Amor Chavez Castillo
ENGL 1302 231
Dr. Nelson
14 April 2024
The Process of Writing a Researched Position
Completing the third assignment for the course allowed me to understand the importance
of creating annotated bibliographies and literature reviews when writing a research position
essay. Creating the annotated bibliography for my first essay allowed me to organize the peer-
reviewed articles I had found on problematic internet use (Chavez Castillo, “Annotated
Bibliography”). This helped me organize the information I had gathered from each individual
article and successfully understand the approach different scholars took to collect data on internet
use (Chavez Castillo, “A Literature Review”). With the research analysis, I was able to find
similarities and differences between the information I had gathered to build off a stance on my
topic (Chavez Castillo, “A Literature Review”). The essays allowed my last writing assignment
to run smoothly by proving the components I needed to write my essay. They allowed me gather,
analyze, and understand enough information about my topic to successfully create a position on
my chosen topic.
Through this process, I was able to learn how to navigate through the library’s database to
search for peer reviewed articles, analyze, organize, and annotate them to better understand any
topic. This knowledge will allow me to research topics for my courses such as Psychology,
Philosophy, and History. For instance, this knowledge has allowed me to research articles and
books on what contributes to creating a person’s identity for my Philosophy course. The
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information I have learned will allow me to strengthen my academic research skills for any
future research assignment.
After completing my research analysis, I had become more knowledgeable on the ideas
different scholars had on problematic internet use. This allowed me to build a position depending
on what most of them concluded. For example, most of the studies proved that too much internet
use negatively affected young adults’ mental health and their physical activity daily (Chavez
Castillo, “A Literature Review”). Being able to organize the information gathered for the
research analysis on the “Article Analysis Worksheet” helped me differentiate the ideas that
helped me write my thesis for the last essay (Nelson). Additionally, being familiar with the
format of the assignment allowed helped me complete the “BEAM Worksheet” and collect new
background, exhibits, arguments, and methods for the six peer-reviewed articles I used for the
researched position essay (Nelson).
The creation of a researched position essay allows me as a writer to use the resources I
have gathered through the previous essays and develop an argument on a topic. This allows me
to think and use my creativity to complete it. For my research, it allowed me to understand the
importance of deeply analyzing the topic I am researching because it makes the process easier.
The amount of work that goes into writing a researched position essay is easier to complete
because it was distributed into process such as picking peer-reviewed articles, creating an
annotated bibliography, and a research analysis before making an argument. Being aware of the
steps that go into making a research argument will allow me in future courses and my career.
Understanding how to research any topic will help me how to approach any writing article for
courses like History, Psychology, and Philosophy. In addition to this, it will help me in my career.
Since I am majoring in Kinesiology, I will be dealing with health and fitness topics so being able
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to find trustworthy articles on research in these categories will allow me to incorporate their
methods and findings for my career.
I had a difficult time coming up with a debatable thesis statement was challenging for me
during the process. I didn’t know how to connect the information gathered into an argument
especially if I wanted to discuss how internet use was positive or negative for young adults.
Being able to conference with Dr. Nelson helped me strengthen my introduction for my third
essay. Dr. Nelson recommended I should include “scholarly sources to provide concrete
background information” to strengthen the credibility of my argument (Draft 1). I was able to
include direct quotations that were supported from several articles to summarize something they
all agreed on. Another recommendation Dr. Nelson mentioned was to correctly cite the
information I had included in my introduction and body paragraphs (Draft 1). By fixing this
concept on my essay, it prevents me from plagiarizing and makes my essay more trustworthy
because its information is coming from reliable scholars. Conferencing allowed me to clearly
understand my mistakes and be able to fix them before my final draft was submitted.
Additionally, from conferencing with Dr. Nelson peer-review also helped me fix my draft
after applying the changes from my conference. For instance, my peer partner recommended for
me reach the minimum word count for the essay which was 1,500 words (Sanchez). This
feedback made me aware of the criteria needed to receive at least a C for the researched position
essay. To be able to reach the word count, I had to strengthen my explanation on the evidence I
had provided, as well as include more data to strengthen my position.
The overall process of the final essay was challenging for me especially after writing two
previous essays. This made the process of building a position difficult because I felt like I was
being too repetitive. Being able to stop myself from repeating information I had already
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mentioned was the most difficult part of writing the third essay. Despite this struggle,
conferencing with Dr. Nelson helped me understand that at times including things from my
previous essay was a positive thing because it would help me strengthen my analysis (Dr.
Nelson, “Draft 1”). The least challenging part of this assignment was picking what six sources I
was going to use. Because I had already written the literature review, I was familiar with what
each article was supporting through their research. This made it easier for me to differentiate
which ones have similar points of view on the topic.
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Works Cited
Chavez Castillo, Amor. “Behind the Scenes of Researching the Impact Internet Use Has on
Society’s Mental Health: A Literature Review.” Final Draft. 9 March 2024. ENGL 1302,
Texas A&M International University.
Chavez Castillo, Amor. “The Impact Internet Usage Has on Society’s Mental Health: An
Annotated Bibliography.” Final Draft. 9 February 2024. ENGL 1302, Texas A&M
International University.
Nelson, Sharity. “Article Analysis Worksheet.” 19 February 2024. ENGL 1302, Texas A&M
International University.
Nelson, Sharity. “BEAM Worksheet.” 25 February 2024. ENGL 1302, Texas A&M International
University.
Nelson, Sharity. “The Impact Internet Usage Has on Society” Draft 1. 1 April 2024. Professor
Comment. ENGL 1302, Texas A&M International University.
Sanchez, Amsi. “The Impact Internet Usage Has on Society” Draft 1. 10 March 2024. Peer
Comment. ENGL 1302, Texas A&M International University.
