The final week...

I can't believe that the term is already over. It has gone fast. I think this term was the most challenging so far. The advice that I would have for someone that is going to write a research paper is do as much research as you can and start your paper on week three of the term. I think the more time you have to fix up your paper the better it will be in the end. Also, I would definitely recommend handing your paper into the writing center. They are great at reviewing and can give you some recommendations that you might not have thought of. I feel like I strengthened my writing process as a whole. I feel a lot better about writing a paper of such importance such as a scientific research paper. I think the hardest part about writing such a paper was the introduction and conclusion, especially the thesis statement. Once I get those parts done the body of the paper is a breeze for me. So I would say that those two things are the ones I need to work on the most. I just want to say good luck to everyone in future terms and in future endeavors. Hopefully I will see some of you again in other classes.

Thoughts on my finished paper...

I am so glad to be done with my paper. It takes a load off my mind. I can't say that I had an awesome time writing it, but I learned a lot in doing my research. I am taking with me facts that I never knew before. I feel accomplished that I finished the paper and excited to see how I did on it. I am really happy that we had to do a first draft of the paper. Otherwise I know I would of procrastinated and not gotten it done til probably a week ago. I had to do a paper for my other class too, so that would not of worked out well for me. I can't say that I would like to research any other topics right now, I think I am just glad that I picked the topic I did. I think it is time for a little break and relaxation til next term. I am sure other people feel the same way. Good luck to everyone and enjoy the rest of the summer.

The process...

The process of writing in this class has been a little difficult. Some of the things that we have had to write about I wasn't sure that I would be able to do it. I can say that I did it anyway the best I knew how and made it through. What is it that they say "what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger." At the beginning, I didn't think that I was a very good writer, but I proved to myself that I can do it. I just have to tell myself I can do it from the beginning. I think if you put your mind to something, it will get done. I hope that in the future, I can do whatever I set my mind to. I also hope to continue to work on my writing and maybe it will be easier as time goes on.

Peer Reviews

To be honest I have never done a peer review before. I think that it will be quite helpful to show how you can make your paper better. I don't really mind having other people read my paper. I worked hard on it, so I shouldn't feel ashamed in any way even if there are some errors. It might be different if it were an opinion paper or a story you had to write. With it being a research paper though, it is knowledge based on fact and it has documents to back it up. I hope that people don't get too bored with it though since it is kind of long. I maxed out the pages with all the information I found. We will see what my classmates have to offer whether its good or bad. It might be good to get some criticism from a second set of eyes. Sometimes it is hard to see the flaws that are right in front of us.

The last six weeks...

The last six weeks have been interesting I would say. Since starting the new term I have been thinking about these papers that I have to do for each class. I am actually really glad that we are having to do a first draft, it will get me going and ahead of the game. Otherwise, I think that I would be stressing out about getting two papers done in only a matter of a couple weeks. As for personally in my life, that's a whole other story. Right before I started this term, I found out that I am pregnant again which was totally unexpected. We are taking it as a blessing though. We were not protected after having our son just a short 10 months ago, so I guess it was bound to happen. We didn't want our kids more than two years apart anyways so we were probably going to try after our son turned one. All in all we are excited about it. After that big news, we haven't had much going on. We got a new couch, which was desperately needed. Its so comfortable and it reclines on both sides, which is awesome! My husband was tired of me complaining on how the desktop computer never worked right for me, so he decided to buy me a netbook for school. What a good and loving man I have. So far it is working great for me. I like how its small, then my son can't get his hands on it. And I have my very own pink case for it. Now don't get me wrong, we can't really afford any of this right now but what are taxes for. For that reason I hope this baby is born before the new year, lol. Like I said my son is 10 months and getting into everything. We had to block off the dining room so that he couldn't get to the kitty litter and the dog food. He is so close to walking, I am expecting him to do it any day now. He will walk along stuff and holding your hands. He is a pro at pulling himself up to a standing position. He is also to the point of wanting the food that mom and dad has. So I am sure that baby food will be no more pretty soon. He has 7 teeth with an eighth about to pop through so he is able to chew almost anything. I love being able just to watch him grow and learn. I am so happy to be able to be a stay at home mom so I can see his firsts happen instead of someone telling me about them. Well, I think I have babbled on for long enough so I hope every else is having just as good of six weeks as I am.

School influencing my life...

I think that school is greatly influencing my life. I knew that school would be challenging or difficult when I started. Now that I am in my fourth term and halfway through it, I think it is still a challenge. Sometimes its hard to find the time to do schoolwork and sometimes there is something I would rather be doing than sitting in class. I still support myself in the decision to go to school though. I know that it would be so much harder if I wasn't a stay at home mom or if my baby didn't take two naps a day so I can get something done. I am glad that I am doing the whole school thing while he is still young, I don't know how I am going to get anything done when this new baby arrives towards the new year. I don't want to think about it yet, but luckily I will be almost done with school by then. I give anybody credit that works, goes to school, and has kids. I don't know how you do it.

Citing your words...

I think that it is very important to cite your references while writing any kind of paper or essay. If you don't use citations, you are not only plagiarizing but your not giving whoever wrote the words in the first place the credit. I know if I wrote something and was not being cited, I wouldn't be so happy about it. When you are plagiarizing, you are not being honest with yourself. You would feel a lot prouder of your paper when it is finished if you used your own words; and when you do have to use others words it is really easy to cite them. So I guess what I am saying, is that it is just as easy to cite as to plagiarize.