Assignment
Directions for Research and Source Analysis
1. Based on the idea(s) for analysis that you decide to explore in your selected reading (complete all of the argument analysis activity before you start this part), use the library databases (usually, a general purpose database will work if you cannot find a useful source in one of the literature and humanities databases) to select two good sources--one that supports a central argument/idea/interpretation you want to analyze in your selected reading, and one source that is against this central argument/idea/interpretation, or at least offers a significantly different perspective.
2. Answer the following questions about each source you find (two sources total):
• What is the author's main argument or point?
• What actual evidence (examples and illustrations, reasoning) does the author use to explain and prove his/her ideas in the source? Give and explain two specific examples.
• Of the evidence the author uses to get her/his point across to us, the readers, how much of it seems to be opinion, and how much seems to be based on fact? Give three examples of opinion-based statements and three examples of fact-based statements. Explain how/why you classified the statements as opinion or fact.
• How does the author attempt to persuade us and convince us that his/her opinion is realistic? Give three examples of how the author attempts to persuade/argue her/his ideas to the reader.
• List and explain two examples you find where the author acknowledges other points of view. Do you think that the author is being fair and balanced in her/his opinions? Explain.
• Overall, is the source convincing or successful? Explain why or why not, and use specific examples from the source to support your statements.
• Why did you pick this source? How does it relate to the reading you selected for this assignment?
Use direct quotations and paraphrases from your selected research sources to support your analysis of each source's argument(s). Use correct parenthetical documentation ("in-text citations") for the quotations and paraphrases. Cite sources correctly in MLA style at the end of your assignment.
You may present this analysis in paragraph form or in bulleted form.
When you finish, proofread for grammatical errors, and upload as instructed by Blackboard. Work must be submitted in an MS Word- compatible file.