Week Ten

Goals:
My goals this week was to completely finish the research paper. By finishing my research paper, that meant that I needed to finish editing my paper as well as make sure it fits and follows the rules and guidelines in the research paper rubric. My goals for this week was completed and my goals for this week now is to relax and finish all my other homework off. My goals for this week:
Monday: 
Turn in Research Paper by 8:00 am
Tuesday-Friday: 
Do other homework & feel happy about finishing the research paper
Activities:
Last week and last weekend I spent all of my time working on perfecting my research paper. As by Friday, I had only done and finished my rough draft for my research paper and did not even have my conclusion and introduction done. I did not even start editing my paper until Saturday night, but it was a tedious process. I was lucky to have all of Sunday and half of Saturday to finish writing my conclusion and introduction as well as then correct the rest of my paper.
Problems:
I faced a lot of problems with editing for my paper. By the time I had completely finished my paper without editing, I had a total of 17 pages not including my works cited. But the rubric stated that I was only allowed to have 14 pages maximum or else I would have some points deducted from my research paper grade. So all of Sunday morning I spent editing my paper completely. By around Sunday afternoon I had 15 pages, but I still needed to have my paper down to 14 pages. So I had help from my tutor that afternoon to help me cut my paper as well as fix my organization and flow of ideas as well as fix the major grammatical errors I had. At around 8 pm on Sunday night my tutor and I were able to narrow it down to having it be 14 pages and 7 lines on the 15th page. This still was not enough, but we soon realized if we take out my transition paragraph before my conclusion I would fit the maximum page length, but unfortunately I was required to have the transition paragraph. Even though I personally thought that by having the transition paragraph before my conclusion made my paper seem a bit redundant and only made my paper a lot longer when I needed to have a shorter paper. At around 10 pm I was able to finally make it so that I had only 2 lines on the 15th page after trying to find redundant sentences. After one hour of sifting for one last sentence that was not needed or redundant I was able to finally get it at the page length I wanted. In general, my biggest problem with the editing process was getting it to be just perfect as well as fit the criteria for having a maximum of 14 pages. Overall, the research paper process was tedious at times and frustrating. But I did face many problems such as researching, when I was not able to find enough articles on my author on my theme or a theme that I liked. I also had some problems with finding time to write my essay while having other homework to finish as well as coming home late from lacrosse practices every night. Also I had some trouble finding a perfect outline or topic that full explains what I want to say but in the end after much help from my teacher and tutor I was finally able to finish my research paper that showcases what I want to say and show about my two books.
Reflection:
The research paper process/experience was quite tedious at times and quite rejuvenating at other times. Mainly, my process depended on the day or on how well I felt that I was getting things done. In the beginning I felt that my research paper process was off to a slow start but I knew what I wanted to do. But when it came time to researching, I felt that I was lost and confused on trying to find quotes that fit the theme I wanted to talk about. As my main themes for my three chapters were sort of similar together, it made it harder to find quotes that distinguished themselves from each other or find which ones would belong in each chapter. After turning in my outline, I felt sort of worried about writing my paper because I did not feel confident or have a clear sense of what direction my paper would take. I also felt that I was not completely understanding what my true themes and topics were. But when I started to write, I felt that I sort of had a somewhat clear mindset of what I wanted to write but it was still difficult to see because some of my paragraphs did not follow my topic sentences or chapter themes so I had to change them when writing my paragraphs. I also found that I did not have enough time to write or finish writing my paragraphs because I honestly did not feel concentrated or comfortable with writing in class. In general, I usually cannot write with other people around me so I had to rely on my weekends to have the time to write my paragraphs. Also, when it was the weekend to write my paragraphs for my rough draft, I found it hard to piece my ideas together with the short amount of time I had. But at the time it was either turn in what you have or get a zero and procrastinate more by trying to find better ideas on how to write my research paper. After that weekend past, I had to now deal with editing a 14 page paper without my intro and conclusion that made no sense to me. But after a week and  weekend of meeting with my teacher and tutor I was able to finish writing my intro and conclusion and see what my true themes are that made sense to me. I also was able to find out how to edit it so that my teacher can see what my true topic of my paper is. Therefore, this process was a long and tedious and challenging process to me. But in the end I was able to persist with the help from my tutor and teacher and see what my paper theme would be and how to edit it so that it is easily readable and would get be a grade that shows my hard work. In general, I am glad that the research paper is now over and that I have completed the hardest project for English for my Junior year. All I have to do now is look forward to next year's research paper, but that is not for awhile, so I don't have to panic now. I can now just relax and enjoy the time I have now. But most importantly, I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH THE RESEARCH PAPER!!! (Well, until I get my grade back...and that is another story...)
Until next year's research paper,
Zain