Any topic (writer’s choice)

Step 1:

You will choose several questions that came up for you in those assignments and you will set out to answer those questions with reliable sources in your first blog. Once you find sources that answer those questions well–remember dont post the first source you find, post the best source you find, the one that impacted your understanding most–you will post a link to each source (Im looking for 2-3 sources).  Then, below each one, include the following information with each one of your sources:

What was the question (or questions) that you set out to answer for this blog and how does this source answer those for you? If it doesn’t include your question exactly, explain why you chose it. Include a brief summary for each source that highlights the most important things you learned about your topic from that source. This should be a thorough explanation that shows that you read the source–and reveals why you are interested in this topic.
What new, surprising, or unexpected information came up in this source? (This can be information that was in response to your questions, or information unrelated to your questions.)
What aspect(s) of the problem/issue/topic does this source seem to focus on most? What kinds of information does this source not discuss?
Note: Within each summary, include at least one quote from the source with an in-text citation in MLA format. (Refer back to the MLA Citation PowerPoint from the MLA Quiz if you need help remembering how to do this.)  When thinking about what to quote, select a sentence or two that seems significant to this source and connects to what you are saying in this summary.

Step 2: After youve answered the questions for those 2-3 sources, post a summary of what you feel you understand about your topic, what you are confused about, what questions you still have. You might also discuss:

What questions do you have now that you did not have before? What might you want to research next? (You might consider this handout Preview the documentas you try to come up with questions to follow in your next post.)
What aspect of the topic are you most interested in? You will have to start narrowing your research to a smaller sub-topic or question within your general topic. What ideas do you have for this narrowed focus? You might think about the article you’ve found most interesting or what major questions, problem or possible solution, you’ve found most interesting so far.