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ENGL 2A: Communities & Rhetorics (Tremblay-McGaw)

Types of sources

Examples of sources you can use for this project:

  • Newspaper articles
  • News websites
  • Blogs
  • Books
  • Magazine articles (e.g., Time, Newsweek)
  • Scholarly journal articles (e.g., Journal of Communications)
  • Statistics
  • Documentaries / Films
  • Web pages
  • Social media posts
  • Interviews

Exploring Sources on "Graffiti"

Media Bias

How do you determine if a source is biased?  Check for the following:

  • Unsubstantiated claims
  • Opinions presented as facts
  • Sensationalism / emotionalism
  • Mudslinging
  • Slant (e.g. political)
  • Flawed logic
  • Omission of Source Attribution

Always ask yourself these questions

Especially if you are using Google to find sources, always ask yourself the following questions:

1. What type of source is this?  

2. Is the information current?

3. Is the information presented:

  • Factual
  • Opinion / Analysis
  • Mix of factual and opinion/analysis
  • A different type of evidence
  • The results of research

4. Does the source tell you anything about the author's credentials? If so, what?

5. From the information available, do you think this source is:

  • Highly biased
  • Moderately biased
  • Unbiased

6.Who is the audience for this source?