Advice I would give someone doing a research paper for the first time...

The first and best advice is to give yourself time! I still do not take my own advice sometimes but having a lot of time will help tremendously. Second would be to research a lot. Get an opinion on your topic and create a rough thesis to narrow your searches. Always use a pre- rough draft system whether it is brainstorming, outlining, freewriting etc.... While doing your rough draft do not worry about perfection this is just what you will use to get feedback from others and you will improve and sometimes totally change your final paper. Read your paper aloud as you make corrections and have someone else either listen or read it themselves. Once your final paper is finished hopefully you still have a few days before deadline and turn it into the writing center. I almost forgot to use the KU Handbook for reference if you ever get stuck on any part of the writing process. I wish everyone good luck next term!

How do I feel about my paper and what have I learned?

I feel that I am ready to have my paper finished. I have learned a lot about myself and how I handle two papers at once and truthfully I did not enjoy it. Of course during our last week I have been sick and unmotivated. I think I could have done much better because I worked much harder on one paper over the other and I hope my grade will not suffer but I know it will. I am debating on waiting and turning my papers in late. I wish I would have taken advantage of the writing center. I am hoping my next classes do not have a research paper due at the same time again. I know I need to buckle down and realize this is college work I would just like a break from research papers. I feel I have the writing process down and research apa format papers pretty etched in my head. I perfer freewriting that doesn't require such format and precise wording. I will admit it I love poetry. I realize research papers teach us all to be better writers for our chosen careers and I hope I am retaining what information I need to do my job well. Good luck everyone I think we will all be able to do these papers in our sleep before this is over!

What I think of my blog....

I think it is good to have a blog for class. It is less formal than the discussion boards and we can make it more personal. I admit I have not recieved any comments on my blog but hey I haven't commented on anyone's either. I do read some of them though. It is good to know that others are going through some of the same things I am going through. We are all just "busy" I don't know about anyone else but I am always busy but at the end of the day do not feel I accomplished or finished a darn thing. I have been a little scatterbrained lately. I will blame the recent holidays but I think it is just me. LOL! I hope for this new year 2010 I will become more organized and determined to do what I need to do. I wish everyone a great year as well and hope to have you all in my next classes! I think I will continue to use my blog after class is over and I can use it to communicate with other students each term and hope to have some great friends by the end. I know I have anatomy and physiology 2 next term but I do not know my other class yet. I think I am ready for a break from the APA research papers. I think I have had to do one in every class I have taken accept algebra and don't get me started on that! Algebra was not easy for me.

My experience with peer reviews..

Well this being my 4th term at Kaplan for Medical Office management I have had academic strategies for the healthcare professional and comp1. For both classes I believe we went through pretty much the same process. Picking a topic, researching, prewriting, rough draft, peer review, and of course final paper. I wish I could say by now I am an expert but I don't think I am quite that good yet. I would definitely say that peer review helped me a lot both times. It helps to get feedback from my classmates rather than a friend or family member that reads whatever I write and says it "sounds good" and that is it. I have already had help in this class "comp 2" which helped me create a better thesis. Discussing topics in the beginning helped me as well because it is hard sometimes to pick a good topic. I wish everyone the best of luck I can't wait to start reading others rough drafts!! I hope everyone has a great holiday and gets some time to relax and not think about classes for a minute.

What I have been dealing with the last six weeks...

Well research can be a bit overwhelming. For comp 2 I am doing my paper on childhood depression and it seems like a lot of information I find says the same thing. It is also difficult becuause I am also researching for a paper in Anatomy and Physiology on the skeletal system so my outlines, drafts, and final papers are at times becoming a blur. I have thankfully obtained a B in both classes thus far but I am use to A's in these types of classes because my writing is usually done well. I know if I use my time management wisely I should be able to get the A's that I want. I wish everyone the best of luck on their papers. I am glad that next week we will have peer review so I can maybe get some ideas. Hopefully, I wil be able to help my peers as well. I know Chris will be a big help too. I wish everyone Happy Holidays! Plus I know we can get through this paper together! I will talk to everyone soon on the DB and in seminar next week.

My personal writing process

My writing process starts off with freewriting. I go through different references books, articles, etc.... I then will go through and try to create a thesis that will explain my main points I want to make. My next step may be brainstorming where I will just list ideas that could be my main points to address in my paper. I will then make a rough draft and go through my references to make sure they are credible. The next thing would be to have someone read my rough draft which may be my friend or the writing center. Once I get my feedback I will then work on my final paper. Hopefully by this point I have it done early enough to turn it into the writing center and get feedback to improve it even more.

Does the Internet blur the lines of “legally owned”?

I feel the internet does blur the lines of "legally owned" but I do not think it is intentional. There is so much information on the internet and a lot of search engines that find EVERYTHING! Some things that pop up when I am searching is sometimes discussion boards from various things like blogs or ligit websites that have a Q&A section where people ask questions and other people answer them. It is just important for people to check their resources and know a ligit resource from a unreliable one. I have found it hard to go through the good and the bad especially when there are so many things that come up. I just try to stay away from the ones that only say exactly what my question is and doesn't say anything else most of the good ones will say WEB MD or American Cancer Society and I will check those out for liable information. I wish everyone luck on our Big Paper !! The whole APA and citations just remember to use the KU Handbook or DOC sharing and don't forget the writing center. I had one bad experience with the writing center and one good but the bad was my fault because I accidentally sent my paper twice one right after another and it says something when you send your work to not do that or it may get lost.