Although I vary the metacognitive reflection questions from time to time, I'm sure you could predict the basic pattern: what have you learned? what have you done well? what are you proud of? what do you hope I notice?; on the other hand, what bothers you about the paper?what would you do if you had more time? what do you still feel you haven't figured out or mastered? what would you like to learn more about or have more practice with?; and, finally, what was your process (the order and time in which you did things)? what worked? what didn't work? what have you learned about the research process? what will you do differently next time?
Write a thoughtful metacognitive, introspective reflection (200 words or so) addressing the three groups of questions above.
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I tried to capture the main theme of fiesta traditions in my essay. I really tried to stay away from the stereotypical ideas of fiesta and focus more on the reoccurring traditions both on a larger scale and a smaller one. This is what I liked most about my paper however it is also what I doubt. I know in my head what I am trying to say/persuade/prove but sometimes I can not tell if I capture everything I feel or want to say on paper. Coming up with a thesis was the hardest part for me. I think I wrote out at least 30 that I did not use and I still couldn't come up with what I really wanted to write about. My thesis came to me at the most random time when I wasn't even working on my paper; it just popped into my head one night when I was going to bed. Because it took me so long to come up with a thesis I was satisfied with, I did not do much preparation before actually writing my paper; all I really did was write down a few key facts and the order I wanted to talk about them. Once I did this I realized that I had to go back to a couple of my sources and take out the information that I previously saw but did not write down. Next time I would like to be able to come up with a thesis faster than I did this time that way it allows me to start getting more specific ideas out instead of just general ones which would hopefully improve my paper.
So my paper really did not come out exactly how I had hoped that it would. I really struggled with comparing the two churches because internet sources were useless, as were the library books, and the only sources that worked were personal interviews. With my topic I wanted to get a real feel for what Catholicism is like in the two churches, as I am not Catholic myself, but what I really needed to do was go to a church and see for myself. It is one thing to hear of tradition, but a complete opposite to experience. However, although I did not get the full experience I did learn a lot. I though that Holy Family was just for the Italians as Our Lady's is to the Portuguese, but that is not so. I also learned a lot from talking to different people because you don't really ever talk about religion as a child (not really a child, but you know not exactly an adult conversationalist). It's pretty cool to hear how some people feel as opposed to others about their faith. So for my next response or step to the project, I plan on attending both a mass from Our Lady and Holy Family and see what the difference is for myself. I've learned that it is hard to compare two different things if you haven't had the experience with both. Religion always has interested me, and I think this is a good excuse to get up and learn something that I was too scared to do before.
Michael McGovern
In my essay, i tried to show how important the actions of the people have been in the history of Dogtown. I am proud in that I think that I was able to accomplish this goal. I think that I was able to convey that the people involved in Dogtown made it the place that it is today. I also feel that I was able to make a convincing argument for my thesis. On the other hand, I feel that I could have tried to put more information into my essay. I was trying to keep it breif and include only the essential information, but in doing so, I feel as if I may have cut out a little too much. I think that if I had more time, I would have tried to improve my vocabulary. My words sometimes get repetive and boaring and I think that I could have fixed my vocabulary up a little bit. My overall process for this essay was to first plan it out. After I figured out what I wanted to write my paper on and the information I was going to include in it, I began to write. I spent about 3 days writing and after that, i edited. Through this essay, I have learned that I definatly need to come up with a better plan for my essay next time. I spent to much time trying to come up with new ideas as i wrote and trying to find out what direction I wanted to go in.
Brian Hand
Through this project, I learned a lot about acquiring resources and data to support my thesis, as i have never gotten this intense about finding data in any research paper before. I hope that this shows in my work and i think it does. Every piece of evidence I found required me to search hard and connect it to other evidence I found and I hope you will understand that. The biggest success of my paper is the way I connected all the various films from GLoucester around a focal point, because all the movies I looked at were so different and it took much compromising by my thesis to allow it to work. I probably would have attempted to get more testimony from actual filmmakers because in proving my thesis, my speculative word only goes so far. I started by looking at movies and selecting which ones would be the most easily comparable, or in some cases the most contrastable. When I realized my focus and then my thesis, I looked through newspaper archives, sent out some e-mails and then watched the movies. What failed for me was the library time in class because I basically wasted it doing pointless things. Also, the annotated bibliography, which was designed to help us get a feel for the direction we want to head in, actually confused me more. This is entirely my fault and not a flaw in the system. My biggest realization through doing this project was understanding that I have to work hard sometimes to find information that I need. In the future, I am going to value my class time.
Sarah Johnson
This paper was a bit of a challenge for me, but overall it feels successful. I’ve learned a lot about research, and how important it is to have a sense of purpose and direction, because you can have all the research on a topic but still be unable to use any of it for a paper you want to write. But I feel like I put mine together well. There was a substantially vast, overwhelming glob of information I had to sift through and decide which was relevant (or not), and then which was true (or not). I had a lot of arguments I could use to fight my case, and I selected only the ones I knew I could really support, which was difficult for me. I’m really proud of the way my paper reflects not only the importance of the park to Cape Ann, or "the people" as a mass, but I think the importance of the park to real individuals is evident, and that makes me proud since I wanted to represent it well. I definitely could have made better use of my library research time. The best thing I did that week was go on the Quarry tour, because it was the most helpful and gave me the inspiration for the direction I wanted to go with the paper. With the paper, I most definitely could have written it better with more time, simply because it’s difficult to select and improve each sentence after the initial outline and draft with so few draft readings. I know that you really have to dedicate time to research, and i learned that you also need a lot of time for interpretation of sources. Next time I write a research paper, I will not do it in the same week as my A.P. exams, sports games, physical therapy, various meetings, chorus concerts, working when a major blockbuster opens, and the Grey’s Anatomy finale airs. That’s just poor time-management on my part, my priorities are all mixed up :-/
I am not one to lie, so here it is, I have yet to complete my thesis driven research paper. I missed the entire first week of class time research that we were allotted, which I have now realized was invaluable. To truly understand information that you have never dealt with before is an extremely time consuming process, and using that information to substantiate an original idea/opinon is something that cannot be done in a timely manner either, thus, I have not finished writing my paper. So far, however, I am relatively pleased with myself for putting in the time necessary to do sufficient research. I have spent countless hours reading and rereading and analyzing Charles Olson's poetry, and I think that I finally have enough information to finish writing my paper. If I had more time, another week for example, I would, of course, continue my research, because I feel that one can never do enough research. There is always more to know and more to discover, and personally I find putting an end to exploring Olson's poetry to be a very difficult task. I feel that if I stop researching there will be something that I miss, something better than what I already have. However, I know that it is impossible for my paper to encompass every bit of information and evidence to support my thesis. Essentailly, what I have learned from the process of researching Charles Olson, writing an annotated bibliography of my research, and then using the information I obtained to validate an original opinion, is that there simply is not enough time in a day. I really think 28 hours is a far more appropriate measurment than 24.
In doing this essay, I figured out that the topic I am using, landscape photography, is extremely difficult to explain in terms of its importance. However, as I learn and research more about this topic, my interest in the subject grows, and this is why I do not want to switch subjects. What I like most about my essay is the actual thesis. I think that my thesis covers all of the qualities that a good thesis needs, such as it being debatable, meaningful, supportable, insightful, and clear. That is probably the one thing I hope you notice. What bothers me about the paper is that I feel like the information is all over the place. I felt like I did not stick to the thesis. If I had more time, I would probably try and make my statements and information better organized and less...scattered. I know what I want to say in my head, and I know how photography makes me feel, but I am having extreme trouble putting it in words for other people to understand. That is most likely the one thing I haven't mastered about this topic yet.
I never realized so much before how important how much artists are influenced by other artists. It's not just about sharing creative ideas and gleaning information; rather, artists create a kind of support system that keeps their rare breed alive and enriches the entire market and culture of their region and the arts in general. I'm proud of the amount of research I did, most of which is definitely NOT reflected in my annotated bibliography. In fact, I think only one or two of the five sources that I used to write my research paper. I am mostly proud of the copy of the original CAA bylaws that I obtained, which were extremely rare considering there was only on originally which resided in Anni Melancon's basement filing cabinet. The number of errands throughout the city of Gloucester that I went on the obtain all of my sources is the most that I have done for any project ever, including outside of school. As for bad things, there are so many different angles that I hit upon in my research that I wasn't able to completely explore that would have been interesting to investigate. Next time, although I know you discouraged it, I want to try harder to narrow my thesis from the beginning so that my time and efforts can be spent more efficiently researching the specific subject than spanning such a broad topic for so long as I did before. Although I understand that the early stages of the project require a certain amount of underlying research/knowledge before an insightful thesis can be declared, I think that I spent too long on this particular aspect of the project. Although the research paper part was frustrating to me because I had a hard time with organization, I am really glad that I took the time to interview these artists that I have come to admire, and am proud of how much I now know about the history of art groups and organization in Cape Ann's past and present.
I really didn't like how my paper came out. I stuggled when it came to having information to support my thesis. I feel that when i was reasearching my topic i focused on the histroy of the ceremony and how it came to be and then my thesis was about people's feelings towards it. I had a really hard time getting enough information. I think that the main reason why i did so poorly was because i didnt think of a thesis until after i had done my research. If i had known my thesis first and was able to look for information that supported it after, i feel that i would have done a much better job. Next time, i will try to broaden my ragne so that i research all aspects of my topic. That way, even if i come up with a thesis later, i will have enough information to support whatever my thesis is.
Just a reminderrr that I used a letter.
from writing this paper i focused on only the sporting events of the fiesta. i believed that i had a good question that was very debatable but had trouble using good sources to back it up. the paper had some good points, it kept me interested writing it and enjoyed my topic. the paper backed up my thesis well and used alot of my knowledge i learned from the annotated bibliography and previous studies. Also with this paper i realized that i have to many sources on the hand of the seine boat racing and not enough information on the greasy pole portion. although i thought it was a good paper and followed the thesis statement well
I suppose my paper came out alright. I think that the three-page length really restricted my ability to thoroughly explain the topic I chose - but maybe I just need to work on that.
I've said this in past posts but my process went something like: (subject 1) shipbuilding - (subject 2) schooners - (subject 3) auxiliary engines on schooners and its affect. I just went though each of the effects of the engine and noted how each of them built on each other and thats how I ended up organizing my paper.
Throughout writing this paper I have learned a lot about schooners and memorable moments in their history. Finding information on my topic was really easy, but coming up with a thesis was so difficult. I actually did not figure out what my thesis was until I was done with all my research. Note for future reference: work harder on coming up with a basic thesis faster. If I had more time there are a few paragraphs that I would like to change and a few informational pieces that I would like to add.
I found it much more enjoyable to write about a topic that hits close to home, rather than a topic that I would probably never get the chance to experience, like a ride on a schooner. It's one thing to research something, and another thing to experience it as well.
In my paper, I tried to explain how Winslow Homer’s stays in Gloucester affected his painting style and technique, which would help him become one of the most cherished American painters of all time. I believe I was able to do this but not in the manner I was hoping for. I do not think I supported my thesis with enough information. If I had more time I would have liked to find more resources with the information I needed to support my thesis and help make my paper more persuasive. I would have also liked to develop my conclusion more because I do not believe I made a strong enough argument to sum it all up. The process for which I wrote this paper was not planned out at all. I used the letter for the annotated bibliography, so I didn’t hand that in until the Friday before the paper was due. Therefore I was behind on everything else and had not even come up with a thesis for my paper. I did not come up with a thesis until I started writing my paper, which was the night before it was due. Next time, I will definitely plan things out better and come up with a thesis and get information way before I start to write the paper.
In doing this research paper, I realized how important it is to choose a thesis that interests you. I was completely indifferent to my topic, on a research aspect, and had an extremely hard time getting started. I procrastinated, and it shows. In the case that I had more time, perhaps I would have been motivated to find a new topic, but it’s doubtful. I have a hard time thinking of anything I did well. I am actually banking on you completely overlooking my paper completely. I don’t think my thesis was developed in a way that made it clear what exactly I was trying to say. I limited myself by the number of words, and was so desperate for it to be done with that I didn’t continue further explanations, resulting in no “obsession” over my thesis. Next time I will surely pick a topic I care about researching, as opposed to a thesis I simply create for an assignment. This strays from my research paper, but in doing the poem in school, I find I do see something interesting and meaningful in my topic. The difference is, the topic is more something to think about, and observe, not to write about and support with quantitative facts.
In doing this research essay I learn alot of things. First of all I learned that getting good reasearch about a topis is very important as to how you paper will come out. I beleive that their were many interesting sites on my topic so that I could learn alot about it and truely understand its important parts. I think that my research went very well and that now I will be able to move forward with my topic in the projects that follow. On the other hand I think that I might have left some more major points about my topic that I should have put in. For example I would have liked to go back and talk more about his early years with his parents, and why they affected him making the castle in Gloucester. I think that I should have aalso focused a little more on why the castle is important to gloucester. I think that had I maybe had a concentrated thesis then I might have avoided problems like this. Overall I like how my paper came out and I think I gained alot of knowledege about how to write a better paper.
In doing this research essay I learn alot of things. First of all I learned that getting good reasearch about a topis is very important as to how you paper will come out. I beleive that their were many interesting sites on my topic so that I could learn alot about it and truely understand its important parts. I think that my research went very well and that now I will be able to move forward with my topic in the projects that follow. On the other hand I think that I might have left some more major points about my topic that I should have put in. For example I would have liked to go back and talk more about his early years with his parents, and why they affected him making the castle in Gloucester. I think that I should have aalso focused a little more on why the castle is important to gloucester. I think that had I maybe had a concentrated thesis then I might have avoided problems like this. Overall I like how my paper came out and I think I gained alot of knowledege about how to write a better paper.
so, I'd just like to say first that like Hannah, my essay did not exactly come out the way I'd originally hoped it would. I started out with a good idea, but on paper it didn't exactly translate. My original idea was to contemplate the effect that Charles Olsen's influence has had over Gloucester. The idea was half decent for a topic, but I just had a really hard time putting it to paper, and as a result my paper was pretty sub-par. I think that it was just awkward for me to write a research paper on Charles Olsen at this point in my process with him, as he's kind of a hard topic to wrap your head around after only a few weeks of research. Really I was just completely not happy with this paper at all and I hope you won't judge me too harshly on it. Really probably the only thing I did well on in this paper is spelling and that's not saying much. It's not like I didn't spend time on this either, I spent more than a few late nights deleting huge portions of this essay and re-writing them and getting overly frustrated with Charles Olsen and everything he every did. In the end I think that I just decided I couldn't overwork this piece anymore. I think that my creative responses to this topic will be a much better calibration of my knowledge of Charles Olsen and a more in depth reflection of how I view his work and him as a man.
In my paper, I think I struggled a little bit in trying to keep it thesis based. I tended to give more information about Fitz Henry Lane's life rather than information that backed up my thesis. Alot of informatipn was needed in order to develop the thesis and I fear that the paper may seem like just another research paper. Despite this possible downside, I think my essay did come out better than I expected. I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to write the paper, but I think the result was an okay written thesis based research paper. The hardest part of writing this paper was disciphering between websites that had good information and websites that had false information. There are so many sources about Lane that it was easy to come across things about his life that weren't true. Also, it was difficult to pick out which parts of his life to use in the paper that would enforce the ideas in the thesis. Many things happened to him as a child, but I had to choose the most important ones to demonstrate how he overcame difficulties. I feel as if I had taken more time to write the paper, it would have been much more planned and better overall, but I am satisfied with the result.
Im really not too excited about the way that my paper came out.The sources that I need to focus on were not sources that I had researched for my annotated bibliography which made writing this paper difficult. I tried to focus most of my paper on T.S Eliot and the writings that he had done on Cape Ann. What I liked most about my paper is the face that in the end I did find one great source that allowed me to get a lot of information about how Cape Ann had affected Eliot called the Dry Salvages. I believe that my thesis could have deffinetly being more convincing had I actually had the sources that i needed right from the beginning. With more time it would have allowed me to be able to get more research in so that my thesis would have beeing stronger and also my overall paper.
After writing my research paper I actually felt that though I knew a lot of facts I still had more to discover. The Retreat House is one of those topics that you have to eventually experience yourself to get the full affect. I plan to still find a day when I can go visit there and get a tour of the Retreat itself. In my paper I focused a lot on Eastern Point as well as the spiritual center that lies on it. I almost felt that I was writing too much about Eastern Point itself and it’s history, but it’s true that it’s past is significant and proving how important the place is and how eventually it transformed into a holy place of worship. I really do not enjoy writing research papers, I feel no matter how much I am saying it in my own words after having learned the information I still am not writing my own work, and that frustrates me.
This research paper taught me a lot about Native Americans. I did not realize how quickly disease wiped them out. Most died before the Europeans even permanently settled on Cape Ann. I think I did a good job proving that the Native Americans were as advanced as the Europeans, but in different ways. I still don’t feel like I fully understand Native American culture. However, the Native Americans don’t have written records and the European’s records do not include Native American traditions and beliefs. The European accounts are biased in most cases to show that the Native Americans were not civilized. Through my research process I have learned that it is important to make the best use of your time. For future research papers I will do more work ahead of time during the research process.
Alicia Unis
Judith Sargent Murray
Thesis Reflection
From this research paper, I really discovered the difficulty in just creating a thesis to prove. I learned that your sources need to be reliable and extensive so that you know you’re getting good information. I think I was able to give the overall idea well. I tried not to focus on little details, because you said you just wanted the information that supports your argument. I’m not proud of much on the paper, because I’m hesitant about how well I was able to accomplish what you wanted, so I’m not very confident. I hope you notice that I did put a lot of effort into it, regardless of how off I may have been from the actual objective. It bothers me that I couldn’t edit it down some more, I just couldn’t let myself delete elements of my paper. If I had more time I would try and find more evidentiary support, like real numbers that couldn’t be ignored. But I did search for SO long and couldn’t find anything like that, it was too long ago.I haven’t figured out the diting process or how to really connect the paper to my thesis in every line. I think as much as I hate thesis papers, I would need a little more experience writing them well. At first I had to do the research, then I established a these, and made an outline of the paper that I think could support it. Then I needed to figure out how realistic my outline was and if I had the support. A lot of my arguments didn’t work because I couldn’t find the numbers or solid information to back it up which angered me. I have learned that researching is a tiring and extensive process, that involves more attention than expected. Next time, I will pay more attention to the interesting and new elements of my research so it won’t be as hard to make a thesis.
Meghan Ciaramitaro
Unlike everyone else who posted, I actually was satisfied with my paper. Since it is the end of the year and I’ve lost most of my motivation, I felt I produced a decent paper. I know it wasn’t my best work, because of my lack of motivation and need to procrastinate. Although I’m not a fan of research or thesis papers, I did like comparing the different photographers of Cape Ann. I was able to write how I perceived their work through comparison. My thesis changed a few times during the writing process because I wasn’t sure where to start. However, my final thesis tied the essay together. I was given an extra week because I used my letter, but I still could have used more time. The only problem I have with my paper is the last paragraph. I believe it lacks the detail and understanding shown in the first couple paragraphs. If I had more time I would have lengthened the paper and spent more time on the last paragraph.
When I finally figured out what my topic would be, I had no idea how fascinating John Hayes Hammond Jr. was. I really found all my research to be captivating. I am proud of how hard I worked to get as many sources on Hammond as possible such as visiting Hammond castle and interviewing the museum curator. I also think that once I finally figured out what my thesis was that it was very intriguing and worth delving into. I would say that my paper itself is ok. It didn't delve quite as deeply as I would have liked. It wasn't as good as I wanted it to be either. But perhaps that is because I have been living with this paper for so long and have had to constantly redraft and edit my ideas. I definitely think that my opening paragraph is very strong. The body is interesting and informative. The aspect that I had the most trouble with when writing my paper was the closing paragraph. I find that I still have difficulty writing final paragraphs that are as strong as my introductory paragraphs. I learned while researching that it is extremely useful to have a tape recorder during interviews because then you can go back and have access to exactly what your interviewee said. It is also helpful if your interviewee has a lot of important things to say and you don’t have time to write them all down. The most important thing that I gained from this paper was learning how vital and enjoyable onsite investigative research can be.
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