Week 6

Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species -- man -- acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world.

–Rachel Carson

Good afternoon, good afternoon. Hope you all have been well since last we met.

Today's classwork continues with a focus on using sources to generate essay ideas and perspectives. There are two basic kinds of sources used in conducting research, primary and secondary. Primary sources are defined as those whose information comes firsthand to the writer or researcher, such as original experiments you conduct, field notes and observations you make, interviews, eyewitness accounts, and works of art or artifacts you examine and evaluate, including photographs and films, sound recordings and historical documents (letters, diaries, records of all sorts, speeches, etc.). Secondary sources are the descriptions, interpretations, and research work and conclusions others have done on a given subject of inquiry, be it a work of art or an artist, natural phenomena such as hurricanes or volcanos, human biology, cancer, etc. Reports, reviews, biographies, encyclopedia articles, and news reports, among others, fall in this category. Often research projects involve use of both kinds of sources, primary and secondary.

Research is basic to many of our daily activities and decisions. We want to see a movie, a good movie, so we read the reviews of recent releases and make a decision one way or another. We want to buy a new car, computer, whatever, and so we gather information about the products available, learn their relative merits as compared to others in their class, then test run them, try them firsthand before we commit ourselves to a purchase. Your purpose in research is ordinarily defined by your interest in a subject. In college writing, the central goal of research is to develop and show a clear understanding of a particular subject. Perhaps you are asked to explain a problem, and to illustrate measures being taken to address the problem; at last, you find yourself arguing a position or advocating a certain course of action. Having made a thorough review of the most timely, authoritative literature on your subject, you are, presumably, an expert, and in a position to advance a position or claim and support it with reference to your various sources.

As a class we'll look at a topic of global interest–ocean pollution– specifically, the effects of plastic pollution in the oceans. The essay research assignment, should you choose this topic and not another, involves summary description of the problem, its causes and effects, the measures being taken to assess and address the problem by those working in the field, and/or a line of inquiry and development to be determined by you. Your audience will be your classmates and all those who might justifiably find the subject important. You will look at a number of print and online sources, including photo and film sources, and draw from these the information to make a considered claim about the threats that plastic pollution poses to the health of the ocean environment, marine life, and even, potentially, human life. You must develop your own slant. You may also use primary research. Living in south Florida, you have ready access to the ocean and its tributary waters and can thus view firsthand possible evidence of the problem you will be reading about; you might then report your findings in the essay, if only to show awareness at the local level of the extent of plastic pollution.

This research assignment will require a 350- word summary overview of one published article and a summary description or overview of other sources available in print and/or on the web (assignment #6); as well, it requires an essay response, of at least 750 words, with sources documented in MLA format, to the threat posed by plastic pollution of the world's oceans (#7). Should you choose to research a different subject for essay #7, as you may, you will still be responsible for today's summary work on plastic pollution. The final essay should contain a minimum of three secondary sources, show a thorough understanding of at least one of the problems associated with ocean pollution, the ramifications or complications posed by the problem, and the measures being undertaken in response, with specific citations of source material. The conventions of documentation will be discussed and illustrated in class next week. The paper will be due week 9.

Directions for assignment #6: To begin, read the article "An Ocean of Plastic," by Kitt Doucette (Rolling Stone, October 2009 ). In 350-400 words, summarize the findings reported in the article, identifying key points, observations, descriptions, facts, concerns and questions raised in the article. Briefly describe several of the photo illustrations, too. Include several textual passages in direct quotation to substantiate your summary claims. Then, working with another classmate, identify references within the article– to important individuals, organizations, places, key terms– that may serve as additional source material. Websites and additional published articles and links may be found by googling the topic keywords. Google these keywords. Share this research work, and share your findings. Explore what each new source has to offer, even if you have only time for a cursory look or textual scan. Individually, each of you must compile a brief summary of Internet sites where additional information, news, and published articles on the topic may be found, describing those that seem of particular research value, and why (for a minimum of four). Include this summary report with that of the article.