N.Lennon ‘s Response
Self-Assessment: Researched writing survey CHAPTER 1:
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?
I feel
at this stage of the program, it has become a norm for professors to assign
research papers or papers that require peer-reviewed material, so for me it
would be unproductive to consider the task as a burden or unwelcomed. Furthermore, that would cause unnecessary
anxiety to get in the mood of not wanting to do it or not welcoming the task
because in the end, it will only make me stronger and closer to accomplishing
my desired goals (so in order to stay focused and motivated, I have to view it
in a different light and realize that everything is working together for my
good).
2.
How
confident are you in your ability to use supporting material (quotations,
examples, research) effectively to strengthen your ideas in a paper?
I am a
work in progress and with that I mean that I am constantly improving with every
paper that I write and have reviewed by the instructor. Therefore, I am gaining more and more
confidence as I continue to learn and become more effective with methods used
when citing from a variety of sources.
3.
How
confident are you in your ability to paraphrase an idea for use in a research
paper?
Over
the past year of course work, I have learned how to be more precise when paraphrasing
and ensuring to cite accordingly. Therefore,
I would say that I am confident and growing in this area as well and learning
to perfect it. The more I paraphrase from
research and incorporate it into my papers, I gain more confidence.
4.
How
much formal training have you had regarding plagiarism and how to avoid it?
I am
not sure what is meant by “formal” training, but all throughout grade school,
college, internship programs, and in the work place, plagiarism has been
frowned upon and expressed as intolerable and unethical behavior. In all, I
would say that I am aware of what it is and have be taught through class syllabuses,
video messages, and educators on the do’s and don’ts, but I have never taken a
full formal class on plagiarism.
5.
In
writing a research paper, how easy have you found it to incorporate sources
that conflict with your central argument or idea?
As
some issues arise, I have noticed that there are ideas and arguments that
contradict what I may have thought or initially began to research, therefore it
is not difficult at all to find conflicting points of view.
6.
How
confident are you that you know the rules for using sources well enough to
avoid unintentional plagiarism?
I feel
confident enough that I am able to avoid unintentional plagiarism, as I have
learned that it is better to cite the source when in doubt to avoid plagiarism.
