Presentation blog

Like many others in our class, I decided to make a power point presentation for my topic. I toyed with the idea of making a video for my topic but decided that it may not be the best solution due to the fact that my topic can get a little dry once you start getting into details and statistics and such, which I inevitably will be. A video about climate change would make a very dull one, and I am also much more comfortable with Powerpoint than I would be editing a video.

What I have learned...

Upon starting out writing this research paper, I knew only a few facts about climate change and all the controversy surrounding this issue. I had a vague idea of the severity of global warming but didn't realize how society is (supposedly) connected to it. Prior to researching for this paper, I was skeptical of climate change and had yet to be convinced of its existence. However, after thoroughly researching the facts about climate change, I am now a believer in its existence. Through reading through scientific websites and taking a look at some of the physical evidence documented, I became well-informed and completely one-sided on my opinion of climate change. Also, the only predicted outcome of climate change I had heard about previous to writing this paper was that glaciers would start melting and cause floods. This outcome honestly did not sound so bad to me when I heard it, but as I dug further into my research, I realized there were several more factors to consider as a result of climate change and they are much more troublesome than I would have speculated.

Are personal blogs and Wikipedia a reliable information source?

Wikipedia is not a reliable source for getting information. I have read incorrect information on Wikipedia and literally anyone, with internet access, can go into Wikipedia and type whatever they please. Needless to say, it is definitely not a one hundred percent reliable source of information because none of its content is verified. As for personal blogs, I would trust one of those even less than I would trust Wikipedia. While Wikipedia may be full of information that people believe they know,  a personal blog is less information-aimed and focuses more on the author's opinion. Again, anyone with an E-mail address can create a blog and spew whatever kind of random "information" that they want, so it's best to stick with credible websites whenn gathering information.

Comparison/Contrast Essay Questions

The two sides to my argument are those that believe climate change is perpetuated by human activity and those who believe that climate change is a natural occurence. Three arguments opposing the belief of human involvement in climate change are that climate change is just a hoax to gather money and generate fear,  that there is no actual scientific proof linking human activity and climate change, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has not proved that human activities are causing climate change. Three arguments of those that believe human activities are linked to global warming are the fact that CO2 is a greenhouse gas that is released from large factories and such and heats up the Earth's atmosphere, research shows that the increased amount of CO2 in the air comes from burning fossil fuels and forests, and that since pre-indutrial times, the Earth's average temperature has raised by 0.7 degrees C and half of that is from just the past few decades. The main difference between the two sides is that one believes human activity is directly linked to perpetuating climate change, while the other side believes climate change is just a natural occurence. I plan to organize this section of my paper using the block method, I find that style much easier to write in and keep my thoughts organized than point-by-point. There is actually plenty of evidence on each side of the argument, so my only problem is mainly that I have to make a conscious effort  to not interject with my own thoughts on the paper and refraining from putting my own personal spin on it.

History of the Problem Essay

A couple things over the long course of the study of climate change proved to be very significant. The first of those two things happened in the 1950's when government funded studies proved once and for all that carbon dioxide can actually be trapped in the atmosphere. The other milestone was the prediction that by 2000 global warming would be very apparent, and obviously that prediction came true. In researching for my paper, I was appalled to find out that corporations (being among the biggest culprits in emitting greenhouse gasses) and individuals who were against government involvement, began to pour millions of dollars into advertising and printing inaccurate "reports" about climate change in an attempt to relieve national concern of global warming, that falsely claimed to be supported by scientific study.  These steps  in the wrong direction greatly swayed public opinion of climate change. It amazes me how much say the "big guys" have. Not all of the history of the problem could have fit in my paper, but I made sure to include the significant parts and information collected over the years about global warming.

What I learned at the RWC...

Last week at the Reading and Writing Center, I learned a few new helpful things about SJCC. Firstly, I learned that we have such a tool as online databases located in the SJCC website that are exclusively for enrolled students and staff. These databases look like they could cut your time spent trying to gather useful information in half. From the man teaching us about these online databases, I learned the very helpful tip of putting your search in quotations in order to search for articles with that exact phrase instead of the databases pulling up many articles that may not have much to do with what you typed in the search bar, but came up anyway because the words were dispersed throughout the page. This hint will surely make navigating information that much easier and tremendously help narrow down your search. Also, you can never be sure of who is typing what on a webpage, and the legitimacy of their claims, so I'm thankful that the man teaching us let us in on another secret of how to check if the page you are viewing is legitimate; to check, you simply look for the copyright symbol at the bottom of the page.

My writing process

In beginning to write a paper, I go through a few steps to get the job done. First, and most importantly, I must be relaxed and clear-headed before thinking creatively and piecing my words together. If I'm tired and/or stressed out, it will be much more difficult and significantly less effective in getting the job done. That being said, I like to eat beforehand so I'm in "writing mode" when I begin. Normally, I steer clear of Microsoft Word and the computer in general before composing a paper, preferring blank pieces of paper and a pen instead. When I've got these, I sit down and brainstorm, scribbling messy ideas onto paper in bullet points to get some ideas and key points going. After I have some ideas, it is time to decide in what logical order the key points and information should go in. I start out with a topic sentence and figure out how to say what I want to be said, in the order neccessary. After putting together a rough draft on paper, it's time to type it up on the computer. I like to print off a copy when I'm finished typing and read it to myself to see what I could improve or take out. After I've edited my rough draft to my satisfaction, I go ahead and type the real thing.

     As far as the topic for my research paper goes, I'm a little lost. Many of the topics listed struck a chord with me which is why it's difficult for me to choose. I know I am definitely leaning toward abortion though, because I have felt very strongly of my position on this topic since I was pretty young. This would also give me plenty to write about and keep me interested.

What I expect from English 1A

I expect to take with me new knowledge of how to properly structure a research paper in this class. I've always liked gathering information, forming opinions on that information, deciding how to word things, and presenting it, but have had some trouble in the past with paragraph structure. I hope to better my skills at communicating effectively on paper. Overall, I hope this class will help me tighten the screws on my writing skills and reduce any sloppiness in my writing.