The Senior Paper Startup: Notes from January 7 (Daily Log Blog)

          Today's class started off with an overview of the Literature Review section of the Senior paper. We discussed as a class that the Literature Review is meant to put the audience on the same page as the author and introduce the topic. It is important to use evidence and cite people by name to increase your credibility when doing this. The Literature Review allows space for elaboration on the topic of your choosing as well. Showing the reader what experts are trying to prove today/what research is being done is critical when conveying the context of your topic. This, however, has some exceptions. For example, as Mr. Rivers explained it, if someone were to focus on history in their senior paper it would make sense for them to quote an old source such as Ben Franklin.
          Today's lesson continued the analysis of the Literature Review Structure:

1. Introduce major speakers/topics/events
2. Distill current state of conversation
3. Call for research

          We have already covered one and two, but I will include it for continuity. The phrase "Introduce major speakers/topics/events" imparts the question: Who is talking and what about? This is a simple question, but it can be blown out of proportion when your topic is too broad. When deciding on a topic to write about, using precision to narrow research focus can be very useful. For example: (Psychology > PTSD >  PTSD from Afghanistan > PTSD treatment for veterans of Afghanistan). By further focusing your topic, you can make it much more manageable to write about.

          By distilling the current state of conversation, you are simplifying/compiling what is already there for the reader to understand. In other words, what are scholars saying to each other about your selected topic/idea/question? Data like this can be collected from key debates and other areas of contention.

          The call for research has the purpose of analyzing cinema's contribution to the conversation of your chosen topic. There are two important questions to ask yourself when tackling your research:

1. Is research responding to [Cinema-choice] and/or is [Cinema-choice] responding to research?
2. Which films/characters/plot points/themes/metaphors/allegories/episodes/seasons will this paper investigate?

          Mr. Rivers ended his lesson by teaching the class about the databases at our disposal. The links to these databases and passwords/usernames are posted on the google classroom under "SENIOR PAPER RESOURCES". We were urged to lean towards "Gale" and "EBSCO" as sources due to their elaborative qualities. Here is a list of tips and tricks Mr. Rivers taught us about searching on "Gale":

• Limit your search by choosing to view only "Full text documents". This will keep you from sources that require payment for the full document.
• The Advanced search can be used to search for multiple keywords.
• Scrolling to the bottom will reveal an MLA citation and the "Citation tools" can switch that to APA.
• Choose the "Send to Google drive" to save your sources as copying a link will bring you to the homepage.

          These skills that we are learning will be very useful in our college years. I'm sure that I, as well as many other of you, will be writing in college. By formulating an academic paper and learning to navigate databases now, this assignment is preparing us for what's to come.

          That just about covers everything! Have a Merry Monday and a Terrific Tuesday if you read this tomorrow!