Taking Stock

At this point, you’ve got a fairly clear research interest, a clearly-articulated research question, and a decent-sized group of credible sources responding to that question, and you’ve even completed a key component of any academic essay: the works cited page (your annotated bibliography from the previous unit). In a sense, you’ve got all the ingredients, and now all you have to do make the dish. Piece of cake!REFLECT AND WRITEIn a Word , write approximately 1-2 pages reflecting on how your understanding of and interest in your project has evolved over the course of these assignments. Use the questions below to guide your reflection, but don’t answer them one by one. Also, in your reflection, be sure to cite specific examples, sources, and points your sources made (Note: the next step will give instructions on how/where to post).From your perspective, what were your initial interests, and what new interests emerged over the course of your research?What directions, issues, or finding surprised you, and what did you discover that you hadn’t expected to?How has your understanding of the issues you’ve focused on changed as a result of your research? What new questions emerged?What connections to your own personal interests, scholarly ambitions, and professional aspirations have emerged that you didn’t expect, or perhaps, how has your understanding of those interests, ambitions, and aspirations changed?Given what you’ve learned about the different avenues for research and inquiry into your topic, what do you think would be the most productive central focus for your upcoming research essay?Knowing what you now know, what would you like to say, and in what ways might you have developed a perspective that you think might make a worthwhile contribution to the scholarly conversation that, thus far, you have only listened to?Requirements: 12pt double-spaced.POST & DISCUSSStep 1: Post your reflection as a document attachment.Step 2: Choose TWO peer posts (prioritize posts that nobody has responded to) and compose a thoughtful response to each.For your responses, you have the option to either:A) Write out your response (in which case it should be roughly a page), or…B) Record an audio or video response (note: to post an audio or video response, click on the “Record/Upload Media” icon at the top of the chat window).In either case, in your response you should:Tell your peer what resonated with you about his/her/their project and whyExplain to your peers what was surprising about their topics and their findings, what you find intriguing about their research questions, and why you think their project might make a worthwhile contribution to the conversation taking place around their topic and to the issues raised in the draft, in generalOffer a few suggestions on similar-but-slightly different directions they might take their topics.