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The Curious Research Paper

After reading ‘ introduction I got to thinking that a research paper wouldn’t be as bad as I thought although I still see it as a more formal writing filled with quotes and sources. I think it could be made effective in stating opinions and backing with these quotes and sources. But like said in the other blog “response to Jordan unmotivated” I feel like there are a lot of guidelines restricting the flow of the paper. In high school my research papers weren’t too bad but were very boring basically page fillers, my teachers weren’t very strict and I didn’t have to do more than one or two research papers. I was always a person who if required to write preferred a more creative text such as a short story or something of that sort. Research papers to me are not like this at all, if I were required to write one it would probably be easiest writing on a controversial issue. This way it would be easier to carry out advice given in The Curious Researcher to be authoritative and opiniated. I’ve become worried with all the penalties involved in citing and work cited pages, how strict are you with those? Could you help the format of the work cited page?

Response to Jordan Unmotivated

That's it. Unmotivated. That word describes how I usually feel about research papers. There are so many restrictions and guidelines to follow that you feel like you are doing the assignment for someone else rather than yourself. Therefore, there is no motivation to give it your all. You feel as if you should only do enough to get by with an A. When you think about, you don’t get paper and pencil or sit at a computer and type pages of something you are interested in. Personally, I automatically pick and learn something that I’m interested in because all my focus is on the subject when it is presented in front of me. After that, I continue to expose myself to the subject and my knowledge of it becomes greater.

My dog SHOULD'VE ate my homework

After reading Ballenger’s introduction, I’ve realized why I, along with many students, despise writing research papers. The topics are usually dull and there are so many restrictions and requirements. I’ve yet to write a research paper where I’ve chosen a topic of interest and put forth 120% of effort. In The Curious Researcher, Ballinger states that in a research report, you just go out and collect as much stuff as you can, write it down, organize it and write it down again in the paper. Essentially, all I’ve been doing throughout high school are research reports rather than research papers. Nonetheless, until I receive a research paper that I actually enjoyed writing and learned by making my own opinions rather than getting information from various sources and jotting them down on a sheet of paper, a research paper will always be a research paper to me. One of the biggest papers that I had to write in high school was a capstone research paper for my academic field. We had to find a problem in our field of study and come up with a solution. I learned nothing from writing this paper, however I did get an A on it. As Ballinger stated, it was just rewriting and organizing information that other people provided.

Since I’m so fascinated by technology, writing about some fantasy super computer that is able to complete whatever task I wish would be something cool and interesting to write about. Hence, I must ask why are students required to write long boring papers on subjects that are uninteresting to them if journalist aren’t required to do so? In addition, if research reports only require for the student to gather information and write it down on paper, why are instructors continuing to assign them? They don’t allow students to think for themselves. Research reports only pose as information to remember.

Kash poses a very interesting question, Ms. O'Malley. However, my question goes like this: Why can't we approach this assignment without the critical nature that looms over it? Your passion is English and the writing that goes with it, and even you associate a negative connotation with "research paper." 

All of the blogs I read, every single one, associated this same negativity with the looming research. However, most of the blogs also expressed how curious the author was about new topics. Okay, then let's all look at it this way.

There is no research paper.

Just go learn about something that you're interested about, and write down a few pages about it. 

Simple enough, right?

Pandas, Gandhi, & Vonnegut, oh my!

I would be lying if I said I liked research papers. It's not that I dislike writing. Nor do I mind that whole "research" component. I'm a nerd at heart; I've spent countless hours reading about random topics that will probably not contribute anything productive to my life. I don't think my future career prospects will be strengthened by my extensive knowledge of the Red Devil Squid or demons in Jewish Mysticism. 

However, I really don't like research papers. The "why" is simple enough. I can't write my opinion. I've never written a thesis paper; merely papers that are my summaries of other's knowledge. Which perturbs me quite a bit.  

I've never been restricted as to the "what" I was writing about, although guidelines are usually set around a broader topic. The freedom I've felt is both positive and negative. Sure, a senior year paper shouldn't need much guidance or restriction. But if I'm in the fifth grade writing about the Giant Panda's plight...the teacher should be helping a bit. Or who knows, maybe that helped my writing. 

I'm hoping for this research assignment the topic is completely up to me. I have a few concepts in mind I'd like to explore.

Don't worry though, I won't be writing about the Devil Squid.

Blog time...

When i first started  to read Ballenger's article on research papers I thought it was good that he was so enthusiastic and optimistic about how great they can be. I don't exactly know if I agree with that thought. I can't really say that i hate research papers seeing as i have only written one and it was in the tenth grade. It was about Oedipus and we had to examine how he had inner conflicts. It was nothing fancy. It was only about six or seven pages long and we had to use notecards and such for our sources. I'm not really sure what college research papers will be like, but i just think they are a pain. I understand that their purpose is to pose an argument through writing a paper that has support from other sources instead of just whatever comes to ones head. That makes sense and all, but i think its the strict rules that come along with writing research papers that I hate the most. The citing, and the "reliable" sources and formats of how to do it all is quite annoying and difficult, if you mess one thing up, it is all wrong and no good. If I could write a research paper about anything  wanted to I would have no idea what i would write about... the possibilities are endless. I think I would be interested in writing about vegetarianism and the treatment of animals used for food. This is because i recently became a vegetarian and I would like to learn more about the subject so I can be well educated in my beliefs and not just say "I don't eat animals because people are mean to them". My question about research papers concerns the restrictions on the sources. The works cited page is always the part I dread the most about writing my research papers, and i don't see why there are such strict rules on how to cite things... Other than that i guess i can't say much about writing research papers cause in the end I have to do them anyways so there is no point in thinking about mow much they suck. 

research paper vs. research essay

To be honest, my reaction to the introduction was like “sure, there’s a difference between the two…NOT” I really do think that all research papers are the same, so that is why I never look forward to a paper, or essay if you must call it, because of the research and the writing which I’m not much of a fan of. All research papers that I did in high school consisted in high school were choose from the 3 or so prompts the teachers gave you and then research and write on the topic. Simple as that. As simple as it seems, I always had the problems of organizing all my thoughts and information I had collected. Most of the papers consisted of my analysis of literary works, as well as specific topics the teacher assigned. If I could choose what I wanted to write about, I think it would be even more difficult for the process I go through to write because I’m not very creative in coming up with things on my own. I’m used to being told what to do, as it has been for me through a majority of my life. So my question is that you can you really be able to teach me to be able to come up with these thoughts and topics on my own, with my own way of thinking on them all. I am curious to see if what Ballenger said is true once I get more of a feel for the research essay. So my overall question is can you help me and inform me about trying to do a research essay rather than a research paper.

The Painful Process

After reading Ballenger’s introduction I think this piece is going to be full of crap. I’m going to have to agree with Sam on this one, that a research paper is a research paper. There is no fun in writing them; it’s a long painful process that is just going to happen because it has to, not because it’s interesting. That’s just my opinion though. I don’t really understand where Ballenger is coming from- the difference between a research report and a research paper. To me it’s all the same. It’s a lot of time in the library and online looking up and refuting or agreeing with things that have already been in so many other research papers before. In high school I wasn’t really required to write many research papers. There was one particular one my senior year that I hated doing. We had to read a book that we got to choose out of a reading list. I picked The Kite Runner. While I loved the book, we were required to write a ten page research paper on one question that we created about something pertaining to the facts in the book. I’m not really sure if I just didn’t do a good job picking my question or what, but I completed the paper and ended up getting a really good grade on it, I just hated the process to get there. If I could write about anything I would probably have to pick something pertaining to dance. Dance is something that I love doing and it interests me, even when it’s just on paper. There is so much stuff that I still don’t know about it, but I would love to find out!

My question is one thing I’m kind of confused about; what is the easiest way to incorporate your own opinion in a paper without paraphrasing what you researching?

Research Paper or Essay.. Let's Hope There's a Difference

My initial reaction to Ballenger’s introduction was “Oh, great. This guy is going to blab and attempt to convince me to find a new love for research papers in 9 pages… great….” Initially as I was reading I couldn’t help but think, “please…” It was pretty similar to Wes' attitude. However as I kept reading I began to realize that this research “essay” may not be that bad or everything I thought it was going to be. In high school it was all about meeting the length requirement, using big words, sounding formal and listing at least 3 or more sources. It really was what Ballenger called a “research paper”. I hated these papers. I thought of them as busy work, something for the teacher to add to their grading book, and something I absolutely detested. I would generally try to write about things that I liked, but due to requirements and lack of effort, I still did not enjoy writing these papers. I would usually choose something about the environment seeing as I am very interested in the subject and preserving our resources. Most things that I’m curious about cannot be answered. For example, the beginning of the Earth. Is it possible to write a research “essay” that has no answer or possible way of finding one?

What???? Research Paper??? NO!!!!!

I really do not think that I could say it any better than Jennifer said it when she said, "A research paper is a research paper; regardless, and it’s going to suck." To me research papers are the worst possible thing assignment that a teacher can assign. They really make me want to cry.

The main reason for this is that the topics that the assign with the paper are usually so boring. I don’t want to offend anyone but who in the world cares what Ernest Hemingway was trying to say when he wrote all of his stories. That was probably the worst paper that I had to write in high school.

Now I am not saying that if a teacher said that I could write a research paper on what ever I wanted to, I would be really excited about it but I would be a whole lot happier about writing it than if it was on something that I had absolutely no interest in.

It is really funny because if you ask almost any student if they like research papers you are going to get same answer from all of them and that is NO!!!!

So now my question… Are we going to have to write a really boring research paper or do we at least get to pick the topic?

Huh?

After reading Ballenger’s introduction I basically confused myself. I still am not a fan of writing but thought “Ok maybe this will be more interesting”. I’m not a hundred percent sure how to write it but now I feel every paper I’ve ever written was wrong. But despite the fact they were technically incorrect, I did well. Weird? I didn’t’ really mind writing papers in high school. I didn’t have to many, and they were simple, research “reports” I guess. Basically we looked up information and wrote it in an essay. It was time consuming but simple. You never really got to write your thoughts down, just facts. Or if you did, you had to argue a side which isn't necessarily fair or easy. Sometimes you want to agree with both or disagree with both but you are forced to pick one and defend only that one side. O well those are over and done with. I did have one teacher in high school who made us choose one noun, and the whole paper was about this one noun. It was actually interesting to write because I learned a lot about a simple word. We wrote about its origin, how it is used, etc.
If I could write about anything, I’d probably choose fashion and designers. I find arts and design to be very interesting so if I have to research information I’d prefer it to be at least about an idea I enjoy. Art has always been apart of my life, from elementary to school till today I still study art. I use to go to art academy classes and now i'm majoring in design, and its also part of my family, they work in the industry. In addition, I’d like to write about medical researches on immune deficiencies. I know that’s on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, but I have a lot of background knowledge of it and I enjoy learning more. My younger brother has an immune deficiency so I use to read about it to understand it better and be able to help him understand it since he’s younger.
I guess I’m excited to learn how to write this form of essay, yet nervous because I never really have before. High school papers were a drag, because it was stupid work. Writing down information you look up isn't all that interesting, but this paper should be interesting. I know now to carry a conversation in a way throughout the paper and I'm allowed to use voice in research not simply state facts.

Ms. O'Malley... Do we get to decide what we write about in our research paper? or are you giving us the topic?

Y?

After initially reading Ballenger’s inquiry on the research paper, nothing changed how I feel about them. I am neither against them nor with them but rather indifferent to the paper itself (as for the hours of preparation and hard work I abhor it). Maybe my past history with research papers have all been negative experiences, who knows? Not even I. Every time I hear the word paper my thoughts linger out of context. I begin to think about what topics I could write and I begin to create a compassion towards the subject, then when the minimum kicks in, I remember why I loathe them. I understand that a research paper is “simply reporting” as Ballenger states in the Curious researcher. But my definition of simple is far different from Ballenger’s (maybe or maybe not). The one flashback I always have of a research paper is one that is comical for the audience of students, but humiliating for the audience of teachers. My first legitimate research paper came about in my sophomore year in high school, and as every kid in high school does I PROCRASTINATED. I procrastinated to the extent that I went to sleep and thought I would wake up in the AM to finish it. But the catch was it needed citations and had to be eight pages long. Playing my cards right I played hooky the next day from class as I thought of a way to beat the system. My next idea, at least for me, was notorious. I called up my best friend who had the same teacher but just in a different class period and asked him if I could just copy his paper, and of course he replied, “Ya bro.” To my surprise I ended up getting a higher grade than him on the paper, and the rest of my questions remain unanswered, because I dare not ask. After the first day of class, I began to think that everything I write could be plagiarized off someone else. Someone could have already had my same thoughts making my whole blog a phony. On the other hand, I guess my blog is a paradox to my next statement. I am curious about everything, I love asking questions that begin with “Why?” So Ms. O’Malley I confront you with a query more than a question. Why does a research paper have to have a minimum if I can explain the same subject matter in half as many pages with just as much maybe even more meaning?

High School vs College Research papers

In all honesty, I don’t mind writing research papers. Well in high school I didn’t mind writing them. Like Ballenger said, “ I was simply reporting information about a topic.” I was just restating the information to support my point, which was easy for me. I preferred writing a paper with sound information and hard evidence. As I continued reading Ballenger’s article, I began to think that the college research papers are completely different than the ones I did in high school.
The one research paper that I thoroughly remember in high school was about Diamonds. My teacher made us pick one noun and write whatever we could about it in ten pages. We had done the traditional index cards full of information, the five rough drafts and the portfolio of all these at the end. Most people had picked abstract nouns like power, or love, but I picked diamond thinking and hoping it would be easy. In my opinion, it was just that. Easy. I had found so much information about diamonds and it was easy for me to put it into an essay. A lot of my classmates had to change theirs because it was harder for them to write about their abstract nouns.
I also find writing about certain topic a little easier. It’s hard for me to write a paper with no concrete topic. If I had the choice of writing about anything I wanted, I don’t even know where I would begin. It’s easier for me to write about something that I can think off of, an opinion I can expand in words. The one question I have for Ms. O’Malley is... Is there a wrong way to approach a research paper, like are there ways we could do a research paper wrong?

You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do

I do think that a research paper is a research paper regardless. It is going to be a long and tedious process but if it is a subject that I am personally passionate or interested about then a research paper is not all that bad. In high school I did not do so many research papers as I did essays based on prompts. During ENC1101 last semester I was forced to explore the process of writing a 6-8 page research paper. I struggled to find a topic that I was able to write more than one interesting page about. I also struggled with the research part of it. I had a hard time keeping all my sources straight and wasn’t used to having to be so organized as I wrote a first draft. I had never cited a paper so that made things even more difficult. In the end I did find a topic that I truly enjoyed writing about. The paper began to flow and I was even able to insert some of my personal opinions which was a surprise to me. I ended up getting a pretty good grade so in the end my perception of research papers changed considerably. Last semester I wrote my research paper about benefit concerts. I focused on the benefit concerts that not only impacted their cause but also the rest of the world. For this research paper I am really unsure about what I am going to choose as a topic. To be honest I haven’t put much thought into it. I can't really think of a subject right of the top of my head that I would like to write about but hopefully one comes to me as I begin to look for one. Research papers are definitely something I could live without but because we are able to focus on something that we want they are tolerable.

I don't have to many questions but my main concern is the citations. How many sources is considered enough and is using all internet sources okay?

Bluh Papers

I still think research papers suck. I think its because of the amount of research papers I had to write throughout my entire educational career. I just don’t like how they are on a set topic and always have set rules, I always find it so much harder to write as much as I need to because I am so unmotivated. Honestly, if I could write about anything it would be about myself. Like the crots were writing are based on stuff that has happened to us or that is important to us and everything seems to be coming very easily to me. So I would rather there be a paper with a prompt that has something I can relate to or about a personal story so that I can write more about it and give better details. I feel like research papers involve so much work and end up still being super boring. But if I absolutely had to do real research on something I would want it to be something that I didn’t have to like learn everything about it and something that was easy to understand. Like if I had to research certain medical stuff I just don’t know that I would be able to understand it all and I think it would stress me out even more. I guess my question would be, if you aren’t assigned a topic, and you get to pick what you want to do research on, how do you find something that you can stay interested in throughout the paper? I mean I get the whole “pick something you’re interested in” thing but there just isn’t really anything that I am dyinggg to learn about.

Animals Please

Research papers aren't exactly thought of as fun things.  When I first read the introduction of Ballenger's writing on research papers it just made me think of how there is not way a research paper could be any different then another one. In high school most of my research papers involved topics that I wanted nothing to do with especially not ones that I would want to write a ten page paper on. I would have to read over whatever I was trying to get research from a million times because I wasn't interested in the subject.  I would just keep thinking about other things that I could be doing or what my friends would be doing at the time. Not only could I not focus on it, but I would always put it off till the last day. So by the time I would turn my paper in I would have not slept the night before and wasn't even sure about what I had written. I definitely think that if my teacher would have given me a choice on what I wanted to write about writing a research paper wouldn't even seem like work. It would allow me to actually like what i'm writing about and enjoy it.  If I could pick anything to write about it would probably be something with animals. I have always had a really strong love for them ever since I was little. Even before I could read I remember looking through books with animal breeds and picking out the ones that I wanted. No matter how much I learn about animals I feel like there is still so much more that I could know. My question is are we going to be able to have a paper where we get to write about a topic of our choice?

CARDINALS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL& oh yeah research papers

Just in case you didn’t know the Arizona Cardinals WON Sunday 32-25 and now the cardinals are going to the SUPERBOWL!!!!!! Once again if you all want to buy me a ticket you would be my best friend.

But getting back on topic. I HATE RESEARCH PAPERS. There are so MANY RULES you have to follow. The bibliography and work cited are the worst. I mean, I know we are suppose to give the original author’s credit. But you’d think you would just have to put the author’s name and the title of the source. But no some person who came up with this MLA format decided everyone should suffer. They decided to force us into adding the publishers, the date it was published, the city it was published in and the year it was published all in a jumbled order with spaces and commas and periods and slashes. Oh yeah, and if you don’t do it right you’re plagiarizing. You have no freedoms in research papers. All of the research papers I have written have been about things I don’t care to research. Students never get to research what they want. So when I am writing I always have to stretch to make word counts or page limits and it is always mind numbing. I figure research papers are built on the idea that you want to further your knowledge in something. But when teachers tell you, you have to do a topic on poets or Shakespeare plays. It gets tough for me to do these papers because it is something that is not interesting to me but something that is interesting/important to the teacher. In research papers I want to research and I want to further my knowledge in something I feel is interesting/important. Maybe it will help the reader learn something rather then a stale, boring stretch to meet the word count, paper that helps no one.

If I had it my way I would research stuff I am interested in like music or sports. Maybe research the history of the Arizona Cardinals (which I already have a base knowledge of but could dig deeper they have a 110 year history). Or maybe teams that are considered “Cursed” or history of an instrument or a band.

Ms. O’Malley can I research the Arizona Cardinals? Please, please, please! It would be a really good paper!

Remaking a Classic

As I college student and the future of America, I really feel like I should be more updated in current events. Like Jordan and Sam brought up in their previous blogs, I rarely find myself picking up a newspaper or turning on the news and I think Sam pretty much explained it very well. These times are so hard, with the war and failing economy, it’s just hard to constantly be reminded of all the negativity. One thing I find as a great escape from all this is entertainment, both in the theatre and cinemas.

In the Chicago SunTimes I found a review written by Hedy Weiss called ‘Macbeth’ worth the toil, trouble. While Macbeth is not a happy story, but as Weiss describes “the story of ambition gone wild, and of the widening trial of blood and guilt that accompanies one couple’s quest for power- is perhaps one of the most unrelentingly brutal and violent of …all [Shakespeare’s work]”. The review was in the director Barbara Gaines’s favor. The overall plot stayed the same and apparently the director successfully put a modern twist on the story; like the “military-industrial complex parties to the sound of sophisticated piano jazz…[and] an army [that] marches forward, "disguised" by a sleek wall of body shields”.

I personally don’t know if I could agree with this critic. While I have not been to Chicago Shakespeare Theatre to personally witness this remake, I am a fan of keeping the classics a classic. I am horrified at some attempts that directors make to modify a perfectly good story. I must admit that occasionally it can be pulled off- I was a big fan of the modernized Shakespeare’s version of Romeo and Juliet. They keep the same language but completely modernized the setting in a way that did not ruin the theme of the story and made it modernly entertaining. I think there is a very thin line in creatively remaking a classic, and butchering a classic. By this critics review, if I lived closer to this theater I would be very interested in going to see this production to find out if Weiss really did successfully modernize Macbeth.

The link for the review I am writing about is http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/weiss/1372743,CST-FTR-Weiss12.article