Page 121 - Keys To Community College Success

of the topic, you decide to focus your
paper on how the Internet influences
young teens (ages 13–15).
■ Examining the summaries of six compre-
hensive articles leads you to three
in-depth sources.
In this way you achieve a sub-goal—a
selection of useful materials—on the way to
your larger goal of writing a well-crafted paper.

Break Information into Parts

The next step is to search for the two most
relevant parts of the information: The main
idea(s) (also called the argument or view-
point) and the evidence that supports them
(also called reasons or supporting details).
Many types of work, such as the construction project these architects are
Separate the ideas. Identify each of the discussing, involve analytical thinking.
ideas conveyed in what you are reading. You
can use lists or a mind map to visually sepa-
rate ideas from one another. For instance,
if you are reading about how teens aged 13 to 15 use the Internet, you could identify
the goal of each method of access they use (websites, blogs, messaging through social ARGUMENT
networking). A set of connected ideas,

Identify the evidence. For each main idea, identify the evidence that supports it. For made by a writer to prove
supported by examples,
example, if an article claims that young teens rely on app-based messaging three times or disprove a point.
more than on emails, note the facts, studies, or other evidence cited to support the truth
of the claim.

Examine and Evaluate
The third step is by far the most significant, and lies at the heart of analytical thinking.
Now you examine the information to see if it is going to be useful for your purposes.
Keep your mind open to all useful information, setting aside personal prejudices. A
student who thinks that the death penalty is wrong, for example, may have a hard time
analyzing arguments that defend it, or may focus his research on materials that support
his perspective. Set aside personal prejudices when you analyze information. The extra
time you risk with careful evaluation will reward you with the most accurate and use-
ful information available.
Here are four different questions that will help you examine and evaluate effectively.

1. Do examples support ideas?
When you encounter an idea or claim, examine how it is supported with examples
or evidence—facts, expert opinion, research findings, personal experience, and so on
(see Key 4.1 for an illustration). How useful an idea is to your work may depend
on whether, or how well, it is backed up with solid evidence or made concrete with
examples. Be critical of the information you gather; don’t take it at face value.
For example, a blog written by a 12-year-old may make statements about what
kids do on the Internet. The word of one person, who may or may not be telling the
truth, is not adequate support. However, a study of youth technology use by the Depart-
ment of Commerce under the provisions of the Children’s Internet Proctection Act may
be more reliable.

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