Tuesday, March 29, 2016

My Research Question

I have chosen to write my argument/synthesis paper on the controversy of using Native American mascots for sports teams.  I have decided to pick this topic because it has many viewpoints and arguments that support both groups that are for or against the use of Native American mascots or symbols in sports programs across the U.S.  While researching this topic, I will attempt to answer the question as to whether or not it is offensive for sports teams to use Native American mascots or symbols.  This question of whether or not the use of such mascots is offensive is important in trying to determine if prejudices are still strongly ignored or whether people advocating for the retirement of "Indian" mascots are just complaining about a topic that really has no impact on their lives, namely those who do not identify with having any indigenous blood.  To appropriately answer my question, I will have to research recent events pertaining to this issue.  It would probably be smart to do some research on the origin of this whole controversy. As far as experts go, I believe that authors of articles and books that deal with the use of Indian mascots among sports teams along with members of Indian tribes that have had influence on the topic would be good sources of "experts" for this topic of argumentation.      

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Reflection on the Explanatory Synthesis Essay

I found the Explanatory Synthesis Essay to be interesting and challenging.  I enjoyed the project because I was able to discuss a topic that really interests me.  When someone discusses a topic that interests them, I feel that they can really dig deep into the information of that topic and expose his/her audience to things they may have not known prior to reading their work.  I believe that the peer review sessions during this project, went well.  However, I feel that I wasn't properly able to correct the errors in my first draft due to the fact that my peers and I basically answered questions from our text books and didn't really expand on anything else.  I believe that peer reviewing is very important in the writing process but I also believe that the peer reviewing sessions would be even more helpful if the reviewers could review another's paper without being confined to the questions for peer review in our text book.

I am somewhat satisfied that I accomplished what I set out to discuss in my paper. Despite having finished my paper, I still feel as if I am not completely finished.  Writing essays have always been a challenge for me. When I am given the task of writing a paper, I always understand what I need to do in my paper and I am able to form good ideas on how to properly develop my paper.  However, when it comes down to actually writing a paper, I freeze.  In the Explanatory Synthesis Essay, I felt that I had good information but no clear direction at times. My visit to the Writing Center was helpful in that I could receive the help I needed to organize my topics and correct my format to meet the requirements of APA.  In all, I am confident that my writing will improve with practice and a positive mindset.          

Explanatory Synthesis Notes

Topic: Population explosion has been a hot topic of debate for many decades.  It is a more important topic of discussion now due to the fact that advances in medicine and technology allow older people to live longer, thus reducing the death rate.  Recent data indicates that developing countries, commonly clustered into the category of the Third World, are experiencing the largest amounts of population growth than countries that are developed.  In the past, experts have estimated many numbers in which the earth cannot sustain a larger human population.  Interestingly, all of the past predictions have been proven false within the progress of time. Are future population predictions becoming more accurate with advancements in  technology?

Sources:
- An expert from a larger article titled Modernization, deals with past population spikes and the factors behind them.  It provides straightforward facts.  These facts about why the global population has risen in enormous amounts before helps reader form a better analysis on the overall content of the article itself.  By looking into the reasons for population increase, one can infer a possible solution to combating population explosion.  This source will provide the backbone of past population rises and provide the audience with information necessary to understand the next article.

- The second article I have chosen to use in my paper, discusses future predictions of population growth according to recent studies and interpretations in data by scientists. This article focuses more so on the latest population rise that has taken place over the last sixty years. I believe that this article will provide the audience with the information that will give them something to think about due to the fact that the predictions made, expand fifty years into the future and haven't been reached yet.  These scientists are basing their predictions off of previous collected data.

- The visual representation I chose to include in my paper is one that shows future projections of the world population.  What I believe should capture the interest of the audience is the sharp upward trend that the line in a graph will take as it predicts the population in future years.