This semester has definitely been one of the most stressful I’ve had this far. I’ve never had this much work to do for once class, EVER. From the moment I started getting emails from Marlen, I was stressed and nervous before the class had even started. I’m not going to lie, but after the first class with Marlen I really wanted to drop the class. I was scared because this wasn’t my only hard class for the semester, and I felt as if there was going to be so much work involved, which there definitely was. The most stressful part of the whole process was writing the Literature Review, but after I finished it everything else seemed to just speed right along. After meeting with Marlen and the course assistants, I wasn’t so stressed about the class. My proudest moment in this class was simply just finishing this HUGE research paper. I honestly didn’t expect to finish any of it to tell the truth. I’m usually a huge procrastinator, but in this class I could not procrastinate what so ever, which is actually a good thing. I honestly think that everything I’ve learned in this class will stick with me for the rest of my life.
Blog Entry #16 April 21, 2010
- I honestly think that every assignment that we had to do was very useful to me during my research process. Every blog entry helped me learn so much about every part of the research paper.
- The feedback that was most helpful to me was the first peer drafts that we did in class. The student feedback really helped me work harder on fixing any mistakes that I might have made and not noticed. The peer review feedback was really helpful.
- The most difficult thing for me was doing the introduction. It was really hard to start the paper because I was really unsure what information to put into my introduction, but once I got the introduction done the rest of my paper seemed like a breeze. The easiest part to write was the results and discussion part because it was just straight information that I collected.
- My final essay really shows best in my introduction. Even in the peer reviews the readers mentioned how they really liked it and that it kept their interest.
Blog Entry #15 April 5, 2010
- Doing the peer review projects not only helped the person whose paper I edited, but it also helped me in a lot of ways as well. If I found something wrong on the other person’s paper I would go back and look at my paper to see if I happened to have the same mistakes as they did. It helped me a lot to see what the other person found wrong with my paper because some of the errors were stupid mistakes that I should have been able to catch myself, but I didn’t. It also made me have to read the other person’s paper over again to make sure that I couldn’t find any other mistakes, and it also gave me a chance to see what their research was about.
- I feel as if I am right on track with my paper. I am very excited about it right now, and just can’t wait to finish it. I realized that I sometimes repeated information in my paper that I of course had to change and it made my paper sound a lot better once I fixed it. Before we did the peer review I felt as if I was behind with my paper and getting my results, but once I read someone’s paper other than my own I felt relieved because I now feel like I am right on track and right where I should be with everything.
Blog #14 March 29, 2010
Results
“Writing up Research: Results”. Language Center. 2003. Asian Institute of Technology. 29 March 2010. <http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21RES.HTM>
- Do not keep repeating yourself
- Can present information in the form of a table, graph, or diagram
- There must be text that explains the results
- Raw data usually is put into an appendix
- Lets the reader know the results of your primary research
- Make sure to organize the information so that the reader can understand it
Results
Results”. Writing Research Paper. 29 March 2010.
<http://www.research-papers-thesis.org/research-papers-results.htm>
- The writer can also illustrate the results such as using a graph besides just using written words.
- Only talk about the observations that are the most relevant.
- Don’t interpret your results in the results section.
- Don’t present the same data more than once.
- Use past tense when referring to results.
I think that it’s really important to just get the most important observations across to the reader in the simplest way. You can use illustrations in the results other than just writing. One should try to keep the information organized. Make sure to write the results section in past tense.
Discussions
“The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper”. 29 March 2010.
<http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWsections.html#discussion>
- This is the part of the paper where the results are interpreted.
- Explains new understanding about the subject of the research paper.
- Predicts what the next answer in the study would be.
- Try to be concise and to the point, do not use big words.
- Do not introduce any new information
Discussion
”Discussion”. Writing Research Paper. 29 March 2010.
<http://www.research-papers-thesis.org/research-papers-discussion.htm>
- If results differ from hypothesis, one must explain why.
- Focus on mechanisms.
- Try using alternate explanations.
- Make sure to properly cite everything.
The purpose of the disscussion section is to effectively explain the results. One must compare and contrast their information they got from their results, with the information they already have, and with what they predicted in their hypothesis. This is not a section to bring up anything new.
Conclusion
“Conclusions.” The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 29 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/conclusions.html>.
- This is what ends the paper and brings everything together.
- Allows the writer to complete his thoughts on his subject.
- It can also give new ideas to another person so they can do further research.
- Allows the reader to take something away fromt he paper and feel good about what they read.
Conclusion
“How to Write a Reasearch Paper?”. Tailore Essays. 2009. 29 March 2010.
<http://www.tailoredessays.com/how-write/research-paper/introduction-conclusion.htm>
- The conclusion explains the whole point to the research paper.
- It makes the reader understand why the paper was written.
- It evaluates the main points of the paper.
The conclusion summarizes the whole paper, and allow what the writer has written to finally make sense. There is no new information introduced in the paper. It can also allow readers to think of new ideas for future research.
Blog Entry #13 March 24, 2010
After I completed combining my 3 papers together I realized that I need to work on my transitions a little more. I probably need to make them a little longer because as of right now they’re kind of boring and don’t really flow together. I also ended up going back into my paper and changing the Introduction a little bit and also the Literature Review. I just found that by adding some little things that it made my paper a little more interesting to read.
Blog Entry #12 March 17, 2010
My research method is to do a survey. I plan on finding at least 10 participants for my research. They will be girls and guys on campus so that they will be “college age”. I plan on asking some people that I know, and some that I do not know. No there will not be any potential danger to the participants. I will protect my participants by not using their names, and if I refer to their survey specifically I will change their name so no one will ever know who they are. The survey that I will had out will have 12 questions and depending on the answer the participant gives they will get a 1,2,3,4, or 5 for every question. If they have over a 42, then one website states that you are a shopaholic. Then I will ask a couple questions after they take the survey asking if they think their result was correct or not. I plan on asking them if they think that college age students are likely to go into debt from shopping.
I don’t really have any questions about methods as of right now. I’m sure that once I start to write my methods paper that I will have many questions about it.
Blog Entry #11 March 15, 2010
Methods and Research Design
- The purpose of a methods paper is to state how that data was collected and analyzed.
- When the reader knows how the data was collected and researched it allows them to see whether the information is reliable or not.
- The Methodology should tell why one chose the research method they did.
- Sometimes in the Methodology it is nice to explain how problems were overcome.
- Remember the audience that is being written for.
- Remember the verb tense.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Writing Methodology
- Allows verification
- The reader must know how the writer gathered their information.
- The methodology should describe a few things, materials, how information was gathered, and how calculations were made.
- Te information should be straight to the point, there should be no writing in circles.
What I understood from these two articles is that a Methodology is a paper explaining in great detail about how one conducted their personal research. The information should be clearly given, and precise. The writer must tell the readers exactly what they did and why they did it. The reader should be able to evaluate whether or not the research was reliable.
Works Cited
“Writing up Research: Method and Research Design.” Language Center Website . Web. 15 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/el21meth.htm>.
“Writing Methodology – Describing the Data Collection.” Scientific Method – Understanding Science, Research and
Experiments. Web. 15 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.experiment-resources.com/writing-methodology.html>.
Blog Entry #10 February 25, 2010
This is my rubric for the “Why are Killing Rampages Increasing?” article.
Click—->Rubric for Killing Rampages
Blog Entry #9 February 18, 2010
Outline 1: When Shopping is a Sickness
Paragraph 1:
Keisha went to the mall at lunchtime and saw designer clothes. She saw a pair of jeans and a figure hugging skirt that she had to try on because she thought she would look cute in them.
Paragraph 2:
Cost of clothes didn’t matter to Keisha and she figure that since she didn’t have any kids that she can always get what she wants. She set a limit of how much money she could spend on each item such as $300 on shoes, $400 on boots, and she was 26 at the time only making $7.85 an hour.
Paragraph 3:
Keisha was a shopaholic who got a high from a “find” or a bargain. When she was bored she would shop at Banana Republic and when she was depressed she would go to Dolce & Gabbana. This disorder is hard just to see because the troubled always look attractive, successful, and always put together. Although, some shopaholics wear clothes and drive cars that they cannot afford. Some rely on loans or credit cards, and eventually it leads into debt. Homes can be lost and relationships can suffer. The author admits that before she was in private practice counseling she was trying to get herself out of $50,000 in debt which was a part of her recovery process.
Paragraph 4:
Women who laugh and make jokes about retail therapy are masking depression, loneliness, or boredom. Shopping is an easy way to raise self-esteem. Someone who has a shopping addiction will even buy items they don’t even need, but they will buy them to get a high from shopping and spending money. The emptiness that they feel could be from years of emotional or spiritual deprivation, fear that there’s never enough, whether its money, material objects, recognition or love.
Paragraph 5:
Nicole was a college student who regularly used her credit cards to buy things that were on sale. She thought she was saving money, but she was shopping all the time. Before she went to college her parents bought her everything she wanted which included designer items. She was used to always getting expensive things, but when her balances grew she realized that she was in over her head. Even now that she is out of school she still looks to her parents to give her money.
Paragraph 6:
Shopaholics think that if they are making good money, then they can afford to go out and buy everything they want. Even if that means they are spending more than they are making.
Paragraph 7:
Keisha always pays her bills late and bought her “finds” with credit cards. She made $20,000 a year. She knew that interest rates were high, but she thought that she could just get another job if she needed to.
Paragraph 8:
Keisha switched jobs two years later and thought that everything was fine because she now was going to make $23,000 a year instead of $20,000.
Paragraph 9:
Keisha lived in a family where they couldn’t afford expensive things, and she grew up listening to broken promises about getting things she wanted. When she would have to pay her late bills she would always tell them “I’ll pay you when I can”, and she grew up listening to her parents saying that. She shopped because she felt control and power that she didn’t have when she was growing up.
Paragraph 10:
Keisha had a medical emergency which her insurance didn’t cover, and she already owned credit card companies a lot of money. So she decided that enough was enough, and she wanted to have good credit because she was embarrassed.
Paragraph 11:
Keisha found a new job, and she would make $33,000 a year. She moved back home with her mom to save on expenses. She was determined to pay off all the creditors. She felt that using cash felt almost as good as using credit cards that she once loved using. She was so excited when she paid off her balance at Sears because she felt good about it. She even got all of her extra money she found in her purse, deposits from bottles and cans, and even from an extra job to pay her bills. Today she is currently free of credit-card debt, and she is on her way to building good credit.
Paragraph 12:
Mona who once was an accountant executor, and once only wore Chanel, Calvin Klein, and ralph Lauren. And now that she has kids and stays at home more, she now shops at H&M and Gap for casual clothes. Mona had a ton of shoes because she thought that shoes make an outfit. She thought that since she worked hard to raise her kids that she deserved to buy things she wanted. Even if she was just driving past the mall she would have to stop in. She and her husband earned $100,000 annually so she could buy what she wanted.
Paragraph 13:
After Mona quit her job and started her own business she decided that she should cut back on her purchases, but she had a hard time getting clients. Two of her family members got sick, and Mona had to help take care of them. She would spend thousands of dollars on only two suits because she believed that there wasn’t a second chance to make a good first impression. Now the suits just hang in her closet.
Paragraph 14:
Since Mona used to have a reputation for being such a good dresser, she always had to dress better than everyone. She would get such a good feeling when someone would give her compliments on how good she looked.
Paragraph 15:
Mona and her husband had to take out a second mortgage to pay off her credit-card balances. She tried to cut back and canceled all of her credit-cards but one, but she failed to control herself and her love for designer clothes and charged $6,000 in just nine months.
Paragraph 16:
Mona had to go out and find a job and she is now working on her self-image, and one day she may be to think she looks as good as she really does.
Paragraph 17:
Some steps to recovery are: create a shopping diary and record purchases for a month, look for patterns for why you shop such as boredom, set a goal for saving, create a monthly spending plan, cancel all but two credit cards, remove temptation but canceling catalogs, scout out cheap clothes, look for sales, meet with a financial professional yearly, consider that new trends cost more than old classics, and clean out your closet because you won’t believe how many clothes you actually have until you do.
Outline 2: Confessions of an Oniomaniac
Paragraph 1:
The opening line of this paragraph says “I’m an oniomaniac.” It explains that oniomania comes from the the Greek word onios which means “for sale” referring to a shopaholic. It explains that some seniors as well as baby boomers are affected by shopping addiction, and that they are shopping with such compulsive behavior to fill some kind of satisfaction that they are missing from their lives.
Paragraph 2:
The author explains that he is not an addiction shopaholic, but he does have a bit of a shopping problem when it comes to golf equipment. He explains that golfers try to improve their game by buying the newest golf equipment available anything from new golf gloves to a new set of clubs. He explains that he’ll call numbers that are advertising on TV, and even answer email promotions to try to get more golf items. Even though he buys all of this golfing equipment he admits that he doesn’t even know if his golf game is improving, but yet he keeps buying more stuff.
Paragraph 3:
A purchase at a store can result in a replacement for lack of affection, love, and even security that may have been lost. The reasons that people tend to acquire a shopping addiction is often from depression, emotional emptiness, or even loneliness. Men usually buy technical equipment instead of clothes, but women are typically known for buying new clothes, shoes, jewelry, or new makeup. People who are known to charge everything to their credit cards are known to have a shopping addiction. Shopaholics tend to get a high, like a drug or alcohol addicts do when they get a compulsive habit.
Paragraph 4:
Those who have a shopping addiction usually have tons of clothes with the price tags still on them, and have never been worn. Shopaholics are usually in denial of their problem, and don’t think that anything is wrong with shopping a lot. Their credit ratings suffer because they cannot pay their bills from their excessive shopping. There are many credit counseling groups in all areas because of this problem. They help people by advising them to pay to purchases with cash and to make a shopping list when going shopping. People should only have one credit card in case of an emergency, otherwise they advise only using cash. Also they suggest that shopaholics should avoid discount warehouses, only “window shop” after the store is already closed, and avoid phoning in catalog orders.
Paragraph 5:
If you are seeking out support for over-shopping you can go to www.debtorsanonymous.org. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project in 2005 said that 26% of senior go online. According to another poll in 2004 they found that 59% of online seniors have purchased items on the internet. They are very unlikely to all be shopaholics.
Paragraph 6:
This paragraph contains statistics about seniors and shopping. The population age 50 and older control more than $3.2 trillion and hold 44% of discretionary income according to the U.S. Census Bureau figures.
Paragraph 7:
A lot people think that overspending is funny and don’t take it seriously. But 24 million Americans of various ages suffer from compulsive shopping. We live in a country where going to the mall and shopping is a large form of entertainment.
Paragraph 8:
No one knows what exactly causes addiction behaviors such as shopping, alcoholism, and drug abuse. There is evidence that suggests that some pepole have a genetic disposition to an addictive behavior.
Paragraph 9:
Shopping is a vicious cycle because some people will feel guilty after making a purchase so they will return it, and they can get the urge for another shopping spree.
Honestly neither of my articles had an introduction. They weren’t formal forms of journal articles so I cannot really provide information about that. The titles of both got my attention immediately because they made me want to read more than just the title. The first article got my interest because it started out telling a story about a girl named Keisha, and throughout the article it told more of the story about her. The second article got my attention right away because the first sentence used was “I’m an oniomaniac”. So it initially makes you want to read more because for most people they want to know what an oniomaniac is because it’s not a common word that many people know of. There is not a specific research question in either articles, but both articles did present methods. The methods I think that were used in both articles were case studies. In the first article it focused on two stories of different people, but it mainly focused on one person throughout the entire article. Either way it would be a case study because the article focused on two people separately rather than together. The purpose for the first article I think is just the reality of people who may have a problem with compulsive shopping. The purpose of the second article is to state the facts that anyone can have a shopping problem, and it gives reasons as to why it might come about and how it can affects women and also men.
Blog Entry #8 February 17, 2010
How to Write a Strong Introduction from about.com
This website is about the introductory paragraph for a paper, and states that first impressions are important, and so are introductory paragraphs. The first paragraph should start with a sentence that captures the interest of your reader. The first sentence also leads into two or three sentences which will then lead to the thesis statement. The article suggests that you should use a anecdote, quotes, or trivial facts because that will draw the reader in. It gives three idea’s for creating a strong beginning which include: a surprising fact, humor, or a quotation. The first sentence is said to be a hook, and ways to get that hook can be done by: curiosity, a definition, or an anecdote. The most important thing I found about this article is that it says to “End with a Good Beginning”.
Introductions from The University of New Castle, Australia
This website gave 2 important rules to follow when writing an introduction and they are:
- The ‘golden rule’ of an introduction is never to introduce something that is not explained in the body of your essay, and never include in the body anything that has not been introduced.
- There are four things to avoid in an introduction
- repeating or paraphrasing the whole essay question
- apologizing for deficiencies in what is to follow
- making promises that you will not keep in your essay
- asking rhetorical questions
The Summary for this website is:
- The introduction must show that you have interpreted the question correctly.
- A broad understanding of the issue must be evident.
- A sound argument needs to be formed.
- Appropriate supporting evidence is essential.
- You must indicate how you have proved your case.
Works Cited
Fleming, Grace. “Introductory Paragraph – How to Write a Strong Introduction.” Homework Tips – Help With Homework. Web. 17 Feb. 2010.
<http://homeworktips.about.com/od/paperassignments/a/introsentence.htm>.
Essay Writing-Introductions. The University of New Castle Australia. Web. 17 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.newcastle.edu.au/unit/ctl/lsp/documents/eww_introductions.pdf>.
