Ariela Ojalvo American Literature Blog

  What strategies have you and your group used to ensure that all members are actively contributing to group assignments? Explain how you communicate, divide responsibilities, and hold each other accountable throughout the process. We have mainly just been working together so there is no worry about one person doing more than the other. Everyone in the group is actively in each conversation about our project and we are all contributing without any specific  strategies so we don't exactly need one. We communicate with an open mind so everyone's sources, ideas, and words are presented through out our project. We are good at combining responsibility rather than dividing them making everyone present in each step of the project. Summary: Today in class we wrote an introduction to our project. 

  How has completing the annotated bibliography changed or clarified your understanding of your research topic? Discuss how your sources connect to one another and how they are shaping your argument moving forward. completing the annotated bibliography clarified my understanding of my research topic by allowing me to get a good in-depth overview of each of my sources, and give me a clear view of each bias that is present throughout my topic. My sources are connected to one another, making them about the same topic, and they are shaping my argument to be more towards human rights and leaning against population growth rather than foreign because many people are suffering, and I think that population growth does more bad for people than good after reading all of these sources and analyzing them.  Summary : Today in class we continued working on our annotated bibliography. Reflection : Today in class I feel like I deepened my understanding of my research and analyzed my sources ni...

Which part of the annotated bibliography (summary, reflection, or evaluation) was the most challenging for you, and why? Explain how that challenge helped you grow as a researcher and how it will help you when writing your research paper.   The part of the annotated bibliography that challenged me the most was definitely the evaluation. I found this challenging because I could not find the credibility in the source itself rather, I had to do further research on who wrote the source and their perspective to see in check for biases. This challenge helped me grow as a researcher, giving me more experience on learning how to recognize a credible and not credible source and how to look for biases in each source. This will help me write my research paper to be as credible as possible, making it without a bias, and ensuring that all points of view are seen throughout my source. Summary : Today in class we finished up with our annotated bibliography. Reflection : I feel like I got a good g...

  As you gathered sources, you were expected to find multiple perspectives on your topic. What differences did you notice between your sources? Explain how these differences helped you better understand the complexity of your issue. some differences I found between my sources is that many people see the benefits to the economy and technology with population growth while others see the impact it has on the environment being negative from over consumption and production issues while also seeing the negative impacts population growth has on lower income families and education. These differences help me better understand the complexity of population growth by showing me factors that have to be applied when talking about it considering that depending on the type of people depends on their opinions and views with population growth. Having population growth benefit many and completely alter many peoples lives for the worst too. Summary: Today in class we started accumulating research for ...

  What challenges did your group face while selecting and analyzing sources, and how did you overcome them? Be specific about how your group communicated and worked through disagreements. Working on our group research project seemed simple at first but choosing and analyzing sources was actually much more challenging than expected. Some people used random websites that they didnt fully read through and weren't very reliable, while others wanted more credible sources that were harder to understand, so we had trouble agreeing. Our communication was great at the start because we mostly used our voices and we gave each other a chance to talk no matter what. so it wasn't impossible to actually agree in the end we voted to decide. It wasn’t always smooth, but we got better at working together. In the end, we learned how to communicate and compromise, which helped us finish the project successfully. Summary: Today in class we worked more on our research.  Reflection: I feel better an...

Reflect on your research topic and identify the most compelling issue connected to it. Clearly explain what the issue is and discuss why you find it particularly interesting or important. Support your response with specific details from your research.   The most compelling issue connected to population growth is the impact that it has on climate change, making the global temperature higher and the water levels rise. The issue with population growth is that it leads to production growth which increases factory use, and other things creating far more carbon dioxide emissions, which should raises temperatures throughout the world and creates many further issues specifically for less developed countries in lower income families. I find this particularly interesting because it has been proven that higher income countries and people create the most CO2 emissions while it affects the lower income people the most creating unbreakable cycle that many are blind to.  Summary: Today in cl...

  How does watching the film version of  Into the Wild  change or deepen your understanding of Chris McCandless compared to reading the book? In your response, explain one key difference in how his character or experiences are presented, and connect this to a time when seeing something visually changed your understanding of a situation. Watching the film version of Into the Wild humanizes Chris McCandless, making his isolation feel more like a gut feeling and emotional struggle than the philosophical experiment highlighted in Jon Krakauer’s Novel on McCandless. While the book uses an investigative tone to analyze his motives, the movie uses sweeping visuals and a haunting soundtrack to romanticize his yearning for connection with nature. This cinematic intimacy creates a deeper empathy for his loneliness and understanding of his raw mindset. Witnessing his physical decline on screen transforms the abstract concept of his "adventure" into a tangible, heartbreaking reality....

  Chris and his sister  Carine McCandless  had a very close relationship, even when he struggled to connect with others. Write about a relationship in your life where you feel truly understood. Explain what makes that relationship strong and how it compares to the connection between Chris and Carine in  Into the Wild . One relationship in my life where I feel truly understood like how Chris and his sister's close relationship is me and my sisters relationship. We grew up playing, fighting and having fun, and given that we were raised by the same parents we all kind of get each other deeper then anyone else will every get me. I feel like I can say anything to them and they will understand it fully. From the way we speak to aspects of our manners we are very close and that is definitely the relationship in my life that is most comparable to Chris and his sisters. Summary: Today in class we watched Chris's movie  Reflection: I feel more moved by Chris's story then ...

  Political cartoons often use exaggeration and symbolism to make a point, and they can also serve as important visual sources for analysis. What is being criticized in this image? What does this source suggest about the issue, and what does the cartoonist want the audience to question or reconsider? Trump is being criticized in this image for focusing on issues outside of the country rather then the many that are inside the country. This is a primary source so that suggests that it is a good representation of the state of the president. The artist wants the audience to question Trump's presidential stratige and agenda and reconsider his effectiveness given  that the issues he has up brought into the country are being disregarded and he is shifting societies focus onto this war that was unnecessary.  Summary: Today in class we learned more about our paper writing.  Reflection:  I am a bit nervous about the paper but overall I feel like it will be good. n

  Think about how you have searched for information in the past compared to what you practiced today. How is creating specific search phrases different from just “Googling” a topic? Explain how this strategy will improve the quality of your research. Creating specific search phrases is different from just googling a topic because it makes your research more efficient and detailed. Just googling a topic is too broad and the search results would be overwhelming and less efficient as a specific search which would give you data and more personalized search results to your topic. This strategy will improve the quality of my research by making it be specific to one event or study rather then broad to everything that is effected or relates to my topic. Summary: Today I learned the importance of a search phrases.  Reflection:  I am still very confident that I will succeed in this project

  Think about your experience using GALILEO to find sources. How was this different from how you have searched for information in the past? Explain how using specific search strategies and evaluating sources impacted the quality of what you found. My experience  using GALILEO to find sources was diffrent from how I have searched for information in the past because I no longer had to worry about citations or credibility in my sources because GALELEO promises both of those. I also found it easier to find specific types of sources because it limited it all down for me with the filters. Using specific search strategies and evaluating sources impacted the quality of my findings positively making my findings easier and more helpful to my research. I really enjoyed using GALELEO and I plan on using it in the future.  Summary: Today in class we started researching for our essay. I found many good sources and started to get the hang of finding good sources. Reflection: I feel very...

  Your research question is designed to explore a complex issue. What makes this topic difficult to answer or solve? Identify at least two different perspectives or factors related to your topic and explain why understanding multiple viewpoints is important. The part making my research topic difficult to answer is  my lack of knowledge on the subject which limits my ability to think of ways to research the topic. My topic is difficult to research without prior knowledge because I dont even know where to begin. One perspective of population growth is like someone from China who think that population growth is necessary and good for the country. rather a different perspective would be a republican American wanting to keep growth out and focus on the current population of the country. Understanding multiple view point is important for research so that the research being done is accurate and unbias or single sided for those reading it.  Summary: Today in class we did a packet...

  Reflect on your past experiences with research in school. What challenges have you faced when working independently or in a group, and how did you handle them? Explain how those experiences will influence the way you approach this current research project. My past experiences with research in school are full of challenges I have faced either with a group or alone. I have grown frustrated with the lack of research available for my topic, I have grown frustrated with my group's lack of accurate analysis of the research, amoung many other challenges. I often handled these challenges by digging deeper and trying to think more outside of the box with sources that would make sense in context. I also would try to help my group move further in our research and explain the misunderstood aspects of the sources.  Summary: Today in class we got our research paper group and topic assigned to us.  Reflection: I hope to do the best I can on this final project and crank out a well put ...