Chapter 50 Dialogue

I chose to write a dialogue this week on chapter 50. It is about evaluating sources. I chose this because sources are a very important piece of writing a paper. Before you even begin to write your paper, you have to think of the sources that your are going to use and that will support your writing. Also how the sources will support your thesis.

One of the main points that caught my eye in this chapter was, how to determine how a source will contribute to your writing- this section provided bullet points on how sources can have various functions in a paper. My two favorites were- provide background information or context for your topic, and lend authority to your argument. These two bullet point stuck out to me most because, they are the most difficult for me when I can writing a paper. I tend to sometimes think that the reader will automatically agree with what I writing, so therefore I tend to not go into much detail of the opposing view. I tend to not lend any authority to an argument. It is just difficult for me. As for background information, everyone knows that they need it for there essay, but for some topics its not a easy task. It is also hard to but what you read into words as well.

Another main point that stuck out to me was- read with an open mind and critical eye. I love this. This states that you need to read with an open mind, and not let your personal beliefs prevent your from listening to new ideas or opposing view points. This is basically saying not to judge, that is what really stuck out to me in the paragraph, I tend to be open mined but I think that is when I only agree with that I have read, I tend to sometimes not think about the opposing view point if I do not agree. I also like how the book said that when your reading critically your are not necessarily judging an authors work harshly, you are examining the assumptions, I like that, it doesn't sound so hard.

In the future I will use this chapter with the main ideas that have stood out to me, especially the part when I read about how to read with an open mind and a critical eye. It teaches you how to be alert for signs of bias and assessing the authors argument without assuming or being to harsh on the writing. I tend to think one way sometimes when I read others writings, and now that I have read this chapter it has given me the ability to not judge or assume before I have read the whole writing.