We are currently reading through the book, The Curious
Researcher. Through this book we will be
completing the exercises by critically analyzing the assignments and then
posting them on this blog. This will be
the first post of many and will be analyzing the introduction of the book steps
1 and 2.
Step 1: For this step
I will be picking a bullet point in the book and free writing about that point
for 3 minutes on why I agree/disagree with it or how I feel about the idea
*When writing a research paper, you’re supposed to use your
own opinions.
I agree with the statement that you are supposed to use your
own opinions. You need to put thought
into a research paper. If you are just
going to restate other people points only why should they read your paper at
all your just mimicking what someone else said.
With this said I believe you need to bring a new concept to the table or
at least a new way about going about the subject. At least something to get people thinking in
a different way and possibly even thinking critically themselves. This will also help you understand things
yourself more as you begin to analyze your own beliefs and views and even
incorporate them into your research paper.
Step 2: Now we are asked to think about the truths of a
couple of statements and once again free write about them for 3 minutes.
*When two experts disagree, one of them has to be wrong.
For this particular statement I will start by saying in some
cases it can be true and in some cases it can be right. In some cases for instance when two people
argue about the existence of Jesus, the one who says he does not exist is wrong
without a doubt. But in another instance
if it is an argument over personal belief of a topic both people can be right
according to their upbringings and the way they view different things. This is what causes me to believe opinions
and facts are different. Yes there are
things that are facts and have to be true like God and Jesus but there are
different things that are personal belief and opinions such as saying Ben
Roethlisberger is the best quarterback while someone else says Joe Flacco is
the best quarterback.
Tyler- I definitely agree with your first statement in step one. When you say you should use your own opinions in a writing piece. It is imperative that your audience knows where you are coming from and they different viewpoints you may have. Also, it will help your reader understand the topic more if you have various opinions presented. Not to mention I like when you said it will help you understand more yourself as a writer. When you are writing about a certain topic, it is important to analyze information and do research. In class we talked about how we need to be "critical thinkers" like we learned in class. It is important to learn more about your topic so you can expand your opinion and give the reader opportunities to learn more about what you are trying to accomplish in your writing.
ReplyDeleteFor step two, I also agree with you. You definitely backed up your opinion well. Someone may not believe in Jesus and someone may believe in Him. The person who says He is not real is obviously wrong. Also, when it comes to opinions like your quarterback analogy, that makes a lot of sense. Someone may be brought up differently and believe that one player is better than the other. They both could be right in this case because both players do well on the field and have been successful on their team.