Good Morning Monday!!
October 6th
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Answer the question, “Why do we DO research?”
Discuss how texts work in conversation with other
texts (extend, complicate, and qualify).
Discuss annotated bibliography.
Why do we
DO research?
Kovach & Rosenstiel say, “Truth is a statement of what is most
probable in proportion to the evidence available at the time” (32).
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Seeking out the “truth” is part of active citizenship.
Seeking out different perspectives is how we make informed
decisions.
Practicing “active skepticism” means taking the authority to filter the
information we have been given.
Seeking out “truth” puts us in a position to be agents of change vs.
victims of it.
(Blur: How to Know What’s True in the Age of Information Overload)
Texts Conversing with Texts
Academic writers do research to find relationships
between texts and write about them.
– Think of a text as being one part of a conversation.
– Research is to discover the conversations or dialogues
texts have with each other.
– When discussing the relationships between texts, we
explain how one text works upon the other.
– We can frame this relationship in terms of how one
text extends, complicates, qualifies, illustrates, and/or
challenges, another text.
– Research leads to depth of understanding.
How texts extend, complicate, and
qualify other texts.
• Extend: When a source advances, develops, expands, or takes further
some element of an existing argument, we say that the source extends an
argument. Extending an argument involves presenting additional evidence
or reasons that are in line with the original argument but goes beyond it.
Example:
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Ice cream is a dessert favorite shared by all people.
Without giving it a second thought, most people would expand the definition of ice cream to include
gelato, frozen yogurt, sherbet, and sorbet.
Useful verbs:
Gives additional evidence, develops, elaborates, expands, extrapolates, teases
out, advances, takes further, provides additional evidence/support,
supplements, etc.
Note: We are not merely looking for arguments, claims, and/or evidence that confirms Carey’s position rather
we are looking to see how one text changes up the text – not necessarily more details that support an
original argument and claim.
How texts extend, complicate, and
qualify other texts.
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Complicate: When a source presents evidence, arguments, or claims that are at
odds with an author’s position, suggesting that the position needs to be qualified,
we say that one text complicates another.
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Complicate is not quite the same as disagreeing with a text, although disagreement may be involved.
It usually involves suggesting that an author has not dealt with the full complexity of an issue, has
failed to consider relevant evidence, or that there is a gap, shortcoming or limitation in an author’s
account.
It may involve exposing problems, contradictions, or presenting counterexamples and
counterarguments that challenge some part of the argument.
Example:
BUT WAIT!! Since access to refrigeration is problematic in many underdeveloped regions of the world, it seems that all people
would not have access to ice cream and therefore, would not be able to share in the joys of eating ice cream. Furthermore,
people who are lactose intolerant or have sensitive teeth would most likely not describe ice cream as their favorite dessert.
Hence, there are shortcomings with the claim that ice cream is a dessert favorite shared by all people.
Useful verbs:
challenges, contradicts, disagrees, locates problems with, identifies shortcomings, notes that X fails
to account for, notes that X ignores A, suggests that X’s account is exaggerated, is vulnerable to
counterarguments/counterexamples, rests on several highly questionable assumptions, etc.
How texts extend, complicate, and
qualify other texts.
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Qualify: When a source presents evidence/claims that suggest an author’s
argument goes too far, is too strong, or over-generalizes, we say it qualifies the
author’s argument. When a source limits the scope or extent of claims in an
argument, we say that the source qualifies the argument.
– Ice cream is a dessert favorite shared by all people.
– Without giving it a second thought, most people would expand the definition of ice cream to
include gelato, frozen yogurt, sherbet, and sorbet.
– BUT WAIT!! Since access to refrigeration is problematic in many underdeveloped regions of
the world, it seems that all people would not have access to ice cream and therefore, would
not be able to share in the joys of eating ice cream. Furthermore, people who are lactose
intolerant or have sensitive teeth would most likely not describe ice cream as their favorite
dessert. Hence, there are shortcomings with the claim that ice cream is a dessert favorite
shared by all people.
– However, many people do consider ice cream
to be a favorite. 
Carey’s argument:
While it may not be right that FPs make their billions off
of students laden with a debt they may never be able
to pay off, FPs exist to serve a purpose that NPs have
not successfully fulfilled.
The Carey and Beha Conversation
• Carey identifies a problem.
• What is Beha’s response?
Extend
To advance, develop, expand or take further some element of an existing
argument.
– Beha offers further clarification of Carey’s argument.
• Serving lower-income students and financed by the federal
government are traits the FPs share (52).
• FPs grew as a direct result of federal funds made available with
few restrictions (52).
Complicate
•
When a source presents evidence, arguments, or claims that are at odds with an
author’s position, suggesting that the position needs to be qualified, we say that
one text complicates another.
Qualify
To limit the scope of the existing argument because it may have over generalized,
or have been stated too strongly.
Annotated Bibliography
Look to Little Seagull for formatting different
texts.
– MLA Style: “Lists of Works Cited” Categories on
pgs. 110-111.
– For the purposes of this class we will list Carey as
a work in an anthology (RWS 100 Course Reader).
– Page 123 shows us what information we need and
in what order and style we need to present it.
Annotations
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Prepare an MLA citation as it will appear in your works cited page.
Provide research on the author and publication and determine their
qualifications and their audience.
Provide a statement of scope – this will be a summary statement of the
text.
Provide a concise description of the work- for our purposes this will be
an objective/evaluative brief analysis of the entire work viewed as a
conversation with Carey’s commentary and how it might be used to
expand, complicate, and/or qualify his Carey piece.
You will identify the argument, claims, and types of evidence. You may
use bullet points to identify claims and types of evidence in a
hierarchical format. For the purpose of our class, I want to know that you
are familiar with the entire work, yet I want you to be mindful of
identifying the claims and evidence that are relevant to your project.
Details are your friends, but avoid fluff and too much summary.
Prepare a consistent presentation.
Example of Annotated Bib Entry
Kovach, Bill and Tom Rosenstiel. “Chapter 1: How to Know What to Believe Anymore.” Blur: How to Know What’s True in the Age
of Information Overload. New York: Bloomsbury, 2011. 1-11. Print.
•Bill Kovach: Author and has “served as New York Times bureau chief, editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and director
of the Nieman Fellowships. He is founding chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists” (cover).
•Tom Rosenstiel : Author and “a journalist for more than thirty years, is a former press critic for the Lao Angels Times, founder
of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, and cofounder of the Committee of Concerned Journalists.
•Authors are knowledgeable, experienced, concerned, and reputable in the field of journalism.
•While this text addresses how consumers of the news need to become more skilled at discerning the “truth” behind the
massive amounts of information that is categorized as “news” in an era of information overload brought on by technological
advancements, this source could work to extend, complicate and illustrate Carey’s commentary because it discusses the
importance of questioning claims and conducting research in order to be an informed citizen and to avoid a bandwagon
mentality that agrees with most any type of news that affirms a personal belief , validates a popular stance, or appeals to a
vulnerability.
•The authors claim that “the most fundamental change [with the boom of information technology] is that more of the
responsibility for knowing what is true and what is not now rests with each of us as individuals”(7). What they mean is that with
all the different ways of being informed, we, as individuals need to learn the skills to screen out hyperbole and evaluate the
credibility of information before making decisions. They explain that with information technology, the individual as well as the
public have a greater voice, but the authors also warn that so do those who would seek to manipulate and use news
divisively. This could work to complicate Carey’s argument - In paragraph 9 Carey explains that low income plus high debt
equates to default. Then, in paragraph 11 Carey states that “the federal government has every right to regulate the billions of
taxpayer dollars it is pouring into the pockets of for-profit shareholders” (54). An argument could be made that the decisions
of ill-informed students result in the lining of the pockets of FP shareholders. It seems that a student would be less likely to be
manipulated into signing off on such insurmountable debt if they were better informed as to the practices of FPs. This
complicates Carey’s point that seems to place more of the onus upon voters, government, NP educational institutions, and
FPs than upon students. In paragraph 12 Carey seems to use a strategy of scapegoating by asking the questions, “Whose
fault is that? Kaplan, or the feckless voters . . . ?” (55). Kovach and Rosenstiel extend this pseudo-question which acts as a
claim by explaining that if the public does not make informed decisions and actively participate as citizens, the consequences
may be dire as is the case with FPs making their billions off of student loan debt funded by Uncle Sam.
Homework
Prepare annotated bibliographies using the
following sources (due Friday for credit):
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Carey
Beha
Public Agenda
Your choice (2)
Note: It seems that you should be able to come
up with about one page of single spaced writing
per source.