shows cause and effect in a logical way. I would use it if I were arguing to change something in some area of importance and state the logical outcomes. I think is has more fact, statistics and experiment based information.

Emotional appeals to me are those that bring out emotions in the audience. I think it gets the reader to make decisions based on how they feel about the subject. If it makes them feel anger or sadness or any other emotion they may agree with the argument based on that alone.

Argumentative Models

The Rogerian Model is finding common ground, considering both sides. It focuses on common points and the goal is to work together to work out the issue. It starts with the introduction being a problem that each agrees is a problem. The next part states reasons there are differences or show misunderstandings. It is a model that shows multiple perspectives toward an issue. It is a model with a cooperative stance. It concludes with a way to resolve the different views and work together.

The Classical model is structured and focused on the topic of the paper. It starts with the problem then gives background information, the next step is to provide evidence in support of the thesis statement and have some evidence to contest those with opposing views. The end if the paper is the conclusion, restating the thesis and if needed recommendations.

In the Toulmin Model the paper starts with the claim first and then backs up the claim with facts and truths. Then next, backing up the facts and data to show they are reliable sources, called the warrant, then backing those reliable sources to show that it is trustworthy data.

Exercise 7.3

1. Listed below is a description of some strengths and weaknesses I found when comparing the effectiveness of Google and Dogpile search engines.
Google Strengths

1. One of the largest search engines, the current estimate is 20+billion databases that include PDF, DOC, PS and many other file types.
2. Cached archive of web pages as they looked when they were indexed.
3. Not case sensitive, will bring up the same results if capitalized or lower case.
4. Can tun on family filter to exclude adult web pages.
5. Has 34 languages.

Google Weaknesses

1. Limited search features.
2. Link searches must be exact and are incomplete.
3. Only indexes first 101 KB of a web page.

Dogpile Strengths

1. It is a meta-search engine which supplements major search engines.
2. Searches all the best know search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask.
3. Searches a series of content sites, then compiles those results and displays them in a uniform manner, eliminating duplicates and restoring results according to their relevance.
4. Produces fewer results but move applicable.
5. Can opt to skip any engines that you don't want Dogpile to search

Dogpile Weaknesses

1. Didn't find any

2. I entered an online forum called thoughts.com and learned about how others felt about the topic of drug testing individuals prior to receiving food stamps. I learned that several states have already adopted it into law, and  some other states are trying to do the same. I knew that the subject was controversial to begin with and I was very interested in learning  the views of others. One of the most presented arguments was that drug testing violates the constitution. I read views of people concerned about the children of the parents who use drugs and are receiving food stamps and how they will be fed.
I also read comments from those who are for drug testing recipients of food stamps. Some comments I read were stating if you can drug test working individuals then why can't those who are not working be drug tested.

3.List of blogs that have been the most useful source of information for my research topic.

http://kingdominreverse.blogspot.com/

http://sinnerscereal.com/wordpress/

http://www.postonpolitics.com/2011/09/aclu-sues-scott-to-overturn-drug-testing-of-welfare-recipients/http://www.patientfromhell.org/missouri-drug-addiction-prevention-measures.htm
I found these blogs most useful because they gave information about the topic I may be writing my paper on. They have view from both sides of the issue and information about why the law violates the constitution. They all give good reasons why they are for or against the issue. This is helpful to me because I will use some of the strongest points in their blogs to argue in my paper.

Exercise 1.3 Appeals

In the passage by Frederick Douglass, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Douglass uses an ethical appeal when referring to the moral behavior of human beings treating each other as human beings ought to treat one another. This is effective because the statement appeals to the way human beings should behave toward each other and during slavery times not all people thought that way.

Douglass also appeals to emotion by portraying his mistress as a kind, warm and tender hearted woman that cared for others by feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.  He also appeals to emotion by using words like “lamb-like dispositions” and “tiger-like fierceness”. This is effective because it made me feel the kindness of the mistress and feel sad that she changed or lost the kind qualities during the time Douglass lived with her as a slave.

The rational appeal of Douglass is shown as he states slavery as “injurious” to himself and the chief cause of the change in his mistress’s disposition. This is effective because it appeals to the logical effects that slavery had on individuals, changing personalities from “lamb-like” to “tiger-like”.