Comparing Two Websites

Emily Baker

Professor Zukowski

English 121

8 Mar. 2016

Link

Comparing Two Websites

Initial Thoughts:

Right off the bat, I can recognize the professionalism of the website in which the article about green sea slugs is found.  Everything on the website focuses on the articles found in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States. The website takes the effort to make sure that all the information about an article is clearly stated. It gives a detailed information on the authors, when the article was published, and even when the article was edited and reviewed.  At the bottom of each article page is a list of references used. Within the article they are careful about using incite citations along with including hyperlinks to certain phrases and words.

Comparison:

There are many differences between this website, set up as a database of articles, and the website, set up in a blog format. The layout of the website is meant to attract the reader and lead it from one article to the next; whereas, the scholarly article is focused on the information and the article is really the only thing you see on the webpage.  Another major difference is the content itself. The article was much more in-depth and more detailed than the blog website. Even the abstract itself was longer than the entire blog post. Because there were multiple authors contributing to the article it is safe to assume that these authors must have strong knowledge on the subject matter. The blog post on the other hand, was written by a single author who seemed to have taken information from around the web and summarizing it.

 Example References the article used:

Rumpho ME, Summer EJ, Manhart JR (2000) Solar-powered sea slugs. Mollusc/algal chloroplast symbiosis. Plant Physiol 123:29–38.

Rumpho ME, Dastoor FP, Manhart JR, Lee J (2006) in Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration—The Structure and Function of Plastids, eds Wise RR, Hoober JK (Springer, Berlin), pp 451–473.

Works Cited

Rumpho, Mary, et al. “Horizontal Gene Transfer of the Algal Nuclear Gene psbO to the Photosynthetic Sea Slug Elysia Chlorotica.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States. 105. 46 (2008): 17867-17871. Web. 3 Mar. 2016

Evaluating and Reviewing a Website

Emily Baker

Professor Zukowski

English 121

8 Mar. 2016

Link

Evaluating and Reviewing a Website

Initial Thoughts:

The website, IFL Science appears to be a factual science website that is set up like a blog. Different author contribute by providing a wide variety of posts about science related information.  Articles range anywhere from biology and chemistry all the way to technology and space. Because it is set up like a blog, there are various ads, including ads that direct you off the website and onto other blog type websites. However, the information on this particular website appears to be very credible. In each post there are various links within the text directing the reader to the original source of information. Each article is very factual based and unbiased. The goal of the website seems to want to provide readers a quick way to gain new science knowledge without having to go read an entire scholarly article.

Excerpt from an article:

            The green sea slug is unique in its biological structure because although defined as an animal it possesses the ability to photosynthesize. According to an article on Science, “The sea slugs embed the chloroplasts into their own digestive cells, where the organelles continue to photosynthesize for up to nine months—that’s even longer than they would perform in algae. The sea slugs stay nourished thanks to the carbohydrates and lipids produced with photosynthesis (Fang).” This form of digestion is considered to be a unique from of gene transfer that still seems to puzzle biologists. By carefully studying the green sea slug’s uptake of the photosynthesizing DNA, scientists can understand the molecular evolution of multi-cellular organisms.                 

Works Cited

Fang, Janet. “Sea Slug Steals Photosynthesis Gene from Algae” IFL Science. IFL Science, 4 Feb. 2015. Web. 3 Mar. 2016

Reading Response - Research: More than Detective Work

Emily Baker

Professor Zukowski

English 121

3 Feb. 2016

Link

Reading Response: Research: More than Detective Work

            I thought the layout of this packet was really cute. It was every entertaining for me because I am a very visual learner. It is a nice change of pace from our text book. I also really enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t just listing the information out, but rather incorporated into a story. One of the most helpful things from this packet for me personally was the explanation about primary and secondary sources. Last semester in history, my professor required us to use primary sources when writing our paper. I kind of had an understanding of what it meant but still ended up having to ask him if a source was primary or not. This packet did a good job at clarifying the differences between the two.

            This packet is a good source to give writers a boost to help them start out writing a research paper; however, I think for it to be truly beneficial the writer would need to have some prior knowledge about writing research papers. I thought that much of the packet assumed that the writer has already written a paper before and is just reminding and reinforcing the key concepts to writing a solid paper.  With a combination of the information from this packet and from the textbook a writer will be well prepared for writing their next research paper.

Chapter 14: Argumentation- Reading Response

Emily Baker

Professor Zukowski

English 121

March 1, 2016

Chapter 14: Argumentation

          

            To start off, the fact that an argumentation and a persuasion have two different meanings really surprised me. I definitely was on the boat that would use the two words interchangeably. However, I still am a bit confused on the difference between the two. The author states, “To persuade an audience, a writer relies on various kinds of appeals… Argumentation is the appeals to reason.” Yet in the very next paragraph it says, “… however, most effective arguments combine two or more appeals (524).” This sounds more like a persuasion according to the definition given earlier above.  

            

           The rest of the chapter was a lot to digest. There was a lot of information presented in only a few pages. The chapter was still clear and well presented in such a way that was understandable. Another interesting point that caught my attention, was the idea of choosing an argumentative topic that appealed to an audience that would disagree with your stance. I especially liked the example the book gave about the tuition and higher pay for teachers. Although technically it could be argued, it has no appeal because it would already be telling the reader what he or she already knows.

           

Link

 The most interesting section to me was the fallacy section. It really gave me insight on different ways an idea can seem true but in fact, the evidence that supports it is faulty. I’m starting to recognize how much the media can twist our perception on what is true through its logical fallacies. Especially during election time, it seems like the only thing that comes out of the media’s mouth is fallacies. One I often see is the ad hominem, especially during the debates. Yes, the candidates may not have a whole plan laid out for solving some of America’s greatest problems, but it seems like if they cannot provide a solid answer the revert to attacking the other candidates character.

         
         Overall this chapter provides some very helpful and key points to help writers create a argumentative essay that has enough support to back up their thoughts. Although, it offered many ways in which one can present their supporting idea, some of the examples were not very clear. For example, the section about inductive reasoning seemed to only provide situations where the inductive reasoning was incorrect or not valid enough. There was nothing about the correct way to include inductive reasoning into a paper. Other than that, this chapter was well structured for preparing students when writing a strong argumentative essay.

Chapter 8 Reading Response

Emily Baker

February 9, 2016

English 121

Reading Response

Link

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 of Patterns for College Writing was very informative and helpful to me personally. I wish I had known about exemplification essays in the past. Often times, especially in my History classes, the teacher required that we wrote exemplification essays, without actually stating it. Whenever receiving papers back, I would often get the comment that I am being to general and I do not have enough data to support my thesis. After reading this chapter, I realized that teachers were looking for specific examples that better support my thoughts and ideas. I hope that since I now have a better understanding of exemplification essays, I will be able to write stronger essays with a thesis that is well supported.

I believe one of the most important points of this chapter is the planning for an exemption essay. Before anyone starts writing I believe that it is important to create an outline, first starting with a thesis statement. I liked the way that the sample outline is set up. It begins with the introduction and the thesis statement. Below the outline has the body, which is composed of the support points. Under each support is very specific examples. I believe that setting up an outline in such a way makes writing way easier because your thoughts and the backbone of the essay is already laid out. From there, it is just putting it into coherent sentences.  As always I find the checklists in each chapter very helpful. The checklist for the exemplification essay, just asks a series of questions that makes sure your essay is structured in such a way that there is enough examples to support the thesis statement. Overall, this chapter offers insightful information on developing a stronger argument that better persuades the reader.

Blog Review: http://wilwheaton.net/

Blog quality criteria on a scale from 1-10 for Will Wheaton's blog

Images: 10

Every blog entry had an appealing picture to related to the topic. The site had a nice header image that wasn't too over stimulating.

Description/ About: 10

The link to an about the author and various other links were very easy to find.  All the links were laid out in a side bar. The side bar was simplistic enough, that it didn't distract the reader from the content of the blog.

Organization: 6

The webpage was set up in a single column view. It is hard to be able to pick and choose which blogs to read without scrolling a whole bunch. However, there is a link in the sidebar that has blog post categories. When clicking on a category it continues to to just pull up the blogs in a single column scroll format. This makes it hard to quickly browse for a blog that catches your eye.

Theme: 8

It is about as simple as it can get.

Consistency of style: 10

Link

Each blog post is essentially laid out the same with the same formatting.

Mini Essay Topic Proposal

Image from here.

For my essay, I am planning on writing about why I believe it is important to add some Computer Science courses, such as a coding class to early education.

Topic: Education and Technology
Thesis: Computer Science classes should be introduced to students during early education.

Main Points:

1. Technology is dominant in today's society.
1. Possibly a new common language
2. May be a common skill for many jobs. Ex. How knowing how to use basic programs such as Microsoft office is important today
2. It gets kids interested at a young age.
1. Job opportunity is always growing
2. Women in tech jobs is lacking in comparison to the amount of of men.
3. Teaches kids a different way of thinking
1. Logic - If.. then statements

*Edit January 28, 2015:

Outline:

Thesis: Computer Science classes should be introduced to students during early education.

 I. Introduction
    A. Clincher (statistic)
    B,. Thesis
II. Body
       A. Technology is dominant in today's society.

1. Possibly a new common language
2. May be a common skill for many jobs. Ex. How knowing how to use basic programs such as Microsoft office is important today

       B.It gets kids interested at a young age.

1. Job opportunity is always growing
2. Women in tech jobs is lacking in comparison to the amount of of men.

        C. Teaches kids a different way of thinking

1. Logic - If.. then statements

III. Conclusion

    A. Wrap up

    B. Restate Thesis

  

Chapter 3 Reading Response

Image from Here

Emily Baker

January 26, 2015

English 121

Reading Response

Chapter 3

      Chapter 3 of Patterns for College Writing is one of those chapters that I know I will be referring back to often throughout my English 121 course.  I always find that the hardest part of writing for me is figuring out how to structure my essays in a clean and coherent way.  This chapter easily explains the different parts of an essay and what is necessary in each part. I especially found the section about conclusions very helpful. I have always struggled trying to figure out how to wrap up the end of the essay. I appreciated the fact that they give examples of different ways to write a conclusion. This way I’m not stuck writing the same old boring conclusion for every essay, which I essentially did for my history papers. It was also very useful that the chapter adds what not to include in each section. I bet if I went back through every paper I have written throughout my lifetime, I have included at least one of the items in the list to my papers. Now knowing how to properly structure an essay, I am hoping that my writing will greatly improve throughout the semester.

      For any student struggling with writing their papers, I’d strongly recommend reading this chapter and memorizing it. This chapter explains the different types of essays and how to structure them. I like the fact that it has a helpful checklist to help you identify what type of essay you need to write. However, no matter what type of essay you need to write it has 3 basic parts, an introduction, a body and a conclusion. This chapter gives multiple examples of ways to start an introduction, which I believe is important to know so all your essays don’t start sounding redundant. This chapter also puts an emphasis on the idea that everything beginning with the introduction, the meat of the essay (the body) and the conclusion must flow coherently. It gives a page full of solid transition words to use to help keep the essay flowing nicely. One thing that this chapter lacked was explaining what a thesis statement is. It mentions the word thesis statement, but never mentioned the purpose or how to write a thesis. Other than that, this chapter is a very useful chapter for those beginning to learn how to write a good essay.

Interview with Jonathan Martinez

Emily Baker

January 21, 2016

English 121

Interview

Image found Here

It’s the start of a new semester at Front Range Community College. Many students are returning from a month long winter break; however, this is not the case for Jonathan Martinez. After taking a gap semester, Jonathan is ready to tackle his first semester. He is starting off strong with a full plate of classes, including History, College Algebra, Chemistry and English. Although there are a few setbacks for Jonathan’s educational journey, such as not having any internet at home, there is no doubt that he will be a successful student in English 121. 

   As a recent graduate from Fort Lupton High School and who had taken AP English, Jonathan is already well prepared for the upcoming semester in English 121. Jonathan also enjoys writing in his free time. He enjoys writing a wide variety of modes including poems, essays and short stories. This will be a huge asset for Jonathan this semester because he has had plenty of practice developing his writing skill; however, there are still areas of writing that Jonathan wishes to improve on during this semester.

         
   The short stories and poems may come naturally to Jonathan, but it’s the scholarly essays that give Jonathan a run for his money. One of his greatest weaknesses when it comes to writing essays is developing a strong thesis. Without a solid thesis it is difficult for Jonathan to develop the body of his essay. As a result, he often finds himself spending more time on his essays than he would have like to. Jonathan hopes that taking  English 121 will be able to help strengthen these areas of weakness in his writings. Jonathan’s goals for this class will surely give him the motivation to get the most out of this class and to be a successful student.

      
      Previous English classes, an enjoyment for writing and clear goals create a concoction for success so English 121 should be a cake walk for Jonathan. Once Jonathan gets English 121 out of the way, along with other general education courses, He can begin to focus on what truly interests him. Jonathan hopes that, in the next year or so, he can transfer to either CSU or CU and begin studying mechanical engineering.