1
E V A L U A T I N G S O U R C E S A C T I V I T Y F O R
F I R S T - Y E A R C O M P O S I T I O N
BETH BIR, FAYETTEVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY
This classroom activity is designed for use in a first-year composition course, although it could be adapted for many other settings, and its goal is to introduce students to the concept of evaluating source material. Although many first-year students enter college believing they have strong information literacy skills because they regularly navigate the internet, they often are not critical of the credibility of their sources, nor of the material found therein. In real life situations as well as in academic and professional scenarios, students will be asked to make reasoned arguments, backing their ideas with information they have not only found but also evaluated for credibility and relevance. Ability to support assertions with relevant and credible source material is one of the learning outcomes associated with this first-year composition course.
FIRST-YEAR COMPOSITION COURSE ACTIVITY
This learning activity, loosely extrapolated from the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) model, introduces students to the idea that the credibility and relevance of source material must be evaluated. The activity is carried out on two class days toward the beginning of the semester. The first step, which students undertake individually, is a homework assignment that is meant to mimic the process most students use when evaluating their own research findings. Each individual student is given a packet of materials to work with. In the packet is a scenario that sets up a writing assignment—a question to be answered in the form of a letter—and six documents that offer information or perspective on the question. Students are asked to use the given materials exactly as they normally would for any school assignment and to draft their letter. During the next class period, in groups of three or four, students share their individual choices and reasoning in using each piece of evidence for their letters. As a group, they discuss ideas and fill in the Evidence Assessment Chart. Very often at this point, students change their minds about which documents they should be using for their letters. Individuals then have until the next class period to revise their letters, if desired, based on group discussions. On the second class day, the groups share their findings with the entire class, and a full-group discussion takes place during which the instructor leads students to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each document in terms of reliability and relevance to the writing assignment.
2 from a person with a vested interest. Document E provides a laugh but no evidence to support it, and Document F is the same information from Document B, provided here in graphic form.
The logical flaws found in these documents are clear once discussed, and they help students understand why some evidence is more effective than other evidence. The problems with relevance and reliability found here form the foundation of a list that the class members will return to and add to throughout the semester as they evaluate forms of evidence that they find in their own research.
PACKET: INSTRUCTIONS, SCENARIO, AND DOCUMENTS A-F
INSTRUCTIONS
You will be answering open-ended questions about a hypothetical but realistic situation. This assessment contains a series of documents that include a range of information sources. Some are useful to you, and some are not. While your personal values and experiences are important, you should base your response only on the evidence provided in these documents.
SCENARIO
You are the first person in your family with the opportunity to attend college, but you are unsure about what kind of college is best for you. Because you want to alleviate your family’s long-term financial struggle, you are most concerned with what education will allow you to contribute to their long-term financial stability. Your grandmother has seen many commercials on television for technical/career-specific certificates and associates degrees of the kind available at a two-year technical school or community college, and she thinks this is the best way to go.
You should have six documents (labeled Documents A-F) that are the key sources of evidence you have to decide whether to pursue a technical education to maximize the amount of money you can earn in a related career field. After reviewing all the information, write a letter to your grandmother in which you give your conclusion and explain the reasons for your conclusion by explicitly referring to the specific documents, data, and statements on which your conclusions are based. Your answer will be judged not only on the accuracy of the information you provide, but also on how clearly the ideas are presented, how effectively the ideas are organized, and how thoroughly the information is covered.
DOCUMENT A
FEATURE STORY IN FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
When Anthony Williams left home to attend Booker T. Washington Technical Institute, he had no idea he would return ten years later a millionaire and national celebrity. Williams, a 1998 graduate of Westover High School, majored in food science at BTW. While taking a class in nutritional science, he realized that the diets of most college students contained a much higher amount of saturated fat than is healthy. He began a publicity campaign to bring attention to the problem, leading sit-ins at BTW’s cafeteria and petitioning for healthy choices at student-friendly restaurants like McDonalds and Dominoes. His Healthy Students campaign landed him on national television.
3 appearances on The Today Show, CNN, and David Letterman, and eventually Williams got his own show on The Food Network.
Williams will return to Fayetteville Saturday to promote his new book Eating Right and Adding Time and to urge local students to demand healthier choices for themselves. The reading will begin at Barnes and Noble at 3pm.
DOCUMENT B
The table below presents data about the people who graduated from technical colleges and those who graduated from 4-year colleges. Source: US Census
County
Percentage of residents who are technical school graduates
Average household income
Number of residents
Percentage of residents who are college graduates
Wake 30.1% $57,846 786,522 43.9%
Durham 11.6% $44,048 246,896 40.1%
Cumberland 22.4% $39,035 302,963 19.1%
Hoke 15.1% $34,444 42,303 10.9%
Sampson 22.6% $33,824 63,561 11.1%
High school diploma Technical degree 4 year degree
Average annual income 24000 32000 42000
4
DOCUMENT C
DOCUMENT D
Dear Prospective Student,
Booker T. Washington Technical Institute is pleased to accept you for admission for the 2012-2013 school year. Here at BTWTI, we take great pride in our academic programs, and we believe that you will be pleased with the education we have to offer. Our programs in agriculture, food science, plumbing and electricity are among the top in the area, and our graduates often find jobs in their degree areas very quickly.
We look forward to meeting you at our open house and preregistration event on March 15, 2012.
Sincerely,
Joe Thomas
Admissions counselor
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000
Annual Income Total Tuition cost
High School
2-year
5
DOCUMENT E
DOCUMENT F
Annual Income Tech school grads
4 Year Grads 0
10 20 30 40 50 60
Annual Income
Tech school grads
6
EVIDENCE ASSESSMENT CHART FOR GROUP WORK
What information does this document contain?
Why should we believe this document?
Why shouldn’t we believe this document?
Document A
Document B
Document C
Document D
Document E
