Reflective Essay

   

I had many goals in the begging of the semester. I wanted to really nail and work on paper structure and organization. Working on minor grammatical errors was also a minor goal of mine as well. I am working on my criminal justice degree and I need to work on writing more effective reports, I wanted to know how to express in good details in a paper to make an effective report. Also most classes require papers in MLA or APA format and I wanted to be an expert in both to be more successful in the future.

The goals that I definitely accomplished are being more effective at MLA format and APA as well. Paper structure and organization have also improved from before. I also needed more work in clarifying my thesis statements in papers and I feel that I am more knowledgeable in that subject. The last thing I feel I have nailed is learning to find more effective sources and not just using outdated or irrelevant ones. I have learned good source knowledge from my textbook.

When I was writing my research paper I learned lots of things I didn't know before I started. Some of the things I have learned included learning that an entire organization exists that supports my claim that college campuses have gone too far to violate the fourth Amendment on the students. Everything else I already knew because this topic caught my interest a while before.

The best parts of my recent paper in my opinion is trying to discredit the opposing argument by providing examples from credible, peer reviewed articles. My main thesis is also very strong in my opinion because it helps people understand what my main point is and explains it to them just in case they are not aware of the current situation in some college campuses.

Regarding my computer and technology skills being improved in this class, I have improved tremendously in my typing abilities and ways to find for better and more credible sources online. Before it would take forever to type a paper because my typing skills were unsatisfactory but now I feel more comfortable behind a computer. Also learning to cite online sources really will help in future classes.

The research process is very lengthy and complicated. It is difficult because it is hard to find credible sources especially online and very few peer reviewed articles are free. And if bad sources are used then the paper goes down in credibility if it is trying to prove a point. Overall it is lengthy but not too hard as long as you know what you are doing. I usually spend less then one week on research for a paper now but before it was one day. I just need to be patient and learn to find more relevant sources that support my claim because sometimes it is tough.

The best way to research for papers especially for new students is learning to use ebsco and jstore and the school library. Those are some of the best places to find sources for an argumentative paper. Key words on an online library are crucial to success and if the source does not contain enough move on because there are many more.