Christiane Campbell 12/17/19
CUNY CCNY | Prof. Michael “Mike” Druffel
Final Reflection
Over the course of the first semester of the 2019-2020 school year, I learned how to compose a research question, research information through databases (especially college databases), and establish authority in my writing.
To begin with, a lot of thought goes into coming up with a research question. One thing crucial to coming up with a research question is specificity. A research question that is specific is important because it is easier to focus on a specific problem within an overarching issue rather than the overarching issue itself. It also helps in preventing the writer from deviating from the topic. “What are the effects of the 2019 space alien terrorist attacks on the mental health of Hungary’s youth ages 16-24?” is a much stronger question than “What are the effects on the mental health of Hungary’s youth after terrorist attacks?”. The former question has a substantial amount more of specificity in it than the latter question because it includes a time period and a specific demographic within the general demographic.
Secondly, I learned how to use college databases to come across resources such as peer reviewed articles to use in support of answering my question. The database that I used the majority of the time for my research was CCNY’s online library database. The “Advanced Search” aspect of this resource was especially helpful since I could narrow down exactly what I was looking for with its two-lines-of-keywords system. The first line of the “Advanced Search” feature says, “Any field” and “contains”; the second line says, “AND”, “any field”, and “contains”; these terms of both lines are interchangeable with key words such as “Title”, “or”, “not”, and more. For example, if I wanted to research the effects of turmeric-based seasonings on the kidneys of Iranian citizens I can type “Tumeric-based seasoning” in the first line and “Iranians’ kidneys” in the second line. You can also add more lines if you want.
Lastly, I learned how to establish authority in my writing. One way to establish authority in writing is by coining a term. For example, if you wanted to discuss the new trend of millenials eating avocado toast you can invent the term “Avocado Era”. Coining a term establishes authority because it implies that you are well enough educated on the subject to be able to go as far as making a new term in relation to it. Another way to establish authority in writing is by discrediting the argument of someone else who discussed the same topic you’re discussing too. For instance, take the topic of the lack of time management skills among Generation Z. If one person said that Gen Z lacks time management skills because they are lazy bums, you can discredit that with a different argument that argues that Gen Z lacks time management skills because they are addicted to social media and that addiction causes them to not prioritize the other tasks they need to do. Another, more basic way, to establish authority in your writing is by stating your titles and/or accomplishments within your field. For example, if the topic is the relationship between students’ emotional disabilities and their performance in school, you can establish your authority by saying you’ve been a teacher for thirty five years.
In conclusion, I’ve learned a lot over the semester about writing. Some of the things I’ve learned are how to compose a research question, utilize databases, and establish authority in my writing. These skills are important because it makes you a stronger writer in the fact that it structures and builds any argument that you’re making.
