What surprised me about the research process?
Overall, the most surprising thing about the research process was the various steps that needed to be taken to write a good paper. I used to think that to write a paper I would just need to sit down and write it. However, this opinion has changed as I have learned that to write a great paper I would need to plan out what each section should contain, how to find the necessary research to back up my arguments, and what data would be relevant for presentation in my findings (Rozakis, 1999). I found the research process to be initially daunting; however, as time went on I came to realize that proper research is important to create a credible piece of academic work.
What frustrated me and how did I overcome it?
The most frustrating part of the research process was developing an outline for my research paper. I know that it may seem simple, however, it is quite difficult since you need to take into consideration the flow of ideas, the types of arguments to present as well as how the main thesis of your work is supposed to be presented. While other people may have had an easy time with it, I struggled considerably with outline development. Unfortunately, I was unable to overcome it and did get a low grade, however, I will keep on trying and practicing till I get things right.
1st Classmate Response Feedback
I have to agree that the most difficult part of writing was actually getting started and putting the ideas together. Before I started this class, writing was also my least favorite subject since I always seemed to have a few problems articulating what was in my head into something that made sense when I wrote it down. What this class has helped me do is to conceptualize the writing process through the use of various steps. This has helped me immensely since I can now effectively “visualize” what I am supposed to write next. Before utilizing such a technique, my writing process was a mess since I wrote what came to mind and started from there. As you can imagine, this often resulted in a very messy paper that needed several revisions before it could be considered academically acceptable.
2nd Classmate Response Feedback
I have to agree that creating an outline for the research paper and receiving feedback from the professor regarding the content was immensely helpful. When it came to writing a research paper in the past, I was often “lost” so to speak regarding how I was supposed to present the body of data and the various arguments that I should make. My usual result was a large body of text with little in the way of a proper logical arrangement with ideas and arguments being scattered here and there as the idea came to mind and I wrote it down. Through the use of an outline, I was able to arrange my arguments and ideas in such a way that writing a research paper became much easier. I guess that following a plan and sticking to it makes the writing process a lot easier. I appreciated all the feedback that the professor gave to me from this course and it is very helpful in improving my writing ability.
Reference List
Rozakis, L. (1999). Schaum’s Quick Guide to Writing Great Research Papers. New York: McGraw-Hill.