Research Essay Literature Reveiw

Rape and Rape Culture, while widely ignored, are a huge part of the normal everyday society that we are all a part of.  Today in the US many women and men are raped and sexually abused and we hear very little about it.  Very few rapists are tired for these crimes because the victims sometimes are more shamed then the guilty offender. This paper will look at the effects of the acceptance of rape culture and the stereotypes and stigmas surrounding it. What is rape culture and what does that look like in today society? How are the accused and how are the victims treated? How does the media depict and treat the victims? Sources for this paper are categorized by history and statistics, stereotypes of victims and treatment, as well as a defining category of what "Rape culture" is.

There are many sources that relate to the history and statistics of rape. One of these sources is written by Carolyn Gage, her article written "The Women's Rape MVSVEM". (Off Our Backs) in 1992, is a great smaller example that covers many different categories. It briefly discusses some statistics about rape in the U.S. Another source I used to look at the statistics of rape is Rainn. "Statistics Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network." This Webpage gives great statistics about rape in the U.S. and most importantly how often it occurs. This will be helpful to my paper because it will create credibility of my words and integrate more facts into a very personal issue for some people. To look more globally I used a source called "Top 10 Countries With Highest Rape Crime." on WondersList.com. This source briefly describes the countries with the most sexual abuse rates. This is  helpful because it is gives more insight on other places around the world. To look more locally I'm using a source called "List: States Where Rape Is Most Common" from CNN.com. This source plainly lists the states in which rape is the most common. Much like the source above this list creates a glimpse of how common or uncommon this kind of abuse is other places. Next I have five graphs/charts to help show my points more clearly. 

The next defining category of my paper relates to stereotypes and stigmas of the victim. My first source deepening this category is ”Diminishing the Legal Impact of Negative Social Attitudes Toward Acquaintance Rape Victims”written by Anderson.The main point in this article is to show how victims are looked at once they have been open about their attack. Looking at the negative stereotypes surrounding them and their case. This article is trying to fight those stereotypes and make it clear that the victim is not the one who the public should be against. Another source for this category is written by Mccaughey and King, "Rape Education Videos: Presenting Mean Women Instead of Dangerous Men.". This article says that women are just a capable of rape and sexual assault  as men are. This is interesting because most of the time when a person imagines a rapist they think of a man. Relating to this is a article is one written by Bennett Capers called "Real Rape Too". Written in the California Law Review  the main topic of this source is male to male rape in prisons and outside of prison. The paper talks about the completely unknowable frequency of  prison rape, because of the men not wanting to step forward and admit that it happened to them. These men that don't come forward are afraid of being looked at as weak or homosexual or both. This stereotype revolves around any man who is sexually assaulted and I will use this source in my paper to prove that fact. Men should be able to step forward about their assault as much as women can. Another article viewing talking about male rape is called “Male/Male Rape and the "Taint" of Homosexuality” written by Sandesh Sivakumaran for Human Rights Quarterly. This relates because of how people are looked at after their assault. As well as "Rape and The devalued victim" written by Gincopassi and Wilkinson, talks about the negative effects on the victim after they come forward about their assault. A article that contradicts the main points I am trying to make is called ""It Can Happen to You": Rape Prevention in the Age of Risk Management" written by Hall. This article is written to inform girls what they can do to stop a attack on them. Although their are lots of things you can do to lessen your chances sexual assault is never the victims fault. 

My third main category is a definition of what "Rape Culture" is and why we should fight it. Barnes writes in her article "An Unblinking Look at Sexual Assaults on Campus." about the different types of rape. This examines forceful rape, drugged rape and date rape. It talks about the victims after their assault and how it affected them and their lives. To look at this deeper, Cowan and Campbell's article "Rape Causal Attitudes among Adolescents" examines how people today see rape and "Rape Culture". They write. "Rape and sexual violence are not rare experiences in the lives of young women; yet little is know about adolescents' beliefs about the causes of rape." Another article agreeing with my points is “Rape Culture: It's all around us” written by Pearson. This source talks about how much this is happening that we don't even see. Then Ruby's paper “It's Time to Stop Tolerating Rape”comes in with a strong argument about what it really mean to tolerate rape and "Rape Culture". 

Research Essay Abstract

This paper discusses and examines the causes, effects of and defines "Rape Culture" in today's American society. While looking at what is socially acceptable and how people react to things that push those boundaries it is clear that the normalization of "Rape Culture" exists today. Through victim blaming, media, and current and popular song lyrics there is a the author proves that there is a dysfunction today that revolves around stereotypes of people and situations.

Research Essay Rationale

I begin my paper by introducing my topic (Rape Culture in the U.S.) and tell the reader why I am writing about this. To show why this matter is important I give a brief history about rape in the United States, focusing mainly on how laws and stereotypes affect the amount of sexual abuse in the country. I talk about how rape has always been a part of society and the effects that has on today's people. I do this to gain interest from my reader to try and get them to want to read more. Then I discuss and define "Rape Culture" in the best terms that I can. I talk about the issues it creates and the people working very hard to fight it. To achieve credibility I talk about facts and statistics surrounding rape in the U.S. Then I talk about a true story of a girl who was sexually assaulted and then abused on social media because of her assault. I do this to really pull my reader in and make a universal issue very personal and feel that much more real. I very clearly state my thesis at the end of my introduction leading my reading into the main points and ideas that I would most like to communicate with them throughout the rest of my paper.

My next point will be a broad overview of rape history all around the world. Here I will look at and discuss how other countries view this kind of abuse. Because of the extremely great history relating to my topic I wanted to cover more parts of the world. I also wanted to do this to gain a worldly interest in my paper. To gain more authenticity in my paper and on this topic, I will talk about the laws in other countries relating to rape, and the enforcement of those laws. Then I change direction a little bit and talk about rape and war. There are many rape victims that come out of battlefields and prison camps. I want to discuss this to bring in the point of how this type of assault is treated in different situations. Then I change direction again to discuss ad campaigns throughout the generations and how photos of women are becoming more and more explicit. I talk about how the public reacts to these ad's and how sales of the product are effected. This is a important topic to bring up because it is easy to relate to. We have all seen billboards with a half naked women or a colon commercial with a shirtless man. This will help me to show my reader what I'm talking about when I later talk about what normalizing of "Rape Culture" is.

Next I will talk about how women and men are both effected by rape and how that is different between the sexes and between sexual orientations. This is because it is important to me for my reader to understand how all people are effected by sexual abuse in their lives. I will talk about women's rape and how "slut shaming" is involved in that. Then I will switch to men's abuse and talk about the homosexual stigmas and labels that go along with that. I do this because I want to create a better view of how it is never right for the victim to be blamed for the assault that happens to them.

Then I talk about "Rape Culture" as a whole and how it is becoming more and more a part of our society. I describe what it is shortly. ("Rape Culture" is the society that we live in today. It is what tells the unthinking person that love is given not earned. This relates to treating women that the body is the only thing they have to offer the world and that is a man is taken advantage of that he is weak.) This creates a really powerful message that lots of people can understand. While relating media and music to today's society I show how a majority of this socially excepted material is extremely harmful and perfect examples of what the normalizing of "Rape Culture" is. This also relates to date rape and sex where one of the people may have not completely said yes. Then I talk about submissive-dominate relationships and how the world views them and contrast that with the very socially excepted idea that a man should be able to get sex whenever he want it. This shows something that is normally looked at okay and shown as something harmful. The normalizing of "Rape Culture" is creating a sexist and judgmental society that thrives off the phase "sex sells". People's opinion of what is okay is changing and it is changing from a young age. I bring up these points to show my reader the importance of this issue.

Research Essay Outline

I) Introduction: I go over the history of rape in America, looking at spikes and dips in the past. I then define "Rape Culture" and relate this information into real life. Then follow this information with my thesis statement. 

     a) The history and statistics of rape in the past.

         i) Rape has always been a part of any type of society.

         ii) Laws relating to rape and sexual violence have changed  throughout different times.

           (1) Judges in the 1920's changed their prospective of rape from non-consensual sex to examining how the women was dresses and how she acted instead of her words saying no. (Bindel)

     b) I examine and define "Rape Culture" in the U.S.

         i) Rape Culture is a broad term not widely used by the everyday person. The term is looked at with a stigma of feminist beliefs and this is because feminists are the only group know to fight it wholeheartedly.  

         ii) In the U.S. alone, 1 out of every 6 women have been raped or sexually assaulted in their lifetime. (RAINN)
         iii) I give an example of a story about a girl who was assaulted them bullied on social media.

      c) Thesis Statement: One of the greatest things we can do as a society to decline the number of women sexually abused is become aware of what "Rape Culture" is and how we are taught from the time we can watch TV that not treating someone fairly because of how they are dressed is okay. "Rape Culture" has been looked at as something that isn't real. But based on television media, songs, and how women are treated today, it is completely clear that it is alive today.

II) History: I discuss the cause and effect of rape in the past. Going more in depth and creating a interest in the topic.
     a) I give a main overview of rape and sexual abuse all around the world.
        i) Different countries view this kind of abuse differently. The term is given different meaning and the laws are different.
        ii) The statistics differ depending on place, laws, and cultural background.
     b) Rape and war.
     c) Sexualized ad campaigns

III) Many women and men are effected by rape in their lives.
      a) I introduce the large topic of victims coming forward after their abuse and how that differences between men and women.
      b) "Slut Shaming" is becoming a large part of today's society.
      c) When a man is assaulted there are many things telling him not to come forward about his assault.
         i) There are no real statistics about rape against men because of the gay stigmas surrounding them.

IV) "Rape Culture" as a whole is becoming more of a part of our society today.
     a) "Rape Culture" is the society that we live in today. It is what tells the unthinking person that love is given not earned. This relates to treating women that the body is the only thing they have to offer the world and that is a man is taken advantage of that he is weak.
     b) Music, movies and social media create a huge outlet to normalize this kind of behavior.
        i) Today's media plays off sexist jokes and story's and making them age appropriate.
        ii) Songs promoting date rape and sex when the other person may not be sober are becoming more and popular.
     c) Submissive and Dominate relationships and when a line is crossed. While these types of relationships are not widely excepted by the public, there are some much more common relationship types were one person feels like they deserve sex even if their partner says no.
     c) The effects of "Rape Culture" and how it is changing young people's mind about what is okay and what is not.

Chapter Seventeen - Revising and Editing

Revising and editing are very important when creating a paper that will be professional and also be something that you can be proud of. This chapter discusses the points to focus on and the strategies you should use when you revise and when you edit your document. It is important to revise your paper because creating something that gets your ideas across clearly is a great accomplishment and helps your readers to enjoy your paper more. Editing is also important because you don't want any  mistakes or errors in your paper. Then also just creating a flow throughout the paper makes it easier to read. This chapter was mainly overview for my because i have always been taught to create something that is worth people reading.  Although there were some parts that I found extremely helpful in just starting to understand why its important to make something good.

Chapter Thirteen - Organizing

"A well-organized document allows a reader to anticipate --or predict-- what will come next." (218) this chapter is all about allowing your reader to read your document easily. Creating a sense that one idea leads into a nothing connecting idea which in turn connects to another and so on and so forth. This helps the reader to understand your major points and ideas more clearly. The chapter is divided into three main focus questions, What organizing pattern should I choose?  How can I arrange my argument? and, How can I create a outline? These are all important things to cover when trying to create a sense of order. In teaching us how to organize they organized their information to make it more clear to us. They started broad and through steps get more in depth. By doing that they connected one idea to another and then that idea to another. This made it clear to me (the reader) the points they were trying very clearly to get across. This chapter was helpful because it created a clear way for me to organize my information every time i just need to get my ideas down.

Chapter Nineteen - Designing Documents and Presentations

This chapter of  "The Bedford Researcher" was a great overview of how to create great looking documents and presentations by using seven examples of different types. Each example wants you to consider your purpose for writing, and who will be viewing it. Then the book recommends looking at a example document to see what other people did and how they used the design elements given to them. This chapter was a big very broad overview of different types of documents. It was very helpful to see the differences between the documents and how design should be used depending on the type.

Chapter Eighteen - Understanding Design Principles

Knowing how to use design in your favor is a great tool to have. In this chapter of "The Bedford Reader" we learn how to use design and setup to make our paper more presentable. It discusses how to use design effectively and the design elements we can use. "The design decisions you make will play a critical role in how your readers understand, react to, and work with your document." (285) This is important because how your paper looks at first glance can be extremely beneficial to you or break the readers opinion of you. You want to know who your designing for and how that group will view your paper. There are many professional groups and casual groups and you want to fit in with and impress the people your are writing for. You can use all sorts of things to edit or design your paper. Some of these include fonts, color, boarders, and including illustrations in your work. This chapter was interesting because I didn't know there were so many options for witting a impressive professional paper.

Research Proposal

Intro-

Rape and Rape Culture, while widely ignored, are a huge part of the normal everyday society that we are all a part of.  Today in the US many women and men are raped and sexually abused and we hear very little about it.  Very few rapists are tired for these crimes because the victims sometimes are more shamed then the guilty offender. This paper will look at the effects of the acceptance of rape culture and the stereotypes and stigmas surrounding it. What is rape culture and what does that look like in today society? How are the accused and how are the victims treated? How does the media depict and treat the victims?

Review of Literature- 

Mccaughey, Martha, and Neal King. "Rape Education Videos: Presenting Mean Women Instead of Dangerous Men." Teaching Sociology 23.4 (1995): 374. JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

This paper written by Mccaughey and King, are one example of the use of images to make people aware of Rape. One of the main points the team makes is that women are just a capable of rape and sexual assault  as men are. As well as, that rape education that is normally taught just continues to create a male fantasy of the submissive female.  They state "We argue that these "dangerous men" videos inadvertently perpetrate the very myths that support rape culture because they refuse to offer a fantasy of women's resistance." I will use this source not only to back up my argument of how women can be rapists, but also that media today is a huge example of how we live surrounded by rape culture. 

Carolyn Gage, ", Off Our Backs,  22.1, 1992: When will it end? (January 1992), 6-7, 9. JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

This small facts article, written by Carolyn Gage, is written to share information about a women's rape museum and the history of women's rape.  The paragraphs are divided in to sections, explaining different displays that would be found there. Gage shares lots of her opinions about rape throughout this article. It is clear that she feels very strongly on this matter and would want to get information out there for the public. I would use this source as a example of how little the average person knows and how many people are fighting for them to know more. As well as a database in itself when looking where she got her information. Mostly looking at statistics.  

Gloria Cowan, Robin R. Campbell, "Rape Causal Attitudes among Adolescents", The Journal of Sex Research,  32.2 (1995): 145-153, JSTOR. Web.  27 January 2015.

This article is a great source of how rape is overlooked or ignored in today's society. Cowan says in her opening sentence "Rape and sexual violence are not rare experiences in the lives of young women; yet little is know about adolescents' beliefs about the causes of rape." She basically opens up her paper saying 'it happens all the time to young girls, but none of them know why'. I will use this artical to help back up one of my arguments in my paper. That rape should be more clearly talked about and people should understand why it is happening and that it is never their fault.

Bennett Capers, "Real Rape Too", California Law Review, 99. 5 (October 2011), 1259-1307, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

In this source the main topic is male to male rape in prisons and outside of prison. The paper talks about the completely unknowable frequency of  prison rape, because of the men not wanting to step forward and admit that it happened to them. These men that don't come forward are afraid of being looked at as weak or homosexual or both. This stereotype revolves around any man who is sexually assaulted and I will use this source in my paper to prove that fact. Men should be able to step forward about their assault as much as women can

Susan Estrich, "Rape", The Yale Law Journal, 95.6 (May, 1986), 1087-1184, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
Estrich writes first hand what her experience with rape was. This is one of the most important articles I have. She wrote honestly about her experience especially after when she went to the police. This article focuses on the stereotypes sounding girls after they have been violated. It will be helpful to me have a first hand perspective of what that's like.Jennie Ruby, "It's Time to Stop Tolerating Rape", Off Our Backs, 32.9/10 (september-october 2002), 37-38, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
This article is a great example of the strong willed person speaking up for people who are taken advantage of. I will use this article to back up my arguments in my paper. To us the facts and words written by Ruby to make my arguments more believable. Michelle J. Anderson, "Diminishing the Legal Impact of Negative Social Attitudes Toward Acquaintance Rape Victims", New Criminal Law Review: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal, 13.4 (Fall 2010), 644-664, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
In this article I learned about `how people are fight the negative attitudes towards rape victims. Anderson says "Rape law often condemns females who are not chaste and excuses males who act with sexual entitlement." This was very insightful for me because now I know how the system works and how rape victims are treated when being put through the system. I will also use this source to make my argument more reliable. 

David J. Giacopassi, Karen R. Wilkinson, "Rape and the Devalued Victim", Law and Human Behavior, 9.4 (Dec., 1985), 367-383, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
This article is about the effects of the victim after, and how people around them act towards them once they have found out. From this article I will get good insight about my topic and the laws surrounding it. I would also like to look at how those laws have changed the perspective of victims and how often rape occurs the more people notice it.

Sandesh Sivakumaran, "Male/Male Rape and the "Taint" of Homosexuality", Human Rights Quarterly, 27.4 (Nov., 2005), 1274-1306, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

This article is important to me because it talks about how men don't want to talk about their rape even to tell the police. This is because of the stereotypes surrounding male-on-male rape, it is thought that the victim would be looked as weak or as gay. This article also brings up the topic of how gay men are then looked at. 

Alyn Pearson, "Rape Culture: It's all around us", Off Our Backs, 30.8 (august/september 2000), 12-14, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

This artical is helpful because it examines how rape is really looked at in today's society. Pearson writes "Rape is the common cold of society. Although rape is much more serious then a cold, the symptoms are the same." This will be useful to me because this is extremely close to the main argument i will be supporting through out my paper.

Plan to Gather Information

Most of my really reliable and useful information i have already gathered. This information is mostly gathered from online data bases.  Although I plan to lean more about the laws surrounding rape and sexual harassment. Right now I have multiple sources and a variety of kinds. And continuing to find videos about people talking about this issue relating to news anchors and people of media.  

Project Timeline- 

For this paper I plan to be completed by the due date and following all due dates leading up to that. This coming week I am prepared to really find more articles and information about my topic. Soon after I will start forming my essay briefly. Putting my arguments together so the paper as a whole sounds right. After that I will start revising my paper and the ideas within it. Then I will be in one of the final creating step and completely wright the paper. Then finishing by revising again and again, until it is just the way I want it.

Works Cited-

1. Mccaughey, Martha, and Neal King. "Rape Education Videos: Presenting Mean Women Instead of Dangerous Men." Teaching Sociology 23.4 (1995): 374. JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
2. Carolyn Gage, "The Women's Rape MVSVEM", Off Our Backs, 22.1, 1992: When will it end? (january 1992), 6-7, 9 JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015. 
3. Gloria Cowan, Robin R. Campbell, "Rape Causal Attitudes among Adolescents", The Journal of Sex Research, 32.2 (1995), 145-153
4. Bennett Capers, "Real Rape Too", California Law Review, 99.5 (October 2011), 1259-1307,  JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
5. Susan Estrich, "Rape", The Yale Law Journal, 95.6 (May, 1986), 1087-1184, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
6. Jennie Ruby, "It's Time to Stop Tolerating Rape", Off Our Backs, 32.9/10 (september-october 2002), 37-38, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
7. Michelle J. Anderson, "Diminishing the Legal Impact of Negative Social Attitudes Toward Acquaintance Rape Victims", New Criminal Law Review: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal, 13.4 (Fall 2010), 644-664, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
8. David J. Giacopassi, Karen R. Wilkinson, "Rape and the Devalued Victim", Law and Human Behavior, 9.4 (Dec., 1985), 367-383,  JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
9. Sandesh Sivakumaran "Male/Male Rape and the "Taint" of Homosexuality", Human Rights Quarterly, 27.4 (Nov., 2005), 1274-1306,  JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
10. Alyn Pearson, "Rape Culture: It's all around us", Off Our Backs, 30. 8 (august/september 2000), 12-14,  JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
11. Rachel Hall, ""It Can Happen to You": Rape Prevention in the Age of Risk Management", Hypatia, 19.3 (Summer, 2004), 1-19, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
12. Barnes, Brooks. "An Unblinking Look at Sexual Assaults on Campus." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2015. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.
13. Rainn, "Statistics Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network." Statistics | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.
14. "Top 10 Countries With Highest Rape Crime." WondersList. N.p., 02 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.
15. "List: States Where Rape Is Most Common - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015
16.   Cohen, “A world of Rape” Chart http://www.economist.com/node/17900482. Google 2015, Web. 26 Jan. 2015.
17. “Date Rape Stats” Pie Chart. http://imgarcade.com/1/date-rape-statistics/. Google 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.
18.  “Rape Stats” Graph. http://almostdiamonds.blogspot.com/2009/06/us-rape-statistics.html. Google 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.
19.  “Everything you Need To Know About Rape”. Image. manoferrors.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/everything-you-need-to-know-about-rape/. Google 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.
20.  “97 out of 100 Rapists Receive No Punishment” Graph. rainn.org/news-room/97-of-every-100-rapists-receive-no-punishment. Google 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.

Chapter Twelve - Developing Your Argument

Your argument is one of the most important parts of our paper and knowing how to write and develop a good argument gives your paper a lot of credibility. The Bedford Researcher starts off talking about how you can use your argument to support your thesis statement.  It says to select supporting evidence and think about how to structure that evidence to appeal to your readers. This is important because your evidence is what you will you use to make your argument convincing. Also learning how to phase your argument so it doesn't sound like your yelling or being harsh is important. When writing you want to talk to your reader like you are having a intellectual conversation. After this the book discusses how to assess the integrity of your argument. You can do this be looking for possibly fallacies everywhere. Research and research more. Fill flaws with truth and make sure your argument means something. This chapter was good for me to read because i helped me understand how much could go wrong when developing your argument and how much thought should go in to it.

Chapter Eleven - Developing Your Thesis Statement

Well first off, well developing your thesis statement you want to make sure it carries your main point to your reader as long as really pulls them in to your paper. In the Bedford Researcher it talks about using your sources and your position statement to really complete your thesis. The book says to review your position statement and your notes to find what you are really passionate about there and what will make a strong thesis. You also want to be thinking about your point of writing the paper and what is the one thing you really want to be clear throughout your paper. As well as thinking about who your audience is and what will pull them in and how to go about writing something that, while being powerful is still easy to understand. Then the book talks about learning how to draft your thesis statement. You want to create a lot of options for yourself when drafting because only you will see them and sometimes it makes it easier when you can mix and match different ideas together. Once you have ideas and information put down it is time to narrow your thesis statement in to something that can really clearly explain your paper. This chapter was helpful to me because it opened my eyes to how much should go in to writing a thesis statement.

Annotated Bibliography

Mccaughey, Martha, and Neal King. "Rape Education Videos: Presenting Mean Women Instead of Dangerous Men." Teaching Sociology 23.4 (1995): 374. JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

This paper written by Mccaughey and King, are one example of the use of images to make people aware of Rape. One of the main points the team makes is that women are just a capable of rape and sexual assault  as men are. As well as, that rape education that is normally taught just continues to create a male fantasy of the submissive female.  They state "We argue that these "dangerous men" videos inadvertently perpetrate the very myths that support rape culture because they refuse to offer a fantasy of women's resistance." I will use this source not only to back up my argument of how women can be rapists, but also that media today is a huge example of how we live surrounded by rape culture. 

Carolyn Gage, "The Women's Rape MVSVEM", Off Our Backs,  22.1, 1992: When will it end? (January 1992), 6-7, 9. JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

This small facts article, written by Carolyn Gage, is written to share information about a women's rape museum and the history of women's rape.  The paragraphs are divided in to sections, explaining different displays that would be found there. Gage shares lots of her opinions about rape throughout this article. It is clear that she feels very strongly on this matter and would want to get information out there for the public. I would use this source as a example of how little the average person knows and how many people are fighting for them to know more. As well as a database in itself when looking where she got her information. Mostly looking at statistics.  

Gloria Cowan, Robin R. Campbell, "Rape Causal Attitudes among Adolescents", The Journal of Sex Research,  32.2 (1995): 145-153, JSTOR. Web.  27 January 2015.

This article is a great source of how rape is overlooked or ignored in today's society. Cowan says in her opening sentence "Rape and sexual violence are not rare experiences in the lives of young women; yet little is know about adolescents' beliefs about the causes of rape." She basically opens up her paper saying 'it happens all the time to young girls, but none of them know why'. I will use this artical to help back up one of my arguments in my paper. That rape should be more clearly talked about and people should understand why it is happening and that it is never their fault.

Bennett Capers, "Real Rape Too", California Law Review, 99. 5 (October 2011), 1259-1307, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

In this source the main topic is male to male rape in prisons and outside of prison. The paper talks about the completely unknowable frequency of  prison rape, because of the men not wanting to step forward and admit that it happened to them. These men that don't come forward are afraid of being looked at as weak or homosexual or both. This stereotype revolves around any man who is sexually assaulted and I will use this source in my paper to prove that fact. Men should be able to step forward about their assault as much as women can.

Chapter Sixteen - Writing with Style

In this chapter of the Bedford Researcher, we learn all about writing with your own style and flair. You learn how to begin and figure out what your style is. As well as how to polish your style. The book tells us what it means to write concisely, how to use your voice in your writing, adopt a consistent point of view, and how to choose your words carefully. These are all the basics of learning how to start to write with style. After you have those basics down you can start to learn how to polish your style. Your style could be a lot of different things. And it is most likely going to be very different from everyone else. Having a writing style that is different is very unique and makes you stand out to other writers. This chapter was very useful in figuring out what my writing style is.

Chapter 15 - Using Sources Effectively

Throughout Chapter 15, we learn how to use our sources effectively to guide our readers through our paper and  how to make our ideas, contrasting or agreeing with that source, clear. Three main questions are answered in order to make the topic more clear. How can I use sources to accomplish my purposes as a writer? How can I integrate sources into my draft? How should I document my sources? The book goes over the effectiveness of your sources when you fully understand them and your topic relating to them. The book states that "Depending on the point you want to make, some types of evidence might be more effective then others." Making the importance of knowing how to clearing support your sources and, how to build off them to further your paper, very clear. The book also talked about being able to "quote strategically". Meaning that a good quote put in the right place could add a lot to your paper.  This chapter was helpful because it really did show that it is possible to back up your augment with someone else's words. This is a important skill to have when incorporating sources into a paper that needs a little bit more authority.

Chapter Nine - Searching for Information with Print Resources

In chapter nine, "Searching for Information with Print Resources", mainly focuses on library resources, books, maps, etc. The chapter is divided in to three key questions. How can I use library stacks to locate sources? How can I use a library periodicals room to locate sources? How can I use a library reference room to locate sources? All of these questions are extremely helpful and explained very thoroughly throughout each page. The first part of the chapter talks about using library stacks to locate sources. This means browsing their section and what is relevant to you. As well as checking out books and using inter-library loans. You can use library periodicals room to locate sources by using works cited pages to search for key words. The third part of this chapter you learn how to use a library reference room to locate sources. While I already knew most of the information explained in this chapter, the chapter as a whole was very helpful in further explanation of the types of resources. It was interesting to learn about all of the different types of resources found in the library.    

Chapter Three - Developing Your Research Question and Proposal

In this chapter of the Bedford Researcher the book really focuses on the refinement and explanation of your research question and your research proposal.  To simplify this easy to confuse subject the book forms this chapter to two easy to read questions. How can I develop my research question? How can I create a research proposal. when developing your research question is is important to have a lot of options for questions you could answer. Phrasing the question differently, looking for specific ideas and points you would like to make when answering the question later. But it is important to have many options available to you in order to fully understand your topic and the information you gather. In order to create your research proposal you need to use your refined questions and explain them, incorporating your sources and their publishers to gain a good outlook by your readers. The chapter also goes though all the steps of creating your proposal properly. This chapter was helpful because it thoroughly explained the use of research questions  and when you use them. As well as how to properly present this information in a research proposal. Which is something i didn't fully understand before.

Working Bibliography: One

1. Mccaughey, Martha, and Neal King. "Rape Education Videos: Presenting Mean Women Instead of Dangerous Men." Teaching Sociology 23.4 (1995): 374. Web.
2. Carolyn GageThe Women's Rape MVSVEM, Off Our Backs, Vol. 22, No. 1, 1992: When will it end? (january 1992), pp. 6-7, 9
3. Gloria Cowan, Robin R. CampbellRape Causal Attitudes among Adolescents, The Journal of Sex Research, Vol. 32, No. 2 (1995), pp. 145-153
4. Bennett Capers, Real Rape Too, California Law Review, Vol. 99, No. 5 (October 2011), pp. 1259-1307
5. Susan Estrich, Rape, The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 95, No. 6 (May, 1986), pp. 1087-1184
6. Jennie RubyIt's Time to Stop Tolerating Rape, Off Our Backs, Vol. 32, No. 9/10 (september-october 2002), pp. 37-38
7. Michelle J. Anderson,Diminishing the Legal Impact of Negative Social Attitudes Toward Acquaintance Rape Victims, New Criminal Law Review: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Fall 2010), pp. 644-664
8. David J. Giacopassi, Karen R. Wilkinson,Rape and the Devalued Victim, Law and Human Behavior, Vol. 9, No. 4 (Dec., 1985), pp. 367-383
9. Sandesh SivakumaranMale/Male Rape and the "Taint" of Homosexuality, Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Nov., 2005), pp. 1274-1306
10. Alyn Pearson, Rape Culture: It's all around us, Off Our Backs, Vol. 30, No. 8 (august/september 2000), pp. 12-14
11. Rachel Hall "It Can Happen to You": Rape Prevention in the Age of Risk Management, Hypatia, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Summer, 2004), pp. 1-19
12. Barnes, Brooks. "An Unblinking Look at Sexual Assaults on Campus." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2015. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.
13. Rainn, "Statistics Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network." Statistics | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.
14. "Top 10 Countries With Highest Rape Crime." WondersList. N.p., 02 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.
15. "List: States Where Rape Is Most Common - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015
16.   Cohen, “A world of Rape” Chart http://www.economist.com/node/17900482. Google 2015
17. “Date Rape Stats” Pie Chart. http://imgarcade.com/1/date-rape-statistics/. Google 2015.
18.  “Rape Stats” Graph. http://almostdiamonds.blogspot.com/2009/06/us-rape-statistics.html. Google 2015.
19.  “Everything you Need To Know About Rape”. Image. manoferrors.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/everything-you-need-to-know-about-rape/. Google 2015.
20.  “97 out of 100 Rapists Receive No Punishment” Graph. rainn.org/news-room/97-of-every-100-rapists-receive-no-punishment. Google 2015.

Chapter Seven - Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism comes in all forms and we experience it all throughout our lives. It is easy to plagiarize when you know and when you don't know what your doing. In this chapter of the Bedford Researcher the topic of avoiding plagiarism is completely covered in all of its forms. There are three types of plagiarism. Unintentional, intentional, and plagiarism when working in groups to complete one project together.  Unintentional plagiarism is when you accidentally site something incorrectly or you don't know that it is illegal to copy and paste someone else's work. Intentional plagiarism is when you purposely take someone else's work and cite it as your own.  Plagiarism in group work is more about taking someone else's spoken ideas and taking them as your own, or only signing your name and not giving others credit. It is easy to avoid this if you know what to avoid and how to cite sources. You cite your sources by following the given instructions for the citation format you are following. This chapter was a great overview of what plagiarism is and how we, as students, should know how to avoid it.

Chapter Five - Evaluating Sources + Tutorial

In Chapter 5 all of the focus is put on to evaluating the credibility and helpfulness of the sources you have gathered. The chapter is split in to two main questions for better understanding. What factors should I use to evaluate a source? and, Should I evaluate all types of sources in the same way? These two questions bring up a lot more questions like, what is what? and, where do i find this? The most important thing to do with your sources is to evaluate them. Their relevance, evidence, author, publisher, timeliness, comprehensiveness, and their genre. These are all important thing to look at when looking for credibility in your sources and  sources that will help you. From this chapter I learned that when looking for sources their is so much more to pay attention to then what the source is saying. You also have to look at all the things that went in to writing the words that relate to your topic.

Tutorial- (pg. 90)

 http://time.com/40110/rape-culture-is-real/

1. Domain - .com
2. Title Bar - Rape Culture is Real: Time 
3. About the Author - Zerlina Maxwell, "Zerlina Maxwell is a political analyst, speaker, and contributing writer for ESSENCE Magazineand Mic.com.  She writes about national politics, candidates, and specific policy and culture issues including domestic violence, sexual assault, victim blaming and gender inequality." (http://zerlinamaxwell.com/about/)
4. Timeliness - Published Date: March 27th, 2014
5. Body Text - This source is relevant to me because it is directly related to my topic of 'Rape Culture' and this author has similar views as myself. 
6. Page Footer - Time is the publisher of Time. 

Chapter Eight - Searching for Information with Digital Resources

In this chapter the point is clearly put on to the preparation of your search, how to use a online library catalog, use of databases, and how too search for sources using websites. These are all digital resources that can be very helpful in today's "online" world. All of these ways of researching are only helpful if you know how to differ from help resources and unhelpful ones. This means finding reliable websites and documents that are proven to be useful and scholarly. Knowing when a resource is reliable and useful for your topic is the most helpful thing you could know how to do when your using a digital resource. This chapter was helpful in explaining digital resources because it went in depth to explain what they are and how they are helpful. It was helpful to me because i now have more of a understanding of how to identify the helpful resources that can be found all throughout the internet.

Chapter Six - Managing Information and Taking Notes

In chapter six of the Bedford Researcher the importance of note taking is covered. Points that are covered more thoroughly are organization of information, why you should take notes, and how to take notes. As well as how to create a bibliography to organize information. The most talked about part of this chapter focuses on how to take notes. This part is divided in to eight more parts to deepen the understanding of the topic more. These steps go through choosing a good method for you, how to avoid plagiarism in note taking and how to plan your document. This chapter was helpful because the chapter really went in depth about what note taking is and learning how to understand your notes. It was interesting to lean about the different way to organize your notes and what it means to really understand your notes.

Chapter Four - Reading Critically

In this chapter, the book focuses and explains how to read critically. The chapter is divided in to  six questions to help clarify different parts of this topic. How does reading critically differ from evaluating? How can I use my research question to read critically? How can I read with attitude? What strategies can I use to read actively? What should I pay attention to as I read? How many times should I read a source? The first question examines the difference between critical reading and reading to evaluate. The book states that critically reading means "questioning what it says and thinking about what it means." (pg. 62) While the book also says that reading to evaluate is figuring out how reliable a source is and how it will help your research. The rest of the chapter explains more about critical reading and how to relate that to your researching.  This chapter was helpful because it helps to more fully understand what critical reading is. Another interesting part of this chapter was the question, how can I read with an attitude? this was interesting to me because I had never heard this phrase before reading this chapter.

Scholarly Essay Sources

Rape Education Videos: Presenting Mean Women Instead of Dangerous Men

Martha McCaughey, Neal King

Teaching Sociology, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Oct., 1995), pp. 374-388

THE WOMEN'S RAPE MVSVEM

carolyn gage

Off Our Backs, Vol. 22, No. 1, 1992: When will it end? (january 1992), pp. 6-7, 9

Rape Causal Attitudes among Adolescents

Gloria Cowan, Robin R. Campbell

The Journal of Sex Research, Vol. 32, No. 2 (1995), pp. 145-153

Real Rape Too

Bennett Capers

California Law Review, Vol. 99, No. 5 (October 2011), pp. 1259-1307

Rape

Susan Estrich

The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 95, No. 6 (May, 1986), pp. 1087-1184

It's Time to Stop Tolerating Rape

jennie ruby

Off Our Backs, Vol. 32, No. 9/10 (september-october 2002), pp. 37-38

Diminishing the Legal Impact of Negative Social Attitudes Toward Acquaintance Rape Victims

Michelle J. Anderson

New Criminal Law Review: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Fall 2010), pp. 644-664

Rape and the Devalued Victim

David J. Giacopassi, Karen R. Wilkinson

Law and Human Behavior, Vol. 9, No. 4 (Dec., 1985), pp. 367-383

Male/Male Rape and the "Taint" of Homosexuality

Sandesh Sivakumaran

Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Nov., 2005), pp. 1274-1306

Rape Culture: It's all around us

alyn pearson

Off Our Backs, Vol. 30, No. 8 (august/september 2000), pp. 12-14

"It Can Happen to You": Rape Prevention in the Age of Risk Management

Rachel Hall

Hypatia, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Summer, 2004), pp. 1-19

Chapter Two - Exploring & Focusing

In this chapter of the Bedford Reader it answers the question of how to explore your topic. To explain this the first part of the chapter is set up in to multiple parts or steps to help you focus in on your topic. Step 1: Create a Plan. Step 2: Discuss your Topic. Step 3: Conduct Preliminary Observations. Step 4: Find and Review Sources. While all these steps are important and talked about in the book the book spends a lot of time discussing step: 4. It is important to find good scholarly sources that reflect your ideas and that you use all types of resources you can. It is also important to take note of your searches and your search results. Later in the chapter the book discusses how to focus on your topic in order to start finding your thesis and main supporting arguments and points. This chapter was helpful because it helped me to start to understand what it means to explore topics and ideas when writing a paper. Even if you have a topic it with all the different opinions in the world your paper could go alot of different directions.

Chapter One - Getting Started

In chapter one of the Bedford Researcher many topics were covered about getting started when writing a research paper. The chapter starts with explaining how to be confident about your writing and researching. Focusing on taking ownership of your project, understanding the research process, and learning how to work with sources. According to the book when you take ownership of your project you have a strong investment in your writing and that makes you more passionate about your work. Instead of procrastinating on your project you actually want to complete it and turn in something your proud of. In this chapter it also talked about the research process and how important it is to fully understand your topic before you even start writing. After this you learn how to work with your sources using them in a helpful way to deepen your ideas instead of just having the sources in your paper. Then the chapter moves towards how to plan out your research paper. Teaching us how to develop a position on your paper, understanding the genre and design, and knowing the importance of readers and context. This chapter was helpful and a good way to start out a class. It was basically a review and it was great to start to understand this more.

MLA Essay Grading

Elizabeth Angeli	0  -  F	1  -  D	2  -  C	3  -  B	4  -  A
Be your own work;					X
Be 3,000+ words in length					X
Employ correct gram, punct, & MLA-style					X
Employ parenthetical citations, a Works Cited page, & employ copious signal phrases					X
Convincingly argue your thesis				X
Refer to 10 or more highly credible sources					X
Conclusively demonstrate 102 level					X

John Smith	0  -  F	1  -  D	2  -  C	3  -  B	4  -  A
Be your own work;				X
Be 3,000+ words in length	X
Employ correct gram, punct, & MLA-style				X
Employ parenthetical citations, a Works Cited page, & employ copious signal phrases					X
Convincingly argue your thesis		X
Refer to 10 or more highly credible sources					X
Conclusively demonstrate 102 level			X