Writing well begins with reading and ruminating on or thinking about a subject area. Although most university instructors demand scholarly research, usually from the university library, pages available on the Internet can be useful for a couple of reasons. First, sometimes scholarly journals are difficult for you to read and understand because of the high vocabulary level and level of technicality. For instance, what social and emotional factors cause children to become victims of bullying will probably be more understandable in PSYCHOLOGY TODAY than in THE JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY. While you may ultimately borrow information from the journal, your first foray into the topic will be more rewarding if you read pertinent articles from the magazine. Secondly, issues dealt with on the internet are often presentedwith a little more "juice" than the library sources might have. As a result, the internet source might spark your imagination about a subject area to give you a new, interesting and practical spin on topics and issues in your field in addition to information on current affairs or pop culture.
Although instructors usually warn students about bias in Internet sources (and in magazines and newspapers), despite rigorous editorial standards, even well-respected academic sources have their own bias. For many decades, medical journals in the western world refused to even do research on traditional medical practice. As a result, don't discount the Internet as a valuable source of information in any subject area, but as a safeguard against getting only part of the "story," do broad-spectrum reading from many different types of sources. Think about what you read and don't shy away from controversy and disagreement among sources. They could form the basis of a very satisfying writing assignment for you and reading assignment for your instructor.
Often instructors provide topics for the writing assignments they give, and you will have some idea about what you want to write because you've been faithfully attending class to get background on the area you'll be asked to write about. However, if you must write on a topic about which you have little background, begin your reading with general sources like encyclopedia or other reference sources to get background on the main issues involved and then dip into books, periodicals and web pages and READ, READ, READ!! Eventually, you'll find a subject area, an issue, a problem to solve or information that cries out for dissemination. If you read enough and narrow your focus to a set of ideas that form a package, your paper will be written in your head by the time you've finished reading.
Your next step is to decide what exactly you want to say. In other words, start thinking about your thesis statement . . . . but that's another page. You can find that link on the Home page
First get some reading done. The pages below will give you info on science,
health, books, food and Canadian current events. Enjoy!
Links to other sites on the Web
Canada's Online Explorer with regional news, showbiz, books and music
What's the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation featuring today?
Pick a Province on Sympatico: Health info, Chatelaine, and other Canadian mags
@Discovery - Current science info
What's happening at the center of the universe?
Links to alternative opinions.
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