1. Research Portfolio Assignment
Critiquing Your Sources

2. Assignment Guidelines
Must be done for 4 sources.
Some of evaluation can be first person.
Printed and submitted to turnitin.com
Four parts to each Portfolio Entry
MLA Works Cited entry (like from your working bib)
A rhetorical precis of your source (a five sentence critical summary of the source
An evaluation of your sources, author and source (not your personal opinion)
Five notes (a mix of properly formatted MLA in-text citations such as direct quotes, paraphrases, and summaries)
Works cited entry of sources you used for your evaluations

3. What you can mention about the author
Educational credentials
Any associations or organizations he or she belongs to
Expertise in the area
Have they written many works on the topic?
Have they presented at conferences on the topic?
Have they won any awards for their scholarly work?

4. Evaluating the Source
Do you think there's enough evidence offered? Is the coverage comprehensive? (As you learn more and more about your topic, you will notice that this gets easier as you become more of an expert.)
Is the language objective or emotional?
Are there broad generalizations that overstate or oversimplify the matter?
Does the author use a good mix of primary and secondary sources for information?
If the source is opinion, does the author offer sound reasons for adopting that stance? (Consider again those questions about the author. Is this person reputable?)
Check for accuracy. Do they make claims that aren’t supported?

5. Evaluating the Source
How timely is the source? Is the source twenty years out of date? Some information becomes dated when new research is available, but other older sources of information can be quite sound fifty or a hundred years later.
Do some cross-checking. Can you find some of the same information given elsewhere?
Are there vague or sweeping generalizations that aren't backed up with evidence?
Are arguments very one-sided with no acknowledgement of other viewpoints?
How credible is the author? If the document is anonymous, what do you know about the organization?

6. Brief Intermission

7. Rhetorical Precis
In order to concisely describe the argument and context an author presents in a text, academic writers sometimes use a format called the rhetorical précis.
Highlights the essential rhetorical elements in any text.
name of the speaker/writer(s)
the context or situation in which the text is delivered,
the major assertion
the mode of development or support of the main idea,
the stated and/or apparent purpose of the text,
the relationship between the writer(s) and the audience
the significance of the work (why it’s important)
Let’s look at the parts

8. Sentence 1 the name of author, a phrase describing the author
the type and title of work, the date of work (inserted in parentheses),
a rhetorically accurate verb (such as “assert,” “argue,” “suggest,” “imply,” “claim,” etc.) that describes what the author is doing in the text,
a THAT clause in which you state the major assertion (thesis statement/claim) of the author’s text.
EXAMPLE:
Toni Morrison, a well-known scholar in the humanities, in her essay, “Disturbing Nurses and the Kindness of Sharks,” implies THAT racism in the United States has affected the craft and process of American novelists.

9. Sentence 2
SENTENCE 2 : An explanation of how the author develops and/or supports the thesis (for instance, comparing and contrasting, defining, narrating, illustrating, defining, using humor or sarcasm, relating personal experience, depending on facts /statistics /opinion, etc.). Consider the author’s organization, use of evidence, and/or strategies used to construct his/her argument. Your explanation is usually presented in the same chronological order that the items of support are presented in the work.
EXAMPLE:
Morrison supports her implication by describing how Ernest Hemingway writes about black characters and by illustrating his strategies for plot development seen within his novels and short stories.

10. Sentence 3
A statement of the author’s apparent purpose, followed by an IN ORDER TO phrase in which you explain what the author wants the audience to do or feel as a result of reading the work.
EXAMPLE:
Her purpose is to make her readers aware of the cruel reality of racism underlying some of the greatest works of American literature IN ORDER TO help them examine the far-reaching effects racism has not only on those discriminated against but also on those who discriminate.

11. Sentence 4
A description of the intended audience and the relationship the author establishes with the audience.
EXAMPLE:
She establishes a formal and highly analytical tone with her audience of racially-mixed, theoretically-sophisticated readers and critical interpreters of American literature.

12. Sentence 5
This sentence will explain the significance of the work and its importance
EXAMPLE:
This essay is important for people to understand some of the racist undertones prevalent in American literature, so readers can read with a more critical eye on the influences of racism on writing.

13. Template for Rhetorical Précis
In his/her _____ (type of work), _____ (title of work), (credentials) ______ (name of author) _____(a rhetorically accurate verb) that ___________________________________ (the author’s assertion, argument, position, etc.).
SENTENCE TWO:
_____ (the author) develops/supports this _____ (change rhetorical verb to noun)  by _______________(reveal author’s technique).
SENTENCE THREE
_____’s (author) purpose is to _____(reveal author’s purpose) in order to (what author wants reading audience to react to: feel and/or do).
SENTENCE FOUR
_____ (author) uses _____ (description of tone) with his _____ (describe author’s audience).
SENTENCE FIVE
This work is significant because__________________________.

14. Evaluating Sources
You can use the Library to find evaluations of your authors, their works, and other works they’ve written.
Use these for authors
Gale Literature Resource Center
Gale Biography In Context
Author webpages
Academic department webpages
For reviews of books
Book Reviews Digest
Contemporary Authors
Gale Expanded Academic
EBSCOhost
LexisNexis