Kantz

Getting Ready to Read 

When thinking about the words fact, claim, opinion and argument, I think of how these words fit together. A fact is something that is set and stone, something that has been proven and cannot be questioned or changed. On the other hand, a claim is something that someone says is true but may not necessarily be true. An opinion is a belief or idea that someone has and may not be true or correct, but is simply ones beliefs on the topic. When in an argument, (when people disagree on a topic or issue) people tend to argue over things such as facts, claims and opinions and wether they are true or not. People can argue over things such as people saying they know facts and others thinking it is just a claim or opinion. In conclusion, the words fact, claim, opinion and argument can all be related and tied together. 

Summary 

In Kantz's article, "Helping Students Use Textual Sources Persuasively", she tries to show the reader (college students) that when doing research, you must make it original. Kantz does this through her character Shirley: "the typical college student with an average academic preparation." (pg. 69) Through Shirley we see how we should as well and should not write a research paper. Kantz wants the the readers to see how people can do different presentations of research, but it is always the best way to make it your own and always be original. 

Synthesis

After reading Kantz's article, "Helping Students Use Textual Sources Persuasively", I noticed that is was very similar to Kleine's article "What Is It We Do When We Write Articles...". In both articles, they discuss how students can be both good and bad researchers. Kantz's specifically talks about how students have to make their research their own work and make it original, and Kleine's article talks about how student's need to become better at collecting and finding research. These articles are similar because they both discuss how students need to be more original instead of copying down information and putting it into a paper. 

Questions for Discussion 

1. Kantz contends through Alice by saying that "the only essential difference between a fact and an opinon is how they are received by the audience." (pg. 76) Also, "A fact is claim that an audience will accept as being true without requiring proof, although they might ask for an explanation. An opinion is a claim that an audience will not accept as being true without proof, and which, after the proof is given, the audience may well decide has only a limited truth." (pg. 76) In responce to these ideas, audiences may then have arguments when trying to decide if something is fact or opinion. 

2. The list of things that Kantz says students don't know, misunderstand, or don't comprehend about how text work include:

1. Reading sources as stories
2. Expect their sources to tell them the truth 
3. They don't understand that facts are a kind of claim and are often used persuasively in so-called objective writing to create an impression.

From my experience, I believe that Kantz's theory is correct. I agree with her and her ideas because I personally have fallen for bad articles and texts that don't always tell me the truth, and I also also read texts as stories instead of research texts. I feel that I now understand all of the points that she makes here. Next time I am researching, I will follow her tips so I will know exactly what the texts are telling me. 

Meta Moment

In Kantz's article, she tries to analyze the concept of making work your own. She tries to tell the reader how important it is to understand what you are reading, then turn around and understand it and add your own personal touch to the material. This is what makes good research projects. It is useful for me to understand her findings and claims because I am a student that Kantz is writing to in the article. The audience Kantz wants is students who will be doing research. Because I am a student who will be doing research, I can use what I have learned from her findings to help me in my future researching. 

Thoughts

In conclusion, reading Kantz's article was very informative and helpful. I believe it was helpful because I am one of the types of students that the article was made for. I enjoyed this article because Kantz put her findings into a way that a student can relate to: another college student. I will definitely keep in mind the 3 things Kantz found that students don't understand about texts for the next time I am having trouble on a research project.