I found the preface really exciting to read. For most students the term “research paper” can be really depressing and or antagonizing. Badke took the time to encourage and aspire research papers or knowledge at that to being powerful, & only the process & mentality students use may be the problem. I like the cockiness he expresses as he bluntly brags about his bio. Personally, that encourages me to read to book and learn new strategies once it comes to writing papers or doing research. From now on i’ll try to abide by his quote; “Learning how to do research does not have to be painful. It can be fun.”
Jumping into chapter 1, I thought his opening chapter to the book was quite clever as he descriptively breaks down the fundamentals of history with the printing press, delivering examples & connecting it to the world we live in today. As a reader nothing captivates me more than a piece of reading I can relate to. A critical part in that chapter was his heading ‘Not all information is informative’. To me, that’s pretty vital. False information can persuade someone instantly without them even knowing the truth.
Branching off to chapter 8, the standards are set as Badke lays down a whole bunch guidelines he uses as a writer & researcher. I connected to the part about having a whole bunch of sources and choosing the ‘bottom-line’ information that makes the reader understand what he or she is reading. Being “ruthless” is essential once it comes to writing a research paper & that’s a quality I’d love to obtain & maintain while taking this course.
