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The purpose of this discussion is to introduce you to finding and…
The purpose of this discussion is to introduce you to finding and evaluating a source that you may use to support a specific essay purpose, and to reinforce how to summarize, paraphrase, and document a source correctly. These are essential skills in research supported writing that will help you to practice the research process and avoid plagiarism.
Here is how to complete the discussion in a step by step process:
Using Valencia’s Library’s databases, search for a source that you think may help you and that you could use in your final essay. You must select a source that is NOT the story itself. Think carefully about the information you look for and how it will serve your essay’s purpose and how the source will support your stance. The source may not necessarily agree with your stance completely or be directly about one of the stories you chose, but it should contain information that can help you support your analysis.
For example, in Brian Cable’s “The Last Stop,” the subject of the essay is a specific funeral home and the mortician director. However, the author provides background information about burials by offering statistics about decisions people make for their loved ones when they pass away. He does not do research on the specific funeral home. Your information can come in the form of statistics, a definition or explanation of a concept, or further examples of a topic related to your subject. It should be very specificavoid broad and general information. Sources like Wikipedia.org, About.com, MedPlus.com, etc., are not appropriate sources for a college essay. In fact, for this assignment, you may not conduct an open Internet search (Google, Bing, etc.) to find your source. You must use the library’s online databases.
2. Once you have found your source, read it closely.
To Begin your essay, please set up your Word document in correct “MLA format”. Then follow these steps in this order:
1. Citation: Please cite the source in “MLA format”
2. Summary: Type a summary of the article in a minimum of “3 sentences”. Your summary should be organized and cover key points contained within the original source. Remember that a summary condenses information and uses paraphrasing to do so. There should not be any quotes in the summary. There should be no analysis, opinion, or discussion by you in this section of the summary. Do not write about the author. Simply write as though you are the author condensing and rearranging the words.
3. Evaluation/Assessment of Source: After your summary, write a paragraph “minimum 3-5 sentences” that evaluates the source. Use the CRAAP Test to provide an accurate evaluation of the source’s elements.
4. Reflection of the Source’s Viability: After you have proved that the source is credible, write a paragraph “5-7 sentence minimum” that explains how the source may be useful to you as support for an essay on the topic you have identified for this assignment. How would you use this source in your essay? Why? Be specific! When you write your evaluation, consider some of the guidelines for reading and evaluating sources that are covered in the textbook as well as in the links in the module.
Make sure that each of the sections are clearly identified paragraphs that are separate sections. Do not write all of this in one paragraph.
