Chapter 5: Evaluating Sources

    Evaluating sources is a really important skill to learn. Many times people use a source because it agrees with their opinion and it turns out that it's not creditable. In this chapter it talks about making sure first that the source is relevant to your topic or issue, like will this really help me reach my readers in an effective way. The chapter also say that evaluating the evidence as the second step, is there enough evidence for me to be able to make an argument. Is this evidence the right kind, meaning does this help me express my opinion appropriately and to check if it offers more than one type of evidence. Another way to evaluate sources that is explained in chapter five is to point out where the evidence contradicts itself, or where does it use the evidence in a questionable way. Lastly, does it show where the evidence is provided, what are the original evidence coming from.

   Evaluate the author! Does the author know enough about this topic to make a valid decision? The chapter talk about how this can be difficult to decide, but this can be done by looking for information about the author in a source or at the authors webpage to see the experience this author has. Also it's good to check if the authors bias information or ideas effects the source in any way.

   Evaluating the publisher is an important aspect when evaluating a source. Search the publisher information that is given in the document to see the other things that are being published to make sure it is legit. And again see how the publishers opinions effect the source. Make sure to also know what genre the source is, this could be a journal, newspaper, blogs, etc. Is it informal or formal, how is the evidence used, and how is the genre organized.

  Evaluating the credibility of a source key before citing it. When you are using a source online it helps to look at the domain to see if it something like .edu or .com. Other sources say FAQ for frequently asked questions which  can lead you to a URL that you can further evaluate. Evaluating a source is important and there are many steps taken to make sure this is done properly, as shown in chapter five.