I’ve only really written one research paper, and that was last semester in ENC1101. I wrote it about Facebook, and its effects on society. Writing about something so relevant, I found it pretty easy to gather research for my paper. But I have always been afraid of research papers, since they’re usually really long, and I just can’t imagine myself writing 8 or 10 pages on one topic. My Facebook paper was almost 8 pages, and it was a huge challenge for me. I found enough information, but I had a hard time putting it all in my own words and in the context of my paper. When it comes to everyday research, I do actually do things like creep on Facebook, and look up recipes. I also compare prices of different things online, or Google random thoughts I have. When I have trouble with homework or something, I’ll look that up online as well. Although that sort of research isn’t scary, if I had to sit down and write a 10 page paper on it, I wouldn’t know where to begin. I’m a bit nervous about this next paper, but hopefully if I can choose the right topic it won’t be as difficult. I guess my main issue isn’t finding the actual research, but putting it together in an organized fashion. I also can’t really connect to the paper, since I personally wouldn’t want to read a 10 page paper, even if it was about something I’m interested in. Eventually I hope to become more comfortable with writing research papers.
I feel the same way as you when attempting to tackle a long research paper. It can be overwhelming, sitting at my computer research in hand, to start writing anything. I often have trouble with long papers because I run out of things to say about my subject and I panic trying to fill space instead of making sure it is informational and flows.
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