6) Reflective Essay

I chose to write my research paper on a family story, and I think there were several pros and cons to doing so.  The good thing about choosing a family-related topic is I could ask members of my family about their experiences.  My grandpa also had binders full of newspaper articles, paperwork, and journal entries related to my topic.  I had so much information to draw from for my essay. An abundance of information was a good thing as well as a bad thing because I did not have to spend much time searching for information, but I spent a huge amount of time sifting through and trying to organize information. The con of writing on a topic about my family story is I cared so much about every word and sentence because I wanted to turn in a paper that would make my family happy.  I felt more worried writing about a family-related topic than I would have if it were a topic of less importance to me.
If I were to change one thing about my experience on this research paper, I would have started earlier and wrote for a longer period of time.  As we started to work on this paper as a class, I found myself relaxed the first few weeks and then a sudden panic.  I realized that sources I skimmed over were not actually useful to my topic.  I did not study my sources as soon as I should have. I wish I had time to think more about how I wanted to use them. On the other hand, one thing I would not change about my experience is all of the things that I learned.  Although I am far from being an expert, I feel like I am almost to the point of being a scholar on my subject.  I feel like everything I read delivered similar information and I could talk about this topic for an hour or more. 

5) Revised Research Paper Thoughts and Thesis

Many thoughts have been circling around in my mind regarding this research paper.  At first, I thought I was going to research the "Indian Placement Act."  However, when I started exploring this topic, I discovered that I could not find a good amount of sources or information, I think mainly because it was a church act installed by President Kimball that lasted for a short period of time.
Then I started pondering what other subjects could be found in my family history.  I finally asked my grandparents what they thought I could find some good information on.  My grandpa took me out to his shed and gave me a large binder of papers about the "downwinders."  The "downwinders" refers to those who were exposed to the radiation from atomic testing in the 50's.  The government allowed atomic bomb tests to be conducted on the desert of Nevada, the radiation then exposing populations in Nevada and Utah.  Grandpa Cawley grew up in Flowell, Utah- a small farming community near Fillmore.  My drafted thesis is "the decision of the United States government to engage in atomic bomb testing in Nevada negatively effected the lives of many people in both Nevada and Utah because their exposure harmed livestock, caused cancers, and diminished the trust of the American people."
Other ideas I have thought of is: how did it affect both Americans and the government? Did the compensation the government gave later on help the people feel better?  Another way to word the thesis is "The atomic bomb testing in Nevada created feelings of distrust in the American people towards the government because the exposure to radiation harmed livestock, desolated the environment, and caused cancers."
I hope to talk to my family much more on this topic and include some quotes from my grandpa and his journal.

4) Thoughts on Research Paper

My dad is the youngest of five children.  His closest sibling in age is seven years older than him, just like me. With the majority of her children grown, my grandma accepted the call to house a Native American as a part of President Kimball's Indian Placement Program.  My dad recalls the Native American, Leroy, being mean to him and unenthusiastic about being in a strange home.  I would like research if all Native Americans felt this way, or if there were successes in the program.  What impact did this act have on the lives of the Native Americans (their culture, their families, their education, etc.). Also, what impact did the act have on the families the Indians stayed with?  I also would like to look in my dad's family journals and talk to my aunts and uncles about this topic and see what else I can learn.

What questions do you want to answer with your research paper?

What purpose do you have in sharing your narrative? In other words, how do you answer the, "so what?"

What is it exactly you're trying to discover?

How does this affect you?