Preparing for your WHISL Speech Assignment
Review ethos ◦ Definition ◦ How do I make myself seem believable and honest? ◦ What do I do to make myself appear credible when I am writing and delivering my speech?
Discuss with a partner: 1. What specific things in the citation lend credibility to each source? Explain. 2. Which of these two sources seems more credible?
The first one includes author’s name, specific article title. Title of book, publisher’s location, date published. The second one is missing any of those things. The website did not list an author, article title, or date published. That should be a red flag!
Discuss with a partner.
Original words of a writer Direct information, eyewitness accounts Videotape of an event Documents as they were originally written Diary or personal journal entries Memoirs, autobiographies Works of literature
Works about someone Summaries of events Critical evaluations Reviews and interpretations Biographies Encyclopedias Magazine or newspaper articles Textbooks
Brainstorm with your partner. Share ideas. Ask for five volunteer readers.
Look at when your source was last updated and consider whether it matters with your specific topic.
Try to see the whole picture of your source and evaluate whether you are seeing all perspectives.
Double-check your information with other sources.
Be skeptical of information on the internet. Many websites are created by people who know how to make a website but are not necessarily “experts” on your topic.
Consider what an author’s motivations might be. Keep your eyes open for connections between authors, sponsors, and the perspectives shared. Consider slanted language or distorted statistics.
Note cards Cornell Note-taking Three-column notes You must select one of these three strategies to use during the speech assignment.
Make yourself a focus card that includes your research question and/or thesis.
For each source you find, make a source card in MLA format and identify if it is a primary or secondary source. Mao Zedong. "Problems of Strategy in China's Revolutionary War.“ Selected Works. Beijing: Foreign Languages, Print. Primary source
Write specific details that will help answer your research question. As you get further into the project, these will be details that will help prove or disprove your thesis. Mao believed war was noble. War was inevitable between classes. People don’t understand war until they participate in it. This shows Mao’s personality characteristic of toughness and also his resignation to the way things are.
These notes are organized by main ideas & details. Can be as detailed as necessary. Typically sequential. At end of source, write a summary in order to clarify understanding and connect the source to the research question and/or thesis. Show overhead of Cornell notes!
Similar to Cornell notes but format slightly different. Forces researcher to create sub-topics to organize information. Makes sure that topics and sub-topics are explained with regard to research question and thesis. Show overhead of three-column notes!