Today
• Efficient reading exercise (~25 min)
• Thesis statement & 5 refs (due today on paper
– put name on it and pass to Carrie now,
revision due on Catalyst 2/2/2012) (~25 min)
• Science in the media intro & start assignment
(due in 1 week) (30 min)
Deep reading recap
• Realize experts are not speed readers; they need to
struggle with texts to understand meaning
Deep reading takes time (think as you go; interact with
text)
–
–
–
–
–
–
Form visual images to represent content
Connect to emotions
Recall past experiences that relate to reading
Predict what will happen next
Ask questions
Think about the use of language
• Adjust reading strategies for different purposes. Not every
text requires deep reading. (Ended here last time)
Fast, efficient reading
Brainstorm approaches
Recap Structure of a paper or report
• Title/Authorship
• Abstract: describe basic questions,
approach, implications. The “take
home” message
• Introduction: central research
question and background literature
• Methods: describe research
methods
• Results: present data
• Discussion: present interpretation
• Conclusions: interpretation, broad
implications, future
• Works cited/Back matter
Important to answer questions as you go
Write these down:
• What is the main question?
• What is the approach/method?
• Main result or observation?
• Main outcome/interpretation? (check)
• Implications? (star)
With practice it gets easier to judge.
What are some strategies for efficient reading?
Methane Oxidation at Deepwater
(1) The Deepwater Horizon blowout in June 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico
has provided a site for studying a number of marine processes in
situ that would not otherwise have been possible. The release of
massive amounts of methane from the wellhead resembles rare but
potentially dangerous massive outgassing events from natural seeps
or gas hydrates along the ocean floor.
Kessler et al. (p. 312, published online 6 January) surveyed waters
during the leak and after the wellhead was sealed and found that
bacteria degraded all of the methane released from the well within
~120 days of the initial blowout—and within only ~40 days once the
well was sealed. The presence of low oxygen anomalies in the
water column and a shifted bacterial community structure toward
methanotrophy suggests that the ecological response to such large
events can be faster and more efficient than anticipated.
11 minutes for:
(2) Abstract
(3) The rest of the paper
Important to answer questions as you go
•
•
•
•
•
What is the main question?
What is the approach/method?
Main result or observation?
Main outcome/interpretation? (check)
Implications? (star)
What strategies for efficient reading worked?
It gets easier with practice.
What makes a strong thesis statement?
• The point is persuasion: convince your reader of your point of view
• After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of
view on the topic directly and often in one sentence. This
sentence is the thesis statement, and it serves as a summary of
the argument you'll make in the rest of your paper.
• The thesis statement needs to be a statement. Do not pose as a
question (too open-ended, and doesn’t tell your reader the
specifics he/she needs to navigate your paper and evaluate
whether or not you’ve convinced him/her of something)
• Be specific. Thesis should cover only what you will discuss in your
paper and should be supported with specific evidence
• Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your
thesis statement to reflect exactly what you discuss in the paper
• Great thesis statements are easily identifiable, plausible, novel,
sophisticated, insightful, crystal clear.
See handout & The Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill and Purdue Online Writing Lab
Thesis statements
What makes a strong thesis statement?
1.
A strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand.
There are some negative and positive aspects to the Banana Herb Tea
Supplement.
Because Banana Herb Tea Supplement promotes rapid weight loss that
results in the loss of muscle and lean body mass, it poses a potential
danger to customers.
2. A strong thesis statement justifies discussion. If you merely state
an observation, your reader won’t be able to tell the point of the
statement and will probably stop reading.
3. A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea. If your thesis
statement expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse
your readers about the subject of your paper.
Companies need to exploit the marketing potential of the Internet, and Web
pages can provide both advertising and customer support.
What makes a strong thesis statement?
1.
A strong thesis statement is specific. A thesis statement should
show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you
keep your paper to a manageable topic.
World hunger has many causes and effects.
“World hunger” can’t be discussed thoroughly in seven to ten
pages. Second, “many causes and effects” is vague.
Hunger persists in Glandelinia because jobs are scarce and farming
in the infertile soil is rarely profitable.
This is a strong thesis statement because it narrows the subject to
a more specific and manageable topic, and it also identifies the
specific causes for the existence of hunger.
Work on your working thesis statement
• Look at your own statement and revise in light of
what we just talked about (2 min).
• Get together with groups
– Share thesis statements/topics with group
– Tweak thesis topics to work for the group
– If time, work on revised thesis statements
• Carrie and Kate will circulate to help out
• Meet with Kate or Carrie in office hours or via
email if you want more feedback
• Catalyst: thesis statement and refs 2/2/2012
Science in the media
• Important, but often overlooked aspect of
geoscience communication
• Work on persuasive writing and thesis
statements
• Think about audience and write about writing
Assignment adapted from project at Monash
University developed by Ros Gleadow
Science in the media: Why should
scientists communicate?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Funding
Culture
Reporting
Managers
Business
Education
Interest
Tax payers
Responsibility? Duty?
• Often think of
communicating in
academic or business
world (papers,
reports, talks, letters)
• But what about the
public sphere?
Science in the media assignment
• Hand out assignment.
• Get started.
• Touch base on Thursday. Due one week from
today.