Reflection letter

Dear Monique,

I will honestly admit, I wasn’t very excited to take WR123 at the beginning of the term. As the term went by; however, the class became less of a chore and more of an opportunity. Several class activities and assignments have added to the skills I have acquired in past classes. I was a little intimidated at first at all the work that was set out ahead of us, and didn’t feel they would be as useful as they ended up being.

One activity that really helped me in my writing was the annotated bibliography. I really liked this assignment for a couple of reasons, one being the works cited templates generated through the assignment, but also, it was a great way to get acquainted with our sources. Throughout  the drafting process, the annotated bibliography was great because, all I needed to do for the works cited page was cut and paste. Before drafting even started though, the annotated bibliography really helped me get a feel of what my sources contained, and how or where I could apply their material.

I had a lot of trouble with organizing my essay. Some material was where it shouldn’t have been, in a nut shell it was a mess. I didn’t have enough paper to do the Frankenstein essay, but i did attempt to reorganize my essay in a similar manner. I highlighted certain parts of the essay on the word processor and cut and paste to put everything where it belongs. doing it on the word processor really made me wish I had the paper, but it got done. The idea sounded a little odd at first, but once I started reconstructing the essay, it made good sense, and really helped my essay’s structure.

While I was doing the believing and doubting exercise, I stumbled across my thesis, It was a real epiphany moment. I have done some similar exercises in previous classes but have never had results like this. Either I was lucky, or I found a good passage to analyze. The fact that believing and doubting worked so well for me, encourages me to use it in future classes. I feel that if I take this strategy I improved with in this class, I can use it in several beneficial ways in the future.

I really feel I need to work on gathering more information. I gathered quite a bit of information, but came up with my thesis after that. After I discovered my thesis, some of my sources lost some of their use in my essay. I really should have gathered more information after I found my thesis to support the more specific approach I now have. Ever since then I have struggled with the length requirement.

Over the term this course has taught me several methods and tools I can use for future writing. The workload had me a little concerned, but I know have many more skills at my disposal. I appreciate the time you took to help me individually, it was a great help.

Sincerely,

Brian Marshall

Entry 7

This weeks revision strategy i chose was reorganizing around thesis and support. This strategy helped relate sections of my essay to my thesis.

This method really helped me recognize the sections of my essay. In recognizing my sections I could then expand on certain topics in the correct areas and write the proper transitions/ topic sections. In my essay I had a rough break down of sections, but this exercise helped me clean up the break downs so it has a more fluid sense to the essay.

After this exercise I feel my essay will show off its sub-topics a little more appropriately. This exercise helped to organize the sections and put loose information where it belongs. My essay will then feel more rounded put and complete.

Comments

Research Journal Entry 6

Entry 6- Revision

Research Entry 6

My revision strategy is called “Finding Focusing Questions” This exercise aids in finding areas to expand on by trying to create more questions to be answered throughout the paper.

This exercise asked me to first write down what i originally wanted to learn from the research, and why I first chose this topic. I was also asked to write down all the background information I knew before starting the essay.The most important part of this exercise is what comes next, the brainstorm. This step I was asked to write down all the new questions that have been raised. With all these new questions I can now expand a little more and bring more to the essay.

I had already thought of quite a few questions, but was glad to see I came up with a few more. This will give my next draft more points to use and expand on. This exercise also made me think of a source I found back in the preliminary research step that previously seemed irrelevant but may now be of some help.

I should be able to include these questions I came up with and put this exersize to use to expand my essay and give it more points to go off of.

Comments:

Journal Entry #5

Classical Arrangement!

Classical arrangement

Exordium: To grab the reader’s attention I will explain how the Himalayas came to be. I will go into moderate detail of the collision between India and Asia. Hopefully the of continents crashing into one another is enough to grab the reader’s attention.

Narratio: some background information will be in my Exordium section, but I will include further detail in this section. Like how the uplift is still active etc.

Propositio:  my thesis is something along the lines of… The creation of the Himalayas have affected life ever since the initial impact of the two continents.

Partitio: Some subtopics I will include are affect of the Himalayas on sea life, land life, and climate (which potential affects all life). mind all these subtopics span several thousands of years.

Confutatio: Some may argue the world was created at once and has been that way since (kind of a creation vs. evolution approach) Also some may argue that the creation of a mountain range cannot affect anything as widely as some feel.

Confirmatio: for the affect of sea life I can site parts of the books I have that say the peaks of the Himalayas were once sea floor. With this evidence it is safe to say the sea floor was drastically altered which in turn affected sea life. I can cite information on the collision which provides evidence of land alterations which would affect life. And lastly cite various pieces of information regarding southern Asia’s unique climate and how some attribute the Himalayas to the anomilies.

Peroratorio:  In the conclusion I can tie together all of the subtopics and once more relate all the unique features to the Himalayas.

Comments:

Journal Entry #4

Research Journal Entry 4

Journal Entry #4

1. Background: Some of the most interesting “facial features” Of the Earth occur where continents collide. The highest mountains on earth, the Himalayas, for example are found at a collision site. The collision of continents takes millions of years to develop, but creates a ripple affect throughout the entire world. The collision of India and Asia has affected the local biology and climate more than you would think.

2. Profile:  Millions of years ago, the continents of India and Asia collided. This collision created some of the most unique geographic features, and forever altered the face of the planet. This such astounding affects on our planet what else could this collision have affected? That got me to wondering. Could the collision of India and Asia possibly have changed life on Earth as it changed our planet.

3. Anecdote: Atop a 29,000 foot peak, a climber basks in his victory. This climber has just conquered the infamous mount Everest. After months of training and several thousand dollars he did it. The climber took of his oxygen mask to shout out “victory.” Such a tall mountain, so tall it requires the use of bottled oxygen. How did this mountain become so great? What is so unique about the Himalayas?

Comments:

Research Journal Entry #3

Journal Entry #3 (Exercise 4.2)

Journal entry #3

At first I was really curious about my topic (the himalayas/Everest) all I really knew was they were really big mountains. I have learned much since then, and my thinking has changed greatly. I have learned plenty about the topic and it has changed my thinking has gone from just looking at the mountains to how were they formed? Or what effect do these giants have on the local climate? The way my thinking changed was due mostly to my book resources. These books have a lot on the formation and geological process behind these mountains. Some of my articles were a great help as well, some of the study articles that were meant to analyze the rock composition have changed my thinking greatly. The articles talk about marine fossils in the Himalayas as high up as the peak. this helped me realize that the Himalayas are a lifted ocean floor. Either that or the water levels of the world’s oceans used to be thousands of feet high, which possible, not likely due to the last ice age. So knowing that the fossil were deposited on the ocean floor with a little more research I found out why the sea floor is so high. I found that India crashed into the Eurasian landmass and created a folded mountain belt. Essentially the Himalayas are a big pile up from a continental collision that took millions of years to happen. With this information at hand I now see the Himalayas as much more than just mountains, but multi-million year old carnage from a collision long ago.

Moments, Stories, People, and Scenes

In a book that I am using as a source there is a great section on “Mountain Building” The Himalayas are used quite a bit in this section. This section really puts the formation of the mountain range into perspective. I mean the mountains were formed millions and millions of years ago but this selection really backs up its claims with evidence and is very helpful. This selection also explains the effect the mountains had on the whole Asian continent. This section actually gave me a a good thesis idea. I was having trouble coming up with a certain direction, but looking deeper into this section really helped my thinking process. An article published by a university in Arizona also is very rich in good information. It really made some pieces of geological information a lot easier to understand.

Dialogue:

How did the modern Himalayas come to be?

Well the himalayas took millions of years tp be created and are still rising to this day. I’ll give you the story in a nutshell. India was once its own continent and was slowly creeping northward. Eventually India crashed into Asia. When the two continents crashed the sea floor that once separated them bunched up and rose high into the air.

Oh wow I never thought of it that way it makes sense though. If this happened millions of years ago, then how do people know this? 

Well judging by the current movement of India, and the composition of the rock all along the mountain range scientists have concluded that this is a sound model of there creation.

How have the Himalayas altered the geography of Asia?

Like I said before, this collision erased two coastlines off the map and added a huge mountain range. Also local rivers dug canyons or changed their flow because the change in elevation. Some scientists also argue the Himalayas have changed the global climate.

So what?

I have always found the Himalayas very interesting. There hold the highest mountains in the world, these mountains aren’t just slightly taller than all the other ones, they are way taller. The next tallest peak outside the Himalayas is about only two-thirds as tall. Also the Himalayas possibly have an impact on the world wide climate!

Comments:

http://matterson89.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/journal-entry-2/#comment-4

http://flypdx.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/journal-entry-2-believing-and-doubting/#comment-6

Believing and Doubting

Since my research topic includes a scientific fact it was tough to find a bit of imformation to realistically doubt. Although the passage I will believe and doubt is mostly an assumption, I feel it has some truth on both sides, and can be argued in either direction. This quote is from Edward Keller’s Actice Tectonics “In the 40 m.y. since India ran into Asia, the collision has reshaped the face of Asia, uplifted the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau, and altered the climate of the region and perhaps the entire world.”

Doubting:

Keller mentions that the forming of the Himalayas has possibly altered the climate of the whole planet. Although these mountains no douubt altered the local climate, the world climate must have remained mostly unchanged. when these mountains were formed they posibly altered some ocean currents. These changes, although big, were most likely off set by the stable water temperature in the ocean. Water takes a lot of energy to heat and cool, not to mention a body of water the size of the Indian Ocean. The air temperature would not change to bad as a result because ocean air is greatly influenced by the ocean it sits on top of.

Believing:

When one continent crashes into another the climate must change. First off the location of atleast one continent has changed, which could completly change the surroundings of that continent, thus changing the climate. The impact site will gain elevation which obviously changes the climate. The continent that got crrashed into will have its climate affected because there is now a 29,000 foot windbreaker right in the middle of the landmass. On a world wide setting the collision of these continents could create new air currents which would send winds across the world in ways they previously didn’t.

Comments:

http://bethbistline.wordpress.com/2010/04/16/research-journal-entry-1/#comments

http://elysevantassel.wordpress.com/2010/04/15/research-journal-1/#comments

Research Journal Entry 1

Kinds of sources: I have found a couple of good peer reviewed articles on my topic through ebsco and other online resources we have used. I also found a website with some good information. I have been looking for a book and can not find anything too interesting online, but I think I will be able to find something in the library.

Types of information: I have found a formal study or two in my research on the data bases. I have also found great data sheets on my topic.

Purpose of publication: All the sources I have found seem to be purely informative.

Documentation: Some of my sources cite their information very well. An in text reference is made and a works cited page contains all the required information.

Credentials and expertise: Although I don’t know much about some of the authors of my sources one source comes from a professional in the field. One of my studies comes from  K.V Hodges who is a professor at ASU and his work is published in a peer reviewed journal. Although this article came from 1992, since it is about geology it hasn’t changed to much over the years.

Publishers: My sources are either from published journals, or websites. For example my source by K.V Hodges is from a journal titled Science. This source is not only written by a professor but is also published in a peer reviewed journal, giving it quite a bit of credibility.

Dates of publication: some of my sources are pretty new like the data sheet for example. Some of the studies however are from the early 1990’s. Although older, I feel these sources are still accurate because geology spans a huge amount of time and 17 years isn’t much compared to geological factors.

Objectivity: The sources I have gathered seem to all be informative.  Most of the sources I have gathered come from peer reviewed journals.

Topic Relations

What is the relationship between nearby bodies of water and the formation of the Himalayas?

What is the relationship betweeen plate tectonics and the himalayas?

What is the relationship between the climate and the himalayas?

What is the relationship between the local wildlife and the himalayas?

Do local religions have a mythological approach to the creation of the Himalayas?

Focusing Question

Focusing question: What geological processes took place in the formation of Mount Everest? Or perhaps the Himalayas in general.

How long is this mountain range?

About how old is the mountain range?

How many peaks are in the Himalayas?

How many countries do the Himalayas span?

What kind of eco-systems are found in this mountain range?