Is my advisor being a little too picky?

[Patrick]

I'm an adult college student currently in the last semester finishing and receiving my bachelor's degree. I'm currently writing and editing my senior thesis and I think my advisor is being a little too critical of my paper. The first time I wrote it I completely bombed it. I was given an incomplete on it with the chance to redo it. Well, I've been working on the rewrite for a little more than a month and I finally sent my advisor my rough draft. One problem she told me my first paper had was that I used old sources or sources that we just too old. Ok, I cleaned it up and only used sources from peer reviewed journal articles no older than 1998. That was the date she gave me.

She gave me my rough draft back with some critical notes on it. One sentence I wrote (paraphrased) and cited she gave me this comment. My paper is on juvenile delinquency. Here's the sentence: "Finally, not only does the mentor need to build a trusting relationship with the teen but they also need to form a bond between other people within the juvenile's life such as their parents or other adults the juveniles may look up to. This builds a support system for the teen (Smalls, 2008)." Her comment on the last sentence was, "How do we know this? What specific research was conducted to identify these criteria?" Well, if I'm using a peer reviewed journal that I downloaded from the college site and it's within the past few years why would it not be taken as fact? Do you test and analyze every paraphrased quote to check it's validity? Why allow the journal article on the college site if we are going to question it's authenticity?

In another area of my paper I wrote this: "A positive male role model is one of the most important things in a young boy's life and they tend to want to follow in the footsteps of their dad or mentor. Not to say that every boy with a criminal father will become a criminal but the statistics show the probability is much higher (Farrington & Welsh, 2007)." Her comment was: "Be careful: this can be both a biological argument and a sociological one." What does this matter? It all deals with why juveniles become delinquents and what can be done to prevent it.

In my introduction I used this sentence that I came up with myself. No, it's not based on a journal article but it is based on everyday facts. "Now, just about every teen has a Smartphone, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account that keeps one preoccupied." She said to be careful because this is too conversational.

I know I may be stressing over this a little too much but am I wrong to think that maybe my advisor is being a little too critical? If you can't trust your peer reviewed sources then what are you suppose to do? If you have a journal article are you suppose to find other journal articles that supplement the one article to check its validity?

Am I wrong or just stressing?

[sitcpsitcb]

No, your adviser is not being too picky. She is teaching you how to properly construct a research paper - it's just unfortunate you didn't learn in your gen ed classes.

I recommend you meet with her to discuss her questions. Don't confront her, just ask her to explain. I suspect you will learn a lot, and at the end of the day become a better writer and a better student.

For example, in your first question - she's not questioning the authenticity of the journal article. She's asking you to be more specific in addressing and analyzing the arguments. This is the point of a research paper.

Take her comments seriously and don't be afraid to ask questions. You're getting great feedback, and if you're willing to learn, you'll benefit a lot.

[Bent Snowman]

I do not find that picky at all, I find it really helpful. I had many of the same questions when I read your sentences. I think you need to consider taking her advice seriously. She is really nice to give you such informative feedback. She is *telling* you what to do. She is telling you how to make it better. That is an awesome professor. I do not find your writing acceptable, and could benefit significantly by heeding the advice you received from your adviser. Sorry for saying it like that.

For sure, that last line is really conversational. You talk about things freely as if readers agree with you, and that what you suggest are complete truths that require no sources. This is not how you write. That is how you write an editorial, not a university level thesis.