Blog Post #8, Harris – Revisit CHAPTER 1 - Self-Assessment: Researched Writing Survey :

1. When you are assigned a research paper in a course, do you welcome it as an opportunity to learn, or do you see it as a burden or unwelcome task?

With the steps that we have learned throughout this course, I have learned that it is helpful to design a literary map that will help to sort out what is needed and not needed to support the topic that will be discussed in the paper.  The more familiar I become with repetitive structures (like APA format and citing), the more I will be able to learn from my mistakes and gain strength in the future so as to avoid those common pitfalls and mistakes.  Overall, I will welcome the task as an opportunity to strengthen my abilities moving forward.

2. How confident are you in your ability to use supporting material (quotations, examples, research) effectively to strengthen your ideas in a paper?

I feel more confident in this structure the more I write and learn to restate what someone else has said with the proper reference of course.  Learning which quotes are powerful and are needed in lieu of paraphrasing and utilizing “turn it in” to see how well the development of using less quotes is a great tool as well to measure my progress and development

3. How confident are you in your ability to paraphrase an idea for use in a research paper?

I am confident in paraphrasing and improving to ensure that the information is well repeated in my own words, citing correctly of course.

4. How much formal training have you had regarding plagiarism and how to avoid it?

As I stated before, not sure of the word “formal training” or what is exactly meant, but I have had professors to go over how to avoid it, I have watched tutorials, and I have read given material on how to avoid plagiarism and some more specific definitions of what plagiarism is and can be (which I was unaware of before, but definitely and happy that I have been given such information in this class).

5. In writing a research paper, how easy have you found it to incorporate sources that conflict with your central argument or idea?

Sometimes, it is easier than not to locate contracting ideas, and sometimes it disproves the hypothesis, but it is important to recognize this information and not omit it as a way of swaying the paper in one direction over the other.  This course has expounded on the importance of reporting the findings as that are without altercation and discussing the results accordingly.  It is not a problem if the results show opposite of the initial thought or problem, it may indicate another underlying problem or the need for more research in a related area of study.

6. How confident are you that you know the rules for using sources well enough to avoid unintentional plagiarism?

I am comfortable with the rules of plagiarism and I feel that if there is a doubt, as mentioned in previous classes, I should go ahead and cite the material to avoid plagiarism.  It is not very difficult to cite information and therefore, citing will assist me to avoid the unintentional use of plagiarism.