–
Dave

You can create a new file with AppleScript by doing this before the “do shell script” part:

open for access file theFile
close access file theFile

I like to have a date stamp in the file name of my Pinboard backups. In case anyone is interested, here is my whole script (of course, modify the login credentials and file path):

– create date string
set d to current date
set theDay to text -2 thru -1 of (“0″ & d’s day)
set theMonth to text -2 thru -1 of (“0″ & ((month of d) * 1))
set theYear to ((year of d) as text)
set theDate to theYear & “-” & theMonth & “-” & theDay

– create file
set theFile to “Lion:Users:Flo:Backups:Pinboard.in:Pinboard.in” & ” – ” & theDate & “.xml”
open for access file theFile
close access file theFile

– backup Pinboard data to file
set theURL to “https://user:password@api.pinboard.in/v1/posts/all”
do shell script “/usr/bin/curl ” & theURL & ” -o ” & quoted form of POSIX path of theFile

1. Accurate surveys that have included those born during the late 1970s prove that even they are liberal on social issues – sure, maybe not as much as the babies of the ’80s, but they too have long supported, say, same – sex marriage, green technologies, and immigration rights by a majority opinion. Just see the book, “Generation We,” by Eric Greenberg and Karl Weber (although they use 1978 as the start date for Gen Y).
2. An online chart proves that the “echo boom” REALLY began in 1977, when 159,000 more babies were born than during ’76.

I agree totally that MLA citation form and layouts modeled on old typescripts are intellectually unimportant. Citation form can simply be referenced at the appropriate time (if it matters), or a reasonable alternative can be used (if that is what matters). Argument, synthesis, good reading, the use of others’ ideas, etc. are what count.

On the other hand, as Tevya might say, isn’t it appropriate to require something like disciplinary discourses and genres (though those genres are not the only game in town, and should not be) from advanced undergraduates? Does your post conflate 1. any and all research-based, traditional argumentative essay assignments with 2. FYC assignments? One more occasion to revisit the “what is FYC supposed to be teaching?” question ….

A similar situation applies, of course, to the social sciences. A report on the efficacy of one particular intervention in the field of offender correctional treatment is pretty meaningless without a literature review providing insight as to whether the findings are consistent with similar interventions, or the same intervention in different settings, or with different offender groups.

The arts and humanities are, of course, a different circumstance. But in the sciences, writing a succinct literature review characterizing the status of knowledge for a given issue is far from meaningless. Will anyone but the teacher read a review written by a college sophomore? No, of course not. The purpose is to hone a skill – scientific writing – not to make a real contribution. Indeed the topic the student might select is of minor import. The purpose of the research paper assignment is to contribute to student learning of the scientific method.