Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Week 9: Compare and Contrast

Now that you have sources that should help you answer your research question, it's time to figure out how your different answers will work together to form a single, unified paper.

To accomplish this, you can compare or contrast the answers. To do so, look for points of focus--in other words, points where the sources are either similar or different--and use these points to evaluate the logic of the answers to determine which answer or answers make the most sense to you.

For example, if you were searching for a new car, you would look at various cars in the price range you can afford. Then, once you have made a list of possible vehicles, you would look at points of focus to determine what vehicle is best for you. These points of focus may include gas mileage, features, warranties, and customer ratings.

Re-read chapter 10 if you have any questions about how to develop and organize a compare/contrast analysis. Pay close attention to the section on how to organize using block or alternating formats.

With this in mind, please answer the following in your comment:
  1. Looking at your sources, what might you use as points of focus to compare/contrast their ideas?
  2. Based on these points of focus, do your sources answer your question in similar ways, or are there major differences in the answers?
  3. In our class "model paper" on the slasher film, we organized our ideas in the block format, which organizes the ideas around the objects being compared/contrasted. We did this so that we could show the benefits and, more importantly, the weaknesses of Dika and Clover's thoughts on slasher victims so that we could show why Creed's abject theory was the "best" answer in the end. Another way to organize a compare/contrast is the alternating format, which organizes the thoughts around the points of focus (see chapter 10 for more on this). Given your research question and the answers you're finding in your sources, which organizing principle do you think you should use for your draft? Why?

35 comments:

  1. I would use all three to compare. All three of my sources agree that using cell phones in school may have downfalls, but the benefits are definitely a bigger focus. All of my sources are related to my question, and agree relatively the same. I used the same organizing principle as we did in class. This made it easy to see what I had to work with, what was worth keeping, and what were the bigger and easier points to focus on.

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  2. WITH THE SOURCES THAT I CHOSE ALL THREE WOULD BE GOOD TO COMPARE AND CONTRAST. THEY BOTH HAVE THINGS THAT ARE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ABOUT TEENS AND THE USE OF CELL PHONES IN SCHOOLS. MY SOURCES DO ANSWER MY QUESTION.. I WOULD USE THE SAME MODEL THAT WE DID IN CLASS. THIS IS BECAUSE IT WAS MORE DETAILED..

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  3. 1. Based on my sources, I would use effects of drugs and many differing opinions from doctors to compare and contrast my ideas.
    2. In my essay there are many differing opinions and greatly varying ideas that I must compare and contrast in order to develop a clear thesis.
    3, I used many of the same organizationly methods that we used for our class essay because it seems as though this method lays out all off the given opinions and finds common ground.

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  4. I used three different sources and the points of focus I used where the different groups that living wages effect.
    Two of my sources were pro living wages so their answer for my research question was vastly different than the one source that was anti living wages.
    I used the block format to organize my ideas mostly because I am most familiar with this method. This helped me focus on one aspect of my research question at a time.

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  5. I used a few sources to compare and contrast the ideas of living wages and minimum wage. There are many different perceptions on what they both mean, and many opinions that need to be taken into account. The answer to my question can widely be seen as opinion and not fact. I noticed some similarities in the answers but there was one that widely differed from the others, which gave me a different view on what the answer could really be possibly something in the middle. The format that I chose for my research paper was the group format. It gave me a great idea on what I needed to focus on and it made sure I got sources that completely covered my topic.

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  6. All of my sources give very different idea's of what should be done to reduce oil consumption and carbon pollution. I guess one thing they all have in common is the fact they all agree something needs to be done, and done pretty quickly. The idea's they give as well as who benefits from each idea will be the focus of my paper.
    My sources do answer my question, and one source in particular stands out as the "best" solution to my question. One major difference I have noticed in their answers, have to do with matter's pertaining to who should and would benefit from these innovative solutions, "All of humanity, the poorest to the wealthiest all over the world or a corrupt capitalistic system run by greedy corporate politicians. Moral ethics involved in "green" technology are important and must be taken into consideration when finding the "best" solution.
    I really liked listing the points of focus, found in chapter 10. I found that making a list really helped to structure and organize the focus points for my comparisons and contrasts.

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  7. I used a few different sources to compare and contrast my ideas. I have quite a few options that help or hurt the environment and a lot of different ways to reduce oil and come up with new forms of energy. Not all of them agree on the same way or thoughts of how these should be done but what they all agree on is that if it is not done then we are going to be in some trouble. All of my sources have one way or another to answering my question. Threw my research “green” is a much healthier way of living and it is much better for the environment. The government should put lots more efforts into these technologies. They all have a different way but they all have a solution. Chapter ten having to list things did help me some. But I am not sure if that is the best way that I would like to do the rough draft of my paper.

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  8. My sourcrs for my research some view the living wage system verses a minimum wage system as a positive where others view it as negative and very flawed. Having such different points of view is easy to contrast the concept but when comparing it was a little difficult. To find simularities with two opposite points of view was the difficult part. The method I used was listing the differences and simularities and weeding out fact form writers opinion. This method kept my ideas organized and myslf no straying from my research question.

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  9. In my paper i have used all 3 of my sources. They all support the idea that cell phones should be aloud in the classroom. I went and listed all of the research stating why cellphones are a benefit to students, As well as the teachers. Many of the answers i found were the same. They clearly express the question in my theis, and where i was going with this paper. I used the same orginizing principal as we did in class. I chose to use this method for my paper because it allowed me to use all of the different options. It helped me develope a good, well organized, detailed paper. I noticed that when using this method, i stuck more to the question i was trying to answer, without straying off onto another approach. I would definatly consider using this in the future because it can be very beneficial.

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  10. I used comparison for all three of my sources. They had many of the same points with only minor differences. Most of the points that one author made was elaborated on in another source. The main point of focus that I would use are the benefits of the living wage on the workers. All of my sources discussed this point. I would use block formating for my paper. This way I could address the details that support the point of focus for each author. All of my sources agree for the most part. They just use different information to back up their beliefs. Block formating seems to be beneficial because you can focus on one source at a time and keep your information straight as you write the paper.

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  12. I used 3 creditable sources, and was able to compare the negitives and positives of steroid use.
    All sources I found gave good information and showed similar answers to my question's. Over all I found that steroids are not safe or legal. Unless used for a specific health condition, with a valid prescription.
    I thought using the block format worked very well for my paper about steroids. Mainly because it is used mostly for shorter papers and a paper that has fewer points to compare.

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  13. 1) In my three sources, they all bring up safety as well as the educational aspects.
    2) All three sources are similar but have enough different that they stand on their own merit.
    3) I am using the block form to write my research paper. By using this method it the flow of my paper is better and my points of interest in to essay can be better understood. I was able to make more persuasive arguments that flowed and made sense

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  14. All of my sources had good points as to why cell phones should be used in classrooms. It was easy to compare the ideas in each source because they each had something to contribute to my thesis. There are a similar and different ways that my sources answer my question. Generally they are all agreeing that cell phones can be an asset to the class room, but each offers different reasons why. For my draft I used block pattern, I think that it helps to keep it organized by each source and makes it easy to understand and keeps the points in my paper focused.

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  15. All of my sources had similar points regarding the use of cell phones in schools. Each source gave examples of why it is beneficial for students to carry cell phones in schools and reasons why it is not beneficial. One of my sources was better than the other two because it covered a lot more information in a single article. The thesis of my paper was that the cons to students carrying cell phones in school were of equal importance as the pros. All of the sources had the same, or very similar reasons why cell phones should not be allowed in schools. The second draft came together easier as I was able to focus even better after the peer review I used the block diagram method to help organize my research and thoughts into a meaningful format. I was able to select the topics and quotes that I wanted to emphasize on and develop a constructive research paper.

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  16. Some of the key points that I would focus on in my piece of writing would be the positive and negatives with gadgets such as cell phones and mp3 players. Also, the few articles that I had collected all had the same opinions, but different thoughts on how to go about it. A couple of them are similar because they think that they would be useful in classrooms as an aid to learning, but were glitches as well that were overlooked. I used the block method and I think that it worked great for me because this was a more detailed type of assignment and it worked out for me better.

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  17. I chose to compare and contrast cell phones being used in schools.I found a couple sources that discussed the disadvantages cellular phones would have in an educational enviroment. As well as a few sources explaining the benefits that mobile phones could have in schools. I used the block pattern to organize my draft. This method allowed me to stay organized, and show both perspectives.

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  18. After looking through the different available sources I think a major point of comparison and contrast through the articles is at what point do the substances differentiate between gaining an advantage and cheating? Some think that the major problem isn't with steroids but with the other drugs considered legal. I think overall the belief is that any of these altering drugs, whether its to not feel the pain or inhance performance,"violate the spirit of the game". Most sources seemed to answer my paper in similar ways. I think I have found that a major problem I have had in the past with research papers is distinguishing each sources information separately and really understanding which points came from where. The block method we practiced in class really helped me to identify specific ideas with each author. I chose to use the block method again in writing my paper because I was comfortable with it after practicing in class and I found it to be very helpful.

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  19. 1. the points i am going to use to compare and contrast are the benefits of cell phones and possibilities of them in school and the negative aspects that may arise.
    2. all of my sources seem to be on one topic and cover the ideas of my question i asked very closely.
    3. in my paper i plan to use the block format of comparison because the paper being written is shorter and only has a few points to compare and that is what the block format is made for.

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  20. The points I am going to use in compare and contrast is the idea of using steroids and playing in the MLB, and how it affects the other players.
    In all three of my sources answer my question in a strong similar way, they are all against it.
    In my paper, I will try to use the block format of comparison so I can save time, and then have more time to revise my paper.

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  21. when u look at the advantages you compare what each writer listed as for what it can be used for compared to what the other said. U would also compare the disadvantages between each.
    They are very similar answers which is what made it so hard to find a third source. I had issues finding another source that didnt have the same info i've already added.
    I could have used a venn diagram since there are only 2 sides. Then i could have made 3 paragraphs plus a conclusion and intro.

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  22. The points of focus I would use to comper and cotrast their ideas are "Are cell phones useful for learning tools and would cell phones make learning harder".
    My sources do answer my question because they have different toughts on wether cell phones are useful learning tools.
    i used the method we used in class because it helps me focus on me question insted of finding useless information.

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  23. When looking at my sources the points of focus that i am going to use is how raising the wages can improve proverty. There are many advantages as well disadvantages with this. The sources I chose are similar. They answer the question in similar and different ways. they have some of the same key points, but different ones as well. For my draft I am goint to be using the block format. I think it would give me a better unserstanding of writing my paper. I personally think it's easier to fully explain one source and then explain the next. I also feels it organizes the paper better, and makes the paper easier for my audince to follow along with whats going on.

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  24. According to my sources I would use the motives that legislators have to want to make file sharing illegal. I would also talk about if their solutions may or may not benefit the entertainment industry, in order to answer my research question. To compare and contrast their ideas I would see what different views each author talks about in the article, and what they use to support their view. From these focus points each source has a similar standpoint on answering my question. The organizing method i would use in my draft would be the venn diagram because its easy and organized. I think the set up is better for understanding ideas.

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  25. After looking carefully at my sources I am going to use focus points such as what are the positive aspects of the living wage and how it has effected both employee and employer for the better. Allthough there are mostly good advantages of the living wage I have also found a few disadvantages as well. As for comparing and contrasting I will look at what each author has expressed in their work and what they use to support their claim. I have chosen to use the block format with my paper for it helped me organize claims from each source. I was able to see exactly what each author was trying to express in each of their works. It helped me tie everything together when putting my paper together.

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  26. Looking at my sources the points that I used to compare and contrast are the features on cell phones. My sources do answer my question on whether or not cell phones are a benefit or distraction in the classroom. Based on the required lenght of the research paper I choose the block method. I used the benefits of cell phones in the classroom and the compared how they can also be a distraction.

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  27. My main focal points to compare and contrast is how piracy can be beneficial and become negative. Some of the sources I am using help, but some of the sources seem to lean on the more negative side of piracy. So, I began to utilize the alternating method, which helps because I can see what people in the entertainment industry really think of piracy.

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  28. Using the sources I gathered I would write an essay showing the benefits of file sharing. Because of the type of sources I have and the amount reasons they give I am going to use the block method because I think it would be the best way to express the writer’s ideas. It would give me a better way to critique the answers I get because then I would be able to see the author’s thoughts on the matter and whether I find conflicting views about it. It will also help keep my essay more organized and flow better.

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  29. 1) I am going to use Napster in my research question. I will focus on whether or not Napster was a posotive or negative element in the entertainment industry. I will also explore the court cases and rulings to determine the legality of it.

    2) The answers to my question are very much opinion biased. Some would say that it was good, while others would say it rips artists off. What I will write will mostly depend upon court rulings and opinions of my sources.

    3)I will use the alternating format because the content of my paper is very much dependent on opinion. The focus of the paper is informing the reader of both sides. Each has good points and people are split on the decision.

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  30. the points I am going to use to compare the living wage to is the rehabilation program and the benefits its offers the poor who want to become job ready and return back to the work force to provide for their theirself and their family iused two internet sources and i used the essay point of veiw i used the method that was taugh me by Professor Snow it help to better understand what i was researching and writing about.

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  31. The issue of cell phones in school is a rising topic amoung researchers. There is plenty of information at the ready, but the points I have chosen to compare and contrast are first the benefits of cell phones in school and secondly the down fall of cell phone use in schools. All of my sources answer my question in a very similar manor. Most articles explore the benefits as well as the dangers of cell phones in the classroom. The block format was the most useful in organizing my ideas for comparing and contrasting my topic.

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  32. Points of focus I may use is that reseachers have been trying to figure out if cell phone usage in class is a good idea. There is a good use for them in class and a bad use for them in class. There are many differences in the answers I can use. Compare and contrast is a good way to organize for my draft.

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  33. Looking at my sources there are many things that act as points of focus. There are some that I like though. There are points in all of my sources whether steroids or good or bad for your health. That’s my main key point that I was trying to find. For the most part my sources answer my research question in similar ways. This made it easier to put them together. I like the block patter for organizing, especially this paper. I like it because I can see my ideas more clearly than the alternating format. The block format will help me answer my research question more clearly.

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  34. points of interest i could use of my resources are the effects of performance enhancers on the body and if they are effecting professional sports. All of my sources agreed with these points so i would write a comparative essay showing how they effect the body and how the effects on the body are affecting professional sports. For this paper the block pattern would work out well because i can get each point across but by focusing on one aspect at a time.

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  35. My articles were all well written and easily comparable. I made sure not to get more than one article that had a particular idea. In fact, my best source actually had different focus points on the same issue in the same essay so to compare and contrast my topic i really only had to read one source. Block format was the best way to do this, it didn't waste time and just did the basic things i needed to do without extraneous information or wasting time on pointless things.

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