D#5, HW#5, Field Research

The field research I plan on doing is mainly interviewing. I want to interview people who have or who are suffering from poverty on different levels, people who aid regularly in poverty, and average people with little or no knowledge on this issue. These people would provide a ton of useful information. I love the idea of having this information first-hand. I haven't decided what questions I will ask what people yet, but some of the questions will include: How do you feel about poverty? Do you know anybody living in poverty? Do you feel like you receive enough government aid? Do you receive government aid? Do people treat you different now that you are living in poverty? Why do you help people in poverty?

D#5, HW#4, Annotated Bibliography

Iceland, John. _Poverty in America: A Handbook._ University of California Press, 2006.

This book was found using Ebrary. This book covers the early views on poverty, how to measure poverty and the characteristics of it, and the causes and why it is still high. It does not, however, cover solutions to aid poverty. Or at least that I have read so far. This source will be good when writing about what causes poverty and why it's an issue today.

Weber, Bruce: Editor. _Rural Dimensions of Welfare Reform: Welfare, Food Assistance, and Poverty in Rural America_. W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 2002.

This book was found using Ebrary. It was written by several different authors at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. It is basically tells about studies that they performed and the results of those studies. I probably will not use this book as a reference in my paper. All the studies are close to my topic, but none of them are exactly pertain to what I am writing about.

Midgley, James, Michelle Livermore. _Poverty: A persistent Global Reality._ Routledge, 1998

This book was found using Ebrary. This book covers poverty in several different countries, including the United States. Although there is only one chapter about the US, the authors cover exactly what I am looking for. They talk about how America supposed to be a wonderful, great country, but underneath all the wealthy people is a nation suffering from extreme poverty issues. This book will be a great resource.

D#5, HW#3, Peer Review Reflection

While reviewing and editing my peer's draft's I was able to see things in my own draft that needed to be changed and fixed. I also like to read what other people are writing about and see how they are applying the things that they have learned. I realized that in my own draft I repeat myself more than I should, and that I skipped some points that I should have addressed. Such as my future plans with this issue. From my classmates comments I saw that I need to be more specific and give more detail about what I'm stating. Camille and Stephann reviewed my proposal. I reviewed Mike Whipple.

D#5, HW#2, Peer Review

I peer reviewed Mike Whipple's rough draft proposal.

D#5, HW#1, Reading Reflection

In the Bedford Researcher chapter 6: Search for Information with Print Resources, it tells you how to search for information in a library. This information will be very helpful because up until now we have basically learned how to search only online. In chapter 6a it informs that you can browse the library shelves, also knowns as stacks, to locate books you may be interested in using. Checking the works cited section of that book can lead you to other related books that can also be helpful. I never thought of doing that before! Chapter 6 also tells you how to use a periodicals room to find sources, and how to use a reference room. Even though I am familiar with libraries, I didn't know they had periodical or reference rooms.

In chapter 7 it tells you how to use information collected from field research such as interviews, observation, surveys, public events, etc. By talking to people and collecting information yourself, it bypasses the middle man (the reporters, writers) and you are able to get evidence that is not biased. I love when it says "by relying on another person's interpretation, your looking through that person's eyes rather than through your own." In this chapter it guides you in how to have an interview, which will be extremely helpful because I didn't really know where to start with that.

The websites are the same as last weeks. One is Shelly's website about the writing process, and the other is about the editing process.

D#4, HW#7, Deadline Reflection

This week's homework was actually not bad compared to the previous weeks. We started writing our proposal, and I feel like i've made progress in the overall project. This week I also read a lot more about my topic and became more involved in it. I spoke with 2 people about this issue so far. One person I spoke with about poverty makes quilts on a daily basis for people who need them. She dedicates about 5 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. Some of the cloth she uses to make these quilts are donated, and some she purchases with her own money. That is amazing to me. The second person I spoke with is your average American (part of my intended audience). Talking with these people gave me a better idea of how I should approach my paper. These are the people I commented on

http://teufelheunden.blogspot.com/ D4/HW7/Deadline Reflection

http://halfpint87.blogspot.com/ D#4, HW#1, Reading Reflection

http://jmzucker.blogspot.com/ Change Research Question

http://winterjustin88.blogspot.com/ D#4, HW#3, Draft WP#1

http://laceyariz.blogspot.com/ D#4, HW#7, Deadline Reflection

D#4, HW#6, Evaluating Sources

One resource that I will most likely use in my final research paper was found using the CQ Researcher. This source is very relevant to the issue I am writing about. The author in this article wrote about poverty directly in America, which is what i'm writing about. All of the evidence he gives is used appropriatly, the author seems extremely knowledgable on this topic, and it was written in June of 2004, so the information current enough for my paper. Also, it was found in the CQ Researcher, so it will be a very reliable source. This article can be found at < http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2004061800 >

D#4, HW#5, Annotated Bibliography

U.S. Census Bureau. "The Official Statistics." _Poverty 1996_. Retrieved 19 Sept 2007. Mesa, AZ.
< http://www.ire.org/training/vnet/pv96stat.htm >

This webpage was found using the IRE database. It shows each states poverty rate. Unfortunately it is from 1996. I will need to do a little more searching to find the statistics for 2006. It is still quite interesting. In 1996, 18% of Arizona citizens were living in poverty, and 14% of the entire united states. I'm curious to see if that statistic has gone up or down in the last 10 years.

Edwards, John. "Ending Poverty in America: How to Restore the American Dream." Norton, 2007. Mesa Public Library Online. Retrieved 19 Sept 2007. < http://www.mesalibrary.org/Home.aspx >

To find this book I used the Mesa Public Library Database. This website only gave a very brief summary of the book. It is about how to solve poverty in America, and restore the American dream. This is definitly a book that I will use when writing my paper.

Cooper, Mary H. "The Working Poor." CQ Researcher 5.41 (1995): 969-992. CQ Researcher Online. CQ Press. Paul A. Elsner Library, Mesa, AZ. 19 Sept. 2007 < http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1995110300 >.

This article was written by a very passionate person. She gives great detail about the issue, and has interviewed several people about this topic. The author explains in detail what people on welfare can get, and if they are recieving enough aid. I will use this article many times while writing my research paper.

Triplett, William. "Ending Homelessness." CQ Researcher 14.23 (2004): 541-564. CQ Researcher Online. CQ Press. Paul A. Elsner Library, Mesa, AZ. 19 Sept. 2007 < http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2004061800 >.

CQ Researcher is the best library database I have found yet. This article is about how to end poverty and focusses on the people you are likely to see living on the streets. It tells you percentages of what kind of people are living in poverty. 40% are families with children, 30% are substance abusers, 23% are severly mentally ill, and 10% are veterans. The 30% of substance abusers are not what I am focusing on. It is the other 70% who deserve help the most. This article is fabulous.

D#4, HW#3, Research Proposal Draft

Poverty defined in the Webster’s dictionary is “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.” Whether you realize it or not, you see somebody who is suffering from poverty on a daily basis. You may see these people holding a cardboard sign on the street corner, handing you coffee at your morning fast food joint, sitting on the curb outside Taco Bell as you eat your lunch, or even driving the car in lane next to you. According to the Heritage Foundation, one in eight people in the United States suffer from poverty on some level.
Although the government of the United States of America provides welfare for their citizens suffering from poverty, what more can be done to aid those in need? There are some people living in poverty who do not want to change their lifestyle, but there are millions of others living in poverty who want to change but do not have the resources necessary. These are the people who need help. The ultimate power of helping the issue of poverty lies in the hands of average Americans.
My intended audience will be average Americans. These are people who have seen poverty regularly but other than offering loose change to a guy on the street, do not go out of their way help the problem. This audience most likely does not know facts or statistics about this issue, but they know that it does exist. This audience is likely to have mixed feelings about the issues on poverty. Some feel sad when they see a family struggling with poverty and some do not. Many of these people do not know the extreme conditions in which people are living, and many do not care.
My purpose in choosing this audience is so that some of them will understand the issue more and feel inclined to do something about it. Although some of them would rather not know, every person needs to be educated about what is going on outside of their own lives and the issues of poverty that are currently existent. Every person is capable of aiding in poverty; there is no question there. The question is if you are willing to spend the time to aid those who need it. Soup kitchens, and homeless shelters are not currently flooded with volunteers.
I feel strongly about this issue because it has personally affected my life. From a very young age my mother took me to an old church building that was renovated and renamed Homecraft. At this place my mother and I, along with other volunteers, made quilts from donated fabric, cleaned and clothed used dolls, and put together hygiene kits for people who could not afford these things. I also had a coworker who could not afford to live in an apartment, and was forced to live in her van. She wasn’t on drugs, didn’t have an alcohol problem, she was just your average person who was unable to earn enough money on her own to pay for the necessities of life. Because she did not have an address, she was unable to receive aid from the government. Many changes need to occur within the American government, as well as in most people, to help aid people in poverty.

D#4, HW#2, Grammar Assignment

One area that I could use help on is sentance clarity. I realized that I sometimes even confuse myself with unclear sentances. It is important to use active voice when writing. It is also important to avoid noun strings, which is when you put too many nouns in a row. Another area that I need help with is appositives. An appositive is a noun or pronoun placed next to another noun or pronoun used to identify it. This is a great way to help your audience understand your message. These guides to help with unclear sentances and appositives were found on the OWL at Purdue website.

( I hope this is what I needed to do. I didn't really understand "follow the "first" grammar assignment" )

D#4, HW#1, Reading Reflection

WP#2 is the annotated bibliography. On page 38 in the syllabus it explains what an annotated bibliography is - a collection of all the resources used in your paper with a paragraph describing each one. On page 39 it informs you that you must have at least 8 citations in your annotated bibliography. At the beginning of it, you must also have a paragraph explaining what issue your paper is addressing.

Bedford Researcher, Chapter 5, Section A. This section explains how to search online using library catalogs. Library catalogs give you information about books, journals, newspapers, maps and other resources that are in the library. It tells you several different categories in which you can search from, such as the author, title, keywords, call number, and more.

Chapter 9 guides you in how to evaluate the sources you are interested in using. Different factors you should consider include relevance, the author, it's credibility, and if the information is current among other things. It also shows you how to carefully evaluate websites so you are not submitting false information.

Chapter 8 is about reading critically. Critical reading is basically paying extreme close attention to make sure you understand everything, keeping notes, highlighting, and things like that. This type of reading forces you to pay more attention to the material and in turn have a better understanding of it. Critical readers are also show more interest in what they are reading, rather than skimming through something where it shows little interest if any at all. While critally reading you should identify the main points, supporting points, evidence, new information, and rereading things you may not understand. It also tells you when you come accross a source that is not relavent to your paper, don't waste your time reading it - move on to the next source.

The first website given is to help with grammer, editing, basic concepts, etc. The second website is very detailed about the writing process. These will be great resources when writing the final research paper.

D#3, HW#8, Deadline Reflection

This weeks deadlines were overwhelming at first, but easier as I focused on just one thing at time. I better understand the WP#1 and what we are supposed to do overall in WP#3. Writing about my rhetorical situation was a helpful way to focus on different areas of the paper. I didn't realize that there were so many elements involved in writing a research paper. You don't just sit down and write your thoughts, you have to focus on your readers and stay on the topic at all times so they understand. It was difficult to comment on all my classmates because there were only a few finished with all of deadline 3. These are the people I commented on.

http://camluna.blogspot.com/ D#3, HW#3, My Research Plan

http://jmzucker.blogspot.com/ Help please

http://ktmdude.blogspot.com/ D#3, HW#2, Narrow Topic to Research Question

http://sparizek-armywife.blogspot.com/ D3HW6 Analyzing Rhetorical Situation

D#3, HW#7, Annotated Bibliography

Brady, Judith Ann. "Justice for the Poor in a Land of Plenty: A Place at the Table." Education Resources Information Center.
(2006). Retrieved 13 Sept. 2007. < http://www.eric.ed.gov/ >

This is a journal article about poverty and it discusses the effects on women and children. It discusses how poverty has had a major increase in the past few years and why that is. It kind of has a religious view on things, which I think I will stay away from. This journal article was found using the ERIC library database

Holosko, Michael, and Marvin Feit. "Living in Poverty in America Today." Journal of Health & Social Policy. 21.1 (2005): 119-131.

This is a book I found using the database search provided on the MCC website. It is about poverty in American today, which is exactly what i'm looking for. It discusses health issues and emotional effects caused by poverty, among several other things. This will be a great book to reference in my research paper.

U.S. Census Bureau, Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division. Current Poverty Data. (2006): 60-233
< http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty.html >

I found this web page using a google search. I wasn't really sure how to cite it because it is information given by the Census Bureau and does not really have an author, or title on the website. This website states facts, gives an overview on poverty, and publications about this issue. This will be a great resource while writing my research paper.

Billitteri, Thomas J. "Domestic Poverty." CQ Researcher 17.31 (2007): 721-744. CQ Researcher Online. CQ Press. Paul A. Elsner Library, Mesa, AZ. 13 Sept. 2007
< http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2007090700 >.

This information was found using the CQ Researcher. It talks about the causes of poverty, which I haven't came across yet in my researching until now. It also discusses how the government has cut back on it's funding for aiding poverty, and how the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing rapidly.

D#3, HW#6, Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation

Topic: My topic is about how there is not enough being done about the issue of poverty in America. This applies to both the United States government and the citizens who live in America.
Context: The context of this paper will need to be current and focus on poverty how it is right now and how it will become in the future, not so much on how it was. When reading this paper, people may think that they cannot help poverty because of lack of money, so I will need to discuss ways that people can aid using little or no money. The government has the ultimate power in aiding poverty, but every person is able to help in some way. There is nobody who is completely unable to aid people in poverty. So everybody has some amount of power in solving this issue.
Purpose: The purpose of this research paper is to motivate people to start aiding people in poverty. I believe that a big portion of Americans today only think about themselves and do not see what is going on around them. There are millions of people suffering, and hundreds dying because they cannot afford or are unable to take care of themselves. If people volunteered time or money to aid people in poverty, there would be a huge drop in starvation, sickness, and even deaths. There are too many people in this "great country" who are in stricken with poverty. I am also motivated to write this research paper because of events that have occurred in my own life. I have had friends and family who are/were forced to live out of their vehicles, and I have witnessed a death because nobody was willing to give up a few minutes of their time to aid their fellow citizen who was suffering in poverty.
Audience: I'd like for my audience to be average American citizens. They are the ones who can make a difference in the lives of people in poverty.
Author: I will be the author of this research paper, as well as people who have written about this topic before, people who have written opposing views regarding this issue, people who are/were affected by this issue, and people who are currently involved in aiding those in poverty.

The research proposal is different than the research paper in that the proposal is basically stating what you will be talking about in your paper. In the proposal you will give an overview of the rhetorical situation, and in the paper, you will discuss the items (context, purpose, audience, author) in detail

D#3, HW#5, Audience

My ideal audience for right now would be average American citizens. These are people who have grown up in America and have seen poverty weekly on the streets. Their education ranges from some high school to college graduates. Other than giving a bum loose change every once in a while, they do not go out of their way to aid people in poverty. This audience is likely to have mixed feelings about the issues on poverty. Some care and feel sad when they see a family struggling with poverty, and some do not. The purpose of this audience reading my research paper is that some of them might understand the issue more and feel inclined to do something about it. After reading my research paper, I’d like for this audience to start making changes in themselves and in others by aiding people in poverty. This audience probably does not know facts or statistics about this issue, but they know that it does exist. Some people in this audience would like to know more, and some do not. Although some of them do not want to know, I feel like they need to know what is going on outside of their own home and comfort zone. They need to know that there are citizens out there were once like themselves who are now suffering from poverty.

D#3, HW#4, Who is Invested...

There are several different organizations/groups that are already invested in the issue of poverty. Other than the government, there are various church organizations that participate in aiding families in poverty, and organizations such as the Red Cross. The people who would like to know the answer to the question would probably be your average citizens, as well as those affected by poverty. The people that would be affected by the answer to the question would be your average citizens who care about the less fortunate, people with the resources to make a difference (time, money), and organizations that are already involved. I believe that the average person would take the information they have been given and do nothing about it. I would hope that they take the information and do something about it. If they had money I’d like to see them open an organization themselves and start aiding families in poverty. If a person just had time, I’d like to see them give up their time and aid in different activities such as making blankets, preparing food, clothing, toys, etc.

D#3, HW#3, Search Plan

To answer my research question I will use a few different resources. I will search various databases and web pages and use several keywords such as poverty, poverty solutions, welfare, aiding poverty, helping the needy, the Red Cross and similar organizations, etc. I will also research online to find out what kind of aid is already being given to families in poverty. I think current information will be the most relevant on this topic. Journals and newspapers will also be useful. I will also look up statistics in government documents about this issue. I would also like to visit organizations that are currently aiding families in poverty, and possibly interview some of these families.

D#3, HW#2, Research Question

To narrow my research topic to a research question, I wrote down several different questions about my topic. This allowed me to think about what I wanted my question to say and what message I wanted to get across to the reader. I selected the one that seemed most appropriate, and refined it from there. I refined it by trying better words in place of the original ones, and came up with this question. Although the government of the United States of America provides welfare for their citizens, what more can be done to aid those in poverty?

D#3, HW#1, Reading Reflection

WP#3 is the actual research paper assignment. It gives you guidelines for writing the paper, and helps you understand your paper's ultimate purpose: to state your argument, state the side that you are on and why, and actions that should be taken to correct or help the issue. WP#3 also gives you tips to starting your research paper, such as outlining.

In the Bedford Researcher, chapter 3 helps you establish your research question and proposal. A research question should be straight to the point and be about your selected topic. This chapter advises you to list several questions about the issue to help you decide which question you want to focus more on. Some sample questions are shown on pages 34 and 35. After selecting your research question, the next step is to refine it to a more narrow, focused question. A research proposal is a formal presentation about your research paper. Your proposal should contain the key elements that are shown on page 42.

Chapter 4 teaches you how to compile and organize your research material. It guides you in creating a search plan that helps you determine what resources will be best, and what stategies you will use to carry out your plan. It also tells you different methods that could be used to save and organize your research material. Some of these methods include printing your information, keeping an online file, saving items to a disk, emailing the material, or using a bookmarking list such as del.icio.us. It also goes into how to create a working bibliography.

Chapter 5b it shows you how to search online databases and web search sites. It explains that a database provides information that is overall more reliable. Such as journal articles, and government documents. A web search engine, such as google, is open access to pretty much anything that is online. This makes it more difficult to find facts and solid research information. It also informs you that several government agencies use the web to distribute information, and it gives you some of the web adresses, which will be very helpful when writing my paper. This chapter also guides you in how to search online using keywords and phrases.

The webpages provided also help you to develop a great research question. The last website directs you to a pretty sweet presentation that helps you understand the purpose, context, audience, author, and topic of your research paper.

D#2, HW#7, Deadline Reflection

This week's work was extremely helpful to the overall process of writing the research paper. I was able to find several websites that are about my topic. Using the different search engines and web directories gave me a better idea of how to search in general. I now understand that this class is going to be a lot of work, but at least it's not hard work. Reading my classmates blogs helped me better understand what I needed to do for the assignments. I like being able to see where my classmates are at in the process so I know i'm not the only one finishing up my deadlines on Thursday night!
These are the people I commented to:

http://www.camlunamcc.blogspot.com - Camille, D#2, HW#4-6

http://www.courtsblog22.blogspot.com - Courtney, D2, HW#7

http://www.winterjustin88.blogspot.com - Justin, D#2, H#5

http://www.eng102blog.blogspot.com - Linda, Narrowing Topic

http://www.laceyariz.blogspot.com - Kathy, D#2, HW#7

D#2, HW#6, Annotated Bibliography

Glasmeir, Amy K. "The Nation We've Become." _Poverty in America, One Nation, Pulling Apart_. 26 Feb. 2007. Retrieved 4 Sept. 2007. < http://www.povertyinamerica.psu.edu/ >.

This article will be very useful when writing my research paper. The writer, Amy K. Glasmeier, has great opinions and views about poverty and she focuses on the issues in America. She gives statistics, and the locations of where poverty is the most predominant, which will be helpful. This article is also very current compared to other ones that I have seen. I found this article using the seach engine google.



Punpirate. "Poverty-America's Shame." _Democratic Undergound_. 19 Oct. 2002. Retrieved 4 Sept. 2007. < http://democraticunderground.com/articles/02/10/19_poverty.html >

To find this website I used the web directory Ask.com. This webpage was written by an American who was once stricken by poverty himself and he gives his point-of-view about it. He wrote this in a very real, understandable way. He wrote about the history of poverty, as well as the issue currently. This will be a useful site to connect with the readers emotions.

D#2, HW#5, Topic Reflection

I was initially interested in this topic because it is a major problem in America today. I see poverty stricken people everyday of my life - on the streets, inside fast food places, in grocery stores, everywhere. After exploring this topic a little bit, I was suprised to read that one out of every five American children live in poverty. The statistics of poverty among different locations, genders, and races in the United States was also very shocking. I feel very passionate about this topic because it's our countries citizens that are being effected so negatively. Although the government spends a lot of money on welfare programs, it spends more money on un-nessecary things. I wonder how many lives could have been saved if the money that was spent on the lizard designs and the nice brick patterns on the freeways had been spent on food or shelters for people who have no money. I was raised to always look out for the less fortunate and I guess that's why i'm so passionate about this topic. I also have personal experience with people living in poverty. A woman that I worked with in Oregon couldn't afford rent so she was forced to live out of her car. It was in the winter time, snowing, and she and her husband had to suffer through the freezing nights with no source of heat. We worked in an assisted living home and when nobody was looking she would sneak crackers out to her husband it the parking lot. That was heartbreaking to see. If there was better programs for people without money, then she, or millions of others wouldn't have to suffer.

D#2, HW#4, Narrowed Research Topic

The topic I have selected is Poverty in America. My broad topic was poverty in the world, but clustering my ideas and thoughts helped me to narrow it down to poverty specifically in the United States. I narrowed it down from poverty in general to focusing on poverty in the U.S. because there is so much of it in the world that there would be way too much to talk about. After narrowing my topic down, I used the clustering activity again to get a general idea of sub-topics that I would discuss in the paper. I also can relate more with poverty in America rather than in other countries.

D#2, HW#3, Annotated Bibliography

Weeks, Jennifer. "Fish Farming." CQ Researcher 17.27 (2007): 625-648. CQ Researcher Online. CQ Press. MCC Library,
Mesa, AZ. 4 Sept. 2007 < http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2007072700 >.

This article explains how a big portion of todays seafood comes from land-based farms, not the wild. Some of these fish farms are spreading diseases to the natural grown fish in the ocean because their farm fish are escaping. There are now concerns that the United States does not restrict fish importing enough and that we may be eating contaminated fish. At first this topic interested me because I love to fish, but after reading about it I am not interested at all. It may be interesting to a seafood lover, but I don't like seafood, so i'm not passionate about it.


Katel, Peter. "Illegal Immigration." CQ Researcher 15.17 (2005): 393-420. CQ Researcher Online. CQ Press. MCC Library,
Mesa, AZ. 4 Sept. 2007 < http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2005050600 >.

This article explains the pros and cons of illegal immigration and the laws surrounding it. This is probably the topic I will pick because it hits so close to home. It is something that I am very interested in and cross paths with on a daily basis. I may narrow it further by focusing on illegal immigration in the west, or in Arizona specifically. Or maybe i'll narow it to a specific type of illegal immigrants that are effecting the United States.


Koch, Kathy. "Hunger in America." CQ Researcher 10.44 (2000): 1033-1056. CQ Researcher Online. CQ Press. MCC Library,
Mesa, AZ. 4 Sept. 2007 < http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2000122200 >.

This article addresses the issues of poverty in the United States. It gives statistics and facts about the never-ending problem that many Americans face. This is a topic that I am also very interested in. This topic also hits very close to home. Poverty is something that I come across everyday when I get onto the freeway and I don't think it's fair. It may be narrowed to poverty in Arizona or poverty caused by a certain thing.