Abdul Rafid
Michael Druffel
FIQWS- Political Science
December 17th, 2019
Over the course of this semester, the things I learned about are essay writing and components of research. In terms of essay writing, I’ve learned how to write conference proposals, conference papers, and journal manuscripts, along with the major components of these forms of essays, such as research questions and applying the rhetorical triangle. Research questions are the problems your paper attempts to answer through your research. A good research question is specific, based on a topic that can be elaborated on, and fills a gap in knowledge of a specific subject. The rhetorical triangle refers to the relationship between the audience, the authors’ message, and the author. Being able to understand your readers and knowing how to best deliver your message to a specific audience can make your argument stronger and more persuasive to the reader. In all these types of essays, specificity, explaining your research problem, why it is important, understanding your audience and being able to deliver your message to your audience is a major similarity. Using rhetoric that can establish authority, such as using statistics or factual evidence, and/or creating your own terms can help make you seem more knowledgeable on your subject which can make your arguments more persuasive. A difference between conference proposals and papers and journal manuscripts is that while conference proposals and papers are more casual in terms of their wording, journal manuscripts are more formal.
Additionally, the components of research that I have learned about in my first semester is how to properly research databases to find adequate sources for my research papers. I have learned how to search through online databases using keywords and find peer-reviewed articles. I have also learned how to properly cite sources, either through finding the citation in the database or writing the citation myself, to use in my bibliography or for the in-text citation.
In closing, throughout this semester, I have expanded on my writing skills and knowledge. I have learned how to create sound research questions, utilize the rhetorical triangle and become an effective writer. Finally, I have learned how to use databases and look for peer-reviewed sources.
