Evaluation of Rhetorical Situations

In the post below I have included a link to a table organizing some different texts and their effectiveness. I will be using these sources during Project 2.

No author. "Closeup of a happy young woman smiling isolated on white background." 5-2-2008, 1-22-2011 via Flickr.
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Link to table here.

Reflection:
After reading Allison and Mathias' posts, I learned that I will need to choose an article carefully for this project. Even if one is more interesting than another, I need to pick one that I can analyse and use throughout the entire project. I do think though that my analysis of the three sources was good, I'm glad I did it in a table, because going back it was really easy to read through and find information on the three sources.

Developing a Research Question

For the start of the next project I will need a research question going even deeper into the controversy I wrote about in my QRG, which is available in my post, "QRG FINAL DRAFT." Below are some possible research questions for this project as well as some explanation behind them.

Everett, Valerie. "Questions?" 11-4-2008 via Flickr.
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Common core math is the center of a huge debate on public education. Many people are arguing over how it helps students, if it even does, if it will raise American education internationally, or if they will be easier for teachers to use. Common core is brand new, so one of the other big problems with it is that many don't understand it. This is why a lot of arguments pop up about its effectiveness, or lack thereof.

Some Possible Questions:

How are common core math standards helping to increase understanding of mathematical concepts?

Why would common core math standards raise American education scores internationally? How do common core standards compare to other countrys' education standards?

How do common core math standards increase students' abilities to analyze or prove mathematical concepts?

How are the new common core standards easier for teachers to use in their classrooms? Do these standards increase a teachers' effectiveness?


I would really like to explore common core's direct effect on student understanding. From a teacher's perspective, I would want my students to be able to understand why math works the way it does because it makes solving problems (and harder math concepts) easier. Knowing exactly why common core achieves this interests me so much because I would want to use it effectively in helping my students learn and understand math.

Reflection on Project 1

I learned many things about writing during the creation of my own quick reference guide. It's a form of writing that I've never done before, and I'm glad I was able to learn about writing publicly in this way. In the post below, I've written a reflection on the process.

Hartsook Photos. "Mary Pickford-desk." 3-23-1918. Wikipedia.
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What challenges did you face during the Quick Reference Guide project and how did you deal with them?
I thought it was hard to stay neutral while writing about the controversy. Especially since I have strong opinions on common core. To combat that I tried to write the same amount of pros/cons on each side, that way I didn't support one side over another. I also had trouble not citing the QRG the way I would a paper, at first it was hard to get into that rhythm of linking and adding pictures.

What successes did you experience on the project and how did they happen?
I feel like it was easy to find links, since this controversy is recent and well known. I also felt like it was easy to organize the paper. I really like using subtitles to keep my paper organized.

What kinds of arguments, rhetorical strategies, design choices and writing practices did you find the most effective for your project? Why?
Since the QRG was mostly informative, I used a neutral tone and tried to avoid directly biased language. I think this was effective for my paper because it fulfilled the requirements of a QRG. A QRG should be informative, not entirely biased, and this writing strategy helped me achieve that. With regards to design, I tried to break up the text with pictures, as well as put space between paragraphs. I wanted the QRG to read easily, so I tried to make sure it wasn't just blocks of text.

What kinds of arguments, rhetorical strategies, design choices and writing practices did you find were not effective for your project? Why?
Since the QRG is an informative piece, I didn't include a lot of views from one side over the other, as I would in an opinionated paper. That would not have been effective in creating an informational paper. I also thought that making long paragraphs would not have been an effective strategy, since many people would lose focus and move to a new paper or article.

How was the writing process for this project similar to other school writing experiences you’ve had in the past?
I still had to go or and find a lot of sources to use, but in addition to that had to find pictures as evidence or as a way to break up the text as well. I also thought that the actual content of the body paragraphs was similar to body paragraphs I've written for school before, in that they follow an argument or present information in a certain way.

How was the writing process for this project different from other school writing experiences you’ve had in the past?
In the QRG, I did not use in text citations like I have pretty much done all of high school. The links were very different and sometimes hard to remember to include. Including pictures is also different than the writing I've had to do. When writing the QRG, I had to have every source up so that I could look through them and find one that would apply at that moment. I also had to go back over and add links wherever I should have cited, so that I could still be credible.

Would any of the skills you practiced for this project be useful in your other coursework? Why or why not?
The QRG taught me how to write an informal public paper, which could be useful later if I have to write anything in a similar style. It may not help me later in college when most of my classes are mathematics, because public papers won’t be used as much then. For the next semester or two, and especially in any gen eds I take, the skills I learned will be useful when writing or responding to others, however, later I may not need these skills.

Reflection:

While reading Jon's and Allison's blogs, I learned that some of us had similar problems while writing our QRGs. Like Jon, I had trouble staying on one side over the other, it was difficult to not include my own bias. I agreed with Allison that evaluating sources was a big skill that I improved throughout the project, that didn't occur to me while writing the reflection above. Their posts made me feel somewhat lucky in that I was interested in my controversy as well as had an easy time finding sources on it. Allison struggled with that somewhat, and I know that I got lucky in having a controversy that is so well known and published on. 

QRG FINAL DRAFT

Below is the link to my final draft of my QRG, "What's the Deal with Common Core Math?"

No author. "Man, arm." 2014 via Pixabay.
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QRG Link. 

Clarity, Part 2

As I did in the post titled, Clarity, Part 1, here I will be looking at and describing 4 different ideas presented in the Clarity section of Rules for Writers. I will also be using these Clarity skills to edit my QRG, which I will discuss after the descriptions on the Clarity ideas.

No author. "Writer, Writing, Paper..." 1-20-2015 via Pixabay.
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Active Verbs:
This section explains how active verbs or phrases will make writing more clear and more effective than passive verbs or phrases. When your voice is active, the subject does the action, while in a passive voice, the subject receives the action. Active voice should be used most of the time because it creates a more dramatic and clear point, making the text more effective.

Parallel Ideas:
Parallel ideas or phrases are when a sentence is balanced out. For example, lists should continue in the same structure and compound sentences should also be structured the same (each clause). This creates more emphasis and makes the sentences sound correct, that is, not awkward to the reader.

Mixed Constructions:
Mixed phrases or sentences don't make sense grammatically or logically, and are typically easy to spot. They may appear as a sentence where the two parts don't quite finish out a thought or do so in a way that makes no sense at all, or they may appear as run on sentences that lose meaning towards the end of the sentence. Mixed sentences are an easy fix, as you just need to rearrange a sentence so that it makes sense again.

Shifts:
Shifts refer to any change in writing, such as tense, point of view, or quotes and questions. Some shifts, such as tense, should be avoided in writing to make the paper make sense as a whole. Others, like quotes, just need to be clarified so that the reader knows when a shift is actually happening. If this is how a paper is formatted, the shifts can help the text rather than confuse the reader.

Editing my paper: 
While editing I realized that active voice/passive voice can be hard to spot. I really have to pay attention to the way sentences are worded, or I may accidentally miss it, especially since grammatically passive voice makes sense. If it didn't sound right, it would be easy to pick up on, but since it is correct technically, it is easy to skim over. Parallel structure is something I learned about in high school, especially in regards to lists. I learned more so while editing my QRG just how much better lists sound when the are in a parallel structure. Mixed constructions were already something I knew about as well, and it was usually easy to see when a sentence didn't make sense and to fix it. And shifts I think I'm pretty good at, especially when it comes to quoting. I think it's important to introduce quotes for the reader.

An example of active voice:
"Parents see their kids learning in new ways, teachers have to get used to teaching differently, and students must learn to analyze and understand deeper concepts."
An example of a parallel structure:
"Common core math, according to supporters, will increase test scores, improve students’ understanding, and unify the country educationally."

Identifying Basic Grammar Patterns

In this post I will be examining one of my longest paragraphs from my QRG for basic grammar patterns. I will be looking for different parts of speech, different sentence patterns, a subordinate word group, different sentence structures, and sentence purposes. 

No author. "Grammar, Magnifier, Magnifying Glass..." 2-28-2013 via Pixabay.
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Here's a link to the examination. 

Reflection on Project 1 Draft

In this post I will be reviewing some important points about my QRG draft.

photosteve101. "Metallic Ballpen Tips." February 5, 2011 via Flickr.
Public Domain. 

First off, I peer reviewed Chad's paper and Stef's paper.

Audience

• This assignment will mainly be read by my classmates, and finally my teacher. If I were to publish the document, general public would read it. This would most likely include teachers, parents, or students because it relates to these groups specifically. 
• My classmates expectations are that I follow the conventions and write a fairly unbiased and informative piece. I believe that I am adequately meeting those expectations, as I feel I have followed the conventions pretty well while writing my paper. 
• I think the amount of information needed varies by topic. For me, I wanted to include a brief paragraph giving an explanation, but include links in that paragraph so that if the audience needs to know more they can do that without my document being bogged down with unnecessary information. 
• This audience expects an informal tone, so the text shouldn't be total slang, but it doesn't have to use scholarly words or phrases either. I can use direct language to get my point across, instead of flowery phrases that are confusing but sound good. 
• I think the tone should me mostly casual and informative, like a friend is explaining a lecture to someone. I believe that for the most part I use this type of tone throughout my draft. 

Context

• The formatting requirements of the document follow an informal style that includes links and pictures relevant to the topic in each section. I think that for the most part, my QRG followed these conventions and displayed most of them throughout. I didn't cite like a scholarly paper, and wrote the QRG for a general audience. 
• Content wise, I needed to find a controversy in my field and explain it in depth. I found one (common core math standards) and presented both sides in my QRG. 
• Before the class, I had no idea that the style of writing articles use (QRG) was even a thing. I never really realized that I could write something this way and be considered credible. So yes, I did use things I learned in class to make my draft. 
• I've tried to look for grammatical issues and fixed some wordings that my classmate pointed out to me, but I'm sure that more will pop up as I continue working in the document. 

Overall, I need to edit some things in my paper to keep clarity, but otherwise have managed to stick to the expectations of a QRG pretty well. 

Paragraph Analysis

For this post I analyzed my own paragraphs in order to see where I was strong and what I need to work on for my QRG.

Here is a link to my analysis.

McPhee, Nic. "Editing a Paper - 01." January 26, 2008 via Flickr.
Public Domain. 

Strengths:

• transitions
• including both sides or argument 
• using titles 
• some hyperlinking, should include more 

Weaknesses:

• introductory point in some paragraphs lacks substance or hook
• conclusion paragraph needs work to make piece memorable or important 
• maybe needs to include more content? 

Overall, I learned that my paper is really good in some areas but needs work in others. I can transition within and between paragraphs mostly okay, but I need to work on the topic sentences to make them stronger. I think too that I may need to add more paragraphs. I could find more sources and add that content in as well to do this. 

Clarity: Part 1

There are many aspects of writing that few people think about, and many can make grammatical mistakes without even realizing it later while revising. In the post below, I will describe four sections from Rules for Writers about this subject.

Reusch, Eli. "Grammar Police." September 8, 2008 via Flickr.
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Needed Words: 
In this section the book focused on comparing and contrasting and when certain words need to be added to make sentences grammatically correct. I learned that a lot of comparing and contrasting phrases can have a slight difference in meaning, which is why it is so important to clarify those sentences. One example that I never thought about before was the use of the words 'a' and 'an'. Using 'an' after the use of 'a' was something I never considered. I always thought these sentences sounded a little weird, but didn't realize that adding this word would clean it up so much.

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers:
This section talks about the use of modifiers and where they should be placed to make sense in the sentence meaning. Modifiers need to be placed directly next to the word they are affecting, and their placement in a sentence should quickly allow the reader to see what they are affecting. This section also discusses how dangling modifiers can be hard to recognize, although easy to fix. These modifiers lead a reader to expect something in the next part of the sentence that is not there, so a writer must finish this modifier to make it grammatically correct.

Emphasize:
This section talks about how to put emphasis on what you want the reader to most pay attention to, so this should be included in the independent clause. When emphasizing something, a writer has to remember to use coordinating conjunctions that match what they are talking about. Contrasting should use 'but' or 'however.' But when a writer wants to give unequal emphasis in a sentence, they should use a subordination to give more attention to their main point. Another way to add emphasis is to use short, choppy sentences to make the text more dramatic.

Exact Words:
This section explains how using exact words can better explain a writer's point. When using a thesaurus, a writer should look for words that exactly express the meaning the writer wants to convey. This section also talks about how connotations as well as the dictionary definitions of words should be considered when choosing wording. If a word has a specific connotation in society, it may or may not be applicable in the text, despite the dictionary definition of the term. Writers should also use specific nouns instead of abstract ones, as well as watch out for misusing words. These tips should lead to clearly stated writing that proves a point well.

These strategies all lead to better, more clear writing. The use of contrasting and comparing phrases and how to set them up was somewhat new to me. I hadn't realized how specific I would have to be to make one meaning or another, although reading it now I realize how easy it would be to confuse a reader. Combined, the tips above will help me write more effectively.


Reflection: 
After reading some of QRGs from my classmates, I learned that everyone writes in different ways even when using the same strategies. For example, In Chad's paper he said, "Although this technology could be used to prevent human deaths before they are born, it is not likely that the technology could make humans smarter or fitter." He used the transition, "although" to start his contrast, and finished it with a disproving point. Others could have used different transitions to set up the contrast or put emphasis on other parts of the sentence by breaking it up more. Stef also set up a contrast when she stated, "However, Michelle Obama would like to continue to reinforce this act." Here, Stef used "however" to set up a contrast, but unlike Chad she explained most of it before hand and used a short sentence here for more emphasis. Overall, I learned that comparing and contrasting can be extremely useful in a paper like the QRG, but that it can be set up in many ways that mean different things.

Thoughts on Drafting

In this post I will be reviewing different drafting or writing techniques from a traditional paper and a quick reference guide. Some aspects are very similar or useful for both these types of texts, but other strategies may only be useful in one or the other. Below you'll see some of the main differences.

McPhee, Nic. "Editing a Paper." January 26, 2008 via Flickr.
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What parts of the book’s advice on these topics might not be so helpful, considering the genre you’re writing in?

A thesis statement would not be helpful when writing a QRG because it isn't a formal paper. A QRG replaces a thesis statement with an introductory paragraph, and organizes the paper with titles and subheadings. If a thesis was included, it would sound awkward in context with the tone of the QRG. PIE format for paragraphs may also not be as helpful in the sense that these paragraphs are very stiff. Paragraphs in a QRG may provide all the same information as a PIE paragraph, but maybe in different order or maybe spanning a couple shorter paragraphs under one heading. 

What parts of the book’s advice are helpful for writing in this genre?

Some helpful advice is from the revising section. It can be hard to write a paper and realize something doesn't make sense while writing it. Having someone read that section aloud to you, as the guide suggests, is a really easy way to hear how awkward something may sound. This would help writers keep their QRG easy to read. 

Overall, a paper and QRG are very different. It can be hard to apply the same strategies used in papers to something as informal as a QRG. Some of these techniques can be very useful, while others may not apply. 


Reflection:
I read Michaela's post and Betsy's post about drafting. I thought it was interesting how Betsy viewed the thesis tips differently than me, since she thought it would be useful. I liked how Michaela talked about conclusions as well, since those are really easy to forget about at the end of a paper.
1. I need to work on my own conclusion.
2. I need to add more visuals as evidence.
3. I also need to make sure I'm not repeating myself so that my QRG is not rambling. 

Draft of Quick Reference Guide

Below is a link to my QRG, still as a draft. I wrote about common core, specifically related to the math standards part, since I want to go into math education. Many people may dislike common core as a whole, so just be aware that this QRG only really talks about one side of common core. When looking at it please keep an eye out for organization, as I sometimes have trouble putting paragraphs in an order that makes total sense ad is readable. Also, please look out for any weird or awkward sounding sentence structures that I may not catch while reading my own words back to myself. Link to QRG Draft.

Practice Quoting

In the screenshot below, I have written a paragraph practicing quoting from two sources about one topic. The different highlights correspond to different parts of a paragraph. Red is when I use signal phrases to introduce a quote, light blue is when I include a quick credibility check on the author about to be quoted, my context is in a light pink, and yellow is where I edited parts of a quote directly. 

Kosik, Joy. "Screenshot of paper." Sep. 12, 2015. 

QRGs: The Genre

In this post I will be answering specific questions about quick reference guides. This genre is not really defined as a whole, and may not be recognized by official means, but is definitely out there. For some answers on what they are and how they work, read my post below.

Kosik, Joy. "Screenshot of E-Cigarette Article." Sep. 12, 2015. 

1. What do the conventions of this genre - the Quick Reference Guide - seem to be?
1. In most Quick Reference Guides (QRG), the author provides many links to other sources. This is also the way to cite sources, as there is no in text citations included or a bibliography at the end. Writers in this style also frequently include pictures with captions, and visual space is just as important as the text itself. In this sense, writers will break up text, add sidebars, and clearly label every part. The QRG is purely for the reader's ease. 
2. How are those conventions defined by the author’s formatting and design choices?
1. Most author's include pctures throughout their page, and links within the writing itself. These formatting options seem to be prevalent in all QRGs, and because it is see as the norm the conventions have been made from that. Similarly, readers are used to seeing articles this way, and without links or pictures, the author seems less credible or the page too boring, and a reader will click away if the conventions are not followed. 
3. What does the purpose of these QRGs seem to be?
1. The purpose of most seem to be to provide information. Some smaller QRGs, ones that are written for less well known publications, do include bias and are used to persuade. All link to other sources, proving the name QRG, and all iclude pictures of whatever the subject is. Most also seem to center around some controversy, presenting both sides of the story. 
4. Who is the intended audience for these different QRGs? Are they all intended for similar audiences? Or different? How & why?
1. Different QRGs can be for different audiences. Almost all are intended for the public, but some specific ones may be harder to understand or less important to people who are not affected by the topic. For example, a gaming QRG may not be interesting to the general public, and so the intended audience may be gamers. The one underlying factor in a expected QRG audience is that the person reading is not a complete expert, and so the writing itself will most often not be technical. This is also why so many links are required, because sometimes the reader may need more information and can find that easily on the same page as the article they are reading. 
5. How do the QRGs use imagery or visuals? Why do you think they use them in this way?
1. Most QRGs use pictures to either back up the subject they are talking about or to provide more information. The picture can be related to the particular paragraph it is featured in, providing more evidence as to why it is the way the author describes. Or a picture can be purely an example or way to just show the reader something related, such as showing a picture of an e-cigarette in an article about their controversy. It doesn't provide any bias either way, but relates to the topic as a whole. 

Reflection:

After reading Jovanka's, Grace's, and Carrie's answers to these questions I felt better about how I was also answering them. I really liked Carrie's answer about mass interest in terms of the audience, as that was something I didn't think about the same. I think we all have a good understanding of the conventions of a QRG. 

Cluster of My Controversy

Common Core standards affect a lot of people in different ways, so below I have created a flowchart to keep the information organized. In the flowchart I broke the affected parties into their own categories, providing information on how these groups voice their opinions, what the popular opinions are, and what the group values in the midst of common core. 

Link to chart here. 

One of the flowcharts I looked at was Aaron West's, and I really liked how he had everything set up. His chart was all connected, so different groups could be seen affecting other groups directly. I thought that was a really good tool to use, especially in a controversy where everything affects others. The other chart I looked at was Betsy Volk's, and hers was interesting i that she set her chart up opposite of mine. Instead of starting with groups, she started with values, modes of imparting opinions, and the other required fields. Once inside the branch, she split the different groups up, then went into further examples. The only thing that I could see to make it better would be to have more detail. 

After looking at these two charts, I think mine should have had maybe more breaking off points, like Betsy's, in order to go into further detail or include more information. Although I like the connectedness of Aaron's, I like the color coded aspect of coggle as well. 

Annotated Bibliography in MLA Style

Below is my annotated bibliography to be used while writing a quick reference guide. The controversy I am writing about is in the field of math education, and although mathematicians use American Mathematical Society's style guide, this does not apply to my own paper, since I am not including equations or mathematical symbols throughout the paper. Instead I will be using MLA, the style most used in education 

"Confusing Math Homework? Don't Blame the Common Core." 

Jessica Lahey, a writer for The Atlantic, wrote this article for common core on April 3, 2014. She argues that the math is the same, but that most people focus on this wrongly. Since the execution of learning is slightly different, it confuses many parents trying to help their kids with homework. However, Lahey argues that the math has not actually changed. There aren't any new rules for math, equations didn't change, and the way math works has't been changed. It's only the emphasis of the class that has changed. The article uses a personal interview, and then cites other sources for backup. Her main point is that common core changes the emphasis, not the actual math. I could use this to disprove other arguments.

This tweet is to showcase an opinion and convince others that common core is bad. Louis C.K. tweeted this on April 28, 2014, describing how his kids struggle in school. Louis uses personal experiences to prove his point, and his kids and their difficulties give him credibility. I can use this as an example to the arguments against common core, as well as how viral common core is. Since a well known comedian is writing about it and clearly being affected, this will draw attention from people who previously had no connection to common core. It also helps validate others who feel similar to Louis C.K. 

"It's not fuzzy math. It's fluency; A mathematician's view about Common Core's new standards."

Solomen Friedberg wrote this article on September 16, 2014, and argues that common core math is clear and a step in the right direction for education. He uses examples and other known societies in math to back himself up, using his own experience as a mathematician and well-known groups to establish his credibility. He concludes that common core is clear and to the point in what needs to happen in education because it teaches kids more about math, gives them more problem solving skills, and helps kids advance in math. I can use this as evidence to why common core is beneficial to students.


"Meet the new common core"
Here Jordan Ellenberg informs, then tries to convince readers about the usefulness of common core in her paper, which is published in LexisNexis. She uses examples of the math to back herself up, as well  as her own notability to convince people. She gives a lot of useful information on what common core is and how it actually works, before going on to argue that common core benefits students by pushing them farther in math. I can also use this to convince others about my own ideas on common core, as well as use it as another background source in explaining common core.


"Old Standards v. Common Core: A Side-by-side Comparison of Math Expectations"
Purely a persuasive site, A Foundation for Excellence in Eductaion is a 501(c)(3) group created by Jeb Bush in 2008. They give examples and a side by side comparison of problems from old standards vs. common core standards. These examples make it so that common core can be more easily understood and seen firsthand, and its main method of persuasion are these examples. I can use these problems in my own arguments about common core in order to explain what it is and how it is different than the old standards. The questions are a good example of how parents may get confused, or why people think common core is pushing kids farther in math.

"Why so many parents are freaking out about common core math."
In a Washington Post article by Valerie Strauss (November 8, 2014), she addresses again the concerns of parents in regards to common core. Strauss discusses how parents see common core through the lens of their kids struggle with homework, and goes on to explain how this can be so tarnishing. She uses examples from a specific study which she links, to persuade others of her stance as well as lend herself credibility. Overall, however, The Washington Post itself is a well known, credible news source. I can use this to help disprove arguments as well as provide more information on why so many people dislike common core math.

"Top Ten Things Parents Hate About Common Core."
Joy Pullman, a writer for The Federalist, wrote this article to persuade people how terrible common core is. Throughout the article, Pullman gives reasons as to why common core math degrades the educational system and provides many links throughout. She gains her credibility from her bio, which describes her college degree, and the fact that she works for a newspaper and has been a teacher. I can use this source for opposition to common core, as it gives the negative side very clearly.

"Common Core Math is Ridiculous."
Christine Rousselle talks about how awful common core is in her article, "Common Core is Ridiculous," published to Townhall news site on October 4, 2013. This is clearly a persuasive and biased article, but she gives herself credibility by providing examples from others, such as a math minor graduate. The article is short, but provides links and tweets explained Rousselle's stance on common core math. She also includes two examples of math problems to further prove her point. I can use this as another negative source, as well as a source to provide examples of the actual math.

"Who Struggles With Common Core Math? Parents."
Cathryn Creno, a writer for The Arizona Republic, released this article on August 7, 2015. She describes throughout her article that parents struggle with common core because it is also so new to them. She discusses how parents need to be patient and open minded about the new teaching strategies involved, making her piece overall a positive source on common core and a biased paper. I can use this source when talking about support for common core or to give more information on how parents feel, as the article is less rambling and passionate than some of the other negative articles expressing this opinion.

"The Common Core and the Common Good."
Charles Blow, a writer for The New York Times, talks about common core standards on an international level in this article. He discusses how common core will raise student's understanding and problem solving skills, in turn raising American globally in education. Blow uses statistics, quotes, and evidence from other well known groups (like The American Federation of Teachers) to give himself credibility, on top of the fact that he writes for a well known and credited news source. I can use his article for more evidence on the positive side of explaining common core.


Reflection:
The first annotated bibliography I looked at was Gabee's, who did hers in APSA style. I liked the way it was set up in that the article name and date is most prevalent, as that is what i feel most readers would look for. MLA is different in that it starts off with the author name(s). I also looked at Hunter's, who wrote in IEEE style. I liked this style because it includes the URL, which MLA doesn't. This is super useful to readers who would want to actually visit these sources, which is why I wish MLA was still this way. These annotated bibliographies made me realize that I may have been to rambling in my paragraphs. Gabee's was really short, which made the document a much faster read. I think I need to find the balance between too short and too long, in which I still provide the relevant information. 

My Area of Study

I am currently a mathematics major, and my goal is to become a teacher. I would like to go to graduate school and earn my PhD in mathematics, and teach at a university level while continuing studies of mathematical education. In the following post I will talk about what people in mathematics do in their studies and careers as well as some notable contributors to math. 

Clement.Sim. "I Love Math." 9/7/2007 via flickr.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.  

1. At the U of A, all mathematics majors are required to have at least 15 math credits at level 400. Students start with Calculus and move through the different levels of math, and most take two math classes after they finish calculus two. I am taking mathematics with a focus on education, and in this program students also take classes on teaching math to secondary students. This program also sets students up to take and pass pedagogy tests in order to be a certified teacher in Arizona. All students in this program learn math alongside their education courses, and are also required to learn math history as well as the synthesis of math topics.

2. Many people who study math go on to work in education as a teacher, as I plan to do. Others may go into finance, either for businesses or in other areas, such as working with taxes. Mathematics is also often paired with computer science, and many people have dual majors because a mathematical background can be extremely useful when working with and creating computer software. Math can also be paired with science, or biomathematics. Biomathematics can be used in areas like cellular neurobiology or genetics.

3. I have wanted to be a teacher for a long time; I can remember being in kindergarten and wanting to be a teacher because I loved mine so much. In high school I took an education professions class, and I fell in love with it all over again. As I was taking this class my algebra 1 teacher asked me to help her tutor students before school on reteach days. I had always liked math because it was black and white, there is always a clear answer, and if not, the answers make logical sense to me. When I tutored for my teacher, I discovered I loved teaching it as well. So many kids struggle in math, and it may be just because they learned it in a way that they didn't understand, or one topic is holding them back from building on it. Working with students to help them understand math is so rewarding in so many ways. I've discovered that when a student starts to get more confident about what they're learning or working on, they do better, even in brand new topics. Seeing a student progress like that is satisfying, because I love knowing that I was able to help them succeed. I hope that every student I work with can feel this same sense of satisfaction when they are able to figure out a hard math concept.

4. In mathematics the most well known mathematicians are people everyone learns about in school: Albert Einstein, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton to name a few. In this day and age mathematicians are given less public eye, but they are still out their with notable achievements.

One such person is Peter Hall, who worked on cutting out errors when dealing with data using bootstrapping. His paper is linked here.

Another mathematician in this age is Manjul Bhargava, who continued work with factorial functions. His paper is linked here.

And, the last person I will upload for this post, Michael Atiyah, who specializes in geometry and has made groundbreaking work. Here is an interview with Michael Atiyah, in which the interviewer and Atiyah discuss his papers and working with math in general.

All of these mathematicians have continued work in one area or another or have created new theorems, or a new way to do something.

5. Below are links to some mathematical journals that can be used for students and publishers alike.

American Mathematical Society, headquarters located in Providence, Rhode Island.

Annals of Mathematics, which works with Princeton in Princeton, New Jersey.

Archivum Mathematicum, which is based in the Czech Republic.

Reflection:
In Carrie's post, I found it interesting that both she and I have struggled in our topics in the past. I never want to let that beat me in my goals, and it was very cool to see someone else so dedicated to their field. In Chad's post, he talks about engineering and wanting to change people's lives. I thought this was admirable, and could relate to him as well.

I learned overall that many of us can connect in some way or another in our fields. It made me think about my own career path and how much it really means to me, as well as students I will be in contact with in the future. Reading others posts got me more excited for my own major as well as excited about others' majors.

Ideology in My Controversy

        

Kosik, Joy. "Screenshots of D2L Content Page." 9/5/2015 via D2L. 

In this post I will be answering questions based on the screenshots above. 

1. Societies like the American Mathematical Society, interest groups like the 501c3 mentioned in an earlier post, teachers, parents, and students are all involved in this common core controversy. 

2. Major speakers include the creators of common core, schools, as well as mathematicians and teachers. However, general public and other scholars have also commented on common core and their beliefs. 

3. Societies and interest groups can influence politicians, while others (like people on social media) influence others in the general public (or the culture of American education). This issue is universal in that is affects so many people, so many are posting or writing about common core. 

4. Most of these writers or commenters use the standards themselves, other posters or papers, and articles. News is a widely used resource in this controversy, especially since it is so new. 

5. Some groups, such as societies and interest groups, value the methods and emphasis of common core. This is the same for parents, teachers, and pretty much everyone else out there. The values vary group to group, either for or against common core. 

6. Teachers and parents use personal experience as evidence, other groups use statistics, interviews, and research (most of the time) to prove their points. 

7. There has not been much talk about power between the groups, as there is so much variety with types of group. 

8. Both groups usually agree that there are some problems with common core. They disagree on what the problems are and how to fix them. 

9. Most do not acknowledge that common core is a voted on system, there is little mention of this in either argument. 

10. Most debate back and forth, especially on social media. This can be seen especially in the twitter feed from Louis C.K.'s tweet about common core. 

Evaluation of Social Media Sources

In this post I will be examining some social media outbreak on common core math. I'm starting with a tweet from Louis CK, a popular comedian, because his tweet brought a lot of attention and is mention in multiple sources I have used for other posts. I will also be using an article explaining common core from an education writer. Here's my storify story on the subject as well. 

Kosik, Joy. "Screenshot of Tweet from Louis C.K." 9/5/2015 via Twitter. 

Louis C.K. is a popular comedian, and his tweet about common core sparked new debate over the math standards most states now use. Louis C.K. is a well know figure, but has little to no experience in creating standards, teaching, or common core. He only sees what his kids bring home and how they react to their work, but does not know the details of common core specifically. Many people follow his twitter account because he is a celebrity, and a comedian at that. This gives him more attention when he makes statements like this, and the fact that his kids are his proof gives him some reasoning to post this. His tweet resonates with many parents who feel the same way, but most of his followers are not intellectuals themselves either. This information, the little he presents, is reliable as it is a personal story. He provides an example as to why common core may be bad. 

On April 3, 2014 Jessica Lahey wrote an article addressing parents concerns about common core titled "Confusing Math Homework? Don't Blame the Common Core." The concern is much the same as Louis C.K.'s, but Lahey provides reasons this is not to credited, as the standards aren't changing math at all, just the emphasis of learning. Lahey writes for New York Times, is an english teacher, and writes for The Atlantic. She has 11.1K followers on twitter, and often posts about education topics. Other teachers, supporters, and news junkies follow her, as well as general public. Because of her career and the type of account she has on twitter, I would say she is a credible source. 

Evaluation of Scholarly Sources

Mathematics through common core is seen in mixed ways. While some people believe it will advance learning for students and help them as concepts get harder, others think common core is just to hard for students. In the post below, I will analyze two sources about common core mathematics from the scholarly journal, LexisNexis. 

MathKnight. "Physical Equations." 2/1/2008 via Wikipedia.
Public Domain License 

The first source is written by Solomen Friedberg, and he argues that common core is clear, concise, and helpful in his paper, titled, "It's not fuzzy math. It's fluency; A mathematician's view about Common Core's new standards." Friedberg published this to LexisNexis on September 16, 2014. In his paper, Friedberg discusses how common core works, and goes on to show how mathematical societies endorse it as well (like the American Mathematical Society). He clearly states that he supports common core, and that he believes it is a clear step in the future of education because it encourages learning the concepts, not memorization of rules to solve problems. Friedberg is trying to convince people that common core is the best option for education, and he outlines why by using examples and backing himself up with other, credible, sources of information.   

In Jordan Ellenberg's paper, "Meet the New Common Core," she describes the new standards and tests some states are replacing common core with. She describes it, and then points out that it is almost the exact same thing as common core. She goes on to describe how common core works, similar to Solomen Friedberg, and concludes that, while there may be problems with common core, those problems have existed before, during, and will continue to exist after common core. In her last paragraphs, Ellenberg continues to argue that common core is necessary, and that it only changes the emphasis of mathematical learning, no matter the name states give it. It seems as though she tries, more so than Friedberg, to inform readers of the changes and how they aren't actually all that different than common core. Her conclusion is her persuasive part, where she attempts to convince readers that common core is not as bad as it seems, and that most people just don't understand it. 

Evaluation Of General Sources

In this post I will be examining two general Internet sources on the use of Common Core in math classrooms. Common Core is still rooted in controversy, as many believe it is worse than the current system. Others argue that Common Core may be harder, but will raise America to international levels of proficiency and teach students more about mathematics as well as other topics in school, such as English and Science. 

Enderton, Herbert. "An illustration using apples to show that 2+3 and 3+2 are both equal to 5. Apples are frequently used to explain arithmetic in textbooks for children." 7/20/2007 via Wikipedia.
GNU Free Documentation License.

Many parents of students in common core see that their child is struggling, and conclude that Common Core is a bad step in the future of education because of this. In a Washington Post article published on November 8, 2014, and titled, "Why so many parents are freaking out about Common Core math," Valerie Strauss discusses these concerns as well as some arguments against these parents. In her article, Strauss a tweet from Louis C.K. to introduce her topic as well as grab attention to a well known name. Strauss' main point is that common core math cuts out a lot of the tricks and tips used to make certain standards easier. It allows kids to get the answer, but common core almost banishes those tricks because the goal is for kids to understand concepts, not memorize tricks. At the end of the article Strauss includes comments from the original report she used during the article. Every comment is negative about common core. Coupled with the hook at the beginning of the article, it can be inferred that Strauss stands with these parents against common core. In writing this article, it seems that Strauss wanted to first inform readers of some of the problems people are having with common core, and then lead her readers to conclude the same thing as the comments she posted. 


This source is titled, "Old Standards v. Common Core: A Side By Side Comparison Of Math Expectations," and examines the differences between common core questions and math questions used with traditional standards. The website is the online face of a 501(c)(3) group, called The Foundation For Excellence In Eduction. The group is non-partisan and nonprofit, and was created by former Governor Jeb Bush in 2008. This particular page compares examples of math problems from elementary, middle, and high school. It shows the difference in understanding required to solve the problem at hand. 

Here's one of the examples they give for middle school math:

Kosik, Joy. "Screenshot of Example from Foundation for Excellence in Eduction." 9/5/15 via excelined. 

Based on their creator and the site itself, it is clear that this group supports common core wholeheartedly. Their goal is to convince the general public, as well as politicians, that common core is beneficial to America and needs to be implemented in schools.