Sunday, March 28, 2010

Chapter 51

I chose Chapter 51 because it focuses on plagiarism. Plagiarism basically means to use sources in a paper without properly citing them, almost like cheating or stealing. The best way to avoid plagiarism to keep a good record keeper. Meaning, keep track of all the sources that you use. A good tip the text addresses to help achieve a good track of sources is by printin them or photocopying them. A way to avoid plagiarism, is to remember to use quotes when using direct sentences/words from your source. Also, its important to note not just the words you directly quoted in your paper, but to also include all sources used in a paper for your bibliography.

I chose this chapter because I needed clarification on what exactly plagiarism is. I didnt realize that if you summarized a paragraph from a source that it needed to be included in your works cited. I thought the only way you need to list a source is if you copied word for word from a source. Also, I really liked the idea of keeping a record keeping of all sources used. I wouldnt exactly print or photocopy them but I will keep an ongoing log of the sources I use.

“Happy Endings,” “Obituary,” and “Oompah Loompah” Dialogue

Chose Question F, Came up with my own Question. How do you relate to the character Lovey?

Lovey grew up with a family that limited who she was and who she was going to be. She went to a school and was taught by an awfully hard up, strict, rude, restricting teacher, Mr. Harvey. She was teased by the other children, and also used defense mechanisms to tease other people like she did the sweat Japanese young girl to avoid getting teased by other classmates. She realized that her native language made her sound uneducated but didnt have the means to change it. Her family spoke it, friends and the teachers she spoke up were not helping her in a useful way, instead they were critizing her. Also, she was very close to her Grandma and reflected on her Grandma when writing their fake obituaries. There was also a part in the stories where she was given a Toni Perm which was a hilarious scene.

Lovey's experience reminds me similarly of my Fathers traditions that he strictly enforced on myself and siblings. For example, he used certain words to describe things, big words that a 7 year old had no idea what it meant. He forced us to use these words, which caused us to use them at school. But, because we werent old enough to trully understand the context of the word, we would end up using them incorrectly and our teachers would call us out on it. Also, my father made us eat certain Canadian dishes, or at least he said they were family tradition dishes that made me want to purge. Im also very close with my Grandmother, and without a doubt would include her in my obituary. The Toni Perm scene reminds me of my father who forced me to cut my hair when I was 10, and gave me a bowl cut. Literally, it looked like he took a bowl, stuck it on my head and cut around the edges. I can relate to Lovey's sarcasm also. Sometimes, when times are head its easier to make a joke out of it.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Ch. 48 Summary

This chapter gives us tips how to evaluate a reading, including fallacies, assumptions, and more. The text teaches us how to pick out the un reasonable arguments like fallacies. In order to do, we must pick out the facts or generalizing by inductive reasoning. We also learned how to recognize stereotypes, a biased opinion on a large group or population. Lots of times the writers make assumptions without sufficient evidence. A lot of times, we assume things without enough evidence.

I will use this info for my future writing as I often can see myself making assumptions or stereotypes. I often may have a pre dispotion of a topic and may make a claim without sufficient evidence. I will be more careful in the future and will also make sure to have facts to back up my claims. Also, it makes me more aware as a reader.