he thre

GS11=Γin=Z02−Z01Z02+Z01

Seven months later, King gave another revision of the speech to a gathering of political and spiritual leaders,

Among these useful interventions are participation in a lively revision culture and an interactive and social writing process such as talking over drafts—soliciting feedback from instructors and classmates. Extending the modern definition of writing more broadly to composing in any medium, revision is as bound to writing as breathing is to living.

work-in-progress, that they just don’t have time for all this revision today. But this critique echoes the point that writing is social and responsive to its readers. Writing is almost always meant to be read and responded to, not hoarded away.

The more writers push through chaos to get to the good stuff, the more they revise. The more writers revise, whether that be the keystrokes they sweat in front of a blinking, demanding cursor or the unofficial revising they do in our heads when they’re showering or driving or running, the more the ideal reader becomes a part of their craft and muscle memory, of who they are as writers, so at some point they may not know where the writing stops and the revision begins.

Effective revising isn’t making changes for the sake of change, but instead making smarter changes.

Anne Lamott calls “shitty first drafts” and all the ones that follow, the revision of a tenth and a thirteenth and a twenty-third draft. I show a YouTube video by Tim Weninger, a computer scientist and engineer at the University of Notre Dame. In the video, Weninger stitches together his revisions of a research paper. In my class, we play a game, guessing how many revisions Weninger did. The answer—463!

writers need revision because revision is not a discrete step. Revision is not the thing writers do when they’re done writing. Revision is the writing.

The fantasy that good writers summon forth beautiful, lean, yet intricate sentences onto a page without sweating is an unhealthy fiction, and it is wrong.

parts of this article.

need not

parthenogenesis

This 50% cost is a fitness

t as every young organism created can bear its own young.

The Bloch function as wave

centuries

Absolute Entropies Energy values, as you know, are all relative, and must be defined on a scale that is completely arbitrary; there is no such thing as the absolute energy of a substance, so we can arbitrarily define the enthalpy or internal energy of an element in its most stable form at 298K and 1 atm pressure as zero. The same is not true of the entropy; since entropy is a measure of the “dilution” of thermal energy, it follows that the less thermal energy available to spread through a system (that is, the lower the temperature), the smaller will be its entropy. In other words, as the absolute temperature of a substance approaches zero, so does its entropy. This principle is the basis of the Third law of thermodynamics, which states that the entropy of a perfectly-ordered solid at 0 K is zero.

answer

any

d to be stat

very air parcel i

3

3.7 × 10–5 M

secondary sexual characteristics that do not benefit the individual’s likelihood of surviva

The result of this type of selection is increased genetic variance as the population becomes more diverse.

migration

in a population

​​​​​Processes and Patterns of Evolution

Pangaea (about 200 million years ago) are distributed worldwide. Groups that evolved since the breakup appear uniquely in regions of the planet, such as the unique flora and fauna of northern continents that formed from the supercontinent Laurasia and of the southern continents that formed from the supercontinent Gondwana. The presence of members of the plant family Proteaceae in Australia, southern Africa, and South America is best by their presence prior to the southern supercontinent Gondwana breaking up

Other

18.1.6

Figure 18.1.5)

Equus ferus

Equus

Echinacea purpurea

Liatrus spicata

Sexual reproduction also leads to genetic diversity: when two parents reproduce, unique combinations of alleles assemble to produce the unique genotypes and thus phenotypes in each of the offspring

fitness

Scientists still do no know how these cold-blood animals are able to move in the cold (10 to 15°C) temperatures of the Andean night

Potamites montanicola

Carnegiea gigantea

∇⇀𝑓(𝑥,𝑦)=𝐯⇀(𝑥,𝑦)∇⇀f(x,y)=v⇀(x,y)

𝑥,𝑦

Aldehydes and ketones can work weak hydrogen bonds with water through the carbonyl oxygen atom

Recognizing that an author’s voice is a characteristic created by the reader, the concept and efforts to develop it occupy a less prominent role in the development of writing ability than writing teachers commonly give it credit for.

On the other hand, if your love letter is written by a secret admirer, you might find the whole notion of this letter awkward, flattering, intriguing, or intrusive.

Origins aside, writing and speech are two ways of using language, so many people think it is possible to ascribe similar characteristics to each and, in turn, to conceptualize writing in terms of speech.

Part of the reason advice about developing one’s authorial voice is scant is because the concept of voice usually implies some intrinsic characteristic of the author herself

an audience is always an approximation

With this unknown author, you have less to go on to determine what the letter means, and with the knowledge you’re lacking

You would likely interpret this letter differently depending on what you know about its author.

Writing, as a communicative activity, is made for an audience of readers

This kind of journey, while glamorous, seems as extreme as it would be expensive.

Using the author’s words, the reader weaves together an interpretation based on the reader’s own previous experience with those words, with similar genres or situations, or her own priorities for the text.

You would likely interpret this letter differently depending on what you know about its author.

instructive advice about developing one’s voice instead gets conflated with two other aspects of good writing: point of view, or the writer’s perspective on a topic; and figurative language, the use of descriptive devices.

Far less common are pieces of advice for actually doing this work.

You would likely interpret this letter differently depending on what you know about its author.

Writing, as a communicative activity, is made for an audience of readers

point of view, or the writer’s perspective on a topic; and figurative language, the use of descriptive devices.

Or should writers journey on their own, Elizabeth Gilbert-style, eating, praying, and loving their way around the globe?

One of the most common pieces of advice to writers (old and new) is that they must spend time cultivating their voice

Not much—except, perhaps, a clumsy metaphor that gets in the way of more accurate descriptions of a reader’s response. Conversely, letting go of the author’s voice turns writers’ and writing teachers’ attention toward more important aspects of learning to write.

aspects of good writing that reflect what readers want and need.

the author’s voice is always a fabrication—a fiction—in the mind of the reader.

an audience is always an approximation

Using the author’s words, the reader weaves together an interpretation based on the reader’s own previous experience

Much of that power lies in the ways readers infer an author’s voice into a text.

Reading is itself a constructive act—quite literally, reading is meaning making.

Writing, as a communicative activity, is made for an audience of readers

Further, since writing and speech are conceptualized in terms of rhetorical practices—that is, the uses of language as a means of creating knowledge and effectively communicating that knowledge—applying verbal qualities of speech to writing provides a kind of shorthand for thinking and talking about writing.

Part of the reason advice about developing one’s authorial voice is scant is because the concept of voice usually implies some intrinsic characteristic of the author herself

Writing developed not from speech but out of a need to represent numbers

the author’s voice is always a fabrication—a fiction—in the mind of the reader.

writing more accurately—not as a series of individual disruptions, but as a continual integration of knowledge and a way of making sense of the world.

Not much—except, perhaps, a clumsy metaphor that gets in the way of more accurate descriptions of a reader’s response. Conversely, letting go of the author’s voice turns writers’ and writing teachers’ attention toward more important aspects of learning to write.

Removing writing from the constraints of a single author’s voice

practical issues like the ability to make and support a claim, the ability to select and ethically represent evidence and experience, or the ability to write in a way that readers might recognize as important.

writing is some kind of divined gift, talent, or genetic trait that some people have and others do not. Removing this obstacle to writing helps people see writing as not only important to their lives, but also an ability that is learnable, teachable, and can grow with practice.

In other words, any voice of a text is contingent upon the particular ways a reader might apply emphasis to certain ideas, prioritize certain linguistic devices, and make inferences about an author’s motives, intents, or aims—all at the expense of other ideas, devices, or aims.

Using the author’s words, the reader weaves together an interpretation based on the reader’s own previous experience

You would likely interpret this letter differently depending on what you know about its author.

Reading is itself a constructive act—quite literally, reading is meaning making.

That shorthand also prevents us from thinking and talking about writing as its own form of communication.

Such work seems particularly difficult in an era of excessive information.

must spend time cultivating their voice.

f(0)=0,f(0.5)=0.25,f(1)=1,

Hydrolysis of ATP to Form ADP

There are two basic ways to describe matter: physical properties and chemical properties.

kernel

6120

6120

5

Such sequences are similar, but not homologous

Let us write the equation in Leibniz notation. dydx=f(y)dydx=f(y)\dfrac{dy}{dx} = f(y) \nonumber Now we use the inverse function theorem from calculus to switch the roles of xxx and yyy to obtain dydx=1f(y)

Aleurone

Clearance

increased

GFR

Only those that are unbound will be filtered and cleared from the body

high resource families.

Potassium balances the effects of sodium on blood pressure because the more potassium you eat, the more sodium you lose through urine.

Vin−amp

Vin−amp

Vin−amp

One goal is to generate positive income, also known as cash flow. Another goal is to increase the value of our investment, also known as capital appreciation.

tug of war

expressions

hydronium

pOH and the pH of a 0.0125-M solution

log[H3O+]=−7.3

hydronium ion

Calculate the pH of the solution at 25 °C.

10−7

80 °C

hydronium

hydroxide

fraternity

Fragmentation of C-C bonds occurs because they are usually weaker than C-H bonds, and this produces a mixture of alkyl radicals and alkyl carbocations

go beyond the limitations of our eyes, we build telescopes and detectors that help us expand our physical perceptions. Some of these are the familiar visible-light telescopes seen at mountain-top observatories; they allow us to see fainter objects with more detail than our eyes alone could see. We also use sophisticated radio antennas and receivers—radio telescopes. In fact, there are different telescopes for all of the types of light in the electromagnetic spectrum: radio waves, microwaves, infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, x-rays, and gamma-rays. Each kind of light has a different amount of energy and interacts differently with matter. By looking at what happens to light when it is emitted or absorbed by various types of objects, or when the light emitter is moving through space, we can determine important physical properties of astronomical objects, such as temperature, density, and chemical composition.

negative sign indicates that the reaction is exothermic

Assuming that all heat transfer was between the rebar and the water, with no heat “lost” to the surroundings, then heat given off by rebar = − heat taken in by water

q is given a negative (-) sign when the system releases heat to the surroundings (exothermic); q is given a positive (+) sign when the system absorbs heat from the surroundings (endothermic).

We now establish a triple integral in the spherical coordinate system, as we did before in the cylindrical coordinate system. Let the function f(ρ,θ,φ)f(ρ,θ,φ)f(\rho,\theta,\varphi) be continuous in a bounded spherical box, B={(ρ,θ,φ)|a≤ρ≤b,α≤θ≤β,γ≤φ≤ψ}B={(ρ,θ,φ)|a≤ρ≤b,α≤θ≤β,γ≤φ≤ψ}B = \{(\rho,\theta,\varphi) | a \leq \rho \leq b, \, \alpha \leq \theta \leq \beta, \, \gamma \leq \varphi \leq \psi \}. We then divide each interval into l,m,nl,m,nl,m,n and nnn subdivisions such that Δρ=b−al,Δθ=β−αm.Δφ=ψ−γnΔρ=b−al,Δθ=β−αm.Δφ=ψ−γn\Delta \rho = \frac{b - a}{l}, \, \Delta \theta = \frac{\beta - \alpha}{m}. \, \Delta \varphi = \frac{\psi - \gamma}{n}. Now we can illustrate the following theorem for triple integrals in spherical coordinates with (ρ∗ijk,θ∗ijk,φ∗ijk)(ρijk∗,θijk∗,φijk∗)(\rho_{ijk}^*, \theta_{ijk}^*, \varphi_{ijk}^*) being any sample point in the spherical subbox BijkBijkB_{ijk}. For the volume element of the subbox ΔVΔV\Delta V in spherical coordinates, we have ΔV=(Δρ)(ρΔφ)(ρsinφΔθ)ΔV=(Δρ)(ρΔφ)(ρsinφΔθ)\Delta V = (\Delta \rho)\, (\rho \Delta \varphi)\, (\rho \, \sin \, \varphi \, \Delta \theta), as shown in the following figure.

KC=(κcCκdDκaAκbB)KP(13.9.5)

Blood

Figure 8.2.4: Orienting OH groups in wedge and dashing drawings of simple straight chain sugars

$v0, 5

li

print

jal PrintString

mult operator,

In DNA and RNA, the phosphodiester bond is the linkage between the 3' carbon atom of one sugar molecule and the 5' carbon atom of another, deoxyribose in DNA and ribose in RNA.

carbon #1, also called the anomeric carbon in carbohydrate terminology

carbon #1, also called the anomeric carbon in carbohydrate terminology

The Strecker synthesis is a two-stage procedure used to synthesize alpha amino acids from aldehydes.

The purines have a double ring structure with a six-membered ring fused to a five-membered ring. Pyrimidines are smaller with a single six-membered ring structure. The carbon atoms of the five-carbon sugar are numbered 1', 2', 3', 4', and 5' (1' is read as “one prime”).

Naming Nucleobases, Nucleosides and Nucleotides

When an alcohol adds to an aldehyde, the result is called a hemiacetal; when an alcohol adds to a ketone the resulting product is a hemiketal.

div

𝑏=(birth rate)=(number of babies)(number of adults

6.1 and 6.2

6.1 and 6.2

637.8

eigenvector

C–H, C–N, C–O, N–H, O–H, S–H

MnI2

the electron transport chain can no longer pump electrons into the intermembrane space

and, as it will be used a lot, define the determinant Δ=S11S22−S12S21Δ=S11S22−S12S21\Delta = S_{11}S_{22} − S_{12}S_{21}. The overall amplifier has scattering parameters S'S′\mathbf{S}′. ΓSΓS\Gamma_{S} is the generator reflection coefficient and ΓLΓL\Gamma_{L} is the reflection coefficient of the load. For unconditional stability, |S′11|<1|S11′|<1|S'_{11}| < 1 and |S′22|<1|S22′|<1|S'_{22}| < 1. If |S′11|>1|S11′|>1|S'_{11}| > 1 or |S′22|>1|S22′|>1|S'_{22}| > 1, then there is a negative resistance and oscillation could possibly occur. Unconditional stability is defined as when |S′11|<1|S11′|<1|S'_{11}| < 1 for all passive loads ΓLΓL\Gamma_{L} (i.e., |ΓL|≤1)|ΓL|≤1)|\Gamma_{L}|\leq 1 ) and |S′22|<1|S22′|<1|S'_{22}| < 1 for all passive source impedances ΓSΓS\Gamma_{S} (i.e., |ΓS|≤1)|ΓS|≤1)|\Gamma_{S}|\leq 1 ). These inequalities are the same as saying the real part of the input and output impedances of the amplifier are positive resistances.

\[\begin{array}\ &\text{Primary Formulas}\\ &{[C]′[et]′[sint]′=0=et=cost[tn]′[lnt]′[cost]′=ntn−1=1t=−sint(6.1)(6.1)[C]′=0[tn]′=ntn−1[et]′=et[ln⁡t]′=1t[sin⁡t]′=cos⁡t[cos⁡t]′=−sin⁡t\begin{array}\ {[C]^{\prime} } &=0 & {\left[t^{n}\right]^{\prime} } &=n t^{n-1} \\ {\left[e^{t}\right]^{\prime} } &=e^{t} & {[\ln t]^{\prime} } &=\frac{1}{t} \\ {[\sin t]^{\prime} } &=\cos t & {[\cos t]^{\prime} } &=-\sin t \\ \end{array}}\\ &\text{Combination Formulas}\\ &{[u+v]′[uv]′[G(u)]′=[u]′+[v]′=[u]′v+u[v]′=G′(u)u′[Cu]′[uv]′=C[u]′=v[u]′−u[v]′u2(6.2)(6.2)[u+v]′=[u]′+[v]′[Cu]′=C[u]′[uv]′=[u]′v+u[v]′[uv]′=v[u]′−u[v]′u2[G(u)]′=G′(u)u′\begin{array}\ {[u+v]^{\prime} } &=[u]^{\prime}+[v]^{\prime} & {[C u]^{\prime} } &=C[u]^{\prime} \\ {[u v]^{\prime} } &=[u]^{\prime} v+u[v]^{\prime} & {\left[\frac{u}{v}\right]^{\prime} } &=\frac{v[u]^{\prime}-u[v]^{\prime}}{u^{2}} \\ {[G(u)]^{\prime} } &=G^{\prime}(u) u^{\prime} & & \end{array}}\\ \end{array}\]

A Serial dilution is a series of dilutions, with the dilution factor staying the same for each step. The concentration factor is the initial volume divided by the final solution volume. The dilution factor is the inverse of the concentration factor. For example, if you take 1 part of a sample and add 9 parts of water (solvent), then you have made a 1:10 dilution; this has a concentration of 1/10th (0.1) of the original and a dilution factor of 10. These dilutions are often used to determine the approximate concentration of an enzyme (or molecule) to be quantified in an assay. Serial dilutions allow for small aliquots to be diluted instead of wasting large quantities of materials, are cost-effective, and are easy to prepare.

We can be pretty sure we’ll need to repeat the key phrase “economic inequality” in ensuing paragraphs or substitute variations like “inequality,” “economic stratification” or “the disparity between rich and poor,” to remind readers of our central idea. 

In order to remind the reader that we have already discussed an idea, we can use what Graff and Birkenstein call pointing words like “this” or “that.

Ultimately, though, hitting upon the right way to link our ideas can be one of the most satisfying moments in the writing process. Everything falls into place. When we do manage to clarify that connection, we can relax and readers can relax as they follow the argument’s flow from one point to the next.    

Don’t worry if it doesn’t come naturally; for most people it requires mental sweat and revision

Paradoxically, the first step toward writing a good transition sentence can be to remind ourselves of the point we have just made.

[ln(1−t

Exercise 4.2.14.2.1\PageIndex{1} Draw electron movement arrows to illustrate mechanism of the acid-base reaction between acetic acid, CH3CO2HCH3CO2H\ce{CH3CO2H}, and ammonia, NH3NH3\ce{NH3}. Draw out the Lewis structures of reactants and products, including all lone pairs and formal charges. Include a transition state drawing in your mechanism. Exercise 4.2.24.2.2\PageIndex{2} Draw electron movement arrows to illustrate the mechanism of the reverse of the reaction in Exercise 4.2.14.2.1\PageIndex{1}: the acid-base reaction between acetate ion (CH3CO−2CH3CO2−\ce{CH_3CO_2^-}, acting as a base) and ammonium (NH+4NH4+\ce{NH_4^+}), acting as an acid). Again, draw out the Lewis structures of reactants and products, including all lone pairs and formal charges.

4.2: A First Look at Some Organic Reaction Mechanisms

MLA guidelines outline how to provide just enough information when we quote or paraphrase in the course of the essay so that readers can look up the full description of the source in the Works Cited page. In-text citations should appear at the end of the quoted or paraphrased material.

differentiate between our words and ideas and our sources’ words and ideas and locate the original source.

Visit the Modern Language Association website to see an example of a student paper following MLA guidelines. You can also read more on the MLA website about correctly formatting your document.

Microsoft Word

The simplest way to get the format right is to use a template.

The second part of the entry is the summary and evaluation of the evidence being cited

MLA format

The top of the entry is the citation. It is the part that lists information like the name of the writer, where the evidence appeared, the date of publication, and other publishing information.

As you assess your evidence and further develop your thesis through the writing process, you may need to seek additional sources.

One strategy is to brainstorm keywords and keep track of what you have tried in a table like this one

A great approach is to find the top journals in the specific field of your course and browse through recent issues to see what people are publishing on.

"Cited by 392...Related Articles...All 5 versions...Cite...Save."

"The Economics of Crime Deterrence: A survey of theory and evidence."

An increasingly popular article database is Google Scholar. It looks like a regular Google search, and it aspires to include the vast majority of published scholarship. Google doesn’t share a list of which journals they include or how Google Scholar works, which limits its utility for scholars. Also, because it’s so wide-ranging, it can be harder to find the most appropriate sources. However, if you want to cast a wide net, it’s a very useful tool. Here are three tips for using Google Scholar effectively: Add your field (economics, psychology, French, etc.) as one of your keywords. If you just put in “crime,” for example, Google Scholar will return all sorts of stuff from sociology, psychology, geography, and history. If your paper is on crime in French literature, your best sources may be buried under thousands of papers from other disciplines. A set of search terms like “crime French literature modern” will get you to relevant sources much faster. Don’t ever pay for an article. When you click on links to articles in Google Scholar, you may end up on a publisher’s site that tells you that you can download the article for $20 or $30. Don’t do it! You probably have access to virtually all the published academic literature through your library resources. Write down the key information (authors’ names, title, journal title, volume, issue number, year, page numbers) and go find the article through your library website. If you don’t have immediate full-text access, you may be able to get it through inter-library loan. Use the “cited by” feature. If you get one great hit on Google Scholar, you can quickly see a list of other papers that cited it. For example, the search terms “crime economics” yielded this hit for a 1988 paper that appeared in a journal called Kyklos:

Understanding the academic publication process and the structure of scholarly articles tells you a lot about how to find, read and use these sources: Find them quickly. Instead of paging through mountains of dubious web content, go right to the relevant scholarly article databases in order to quickly find the highest quality sources. Use the abstracts. Abstracts tell you immediately whether or not the article you’re holding is relevant or useful to the paper you’re assigned to write. You shouldn’t ever have the experience of reading the whole paper just to discover it’s not useful. Read strategically. Knowing the anatomy of a scholarly article tells you what you should be reading for in each section. For example, you don’t necessarily need to understand every nuance of the literature review. You can just focus on why the authors claim that their own study is distinct from the ones that came before. Don’t sweat the technical stuff. Not every social scientist understands the intricacies of log-linear modeling of quantitative survey data; however, the reviewers definitely do, and they found the analysis to be well constructed. Thus, you can accept the findings as legitimate and just focus on the passages that explain the findings and their significance in plainer language. Use one article to find others. If you have one really good article that’s a few years old, you can use article databases to find newer articles that cited it in their own literature reviews. That immediately tells you which ones are on the same topic and offer newer findings. On the other hand, if your first source is very recent, the literature review section will describe the other papers in the same line of research. You can look them up directly.

Academic papers are essentially reports that scholars write to their peers—present and future—about what they’ve done in their research, what they’ve found, and why they think it’s important. Thus, in a lot of fields they often have a structure reminiscent of the lab reports you’ve written for science classes: Abstract: A one-paragraph summary of the article: its purpose, methods, findings, and significance. Introduction: An overview of the key question or problem that the paper addresses, why it is important, and the key conclusion(s) (i.e., thesis or theses) of the paper. Literature review: A synthesis of all the relevant prior research (the so-called “academic literature” on the subject) that explains why the paper makes an original and important contribution to the body of knowledge. Data and methods: An explanation of what data or information the author(s) used and what they did with it. Results: A full explanation of the key findings of the study. Conclusion/discussion: Puts the key findings or insights from the paper into their broader context; explains why they matter.

Tier 4. Agenda-driven or pieces from unknown sources This tier is essentially everything else, including Wikipedia.4 These types of sources—especially Wikipedia—can be hugely helpful in identifying interesting topics, positions within a debate, keywords to search on, and, sometimes, higher-tier sources on the topic. They often play a critically important role in the early part of the research process, but they generally aren’t (and shouldn’t be) cited in the final paper. Throwing some keywords into Google and seeing what you get is a fine way to get started, but don’t stop there. Start a list of the people, organizations, sources, and keywords that seem most relevant to your topic. For example, suppose you’ve been assigned a research paper about the impact of linen production and trade on the ancient world. A quick Google search reveals that (1) linen comes from the flax plant, (2) the scientific name for flax is Linum usitatissimum, (3) Egypt dominated linen production at the height of its empire, and (4) Alex J. Warden published a book about ancient linen trade in 1867. Similarly, you found some useful search terms to try instead of “ancient world” (antiquity, Egyptian empire, ancient Egypt, ancient Mediterranean) and some generalizations for linen (fabric, textiles, or weaving). Now you’ve got a lot to work with as you tap into the library catalog and academic article databases.

Types of Sources Tier Type Content Uses How to find them 1 Peer-reviewed academic publications Rigorous research and analysis Provide strong evidence for claims and references to other high-quality sources Google Scholar, library catalogs, and academic article databases 2 Reports, articles, and books from credible non-academic sources Well researched and even-handed descriptions of an event or state of the world Initial research on events or trends not yet analyzed in the academic literature; may reference important Tier 1 sources Websites of relevant agencies, Google searches using (site: *.gov or site: *.org), academic article databases 3 Short pieces from newspapers or credible websites Simple reporting of events, research findings, or policy changes Often point to useful Tier 2 or Tier 1 sources, may provide a factoid or two not found anywhere else Strategic Google searches or article databases including newspapers and magazines 4 Agenda-driven or uncertain pieces Mostly opinion, varying in thoughtfulness and credibility May represent a particular position within a debate; more often provide keywords and clues about higher quality sources Non-specific Google searches

You probably know by now that if you cite Wikipedia as an authoritative source, the wrath of your professor shall be visited upon you. Why is it that even the most informative Wikipedia articles are still often considered illegitimate? And what are good sources to use? The table below summarizes types of secondary sources in four tiers. All sources have their legitimate uses, but the top-tier ones are preferable for citation.

Combine research findings from multiple sources to make a larger summary argument. You might find that none of the sources you’re working with specifically claim that early 20th-century British literature was preoccupied with changing gender roles but that, together, their findings all point to that broader conclusion. Combine research findings from multiple sources to make a claim about their implications. You might review papers that explore various factors shaping voting behavior to argue that a particular voting-reform proposal will likely have positive impacts. Identify underlying areas of agreement. You may argue that the literature on cancer and the literature on violence both describe the unrecognized importance of prevention and early intervention. This similarity will support your claim that insights about one set of problems may be useful for the other. Identify underlying areas of disagreement. You may find that the controversies surrounding educational reform—and its debates about accountability, curricula, school funding—ultimately stem from different assumptions about the role of schools in society. Identify unanswered questions. Perhaps you review studies of the genetic and behavioral contributors to diabetes in order to highlight unknown factors and argue for more in-depth research on the role of the environment.

Before we start talking about how to choose search terms and where to search for sources, it can help to get a sense of what we’re hoping to get out of the research. We might think that in order to support a thesis we should only look for sources that prove an idea we want to promote. But since writing academic papers is about joining a conversation, what we really need is to gather the sources that will help us situate our ideas within that ongoing conversation. What we should look for first is not support but the conversation itself: who is saying what about our topic? The sources that make up the conversation may have various kinds of points to make and ultimately may play very different roles in our paper. After all, as we have seen in Chapter 2, an argument can involve not just evidence for a claim but limits, counterarguments, and rebuttals. Sometimes we will want to cite a research finding that provides strong evidence for a point; at other times, we will summarize someone else’s ideas in order to explain how our own opinion differs or to note how someone else’s concept applies to a new situation.  As you find sources on a topic, look for points of connection, similarity and difference between them. In your paper, you will need to show not just what each one says, but how they relate to each other in a conversation.  Describing this conversation can be the springboard for your own original point.

3

Developing a research question  Knowing what question we are trying to answer can help us research efficiently. Before we start, we can use our focused topic to articulate a research question.  If we already have a guess as to what our answer is likely to be, we may want to articulate that as well in what is sometimes called a working thesis. We can come up with a hypothesis that we will test against the information you find in sources as we research. Keep in mind, we may want to modify the question and the hypothesis as we learn more.  A good research question will be challenging or potentially arguable.  It will suggest the need for further investigation. Here are three possible research questions related to the topic above: Should we build more large-scale Concentrated Solar Power thermal energy plants like the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility? What are the environmental and social benefits of a large-scale Concentrated Solar Power thermal energy plant like the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility? Under what circumstances will large-scale Concentrated Solar Power thermal energy plants like the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility be cost-effective choices for clean energy? As we research, we can revisit our research question from time to time to see if we are on track to answer it or if we need to change the question or the research.

Let’s take the example of solar energy as a general area of interest.  As we research solar energy, we will see that there are different ways of harnessing the energy--from the sun’s light and from the sun’s heat.  These correspond to the subtopics of solar photovoltaic energy and solar thermal energy. Say may decide we are more interested in solar thermal energy. We research that topic further and find that the sun’s heat can be used to heat water in buildings or to heat the ventilation system, but they can also be used to generate electricity in large solar thermal power plants using a technique called Concentrated Solar Power, or CSP. Let’s say that last use intrigues us.  However, as we start to read the technical details of how these power plants work, we realize we are more interested in the potential of these plants than in their engineering.  We are excited to read about the largest existing solar thermal power plant, the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in the Mojave Desert of California, and we wonder how that facility can serve as a model for others. So the sequence of topics as we narrow it down goes like this: Solar energy Solar thermal energy The Concentrated Solar Power technique for using solar thermal power to generate electricity The potential renewable energy contribution of Concentrated Solar Power thermal energy plants Ivanpah Solar Power Facility as a model for renewable electricity through large-scale Concentrated Solar Power thermal energy plants

We can start with any general area of interest within the guidelines of the research essay prompt. See Section 11.3: Brainstorming on ways to come up with ideas. In most cases, as we research we will want to narrow our topic from this general beginning in order to be able to really dive into the conversation on the topic and consider multiple perspectives and counterarguments. We will likely learn about many subtopics as we explore our initial topic. If we read an overview of the initial topic, we can often identify subtopics by the way that overview is organized into sections. Though Wikipedia is not a scholarly source, it can be very helpful for this phase of the research process. Along the way, we can decide which we are interested in, research some more, and possibly narrow the topic yet further — all before attempting a rough draft. 

The steps below will help us analyze the essay prompt to get a clear picture of what the finished paper should include. Circle or highlight all of the most important verbs in the essay prompt. Verbs are action words that often communicate the most important requirements, like analyze, evaluate, describe, and so on.  Then, create a chart that lists the most important verbs on one side and the rest of the sentence on the other side. Use this chart as an example. This will contain the most important components of the assignment. You may use this to create a final draft checklist. Put a star next to the most important sections of the prompt, such as where the main writing task is summarized. Underline or highlight any words or requirements you don’t understand, and ask your professor to clarify. Summarize the research essay prompt aloud by telling a friend or classmate what your assignment is about and the major requirements. This chapter will guide you on what authoritative sources are, where to find them, and how to choose them, but always take your instructor’s specific instructions into consideration.

we need to know how to choose sources that we can connect into a description of a conversation on a specific topic. The rest of this chapter will give guidance on these challenges.

The research paper is the ultimate tool for academia, the ultimate tool for slow thinking.  

Many students, after some initial anxiety, ultimately find the research paper to be empowering and meaningful.  Here are some of the aspects of the research paper to appreciate: We become relative experts on one micro subject. We build our own argument and choose our focus. We are free to use a variety of sources as needed. We don’t have to cover everything.  We have flexibility about which ideas from each source to include and how to narrow our topic so it isn’t overwhelming. We pick our own sources; we don’t have to use what a teacher selected. We can choose a topic that is personally meaningful because it connects to an area of interest, personal experience, or career plans. We get to teach the teacher and our classmates something they may well enjoy learning.

the research paper is “the highest expression of the conversational approach to writing...it is a chance to practice a set of skills that you can use the rest of your life: going out into the community, finding a space for yourself, and making a contribution of your own” (219).

It’s

continue to explode definitions for what constitutes meaningful language and educated English.

writing handbooks like The Elements of Style were useless and that American students were being unfairly judged by a classed and arbitrary set of standards for their writing.

Literacy is always attached to the deep ways of knowing embedded in language practices that are localized to different cultures.

The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White, is well loved by many writers and teachers as the ultimate reference book on Standard English. Ask any writer or editor, and they are likely to have one of its four editions on their bookshelves or will remember it from some phase of their education. A recent survey of over a million college syllabi showed that The Elements of Style is the number one, most-assigned book in English-speaking countries and is also listed in the top ten assigned texts for almost every discipline. It is difficult to imagine that a book this popular with college professors and currently ranked first in sales on four different Amazon lists originated as a 43-page, self-published pamphlet a century ago.

unethical and racist at worst.