2nd Choice Blog Due March 3

This week you will do a second blog of your choice.

Choice Blog - Due February 24

I'm setting you free! 

For the next two blogs you will have complete freedom to explore any aspect of your topic that you find interesting.

Ideas:

• Focus on one of the key players in your issue.  A researcher, famous person, victim, etc.  
• Do a pro/con analysis for one aspect of your issue.
• Deeply research one aspect of your topic.

• Read another essay and reflect on the author’s ideas.

As always, the blog needs to be 300-500 words and have two correctly cited sources. Remember, you are working towards a research paper, so as you pick a topic think about how it will add to your paper.

Data Analysis - Due 2/17

Reading the opinions of others is a great start, but before you can develop your own stance on an issue it is important to analyze the data yourself.

For this post you will need to find and interpret data and/or statistics.  Do some research on your topic and find a chart or statistic that refers to your question.  In the blog, interpret the data and explain the connection to your topic.  What lessons can we take away from the statistics?  What questions do the statistics generate?

• Include a clear thesis statement, evidence and analysis.
• Cite your two sources (in the text and in the Works Cited section at the bottom of your blog)
• Write 300-500 words.

Two Articles: Blog Post Due on 2/10

One of the most important aspects of research is to

understand different sides of an issue.

For this blog you will be reading two essays or articles about your topic and evaluating the author's ideas.  Both of the articles/essays should be from reliable sources and should be long enough to fully develop an idea.

This blog post will need to be 300-400 words. Be sure to cite your two articles within the text as well as in a Works Cited section at the bottom of your blog (include the URL in your citation).  You will need to turn in annotated copies of both articles.

Ideas for this blog include:

• research one conflict related to your topic and choose a pro and a con article (http://www.procon.org is a resource)
• choose one recent article and another from a few years ago and compare how the two authors discuss the issue as it relates to their time/place
• compare how two authors from different countries/cultures discuss an issue
• compare how a liberal and a conservative publication cover an event

In the introduction paragraph include a thesis statement that clearly states your evaluation of the essays/articles.  Depending on your issue and the articles selected, this can include an evaluation of which author did a better job discussing the topic, a reflection on how cultures differ on your issue or an analysis of how two different political publications cover an issue.  I expect you to take a stand and then fully support it in your analysis of the two articles.