citations can go to hell

anything more dreadful than citing sources? I find myself writing essays, then scouring the net for other "qualified" douchbags who agree with me. One of my profs actually told me that there is no such thing as original thought and that everything i could think of has already been though by someone before. screw citations.

You will probably need citations if you write an essay. You can't just write one without examples or back-up stories :/NiKva

anything more dreadful than citing sources? I find myself writing essays, then scouring the net for other "qualified" douchbags who agree with me. One of my profs actually told me that there is no such thing as original thought and that everything i could think of has already been though by someone before. screw citations.

BossPerson

As for citations. I can understand. People plagarize.

What kind of essays are you writing that you just write your opinion and then add in the support of experts?dodgerblue13

One of my profs actually told me that there is no such thing as original thought and that everything i could think of has already been though by someone before.

BossPerson

One of my profs actually told me that there is no such thing as original thought and that everything i could think of has already been thought by someone before.BossPerson

You need evidence to back up your essay, otherwise you're just pulling stories out your ass...

Although citations are annoying as hell, one needs to give credit for where credit is due if one uses a different authors thought.

Though, I've generally heard if it's a well known fact, it doesn't need to be cited. (I.e. The sky is blue)

[QUOTE="dodgerblue13"]What kind of essays are you writing that you just write your opinion and then add in the support of experts?BossPerson

in high schol before we we required to cite, i would just write from the heart and i would get 90s all the time. Now im a mindless robot with no soul just regurgiating the opinions of other people

[QUOTE="BossPerson"]

[QUOTE="dodgerblue13"]What kind of essays are you writing that you just write your opinion and then add in the support of experts?dodgerblue13

Citations are pretty damn important, and without them an essay will just be a big long opinion. Which is almost useless. You've got to cite facts and use those cited facts to formulate a logical, and clear deduction.Overlord93

[QUOTE="BossPerson"]One of my profs actually told me that there is no such thing as original thought and that everything i could think of has already been thought by someone before.Stavrogin_

[QUOTE="dodgerblue13"][QUOTE="BossPerson"]

[QUOTE="dodgerblue13"]What kind of essays are you writing that you just write your opinion and then add in the support of experts?BossPerson

[QUOTE="BossPerson"]

[QUOTE="dodgerblue13"]What kind of essays are you writing that you just write your opinion and then add in the support of experts?dodgerblue13

[QUOTE="dodgerblue13"]What kind of essays are you writing that you just write your opinion and then add in the support of experts?BossPerson

[QUOTE="dodgerblue13"][QUOTE="BossPerson"]

[QUOTE="dodgerblue13"]What kind of essays are you writing that you just write your opinion and then add in the support of experts?BossPerson

maybe research essays in general are just dumb. What is one proving by demostrating their skill to regurgitate other's opinions. Why dont they ask the student to demonstrate their ability to analyze and connect ideas, provide insight, and forumlate opinions instead of asking to "summarize chapter one's of Mill's essay On Liberty"

maybe research essays in general are just dumb. What is one proving by demostrating their skill to regurgitate other's opinions. Why dont they ask the student to demonstrate their ability to analyze and connect ideas, provide insight, and forumlate opinions instead of asking to "summarize chapter one's of Mill's essay On Liberty"

BossPerson

[QUOTE="BossPerson"]

[QUOTE="dodgerblue13"]What kind of essays are you writing that you just write your opinion and then add in the support of experts?T_P_O

I agree. They're overused and feel forced. Diophage

[QUOTE="Diophage"]I agree. They're overused and feel forced. BranKetra

maybe research essays in general are just dumb. What is one proving by demostrating their skill to regurgitate other's opinions. Why dont they ask the student to demonstrate their ability to analyze and connect ideas, provide insight, and forumlate opinions instead of asking to "summarize chapter one's of Mill's essay On Liberty"

BossPerson

[QUOTE="Stavrogin_"][QUOTE="BossPerson"]One of my profs actually told me that there is no such thing as original thought and that everything i could think of has already been thought by someone before.superclocked

[QUOTE="BossPerson"]

maybe research essays in general are just dumb. What is one proving by demostrating their skill to regurgitate other's opinions. Why dont they ask the student to demonstrate their ability to analyze and connect ideas, provide insight, and forumlate opinions instead of asking to "summarize chapter one's of Mill's essay On Liberty"

BranKetra

[QUOTE="BossPerson"]

maybe research essays in general are just dumb. What is one proving by demostrating their skill to regurgitate other's opinions. Why dont they ask the student to demonstrate their ability to analyze and connect ideas, provide insight, and forumlate opinions instead of asking to "summarize chapter one's of Mill's essay On Liberty"

Diophage

Am I the only one who thought this thread was about a traffic ticket?

[QUOTE="Diophage"][QUOTE="BossPerson"]

maybe research essays in general are just dumb. What is one proving by demostrating their skill to regurgitate other's opinions. Why dont they ask the student to demonstrate their ability to analyze and connect ideas, provide insight, and forumlate opinions instead of asking to "summarize chapter one's of Mill's essay On Liberty"

dodgerblue13

[QUOTE="BranKetra"][QUOTE="BossPerson"]

maybe research essays in general are just dumb. What is one proving by demostrating their skill to regurgitate other's opinions. Why dont they ask the student to demonstrate their ability to analyze and connect ideas, provide insight, and forumlate opinions instead of asking to "summarize chapter one's of Mill's essay On Liberty"

BossPerson

no, law and journalismBossPerson

[QUOTE="BossPerson"]no, law and journalismdodgerblue13

[QUOTE="Diophage"][QUOTE="BossPerson"]

maybe research essays in general are just dumb. What is one proving by demostrating their skill to regurgitate other's opinions. Why dont they ask the student to demonstrate their ability to analyze and connect ideas, provide insight, and forumlate opinions instead of asking to "summarize chapter one's of Mill's essay On Liberty"

dodgerblue13

and i guess you have a point to, i dunno.... its just increddibly tedious, plus the 95 different formats of citations dont help make it easier. There are 100 page books on how cite in APSA style. why cant i just put the author, date, pag number and get on with my life???BossPerson

[QUOTE="BossPerson"]no, law and journalismdodgerblue13

Am I the only one who thought this thread was about a traffic ticket?

driftingsilvia

I just write for fun, and it sure as hell isn't anything an instructor would want me to write about. I dropped out out of college a long time ago. My grammar isn't perfect, nor am I all that organized of a writer, but I've learned quite a lot on my own. Learning to write is more fun when I don't have some snob telling me to redo my paper because he doesn't like it. Finding out what you're doing wrong and right by by looking at the way others write, whether they are posters on a forum or critically acclaimed authors, is a more fun approach to me. Diophage

[QUOTE="dodgerblue13"][QUOTE="BossPerson"]no, law and journalismT_P_O

[QUOTE="BossPerson"]and i guess you have a point to, i dunno.... its just increddibly tedious, plus the 95 different formats of citations dont help make it easier. There are 100 page books on how cite in APSA style. why cant i just put the author, date, pag number and get on with my life???dodgerblue13

[QUOTE="Diophage"]I just write for fun, and it sure as hell isn't anything an instructor would want me to write about. I dropped out out of college a long time ago. My grammar isn't perfect, nor am I all that organized of a writer, but I've learned quite a lot on my own. Learning to write is more fun when I don't have some snob telling me to redo my paper because he doesn't like it. Finding out what you're doing wrong and right by by looking at the way others write, whether they are posters on a forum or critically acclaimed authors, is a more fun approach to me. dodgerblue13

[QUOTE="T_P_O"][QUOTE="dodgerblue13"] Oh, dang. You should get used to this then. You're in it for the long haul.BossPerson

in high schol before we we required to cite, i would just write from the heart and i would get 90s all the time. Now im a mindless robot with no soul just regurgiating the opinions of other people

BossPerson

Completely agree...

It takes all of the interest out of it too.

[QUOTE="BossPerson"]

[QUOTE="T_P_O"] Yeah, he's got it pretty bad. All those statutes, precedents and by-laws to cite with the exact language... and then statutory interpretations.T_P_O

Research papers should make you research expert work on a topic. You should then include your findings in a thought-out and logical manner. You should then consider all of your findings and conclude with your own deductions on the matter. I assume you guys are the types to find only agreeable experts and neglect the dissenters. It's on you to consider both sides and make your own statement after the examination of the information. You can't approach a research paper with bias. Then it's persuasion. That might be why you guys hate research papers. Are you guys by any chance a non-humanities major?dodgerblue13

I'm writing a sociology paper right now. This course has been the biggest mistake of my academic career. My prof considers it a research paper, but the research is finding books by anthropologists/historians so we can examine their sociological theories then apply a historical (or nonhistorical/current event) context. Then we have to come up with a thesis "nuanced" by our reading. Essentially what we have to do is form an opinion based on other peoples' opinions.

But half of the books he used in his lectures (and recommended) are out of print and over 100 bucks on Amazon.