Trouble

The book I am currently reading right now is Trouble, a novel written by Jesse Kellerman. It is filled with suspense and constantly has new twists which makes it really enjoyable. Unfortunatley, because of Midterms I have not had a lot of time to finish reading. Luckily, spring break is coming up so I plan on using that time off to read the remainder of the book.

Wikipedia

Many students today use technology as a means of retrieving information, rather it be current events or specific subject matters. Although many websites online can be helpful and useful to students studies, there must be some sort of precaution when doing so. Wikipedia, one of the top 50 most visited websites, is an online encyclopedia that allows anyone to write information about many subject matters. Although it is a good website to help in research, because anyone can write on the site it often includes bias and false/misleading information. Although many argue that the site is a good to share and learn about numerous amounts of subject matter, the site includes many flaws that can harm student’s judgment and knowledge about a particular subject. As a result, Universities should not allow Wikipedia to be cited in academic writings.

One of the reasons why Wikipedia is not a great source is because it can often include misguided and false information. Many students read the information on Wikipedia and believe that because it is on a popular and widely used web site that the information is correct. However, most do not know that anyone can go in and write information on the site, rather they be a scholar or a person with a keyboard. As a result, the sources are usually not credible which can result in students writing or learning about something that is entirely not true. Even Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, said “For God sake, you’re in college; don’t cite the encyclopedia” in response to students complaints about a failing grade due to the inaccuracy of the information given by Wikipedia. This shows how even though it can be a good source to use, students should seek out other sources to make sure that the information is correct.

When using a website for information, students should seek out other sources to confirm that the statements are true and not bias. Although this goes along with every website you may use n research, this is especially true with Wikipedia because of the lack of control the site has in regards to peoples posts. “Wikipedia is the ideal place to start your research; however, it is not an authoritative source” shows that although it is a good place to get some kind of idea about information you might find out during research through other sites, it should not be a primary one. This is significant because if students use inaccurate information, they might use that information in other academic courses and not even know it. As a result, they will not know that what they are writing may be false or include bias. If Universities allow students to use it as a source, they would be cheating the students by allowing them to believe the misinformation.

One of the main arguments that people make in regards to Wikipedia not being banned is that it includes a lot of information about different subject matter and is told through different perspectives. As a result, students are able to attain information and views that might not be expressed in more legit sites. Although learning and reading about different views is important, bias statements that do not have any sources or barely any truth behind it should not be included in academic writings. Another argument that students make is that if the University does not want students to use it as a primary source, they should teach students to use it. Although this is true, that is something that should be taught to student’s way before they enter the University.

Wikipedia, although it often presents good information about different subject matter, it should not be used as an academic writing source. This is because the information often includes bias and a lot of speculation that has no place in academic writing. More and more students are using the site as a main source without knowing or realizing this, which often results in failing or undesirable grades. As a result, many universities are considering if they already have not banning Wikipedia as being used as a cited source in academic writing. This should be done because the academic writings usually include analysis or facts about the topic; if they have received the wrong information, they cannot do so making the purpose of the writing obsolete.

Inventing the University

This article bought up a lot of ideas that I knew about but did not know the specific terminology like "discourse" which is similar to code switching; when you use a different"voice" for different people and situations. I found it funny that when asked, a lot of students often respond with a quick no when asked if they code switch, probably they don't want to be viewed as being "fake" . However, the truth is that everyone does it all the time, especially in academic writing. Although I have(still trying to fully create) my own style of writing, I would never write a sentence using the same "language" as I would if I were posting a tweet on twitter or something. Even on facebook I am always conscious of my language and sentence structures because I have a few older friends and teachers that can see what I do. This is also know as audience awareness which is discussed in the article as well. All students are taught about the importance of audience awareness and how to write a paper keeping in mind who it is your audience(who is listening to reading the paper) is. When we gave speeches in my communications class last semester, our teacher was constantly reminding of that when writing or planning what it is your are going to speak about, also know who it is you will be talking to. That way, you know what is appropriate and inappropriate to say as well as the style it will be (i.e. comedic). Of course, I always use vocabulary that I know and use; I do not go to the thesaurus and look up "bigger" words to replace them with. It is very obvious when students do that because in an in class essay or writing they never use that kind of vocabulary but in take home essays they do.
When writing an academic piece, especially in college, never what is described in the article "talk down" to the university as sated by the Clay model. It says that it is done by "basic" writers who write as if they were a parent or person of authority and the reader has absolutely no idea about anything in the article. This confuses me because I though that when writing, especially about a specific topic, vagueness was frowned upon because your reader might have no idea what you are talking about. Also, it has been hammered into my head that when writing an academic piece you are supposed to write it as if the reader had never heard or read about the subject before. However, I think that you are not to talk/write it like they are a child. Something that really stood out to me was that when writing, you should always have a clear and firm stance and not be shy or timid when stating it. I often find myself struggling with this in a lot of opinion papers we have to do because I do not like to take sides and usually find the same amount of good and bad in things. That's definitely something that I need to work on.

Blogs I Love

Music/Celebrities
www.souljaboytellem.com/profiles/blog
He is one of my favorite artist that is out right now. He always posts up New information about shows and other projects He has going on. You can also check him out on facebook and twitter: which he updates every day.

www.necolebitchie.com
She always posts about the latest Hot Topics in the music and celebrity world.

Hair and Make-Up
www.dulcecandy.com is one of my favorite blogs. She is very trendy and always keeps up with the latest fashions but knows where to get the best deals.

www.hairmilk.com
I absolutley Love this Blog! Whenever I need some new hair styles or have questions about certain hair products I can read about them on her blog. She specializes in Black hair care which is awesome! 

Http://smuvecomplexions.blogspot.com
Her blogs and videos are usually about wig maintenance.Even though i don't wear one, i love all of the different styles that She does with them which i often try on my own hair. She also Blogs about World Events.

Authentic vs Performance Self

As soon as I started reading the definition of performance self I said "Yep, that's me". This is because unlike authentic self, I do not feel a strong connection with my words. The book goes into describing what kind of person is described under the performance self. I think that Most of the people I know are performace self because they are very laid back and do not really care about their words and others or how they are used. One thing that really stuck out to me was that She describes them as being "Goal oriented" but in terms of just gettong the job done and not really caring about the content/context, which also came up today in class. We wrote our ideas about authentic and performance self and then made counterarguments. Authentic was all for ones self and not relying on anyone Else or their controbutions. An argument was that they would be too Independent and self sufficent to take in someone elses ideas that would make their own ideas into even better ones. Also, when placed in a situation where they would have to work in Groups, they would Be less prone to listen to other's ideas. Those who qualified as performane self were viewed as being more group oriented and did not mind collaborating with others to help them think of their ideas. An argument was that they would be more likely to cheat, an idea that is also stated in the book. Blum's description of authentic self as being integral sort of threw me off because it was like people who are performance self are intergal too. I like how Blum said that many of the instructors at institutes grew up a generation where authentic self was practiced more often. As à result, they are more strict about citing sources and coming up with ideas that are truly your own.

Something Borrowed

I've decided to write about the article because the book was not as interesting. When I first started reading the article, I was a little discouraged because it was 11 pages long and was praying that it wouldn't be boring. I liked the preliminary of the stroy because I had no idea what was about to go on but it was built up to be something good. As the story revealed, I was in complete shock that the playwright had stolen the physciatrist but more so at the fact that she had taken entire quotes and scenes that were completely if not incredibly close to the life of the physciatrist. What got me even more is that after wards they met face to face and the playwright said that she had read it in an article and thought it was "news", as a result she did not cite it. Even though she did not cite it, I do not think her morals and ethics should have been questioned because all of the other resources she used were cited. I truly believe that her not citing was an honest mistake and that she was not trying to pull a fast one or anything on the phyciacrist. I was very sad that the media had slandered her and was disappointed at the way the physciatrist went about doing so. I think before anything drastic was done they should have had a one on one meeting with one another. Another point that the article brought up is plagiarism in music and how it is viewed and handled. On hundreds of instances some one has sampled a part of someones song, even if they "originally" wrote, chances are some part of the song is sampled from another. When cases like that are brought to trial even now, I am usually always on the side of the person who is getting sued because it's music and in order to create new music many times they sample others. The only thing that I do not condone is someone talking the entirety of someones work completely without asking for permission. I guess that is what the playwright did but she cited other sources which shows how that it was not on purpose. This is a prime example of how complex and incomplete as to what we categorize as plagiarism. She felt that because it was news she did not have to cite it, even though others felt that she should have and because she didn't, it's plagiarism. There needs to be a universal at least for the US definition of what is seen as plagiarism and what is not in order to limit and exclude all of the confusion and grey areas about the situation.

Essays

An essay is a collective piece of writing that has a main focus on one thing and sub categories to support or talk more about that particular subject. A good essay always includes an strong thesis which usually always results in a strong introduction and the rest of the paragraphs. One thing that I always put in my introduction is a brief summary of all of the main points that I am going to make in my essay. As a result, the reader can be prepared and know what it is I am going to talk about and it helps me organize my essay( mainly paragraph order). The last sentences of each paragraph should quickly reinstate the main idea of your paragraph as well as a look to what will be in your next one. I have only started doing this about a year or so ago so I am trying to get better at it. With this skill, I seem to be able to write essays with greater ease each time and with practice in using these skills, you too will improve your writing (essays) :)