By now, you have probably figured out that a vital part of learning is reflecting on what you have done and where you have been. This "thinking about your thinking" creates opportunities to test out your thinking and your methods to see what worked and what needs improving.
In your comment, please respond to the following:
- What skills or techniques (annotation, time-saving researching techniques, using researching tools such as databases or the Internet) helped you research your topic and/or write your paper? How do you know these skills or techniques helped your project be more successful?
- What would you like to improve about your process for writing a research paper? Would you revise anything about the process?
- What did you learn about your topic as a result of this process? What did you learn about researching/writing as a part of completing this project?
The main technique I used for this paper was using the online database. It was helpful for finding both articles and books. I did use a couple simple time savers too, like looking at the titles and the index. I also read the first sentence of a few paragraphs. It helped me save time doing the research and helped me find details.
ReplyDeleteFor the future, I would use the online database. I never used one seriously before, and it really helps, especially for the articles. I would like to continue to improve on using my time efficiently. If I use techniques like annotation more, it would be helpful.
I have learned a few things about my topic. There are some small things, including that the card game BS used to be called Cheat. I also learned that Scrabble is being played as a regional and national competition, as well as in clubs in high schools. I discovered a board game that I never heard of, called Flashcar.
I think all of the skills we have focused on allow me to write a paper in a more effective way. Using annotation allowed me to find the best information and understand the ideas in the sources I was reading. By breaking apart the sources I was able to find effective and useful information. By using the time saving research techniques I was able to find the key points I needed and not waste time searching for information that wouldn’t be in aid to my paper. I think these methods helped to make my paper more successful because it allowed to me focus on key points and understand what I was reading instead of trying to tear apart information that I didn’t understand. I think my paper is more unified and clear due to using these methods.
ReplyDeleteI think I would try to do more extensive research next time I work on a research paper. I think I will not limit myself to required number of sources but rather get as much information as possible. I also think I may try to look for information in different places. I think the methods I have to use in order to understand information are helpful and effective. I do however think I will just try to broaden my search and not worry so much about finding information that only supports my thesis.
I learned that people have various opinions about my topic. It allowed me to realize how much controversy surrounds my topic and how much research is actually being done. As far as writing and researching goes this paper showed me that effective research is key. Also the new writing techniques that were exposed made me feel that my paper is clear and effective. I think that research papers are completely different from other papers but are a good learning opportunity because they are in fact so different.
1.)I picked global warming because I felt it was a straight forward research paper, and it was. One technique I did use was listing. I listed every I could think of on global warming and then I weeded through it.
ReplyDelete2.)As far as improving upon my process for writing a paper, I really like doing a rough draft. It really helped me organize my paper and made it more coherent. There is always room for improvement however.
3.)I also chose my topic for this paper because it is a topic I am passionate about already. I did learn how to use the internet better and how to do research and I think my writing is getting a little better with each paper.
I choose the topic of media censorship for my my research paper. When starting my pre-writing, I first used the web format to make a list of everything I knew about my topic. I prefer to use this type of prewriting because it helps to organize my ideas in to specific important categories. I used the online database to find most of my sources. It provided and easy way to quickly find relative information, by using the keyword search. I know the webbing method helped me write my paper because I spent less time thinking about what to write, and more time looking at where I needed more information. It also helped me cut out not important stuff.
ReplyDeleteI would like to change a lot about my writing. Specifically in research papers, I want to develop stronger critiquing skills. If I am able to suspend my judgment, and analysis my source more carefully. This will allow me to have a better understand of what I read. Therefor I will be able to develop a strong paper, whether it is persuasive, informative or just answering a R.Q.
I learned that violent media provides a strong influence on children of all ages. We often think that young infants are unable to understand what they see. However, it has been proven that they will imitate what they see. I learned a lot about the research process, things that can shorted your research time dramatically. By using critical thinking when evaluating your sources, you will be able to determine if this information is helpful to you before reading the whole article.
I used different methods while writing my paper. The internet is a good tool, it helped me out a lot.I found different articles that helped me out with my topic.I used the web format, which helped me organize my ideas. Then I went to the library and they showed me how to use the occ library website.
ReplyDeleteI would like to improve writing keywords when i'm using the internet because I had trouble with that. Writing my rough draft helped me out, and I also went to the writing lab center, and they helped me revise my paper. I would also like to improve adding more details to help make my paragraphs longer.
I learned that there were a lot of reasons to why technology should be used in education. I also learned that there were many different types of applications in the iPod that were used in education. Researching takes a while, and you need to put in a lot of time and effort.
The skills and techniques I used were researching on the internet and databases. This saved me a lot of time by searching for specifics like Co2 emissions. The reason I know that it helped me was it made it easier to research.
ReplyDeleteThe things that I would like to improve would be my time management and the details in my writing. If I do this it would help me explain my essay more. My research helped me get a lot of information about global warming. I think if I took the time I could revise more.
I learned that there is a lot more information about global warming and all the effects of burning oil are. I also learned that the possibilities of stopping global warming are pretty much impossible. It will probably take more than 20 years to stop it. I learned that my researching is getting better by finding specific details.
I used annotation frequently. Reading the first sentence also helped me elliminate misleading information unrelated to my topic. These helped my paper be more successful in filtering out unusefull information and really help me unbroaden my topic.
ReplyDeleteWays in wich i would improve are to find more sources and read even more in depth to find more supporting details.
I learned that even though there are many environmental factors working against us in the fight against global warming people are making an effort to make a difference.I also learned that I do not care very much for research papers when I can not come up with the subject I want.
The time saving research techniques were really helpful to me thoughout the entire process of writing my paper because I was able to pick out and easily find the facts that I needed for my paper.
ReplyDeleteI would like to find a way to organize my entire paper more than I already do so that all of the facts I put into it flow.
Before starting thos paper I did not know what my personal opinion on the topic was. Now that I have wrote the paper I have been able to form an oppinion on the topic that I can back up with the facts I have discovered. I learned that you never know everything about your topic and that there is always more you can learn and discover so it takes more time to do research that you may think.
when researching my topic for my research paper i used ebsco host database, and googole. after finding my sources I printed them out, and then read through all of them and annotated. this allowed me to pull out the best supporting ideas on my topic.
ReplyDeleteThe only way I think I could improve the writing process of my paper is by doing more pre-writing. I did a decent amount of pre-writing for this paper, but I realized the more I do the easier my paper comes together.
I chose the topic I did for my paper because i am interested in politics. Also while researching my topic i learned a lot about how much public money is spent on professional sports stadiums. When starting this paper I wasn't sure as to what I was going to make my point as until I did my research
In order to find sources for my paper I used Google. I found very useful information but it is very easy to mistake the information found on websites to be true when in reality it is made up. By the steps we learned in class to determine whether or not our sources were reliable I was able to use my best judgment to narrow down my sources. I also like to use the annotation method because I am able to mark important information that I want to remember to look back on.
ReplyDeleteTo improve my future research papers I believe I should compare my sources better because as you showed us with the movies different sources can contradict our thesis.
While writing this paper I realized it is very important to take the time to carefully examin your sources.
I often annotated and highlighted the articles I used for my research project. This helped me find points I needed to write upon easily. Also, it helped me remember more information about the articles I had read because I annotated. Furthermore, I used the reference, abstracts, and table of contents techniques. These skills helped me have a more in depth paper. I would like to improve my organization for writing a research paper. I often feel like I put things out of order when I write a paper. Then I will have to do a lot of revising. I’ve been trying to improve this by prewriting more. I learned a lot about my research project. The most important thing is that fat tax may be an ineffective way to help with the obesity problem in the U.S. I learned that there are many ways to do research. The techniques I used were very effective ways to find accurate information.
ReplyDeleteI used a couple of techniques when writing my research paper. I used annotation because I felt that if I really understood it then I could put it in my own words which would make the research paper a lot easier to write. I also used databases which I had a hard time with at first but soon got the hang of it. When I was looking for sources for my research paper I often Started finding sources by reading the tiltles in the table of contents or looking for key words in the index and if they looked like they would pertain to my subject then I would read the article. I know these skills helped me because in past research papers I did not have these skills to fall back on and it was harder for me to write the paper.
ReplyDeleteNext time I have a research paper I would like to improve my organizational skills. I started feeling over whelmed because I had so much information on my topic and I was having a hard time catergorizing it because there was so much info there. I had a hard time deciding what information and how much of it I was going to use. I wouldnt revise anything about the research paper except for my orginzation.
I have learned that the media really has an influence over are young viewers because they are too young to understand the difference between reality and fantasy. I learned that that there is many ways to research a topic.
I went onto the databases and looked up my topic and wrote down the most important arguments, I then picked which side I agreed with and did research on that side of the argument to give facts to support it. I know this was effective because it made is easy to pick out exactly what my paper was going to be about and then made it easier to look the information up instead of being all overwhelmed with to much information.
ReplyDeleteBefore looking up research next time I need to have a more clear view as to what exactly I want to write about and what I agree with. I found that some information, although true, I didn’t completely agree with myself.
I understand now that banning handguns would be a lot of work for our government, and they would be scared to make the wrong decision, but I still believe that it is the right one. I learned that when researching you learn a lot more about the opposing side of something that you once agreed with or still do.
I used both the internet and annotation while researching for my topic, which helped to make the pre-writing process a lot easier because the points I chose to focus on were already pointed out. I would like to improve upon finding the best sources possible when it comes to writing a research paper. Sometimes I find a source that talks about my idea and is credible so I incorporate it, but with more searching an even better source might come up. After researching my topic I learned that although the media is to blame for a good percentage of youth violence, not a whole lot is being done about it, so nothing is really getting fixed. I also learned that extensive research from both sides of an argument is absolutely necessary if a research paper is going to serve its purpose.
ReplyDeleteThe main process I used to get information on my subjec t was going to the library and finding the pro con books or the alternate v iew books. I have used these in research papers before, and they were once again very helpful. Finding online sources were a little more difficult, I had to come up with different terms to search and go through a lot of useless information, and information based soley on opinion.
ReplyDeleteI still n eed to improvce upon my time management skills, and I need to stop procrastinating. I also need to become more familiar with computerized news sources such as newsbank.
As a result of researching my topic, I found various ways in which techonology can be used in education in ways that I have never heard of before. Also, I learned alot about the statistics on how much more is retained from using technology.
Using annotation and the database for OCC through EBSCO host were the most helpful to me while writing my research paper. Once I started gathering information on the databases, and internet sources I started to grasp what I wanted to really focus on, and it made writing so much easier, and what I believe to be a decent paper. By reading topic sentences/ and or inclusive titles also helped me to save time, and work more efficiently.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest thing for me to improve would be the procrastinating of prewriting, and then drafting. I find that I usually will put it off until the last minute. When I do this, it only results in a rushed paper, and not my best work. To revise my process I would start earlier so I can have more time revising and editing at the end before it’s due.
I learned through writing about technology in education how some technology I would have never thought could help, can. I realized that there are some schools out there that do not have the same access to technology as others. I have always known that there are schools in poverty- stricken communities; however I have never really considered the fact that they do not have the same opportunity to learn as others. Through this assignment, I realized how much information is really out there! With the use of technology we have unlimited resources about almost everything and it’s great!
One of the things I like to do while writing a paper would be taking side notes on the information that I am working on or reading. This helps me understand what I read. It also makes it easier to find important info that I want to remember.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I believe may need a little toning up in my writing skills would be organization. I tend to mix up ideas. I am learning that the better you revise your paper the easier it will be to point these mistakes out.
The more research I did on my paper the more I became interested on the topic. I also was able to learn from my mistakes through the writing process. Picking up on my own mistakes will help my writing skills in the future.
Some of the skills that I used to help me write my research paper are done in the research portion. Researching a topic can take more time than writing the paper itself. If you don’t know where to look, it can take forever to find the right information. I used the library resources to easily find books. I also use reading techniques to narrow my selection of sources. With the sources I selected I also use the titles, heading and bullets to find the information that was useful to me.
ReplyDeleteI would like to get my self to start a project earlier. I have a bad habit of starting things to late and it makes the assignment more difficult than it needs to be. If I start the research right from the get go I have a much easier time writing a good paper.
I learned a lot about gun control from this assignment. It also helped me practice finding sources and getting good information out of them. The library was very useful in finding resources that had good information. I also learned to use the books resources like the bibliography to get more sources and more information.
Of the many things you taught in class, I really appreciated using the annotation technique on this paper. It helped to organize my thoughts, and to remember points in text I found interesting. It saved time when I went to get supporting material and all my notes were at my fingertips. Of course, I also used the internet and EBSCOHOST, and found myself annotating those documents as well.
ReplyDeleteI think that on my next research paper I am going to avoid using excess background information. In my paper, "How should the US solve global warming?" I described what the issue was, it's causes as well as it's effects - then discussed solutions. I think that extra info detracted from my main arguments. I need to remember the funnel shape when revising my paper and make sure all my points develop my thesis.
I learned that there are many feasible solutions to reverse global warming. I was surprised by the extent of information regarding the topic, especially all the photography. Through writing this paper I learned how to set up my introductory paragraph better, so that it directs my reader's attention. How well a strong thesis statement can stand at the end of a paragraph, instead of being embedded somewhere in the middle.
This is Brian Kim. I used online data base technique for my research paper. I also used several books related to my topic. The techniques helped me to get information I wanted quick, and also led me to creative thinking. Although the sources are from the books and data base I found, the idea and my argument is based on my thinking. So the technique led me to the right way. For my future papers, I need to narrow my paper’s topic a little more. Although my topic on the paper is what I want to write, it is still a little broad topic. I need to narrow down the topic more specific, and point out stronger. I think the technique I am using is fine. I was always interested in my topic, social networking and virtual world. Doing research, I found more arguments similar to mine. Most of them were going the same direction as mine, but I found more interesting information in the process.
ReplyDeleteWhen writing my paper i found that annotation helped me the most. It made finding parts of the article i wanted to use much easier to find after i had read other articles.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing i would like to improve is how exactly to write a research paper. I am still a little confused on exactly what should be in the paper and how to organize it.
After this project i learned that adding technology to learning can be helpful in many ways, but i do not believe it should be done with video games. By having these kids grow up on video games it could reduce the amount of exercise kids get because they will just want to play more video games.
Annotation and the first reading skills we discussed in class helped me greatly while writing my research paper. On several first reads I was able to rule out sources that didn't help with my topic, and annotating a primary source of mine helped me remember points I wanted to bring up during that read.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest improvement in my research process I need to make is allowing myself more time. Procrastination often gets the better of me. That combined with a very hectic schedule makes it hard for me to sit down and do the work that I don't really want to do.
Since I chose media, specifically video game, censorship as my topic, I did not learn anything I didn't know prior to this project, aside from a few dates and details. This topic is literally one of my most often dicussed topics and as such I had a very large base on knowledge to work with. I learned that this was not exactly preferable, though, as you can't quite cite yourself and your memory as a source.
Annotation helped me a lot. While I couldn't write directly in the margins, I took not quite a few notes, and it was much easier to input it into my essay, as well as find what I was looking for. Looking at the other essays i was using cited works also was a huge help to me.
ReplyDeleteI would give myself more time. And maybe do more of the paper earlier on. I feel as if I waited too long to get the research done, and then the paper, and I simply felt rushed.
I learned that there are a lot of different kinds of technology for classrooms I never knew existed. Never mind ways to use ones that I did know were there.
While researching my topic, I used techniques such as annotation and the Internet in order to successfully complete the basis for writing the paper. I know these skills helped because they saved me time in the long run. I was able to look up key words and receive credible information. Also, annotation helps refresh the memory when reflecting on your research. I would like to improve my time management skills due to the fact that I don't have much time to spare. I had trouble using databases and would like to understand them better. If i could revise anything it would be how much pre-writing I can come up with. By researching healthcare, I realized how current the issue really is. There are many different views on what should result, but within the next few years it will not be the same. I learned that research takes a lot of time and you may not find all you need on the Internet.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really use any of the time saving techniques or annotation or anything to write my research paper.
ReplyDeleteI would probably not procrastinate as much as I did on this paper.
I learned alot about my topic. I learned that even though cell phones could probably be a large help in the classroom the pros outway the cons. most teachers would spend the time yelling at the kids for texting or taking calls in class then they would get anything done.
The skills that helped me were the internet sources; they helped me research my topic because they got in depth with situations that happen because of the loose gun control laws. These sources helped my project become more successful because they helped me explain why gun laws should be stricter.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to improve about my paper was more reasons besides the fact that guns make massacres happen. I wanted stronger reasons to say why guns should have stricter control laws but I couldn’t fine any more with enough research behind it, so I just used what I was good with. What I learned about researching from this project is don’t worry about if a source isn’t going to properly give you enough information because it will but it will jus take longer. I now know that I can write about anything but I have to research more and I will find information on it
I have learned how to research using databases, which has made findind souces for my paper much easier and time efficiant. Nevertheless, I am still working on improving my annotation skills because in the long run it saves allot of time when it come to figureing out what is usefull or not. Annotation is also usefull when I look back through a document to find the ideas to put my paper.
ReplyDeleteAs I kinda just said, I want to improve my annotations skills so I can save time and effort when compiling ideas or drafting. I also need to draft quicker and do more revising especially when it comes to using srouces in my work.
My topic was about using Facebook as a educational utility, and I learned that using social networks like facebook has a bigger effect on students than I expected and that there is even a application on facebook which is a database, hosted by Harold B. Library at Brighham Young University.
I used two techniques to help me write this research paper. The first was the use of databases to find the necessary information to write about in my paper. After finding this information, I then used annotation to point out key points and valuable information that could be used to coincide with my papers ideas.
ReplyDeleteI would like to improve my pre-writing process because although it helped, I believe that it can be improved to further my writing skills and techniques throughout the paper. If I were to revise this process it would entail a lengthier pre-write.
I learned there are many valuable points that need to be considered when writing a research paper. Furthermore, you can not include only one side of an argument to a research paper because then you are not giving all the facts. This project has showed me that research is a very key component to a paper and if it is not done correctly your whole paper is not to be considered as a reliable source.
My process usually began with taking a source and using annotation and this usually weeded out the sources that were actually irrelevant. I would then take key quotes and page numbers down that I thought were something I would like to focus on in paper. I tried to do an outline, and got one understandable enough that I could get a start from it. Even if it wasn't a detailed sentence outline it still kept me with some sort of plan. This was nice because it made me feel like someone was helping me out the whole time because the hard work was done.
ReplyDeleteI would like to try the drafting and outlining a little better for my next paper. I find that it does help, it's just taking the time to do it is what gets me. Funny thing is, it takes me longer when I don't because I end up lost in a huge hurricane that is my papers idea.