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Marisa McKay

Presnell

Eng 1102

April 29th, 2014

Final Reflection

As I approached my inquiry project, I wasn’t sure how it would compare to other

research papers I’ve written in high school and even middle school. I’ve never been able to

choose my subject, which was so surprising to me. Well, I was able to choose euthanasia of

animals for AP English during my junior year of high school, but my research turned out to be

depressing and it had to be argumentative. I’m not proud of my prior research papers. But this

inquiry...I’m extremely happy with how it turned out. I feel that I actually made a difference in

the way that our class thinks about Hawaii and hula dancing. I was looking to break some of the

“Hollywood Hula” stereotypes, and I think that I succeeded.

What really helped a lot is that I felt like I could actually insert my personal voice into

the project. Hawaii is part of my heritage as is hula dancing, so to write this inquiry in third

person would have been torture. I know I breathed a sigh of relief when Barbara told us this

research paper would be completely different. I have to admit, though, it was really difficult at

first to let myself express my true thoughts on the matter; I think my tone in the inquiry

definitely has a little anger built in. I’m thankful that we were introduced to this kind of writing,

because it’s strengthened my inner voice. My dad even commented that it sounded like I

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copied the paper from a published novel, which really boosted my confidence (after I got over

being offended that he thought I would plagiarize).

On the researching side of the inquiry, my mind has been blown. Not only could I

include my own thoughts and opinions, but I could use prior experiences and personal

anecdotes! I can honestly say I’ve never enjoyed researching as much as I did for this project. I

kept my one book sources for another three weeks after I was done just read more about

Hawaiian history and culture. For past research papers, Google was my first stop. But then

again, in high school, we didn’t have the library resources we have now. I probably had a total

of 8 or 10 databases to choose from in my high school library; none of those would have had

the content on hula dancing that I easily found through Atkins’ online resources. I even found

video clips that were educational and informative, which is something I’ve never found other

than through Youtube (which can be treacherous). In short, the researching for this inquiry has

opened my mind about researching in general; it has made me thankful this obligatory English

class, and I have learned more about my ancestry and my writing capabilities because of it.

Although my inquiry is not directly related to my letter in that dogs and hula dancing are

not really connected, they are connected to my personal journey through life. Although my

boyfriend did not accept my request to adopt a dog, I learned that maybe I was trying to

convince myself of the impossible. Through my inquiry, I discovered so much about hula

dancing: the different styles, costumes, and stereotypes, and my research renewed my interest

on the subject. My heart is set on finding a hulau (hula dance company) here in Charlotte, and

starting to take lessons again. In a way, my letter and my inquiry both bettered my life, because

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they both directly relate in one way or another. They both have helped better my writing while

also teaching me many things about myself.

I don’t think that my writing style itself has changed that much this semester. I say that,

because I struggle to keep the number of clauses in my sentences to a maximum of three. I am

still going to write above the minimum number of pages for every writing assignment; that’s

just the way I write. But I will say that I think this class strengthened my writing as a whole. In

past years, I’ve found it difficult to get my informal first person voice to come through in

papers, mainly because it simply wasn’t allowed. The laid-back nature of our English has made

me realize that I can write things for class, but I can better myself through them. The letter

allowed me to express my true feelings about adopting a dog, even though the outcome may

not have been the one I wanted. But I learned, and I truly expressed my feelings in a grown-up

way. I think the pre-writing steps, such as “speed dating” really helped my inquiry project as

well. I was surprised at how well I knew some of my sources, and how little I knew about

others. Also, the talking EWC was a new thing for me as well, and I loved it! I think being

familiar with your sources is key to having a good research paper.

Group work was probably my favorite part of our English class, because my group was

so insightful. We were all familiar with each other by the inquiry project, so our comments

became more critical while still constructive. I think discussing each person’s paper in detail

was key, because I got to see their first reactions to my subject and how their ideas on it were

altered as they read through it. However, some of my group members weren’t completely

finished with their drafts on the day we discussed, so that may have hindered the level of help

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the other members were able to provide them. I think we could have utilized Google Docs even

more than we did for the inquiry.

Even though, this will most likely be the first, last, and only English class of my college

career, I’m not overjoyed that it’s coming to a close. I have really enjoyed getting to the know

the people in our class, and of course, our teacher. Seeing other peoples’ writing styles and

how they’ve grown has in turn helped my writing grow. I would describe myself as a thorough

writer, someone who knows what they want to say, and is able to elaborate (sometimes too

much) on her opinion. I can only see my writing growing from here. It’s not like I’ll just stop

writing after this class. I’ve graduated to the 3000 level of Spanish here at UNCC, and I’ve

begun writing essays completely in Spanish, which is new for me. The challenge will be to push

my personal rhetoric through in my writing in all different languages. I hope to continue

whether it’s for other classes, resumes, or possibly for a company after I graduate. I’m thankful

for all this class and Barbara have taught me about writing and life in general.