Where Can I Do Research?

Start With Lindenwood's Library
To do research from home, you will need your Lindenwood student I.D. number. Follow the directions for signing in. If you want to check out materials, you will need your student I.D. Contact the reference librarian for Butler Library at Lindenwood for specific reference sources for your topic. You can call them, or e-mail if you are at a distance site.

Other Places to start doing Research:
NPR.org The National Public Radio site has programs like Morning Edition and Talk of the Nation that discuss controversial issues. You can listen to archived versions of the programs on your computer if you have a media player. It is a great place to browse for current topics and find experts to research further.

FirstGov.gov is the official portal to all U.S. government agencies. Here you can find information by topic on subjects such as health, education, technology, agriculture, history, arts, and culture.They also have an extensive reference section on data and statistics for the United States such as crime rates, census data, and economic indicators. It’s an excellent source for a variety of subjects.

Refdesk.com is a free reference site that has link to all the major news outlets like CNN, MSNBC, ABC and more. Scroll down a bit to find the listing for news sources.

The Librarians Internet Index researches websites and then recommends them on their page. It has lots of great links to credible websites that public librarians have researched for their patrons.

Class Reminders and Announcements for the Week of January 21st

Due This Week:
Final version of Short Paper 2 with draft and sketch outline, in a folder. Identify what type of paper you wrote on the first page - Process, Exemplification, or Comparions/Contrast.

Oral Presentation on one of your papers. Remember to include visuals.

The assigned reading.

Turnitin.com
Some of you still have not submitted your papers to Turnitin.com. I have extended the deadline until Wednesday. I am holding Short Paper 1 hostage until you can submit! So if you want your papers back tonight, Monday class, get Short Paper 1 turned in today. You should also have Short Paper 2 submitted as soon as possible.

Don't Forget Our Extra Class in Butler Library Tomorrow Night
You must sign in with me when you arrive, so I can keep track of attendance. We are meeting in Butler Library in the computer room reserved under my name. Last time we entered the main entrance and took the stairs down to the right. Do not confuse Butler Library with Butler Hall - different buildings. Butler Library is off Watson St. Check the Lindenwood Campus map for details. This class will meet as usual from 6 - 10 p.m.

Grammar Exercises:
One more change on the Grammar Exercises. "Word Choice" is now "Clarity" on the Writer's Reference website. So cross out "Word Choice" in your course outline and write in "Clarity" and follow the same instructions/due date.

Class Reminder & Missouri's New Poet Laureate Walter Bargan

Due tonight:

Short Paper 1 in a two pocket folder with your sketch outline, first draft, and final draft. Be sure to write on the top of the first page whether it is a narration, description, or definition paper.

Also bring your first draft of Short Paper 2 to work on.

New Poet Laureate
Missouri has a new poet laureate, Walter Bargan. Here are a couple poems from his website. It's good stuff. Check it out if you get the chance.

Turnitin.com Class Numbers and Information Winter 2008

Submit the final versions of all papers (not the journals) to Turnitin.com. First you have to create a user profile on their site. To do so you need the class number and password.

FYI If your security settings are too high, you may have trouble turning in your paper. Please direct all tech support questions to their website.


Class Numbers
Westport Monday Night Class Number: 2141634


Westport Wednesday Night Class Number: 2141638


The password is the first eight letters of my email address as listed on the syllabus.

I will go over this next week in class, so the deadline for submitting papers isn't until January 18th for Short Paper One. The Short Paper 2 submission deadline is January 25, 2008. You can go ahead and submit now, or wait for the class discussion if you wish.

Email me if you have questions.

Update on the Grammar Exercises Changes

It looks like they've changed the name for some of the grammar exercise categories on the book's website. FYI "Grammatical Sentences" is now "Sentence Style." So work on the exercises for "Sentence Style." You can skip sentence types - it usually confuses people more than it helps.

You'll need to register on the Writer's Reference website. When you do, include my email TGrissom @lindenwood.edu in your profile, and it should send the results to me automatically as long as you are logged when you work on the grammar exercises. If you are worried something is going wrong, copy and paste your results into a word document and keep them on your computer so you can show you completed the exercises.

Thanks to the students who let me know about the name change for the exercise categories.