Project Three Reflection
Description
Project three was focused on combining three sources and creating an argument from them. One of the sources was a narrative except, a scientific article, and a social science article. I read Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, ““More Than Skin Deep”: Stress Neurobiology and Mental Health Consequences of Racial Discrimination” by Maximus Berger & Zoltán Sarnyai, and “Effects of Diversity Experiences on Critical Thinking Skills Over 4 Years of College” by Ernest T. Pascarella et al..The goal was to take the information from the article and develop your own “I say” argument. Each source provided a very different perspective which allows for creative options for the argument.
Annotations
For the annotations, we had to annotate three articles. The first article was Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I made comments addressing the struggles Coates went through, the lessons he was learning, and my own opinions. An example of an annotation I made was in response to Coates talking about what he learned from reading. I responded “it is so important to learn from books and use it to inspire new ideas”. I also read social science and a scientific article. My comments included questioning things I did not understand, pointing out details in their research, and addressing aspects of the processes. An example of a comment from the scientific article “Do a couple of experiences make a difference or does it require prolonged exposure?” I made this comment in regards to a data table. These annotations allowed me to break down the articles and provided me with a better understanding of them.
Homework
I completed all of my homework assignments. All of these assignments led me to finding my argument. It gave my direction to get my brain flowing. Homework entry eleven was very beneficial to me. It helped me better understand Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I would also say that entry fourteen helped me a lot too. It was all on counter arguments and I feel that it helped me get better at them. I had to identify examples in all the sources and then create my own counterargument. I was then able to take this learnt skill and apply it to my final draft.
Homework Entry 11:
The excerpt from Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates was very inspiring. The text takes a more narrative approach in the form of a letter written to the author’s son. I very much enjoyed this style of writing as it felt very personal and like Coates was telling his story directly to me. The beginning of the excerpt talks about Coate’s childhood and his experience in education, which sets up the rest of the text nicely. It goes on to describe his realization of the Civil Rights movement and the extreme injustices that black Americans were facing. In order to make sense of these issues, Coates turned to literature. The author read book after book in search of answers and guidance from the words of famous authors. “I had to inhale all the pages” (Coates 4). I can understand the need for grasping every bit of information from a source of writing. I often find myself becoming passionate about a topic or issue and feeling the need to learn as much about it as I can. At the end of the excerpt, Coates acknowledged that all of this learning can lead to discomfort. In the author’s case, he realized that the process of getting his dream would instead break all the dreams. All of the comfort he knew would be taken away to reveal the terribleness of humanity. This is a problem with learning as it does not always give you the outcome you desire and can often lead you to hard realizations. Overall, I really enjoyed this excerpt. I found myself engaged and interested in every word that Coates was saying. I believe that the humanistic style is a style that I prefer. It let you feel all the emotions that the author was feeling.
Homework Entry 14:
Ta-Nehisis Coates deals with counter arguments in Between the World and Me by talking about the research he did to find the truth. Coates was wondering if anyone retained any of their African inheritance and the author Frazier argued that it was all destroyed. Frazier mentions that the destruction is from the terribleness induced by the capturers. Coates followed these arguments up with an opposing argument from Herskovitz, who argued that it lives on and shows resilience. This response showed how Coates did lots of research and wanted to inform himself on all sides of an argument. Coates did not necessarily agree or disagree with the statements.In the scientific article, it stated that most research relies on self-reported data to study individual racism. This article says “There, relying on self-reported discrimination might only reveal a small portion of the actual effect of racism on the individual” (Berger and Sarnyai 1). They explained the issues of the other research and how it may not be accurate. Similarly, in the social science article they also argued about the validity of self reporting data. The authors mentioned how previous studies used self reporting data as the main source of their research. “However, although student self-reported gains can be revealing and important outcomes, there are some serious concerns about their actual validity” (Pasarella et al.). They countered the argument of the past research by agreeing with it while also pointing out the issues of it.
Attendance
I attended all of my classes throughout project one, even the very empty class before Thanksgiving. I would give myself a grade of proficient because I attended all of the classes. It is very important to me to attend all of my classes.
Class Participation and Engagement
I participated heavily during the class periods. I very often answer questions, participate in discussions, and share my opinion. I love talking in class and putting in my thoughts. Discussions are also something I enjoy so I find it very fun to participate. I would also give myself a grade of proficient as I have successfully done everything in that section of the rubric.
Proficient rubric: Volunteers regularly to speak in class, regularly submits discussion questions
or comments, or posts weekly in discussion forums. Participates actively in small group
discussions. Comes to class prepared. Listens actively to other students.
Rough Draft
My rough draft was a crucial part of my writing process. I used it as a way to put my ideas together and start to develop a cohesive argument. I ended up changing part of my argument but I needed to start with the rough draft first. I got all my ideas out and then was able to see what I could do to make it better. In terms of requirements, I also completed all of the necessary aspects of it.
Peer Review
My peer review was done in person. I read the essay and then was able to give comments on paper and verbally. Some of my comments included suggestions on spots to go more in depth, fix a citation, and underlined some spots that needed clarification. Peer review is very helpful for me as well because it allows me to see what I could improve on in my own paper.
Assessment of Ideas and Requirement Reflection
My final paper matches up with the requirement lists very well. I matched the word count, incorporated all three sources, information from the Scheuer reading, three quotations, and a proper citation page. I referenced this requirement during my writing process to ensure I included everything. I would also give myself a proficient in all of the assessment of ideas. With this essay, I tried to incorporate a new writing style by including a counter argument. I also tried to include the “twist it” method by adding an unexpected argument. It is also important to me to try to have a clear and concise essay. I read my essay out loud to make sure that it was smooth. Another goal of mine was to incorporate the articles in an interesting way. The rubric addresses all of those requirements that I believe I met.
Proficient Rubric Column
Exploring your ideas- Perspective is clear from the beginning. Writer’s perspective goes beyond ideas readily identifiable in the text(s). Writer’s ideas drive
the paper. Writer’s ideas are well developed throughout the paper. Paper often takes a thoughtful or novel interpretive approach to the prompt.
Engaging with the sources– Engagement with text(s) serves the writer’s perspective. Engagement with text(s) cuts across readings in unanticipated ways. Connections among text(s) are well developed, with carefully chosen quotes and examples. Writer makes clear to the reader how the connections among texts advance their ideas and the overall perspective of the paper.
Editing and Proofreading- Paper demonstrates a smooth and clear writing style. There are minimal grammatical errors and confusing word choices. The paper demonstrates great
care in editing and proofreading.
Integrating Ideas
Learning outcome: Be able to integrate their ideas with those of others using summary, paraphrase, quotation, analysis, and synthesis of relevant sources.
In this entry I feel that I exemplify the outcome. I was able to read the three sources and provide an analysis using a mix of quotes and summary methods. I developed my ideas from reading the articles and trying to identify a connection between them. Once I found my ideas, I could use quotes and explanations from the sources to back up my argument. Plus finding arguments can shape my argument and lead me to improve my own ideas. The first entry attached showed a demonstration of quoting, summary, paraphrasing, and analysis. I then created my own ideas about the liberal arts and the issues within it. The homework entry attached shows an analysis based on only summarizing and paraphrasing the scientific source.
Entry 11/10/23 and adding on 11/14/23
The liberal arts education is not inclusive and representative of all students. It is a common occurrence for an education to only include a singular perspective or point of view on a topic. As Ta-Nehisis Coates writes in Between the World and Me, “An unceasing interrogation of the stories told us to by the schools now felt essential” (Coates 2). The author explains being taught about the civil rights movement, but only the nonviolent protests. Students were not being taught crucial stories that had significant impacts, but rather just one singular point of view. Coates mentions how education does not represent all students. This lack of inclusion can lead to mental and physical harm for students. In the article “More than skin deep”: stress neurobiology and mental health consequences of racial discrimination, the research showed that exclusion and discrimination can cause negative effects on health. These effects can include higher cortisol levels, impact to cardiovascular functions, and chronic stress. It can also lead to an increased chance of schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and psychosis. If there is not a change to the lack of inclusion in education, then it could end up causing physical and mental harm to students down the line. Simply adding in more diverse perspectives, not discluding certain stories, and letting students challenge beliefs can have a positive impact on students. A true liberal arts education is based on critical thinking, which can be applied to these new topics. Students should be encouraged to think critically about all sides of the story and not just one side. The social scientific source says that incorporating diverse experiences are linked to increased problem solving, critical thinking, cognitive development, and complexity of thinking. Experiences can include cultural workshops, meeting people of different cultures, and exploring new backgrounds. These are all linked to gain in critical thinking scores. However, the growth of critical thinking was more obvious in white students than for students of color. That may be since students of color have these experiences everyday and white students may not have that. Although these gains might not be as prevalent for students of color, it may still be beneficial to expand their worldly knowledge as well. Coates writes that he wishes he had more educational diversity in the classroom as he felt the education was exclusive to white students. Additionally, the scientific source says that this feeling of exclusion can have negative impacts on students. It may be beneficial for every student if education includes more diverse topics, experiences, and perspectives.
Homework Entry 12:
The scientific article titled “More than skin deep”: stress neurobiology and mental health consequences of racial discrimination, explored the mental and physical toll that racial discrimination can cause. The article explored the negative impacts from racism that affect people everyday. It discussed having a higher chance of mental health, anxiety, and mood disorders. A notable example would be schizophrenia. Psychological distress is also associated with discrimination. It even affects parts of the brain, cardiovascular functions, and leads to an increase in chronic stress. I found this article to be very interesting as I am a psychology major. I also work in a psychology research lab so I am very familiar with research processes and am very interested in research studies. Overall, I preferred the narrative excerpt more because it was more engaging. However, I wouldn’t say that I disliked this but rather that I just liked the other more.
Reflection
I think this project went really well. I put a lot of effort into it and tried my best to create a unique argument. My annotations went very well and I felt that I had a significant understanding of it. I could then use the sources to help me shape my ideas into a cohesive argument. My writing goals for this project were to have a clear and concise argument, incorporate that “twist” element, not just restate what the sources say, make my MLA style correct, and not be redundant. I personally think that I accomplished all of my goals effectively. I think I did the best at integrating all three of the sources into an argument. I still think that I could grow to incorporate new things like the “twist it” method. I am very interested in having creative setups for my essays and would love to improve on it. I surprised myself by how easy my original idea of the liberal arts not being inclusive came to me. I found that I developed that idea faster than normal. This project was on a very interesting topic and I enjoyed doing it!
