The Self-Assessment Essay

The Self-Assessment Essay

Through the course, writing for the sciences, with professor Debra Williams, I feel that I have made sufficient progress when it comes to my skill and development as a writer. The 4 different major papers I had to write for the class were an informative review, a position paper, a research proposal which was followed by a critical research paper. One of the most important things I learned from this course was how to go beyond the writing in an article or research paper. I first believed that this course would only consist of writing about what I learned from different scientific sources or experiments, however, I was mistaken. I learned to deeper analyze articles, and read them on a more critical level. In order to write scientifically, I had to read scientifically, which I feel was the most important skill I can take from the class.

For each of the four papers, I learned how to explore and analyze, in writing and reading, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations. Informative review papers update readers about the state of knowledge on a focused topic or research issue without taking a position. For this paper, I read about various articles that discussed cloning, and had to inform the audience, the general public, about cloning and attempt to alleviate any ethical concerns regarding cloning. For the position paper, I was given the topic of informing the general public on the necessity of an alternative energy source, and a major difference with this paper was that I had to take a position, and try to convince my audience to side with my position. The research proposal and the critical research had a similarity, that stood out from all the papers written for this course. Instead of being given a sort of prompt, I was required to create or find on my own, a research question, in which I chose, “What are the effects of veganism/vegetarianism on human health?” For the proposal, I came up with a hypothesis, and my methods section consisted of scholarly sources used to justify my hypothesis. Since I didn’t fully conduct research or an experiment, my outcomes section talked about what I hoped to achieve from this research. For the actual critical research paper, I addressed my topic and its significance, and introduced the need for more research. I used 4 sources, in which 2 of them were research paper. I used the methods used in one of the papers to fill out my methods section. Based off of different sources and readings, I applied what I learned about different lifestyles into my results section.

There was a lot of planning, reading, organizing, and brainstorming that went into writing in each science genre. For the all the papers, I read and annotated articles that would relate to the topic. Whether the paper was informative, a position, or research, I would read articles that are in support of my main points, and I would also read articles that go against my main points in order to address the opposing sides, and provide some sort of counter. The third course outcome was to negotiate your own writing goals and audience expectations regarding conventions of genre, medium, and rhetorical situation. With each paper, I would generate my papers a little differently depending on the target audience. If my audience would just be the general public, I would try to avoid using words that would be difficult to comprehend, or I would try to add as much definitions as possible to help create a better sense of understanding. We would have our firsts drafts due in class so we can collaboratively edit the papers with our peers, and provide one another with feedback. This was helpful because I would find mistakes with the help of my classmates that I did not initially catch. This part of class helped achieve the course outcome of engaging in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes.

Another course outcome was understanding and use print and digital technologies to address a range of audiences. The purpose of using visual imagery in science writing is to create a sort of attention getter. Often times, people can get lost and bored when reading scientific papers; Visuals can be a helpful tool by keeping the reader intrigued about the topic. I selected the visual imagery I chose for my essays because they gave some kind of an idea as to what my paper may be about. For example, in my position paper, I used an image of solar panels on my cover page, which implied that I will be pushing for investment in solar panels.

Another course outcome I hoped to achieve was to . Locate research sources (including academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles) in the library’s databases or archives and on the Internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, and bias. Most of my sources for my papers were provided by my professor. For other sources, such as in the research paper, I used the CUNY/CCNY “Opposing Views” database. This helped as it provided me sources that went against my argument, so I can create counter arguments/rebuttals. One of the other course outcomes was to compose texts that integrate your stance with appropriate sources using strategies such as summary, critical analysis,interpretation, synthesis, and argumentation. For the informative review, I would use parts of certain sources to make concessions. For example, “Opposers of the system of therapeutic cloning disagree with the treatment of embryos, and claim that it creates a gateway to reproductive cloning, which is ‘The use of cloning to grow a living person who shares the DNA of the progenitor.’ (Savulescu, 2005, p.18).” This was used in my paragraph that addressed the opposing side to cloning, in which I later tried to alleviate the concern.

The final course outcome was to Strengthen your source use practices (including evaluating, integrating, quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, synthesizing, analyzing, and citing sources). To decipher difficult sources, the main technique I used was annotating. Everytime I found something that would be potentially useful for my papers, I would either underline or highlight, and write a short paraphrased version of the sentence on the side. In addition, reading the abstract for research papers would help me grasp a better understanding. For example, the Morales article was one of the more difficult texts to decipher, however, reading the abstract gave me a brief main idea of the paper.
Overall, I do feel like I made improvements as a writer by taking this course. The course guidelines were implicitly achieved throughout the assignments, and it made the quality of my writing better. I feel like previously, I wasn’t able to address different audiences with my writing however I learned that when you write, your audience is the most important thing to consider because it will determine in what style your writing will be. To add on, I learned how to critically analyze and assess different articles/research papers through this course. Although there were numerous course objectives, the achievement of most if not all is what made me a better writer.

 

Research Proposal

This here is my research proposal. The research proposal was a form of communication to request for further, or extended research on a topic I chose, in this case, was the health effects of vegetarianism and veganism. In this assignment, I had the freedom to choose any research topic, as opposed to being assigned a prompt like previous papers.

Research Proposal

Introduction: A vegetarian lifestyle is followed by millions of people around the world. Some follow this lifestyle due to the culture and/or religion, and some follow this lifestyle simply for its apparent health benefits. Plant based diets are known to greatly decrease the risk of many health issues and diseases. Although some research shows that following a plant based diet can reduce the risk to certain health issues, there are several other lifestyle factors that need to be taken into account when considering what lifestyle approaches can decrease the risk in disease. Some of these other lifestyle factors can be, dietary habits, activity level, and whether an individual smokes/drinks. One can be a follower of a vegetarian diet, but without exercise and proper nutrition, and overuse of smoking and drinking, one can still easily be susceptible to disease. Research also shows that other lifestyle changes such as increased exercise and decreased alcohol/tobacco consumption greatly decreases the chance of disease. A hypothesis to counter the strictly vegetarian lifestyle is that race, activity level, and other lifestyle factors implement a major role in the chances of contracting deadly disease, and only a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle is not as healthy as it seems.

Background: According to a research done, “For more than 96,000 participants from AHS-2 cohort, 48% were non-vegetarians, 6% were semi-vegetarians, 10% were pesco-vegetarians, 28% were lacto-ovo-vegetarians, and 8% were vegans at baseline. Table 3 presents…For BMI, vegetarians were approximately 2–4 points lower than non-vegetarians…vegetarians had 55% lower odds of developing hypertension…The odds of developing type-2 diabetes was 25% to 49% lower for vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians in different cohorts…The odds of developing metabolic syndrome (MetS) for vegetarians were about half compared to non-vegetarians.”(Tai L & Sabaté 2014).  To add on, “There’s some evidence that vegetarians have a lower risk for cardiac events (such as a heart attack) and death from cardiac causes. In one of the largest studies — a combined analysis of data from five prospective studies involving more than 76,000 participants published several years ago — vegetarians were, on average, 25% less likely to die of heart disease.” (Harvard’s Women Health Watch 2009).

Methods: There are plenty of research sources that show the downsides of vegetarianism and veganism and how it affects the human body. “People who follow a vegetarian diet and especially a vegan diet may be at risk of getting insufficient vitamin D and vitamin K, both needed for bone health.” (Ladock 2018). To add on, “n the EPIC-Oxford study, 75% of vegans got less than the recommended daily amount of calcium, and vegans in general had a relatively high rate of fractures. But vegans who consumed at least 525 milligrams of calcium per day were not especially vulnerable to fractures.” (Harvard’s Women Health Watch 2009).  This shows that vegans, although follow a healthy plant based path, do miss out on essential nutrients, and in this case, calcium, which is critical to bone health. To add on, “you can’t survive on soya beans and eggs. If you did you’d have bad wind and a biotin deficiency to name but two issues. More to the point though, even if you did – this wouldn’t be a very varied diet of protein. And the protein in vegetables and plants doesn’t have the same amino acid profile and simply isn’t bio-available enough to be of any use.” (Ladock 2018). These excerpts all illustrate some of the negative health risks with vegetarianism, such as nutrient deficiency, specifically, in calcium and protein. Becoming a vegan or vegetarian requires a lot of planning if the individuals want to compensate for the missing nutrients that they can get from animal meat. To elaborate, “Animal products do contain healthy nutrients like protein, vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and iron. Someone eating vegan or vegetarian could be missing these important elements.” (Blackburn 2017).

Outcomes: What I anticipate for this research to bring about is the idea that although following a plant based diet may promote good health, it is not the only lifestyle to follow to achieve a healthy life. One can also eliminate the consumption of harmful substances such as tobacco from cigarettes, or alcohol from alcoholic beverages. The addition of a schedule that involves sometime of physical activity such as exercise should also promote good health. The goal of this paper is to show that being a vegan or vegetarian is not the only way to reduce risks of health diseases, and there are other, potentially easier routes to a healthier lifestyle.

 

Sources

Ladock, Jason. (August 2018). Disadvantages of being Vegetarian. HealthGuidance. Retrieved from https://www.healthguidance.org/entry/11183/1/disadvantages-of-being-a-vegetarian.html

Harvard’s Women Health Watch. (October 2009). Becoming a Vegetarian. Harvard Health Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/becoming-a-vegetarian

Le, Lap Tai &  Sabaté, Joan. (June 2014). Beyond Meatless, the Health Effects of Vegan Diets: Findings from the Adventist Cohorts. Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, CA. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4073139/

Blackburn, Kellie Bramlet. “Can a Vegetarian Diet Lower Cancer Risk?” MD Anderson Cancer Center. Oct. 2017. Retrived from www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/October2017/vegetarian-diet-and-cancer-rsk.html.

 

 

 

 

 

Critical Research Paper

The Effects of Vegetarianism and Veganism

Abstract

This paper addresses some critical aspects of the dietary habits and effects of vegetarianism and veganism. It touches upon the health benefits such as reduced risk of chronic disease such as heart disease and cardiovascular disease. It also addresses the argument opposing these diets due to the increased nutritional deficiency of nutrients such as calcium that are critical to everyday health. To add on, a hypothesis is suggested that counters the argument of a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle being the healthiest route to follow. The methods section addresses the technique of an experimental design used to study how the effects of a vegetarian impacted individuals in terms of risks for disease and cancer. Different articles were found using keywords that are relevant to the topic, and were further filtered using additional criteria such as large sample size. The results and discussion section touches on the different findings from various online articles, and two research articles. Many of them argue common points such as vegetarianism and veganism reducing people’s risk to disease and cancer by large percentages when compared to people who incorporate meat into their diets. The two research articles implemented actually counter each other. One talks about the benefits whereas the other talks about the negative health risks such as nutritional deficiency and a risk of poor bone health. Following a vegetarian and vegan diet undoubtedly decrease the risk to several diseases and do lead to an overall healthier lifestyle, however, there are other factors that need to be further analysed such as individual’s physical activity, and other habits such as smoking and drinking. Nonetheless, the main point is proven, which is that these plant based diets do serve very beneficial when it comes to the reduction of susceptibility to various health issues.

Introduction

A vegetarian lifestyle is followed by millions of people around the world. Some follow this lifestyle due to the culture and/or religion, and some follow this lifestyle simply for its apparent health benefits. Plant based diets are known to greatly decrease the risk of many health issues and diseases. Although some research shows that following a plant based diet can reduce the risk to certain health issues, there are several other lifestyle factors that need to be taken into account when considering what lifestyle approaches can decrease the risk in disease. Some of these other lifestyle factors can be, dietary habits, activity level, and whether an individual smokes/drinks. One can be a follower of a vegetarian diet, but without exercise and proper nutrition, and overuse of smoking and drinking, one can still easily be susceptible to disease. Research also shows that other lifestyle changes such as increased exercise and decreased alcohol/tobacco consumption greatly decreases the chance of disease. A hypothesis to counter the strictly vegetarian lifestyle is that race, activity level, and other lifestyle factors implement a major role in the chances of contracting deadly disease, and implementing only a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle is not always the healthiest option for human beings.

Methods

There were specific methods used in the first research paper analyzed. Basically, what the researchers did was go into a database that had numerous published articles that were related to the research issue at hand. Afterwards, they tried to choose the most relevant articles using search terms that would correlate with the topic such as “vegetarian.” To further clarify, “ In order to identify relevant articles, we conducted an independent literature review usingPubMed/Medline and EMBASE databases through 28 January, 2014. The following search terms were used: “Adventist vegetarian health” (49 articles); “vegan Adventist health” (46 articles); “Adventist vegetarian cancer” (32 articles); “Adventist health BMI” (28 articles); “Adventist mortality vegetarian” (16 articles); “lacto-ovo-vegetarian Adventist” (11 articles); “Adventist health study dietary pattern” (8 articles); “Adventist vegetarian diabetes” (6 articles); and “dietary patterns Adventist mortality” (3 articles).” (Tai L & Sabaté 2014). This excerpt here shows exactly what methods were used to retrieve data for the experiment, and to answer the question they were trying to address. After the articles were found, they were filtered even more using a specific criteria. “For the purpose of this study, only relevant articles were included using the following inclusion criteria: (1) large prospective cohort studies of Adventists; (2) reports with clearly defined dietary patterns as exposures; and (3) data of vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians (lacto-ovo-vegetarians and/or vegans) on cardiometabolic factors, cancer-related sites, and/or mortality. Exclusion criteria were: animal studies, case studies with small sample size, studies of Adventists outside of the US and Canada; studies reporting only nutrients, foods, and food groups as dietary exposures; and studies not reporting relevant health outcomes.” (Tai L & Sabaté 2014).  This showed how each of the discovered articles were further broken down to be utilized and analyzed to attempt to answer the research question, and understand the relationships that vegetarianism and/or veganism has with different factors, one of them being cancer. The study’s subjects were not screened or selected for the appropriate characteristics, nor were they assigned to specific groups or conditions. There was a sufficient number of subjects being analyzed in this scenario. To add on, there was a proper use of statistical analysis, such as standard deviation. Another thing that made the study more sufficient was that researchers looked at multiple relationships with vegetarianism, such as cancer, and diseases such as heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. This was the basic idea of how the methods section was done in the paper by Lap Tai Le and Joan Sabate.

Results/Discussion

Multiple online sources reported relatively similar results but there were some that countered the others. To start off, in the research paper called, “Beyond Meatless, the Health Effects of Vegan Diets: Findings from the Adventist Cohorts” , “For BMI, vegetarians were approximately 2–4 points lower than non-vegetarians. After adjusted for relevant confounders, vegetarians had 55% lower odds of developing hypertension. The odds of developing type-2 diabetes was 25% to 49% lower for vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians in different cohorts. The odds of developing metabolic syndrome (MetS) for vegetarians were about half compared to non-vegetarians.” (Tai L & Sabaté 2014). To add on, the article states, “Vegetarians experienced a modest, 8% risk reduction for overall-cancer. For cancer-specific sites, vegetarians had approximately half the risk of developing colon cancer. Also, vegetarians had 23% risk reduction for cancer of the gastrointestinal tract. Vegetarians experienced a 35% risk reduction for prostate cancer compared to non-vegetarians. Similarly, vegetarians tended to have lower risk for cancer of the respiratory tract and overall-cancer.” (Tai L & Sabaté 2014). Other studies done by Harvard Medical School also show the perks of being vegetarian and its ability to reduce risk against illnesses. For example, “There’s some evidence that vegetarians have a lower risk for cardiac events (such as a heart attack) and death from cardiac causes. In one of the largest studies — a combined analysis of data from five prospective studies involving more than 76,000 participants published several years ago — vegetarians were, on average, 25% less likely to die of heart disease.” (Harvard’s Women Health Watch 2009). There are other articles that support the hypothesis that vegetarianism/veganism are not very sufficient diets to follow due to the nutritional deficiency that comes with it. Although it is true that there is a greatly reduced risk of heart disease and other illnesses, it is also true that nutritional deficiencies are a costly drawback to vegetarianism/veganism. For example, “Animal products do contain healthy nutrients like protein, vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and iron. Someone eating vegan or vegetarian could be missing these important elements.” (Blackburn 2017). In a research article done by Winston J Craig, entitled, “Health Effects of Vegan Diets”, the author talks about different essential nutrients that vegans potentially miss out on. One of them being Vitamin D. “In the EPIC-Oxford study, vegans had the lowest mean intake of vitamin D (0.88 μg/d), a value one-fourth the mean intake of omnivores.” (Craig 2009). Furthermore, “Compared with lacto ovo vegetarians and omnivores, vegans typically have lower plasma vitamin B-12 concentrations, higher prevalence of vitamin B-12 deficiency, and higher concentrations of plasma homocysteine (72). Elevated homocysteine has been considered a risk factor for CVD (73) and osteoporotic bone fractures (74). Vitamin B-12 deficiency can produce abnormal neurologic and psychiatric symptoms that include… dementia, mood and motor disturbances, and difficulty with concentration (75).” (Craig 2009). These are some of many findings from the different experimental research sources, and articles that discuss the effects of vegetarianism/veganism.

Conclusion

From the findings, it can be concluded that vegetarianism and veganism both do drastically decrease the risk of deadly diseases such as heart disease and cardiovascular disease. However, whether or not these diets are the only ways for one to protect themselves from certain health issues is very debatable. As previously stated, both diets come with nutritional deficiencies that also have their own lasting, and health damaging effects. Following a well balanced diet with meat and vegetables, along with other lifestyle habits such as exercise all combined would be best for an individual’s health. It cannot be discredited though, that plant based diets have severe health benefits, and those who follow them can definitely enjoy the decreased risks to health issues.  

 

References

Blackburn, Kellie Bramlet. “Can a Vegetarian Diet Lower Cancer Risk?” MD Anderson Cancer Center. Oct. 2017. Retrieved from www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/October2017/vegetarian-diet-and-cancer-rsk.html.

Craig, Winston J. (March 2009). Health Effects of Vegan Diets. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 89 (5): 1627S–1633S. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/89/5/1627S/4596952.

Harvard’s Women Health Watch. (October 2009). Becoming a Vegetarian. Harvard Health Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/becoming-a-vegetarian

Ladock, Jason. (August 2018). Disadvantages of being Vegetarian. HealthGuidance. Retrieved from https://www.healthguidance.org/entry/11183/1/disadvantages-of-being-a-vegetarian.html

Le, Lap Tai &  Sabaté, Joan. (June 2014). Beyond Meatless, the Health Effects of Vegan Diets: Findings from the Adventist Cohorts. Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, CA. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4073139/

 

Position Reflection Paper

Reflection Paper for Position Paper

Position Paper

This here is the position paper. This paper required me to convince the reader to accept my claims on a debatable issue, in this case was what is the best alternative energy resource. I summarized the main arguments in my introduction, and in later body paragraphs I would provide support for my claims. To add on, I would address the counter arguments in some paragraphs and make concessions to them as well. The objective was to take a clear position, and convince the reader that my claim was the best claim.

Why solar energy needs to be the leading energy source in the United States of America.

Energy is something needed everywhere around the world, every single day, in order for places to thrive and function. However, not all places have access to energy. Countries that do have the luxury and privilege to utilize energy often have various mechanisms in which their energy can be produced. Some of these mechanisms are efficient and quick, pricey, and some of these mechanisms are not friendly to the environment, or the earth’s atmosphere; they are actually deadly. One of these examples are fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are the predominant source of energy for the United States, but that energy source is notorious for its effects on the environment. One of many examples is the pollution that comes about. There are many alternative energy sources to fossil fuels such as solar energy, wind power, biofuel, and hydropower. Of these, Solar energy seems to be the number one option. It is possible, that solar energy can be pricey, and may not always be functional, but not all of these “drawbacks” are necessarily as problematic as they seem; solar energy can potentially reduce energy bills and cost, and the maintenance cost is relatively low as well. Due to this, solar energy should be the number one alternative energy source to fossil fuels.

Solar energy is energy that is derived from the sun, and converted to be used for power. There are two main subcategories of solar energy and those are solar thermal plants, and photovoltaic cells. “Solar thermal plants use the sun’s rays to heat liquid into steam. The steam drives turbines and generates electricity.” (Renewable Energy 2015). “Photovoltaic cells…convert the sun’s light (photons) directly into electricity (voltage).” (Renewable Energy  2015). One of the major reasons why solar energy is a great alternative to fossil fuels, is because of its sustainability. “The sun will continue to shine for billions of years. Each year the earth receives about four orders of magnitude more solar energy than human commercial energy consumption. After accounting for conversion losses (only 15-50 percent of solar energy incident on a solar collector is successfully collected and converted to a usable form) and inaccessible regions (oceans, the poles, mountains, and forests), hundreds of times more solar energy is available than human commercial energy consumption.” (Blakers 2015). In other words, the sun simply is not going away. Planet earth will always have access to the sun, and as long as it shines, there is an endless source of energy. Furthermore, this excerpt illustrates that the sun has the ability to produce more than double than the amount of energy that is consumed by human beings. It is evident here that sunlight can be a very sustainable energy source as it produces more energy than what is actually consumed, or utilized by humans.

Opposers of solar energy being a good alternative energy source argue that solar energy is simply much too expensive to provide a sufficient form of energy for everyday use. The claim is that the energy that does come from sunlight, is not ample, and to bring in the amount necessary to power devices that use electricity, large amounts of money would be required. The article entitled, Solar Energy is an Impractical Energy Source, states, “To convert this to electrical energy, photovoltaic (PV) cells are required. This gets very expensive. The cells are typically 10% efficient. In other words from that 160 watt/sq meter thermal power, we can expect about 16 watts/sq meter of electric power!…not enough to operate a single refrigerator light!…the electricity from the PV cells are direct current and low voltage. To make this electricity useful it needs more electrical equipment to convert it to alternating current at higher voltages such as 110 volts AC [alternating current]. This also adds to the costs.” (Fox 2006). In other words, the energy provided by the sun is lacking, and devices such as photovoltaic cells would be needed. The main argument here is that there will be a high requirement of photovoltaic cells, which in turn will lead to steep prices. This is a valid point made by opposers of solar energy but this can be disputable.

Recent studies have actually shown that there is a rapid, and continuous growth of photovoltaic cells being purchased and used. The idea is that the more and more people utilize the cells, the more production is needed and this will lead to an inevitable price drop. “PV electricity is now less expensive than domestic and commercial retail electricity from the grid throughout much of the world, and is approaching cost-competitiveness with wholesale conventional electricity. This fact is the reason for the rapid growth in deployment of PV worldwide. Direct competitiveness with fossil fuels for wholesale energy supply is assisted by carbon pricing…The cost of PV systems can be confidently expected to continue to decline for decades.” (Blakers 2015). To further strengthen this argument, “Thin-film cells and other technologies are being perfected that are steadily reducing photovoltaic costs. Photovoltaics are now being used economically in lighthouses, boats, cars, and in rural villages and other remote areas. Large solar systems are being installed in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere.” (Alternative Energy Sources 2011).  It is clear here that the argument that solar energy and photovoltaic cells are unaffordable is not as strong of an argument to not promote solar energy. The high demands are leading to drastic price drops, and more and more photovoltaic cells are being used in different parts of the world.

Another opposing argument against solar energy is that “Environmentalists and other solar energy enthusiasts have long advocated solar energy as a clean and inexhaustible resource. However, solar energy has two main drawbacks..solar energy plants often require large amounts of land to work efficiently. Large solar plants may harm desert ecosystems.” (Renewable Energy 2015). This is a common misconception made when debating solar energy as a viable alternative energy source. However, “Less than 1 percent of the world’s land area would be required to supply all of the world’s commercial energy requirements from photovoltaics using current technology. A large segment of the world’s energy can be supplied from roof-mounted solar collectors. Another large segment of the world’s energy can be supplied from solar collectors in arid regions.” (Blakers 2015). In other words, a very little amount of land would be necessary to provide a large supply of energy. Although it may seem true that solar energy will take up lots of land, if the modern technology, photovoltaic cells. are used, then there will be a very low use of land and in turn, will most likely not harm ecosystems.

All in all, something has to be done when it comes to the United States’ energy source. Currently, fossil fuels are the main option, however, these resources such as coal will not last forever. Natural resources will reach a limit, and pollution will continue to skyrocket and harm the Earth. Solar energy is just one of many alternatives that can be used as a substitute to fossil fuels. It is in fact cost efficient, does not harm the environment, and can come out to be very energy efficient as well. Protecting the environment is an implicit way of protecting the human beings who inhabit the environment, and one way that can be done, is by utilizing solar energy as an alternative to fossil fuels.

References

 

Alternative Energy Sources. (2011).  From Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Environmental Encyclopedia, Gale.

Renewable Energy. (2015). From Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale.

Blakers, Andrew. (2015). Sustainable energy options. Asian Perspective, 39 (4). Opposing

Viewpoints in Context.

Fox, Michael. (2006). Solar Energy Is an Impractical Energy Source. Energy Alternatives.

Greenhaven Press. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context.

Informative Review Reflection Paper

Informative Review Reflection Paper

 

This particular paper was an informative, scientific based paper. The particular topic for this paper was cloning, and the purpose was to inform the reader about what cloning is, and different stances on cloning. The audience that this paper was aimed towards was for the general public, and it could also be aimed for those who are interested in learning about cloning. Informative reviews are papers that update readers about topics still being researched, and provides readers with the current situation and findings about a specific topic, without taking a position which would make it sound more like an argumentative, or persuasive paper. The purpose of it is simply to provide more of an outlook on a particular topic to the reader, so that the reader can take a position.

The potential audience has a big impact on science writing. Within the writing, the concerns of the audience need to be addressed. Furthermore, not everyone in the audience will have the same level of knowledge, so the way the paper is written needs to be understandable for the entire audience. The strategies I used to to respond to the audience being addressed in my paper were trying to use basic vocabulary, instead of advanced scientific vocabulary which would allow for a better understanding for all readers. Another strategy I used was providing equal importance to supporters of cloning, and opposers of cloning who had ethical concerns. This allowed me to avoid bias in my paper, and keep it informative. The strategy I used to draw in attention in my opening paragraphs was using exaggerated words and phrases that would allow the reader to grow more curious about what cloning can do. Specific examples are “Medical advancement”, and “Self destruction to humanity.”

The motivation for my topic and and key issues was to uplift the concerns of those who were completely against cloning. The more I informed the reader, the better sense of understanding I could provide. I chose the visual image on the cover page because it shows identical individuals which is essentially what clones are. The strategy used for identifying the motivating issue in the sources for my paper was the prompt that was provided, and looking at sources that could potentially alleviate any ethical concerns.

Collaborative and social aspects helped me with this assignment. Having my peers look at my paper allowed me to get different opinions, and find weak spots that I would not have caught myself. One source I used to understand this assignment was the homework that was assigned on blackboard. All the answers helped contribute to my essay. The scholarly source I used for this article helped me add to evidence about cloning in regards to stem cell and Alzheimer’s. Some of the sources that we read for homework and in-class were challenging to decipher. Strategies I used in deciphering the texts were looking up words I was not familiar with, and looking at pictures to provide a better understanding. One piece of evidence I used to support claims made in my writing was “ ‘One possible treatment that scientists have suggested is using embryonic stem cells, differentiated into neurons to replace dead ones in the brain. These “blank” cells are capable of being transformed into 300 different somatic cells…stem cells could potentially help thousands of patients waiting for donor tissue or organs through therapeutic cloning.’ (Brown, 2006).”

Informative Review Paper

This here is my informative review paper. In this paper, I was simply required to read and analyze different scientific papers on cloning, and attempt to inform the general public about its perks, benefits, concerns and ethical issues.

Cloning: Scientific advancement or downfall of mankind?