Using Resources

Video Transcript

Slide 1

Tutor: OK, now that you have thought about how you will organize your paper, you will need to think about what resources you will use.

Student: What do you mean resources?

Tutor: I mean the places where you will get the information for your paper.

Student: Where do I begin?

Tutor: Here are some ideas.

Slide 2 – Ideas for Resources

Linear Logic in English Writing

As you plan your writing, pleas remember to be direct and use linear logic!

Slide 3 – Linear Logic in English Writing

American professors expect to see this type of organization in your essay:

I. Introduction
II. Body
III. Conclusion

We’ll be talking more about this later.

Slide 4 – Ideas for Resources

Libraries

Internet

Academic Journals

Slide 5

Student: Wow, there are a lot of possibilities!

Tutor: Yes, and it’s important for you to be able to decide which information to use.

Slide 6 – How to Judge the Value of Information

Slide 7

As we have seen, there is a wealth of information for you to choose from.

Slide 8

When you choose information, remember that it is for an academic paper.

Slide 9

A website with a lot of pictures and not much text may be interesting, but it probably isn’t an academic source. The same goes for books and other sources.

Slide 10

Be especially careful about information from the Internet, and remember that anyone can publish anything on the Internet.

Slide 11

Look carefully at the address. Is it.com? .edu? .org? .gov? If it is “.com,” are they trying to sell you something?

Slide 12

Who wrote the text? What do you know about the author’s education and experience? What are the sources of the author’s information? Is the author trying to convince or persuade you of something?

Slide 13

Does the website / article / report present just one side of an argument or opinion, or is it a balanced report?

Slide 14

Is the information complete?

Slide 15

Is the information up to date? In other words, how reliable is the information?

Slide 16

Is the information relevant?

Does it answer your question and serve the purpose of your paper?

Slide 17

Make sure that you have considered all these factors as you decide which information to use: academic, few pictures, web address, author, balance, completeness, up to date, reliability, and relevance.

Slide 18

Student: You’ve given me a lot to think about! Is there more?

Tutor: Yes. Now let’s move on to the next step, Mapping Your Ideas.

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