Your Fourth Blogpost

Your fourth blogpost – as well as almost all of the blogposts you'll be writing for the rest of this semester (there's one left to write on the course readings, Elisabeth Anker's text) – will be on one of the sources you're going to use in your research paper. Although I discussed today's blogpost with you in class today, I wanted to list the things you need to keep in mind as you write about sources. By reading and responding in this way to a variety of sources on your topic, you'll start to see what the issues are, what people are arguing about, and you'll then be able to develop your own point of view. In your blogposts you should do the following:

1. Summarize your source. What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say?

2. Evaluate your source. After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to assess it. Is it a useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective?

3. Reflect on your source. Finally, once you've summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask how it fits into your research. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your argument? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic?