Finding, judging and citing sources
13 October, 16:45-18:15.
These slides cover finding, judging and citing sources — the second half of the academic writing material.
We start by comparing what you each made of the water-use texts the week before, and then ask the question that disagreement raises: how do you tell a good source from a bad one?
In class: reading each other's writing
Bring the three paragraphs you wrote about water use in data centres. You will swap with the person next to you and answer four questions about what they wrote:
- What is this writer's claim? One sentence, in your own words.
- Which of the three texts did they trust most, and on what grounds?
- Do you agree with their judgement of the sources?
- Do you agree with their conclusion about water?
Questions 3 and 4 are not the same question. A text can be well evidenced and still reach a conclusion you reject, and you can agree with a conclusion that rests on nothing. Saying which is which is what a peer reviewer does, and what neutral point of view asks of you on Wikipedia.
Useful feedback points at a sentence. “I disagree” is not feedback; “your second paragraph claims X, but the source you cite says Y” is.
We hand out the worksheet in class; it is here too if you lose it or want to read the questions beforehand.
And something lighter
