When I first saw that one of the major projects for this course was going to be a research project, I was instantly nervous and intimated. From my past experiences with writing, I was not used to writing research papers. Most of my work in high school was analytical. Also, I was never taught how to properly research a topic. In addition, when I picked my topic, I did not realize how difficult it would be to research.
I learned that research is not simply gathering the facts about a topic and laying them out on a page. But actually, research is used as support for an argument. In this way, I had to use my own voice and my own ideas more than I ever expected to. I found that when I was able to develop my own ideas and find my voice in my project, the research came along much easier. Now, I knew exactly what I was looking for. I did not have to filter through countless websites and read articles that have nothing to do with what I was trying to say.
I think this whole project really made me grow as a writer. Now, I can say that I have an experience in a whole new genre of writing. In fact, with my new experience, I don’t think I will ever be scared to write a research project again. In fact, I think I enjoyed research more than analytical writing. I think this is the case because I was able to use sources from an extended world, not a limited one.