Professor Belli started the class with some reminders:
→ Submit Cover letters for First Draft of Research Essay. This will be useful for Professor Belli to know what she can help you with.
→ No Final Drafts will be accepted without Works Cited or Cover letter (1-2 pages)
→ FINAL Draft of Research Essay will be December 16th at 10:00 am. LATE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Followed by these reminders, Professor Belli asked us to re-read our first draft of the research essay and do some free writing. We had to write about what are the major issues do we have in our essays, what are the next steps that we need to take to finish it and what is it that is blocking us from completing this task.

Some suggestions from Professor Belli for us to fix in our essays:
Argument
Focus
Transitions/topic sentence
Incorporation of research
Signal/introduce quotes.

After the suggestions above, Professor Belli made us rip out three pieces of paper and write in each one of them one thing that is being an issue in our essay, a next step we will take to fix our essay and something that is blocking us from completing the essay. After that, three people collected the pieces of paper, went in front of the class and read out loud each paper meanwhile Professor Belli wrote on the board what each of the small papers said. The results:

Issues:
Procrastination
Focus
Writing the essay
Finish
Length
Repetitive
Sources
Orden of ideas
Topic sentences
English Class
Incorporating sources
Write research
Works cited
Background

Next Steps:
Conclusion
More Research
Finish topic/send for feedback
re-read/ proofread
Add more
Rephrase
Finish revision
Writing it
Incorporating feedback
Topic sentences

Blocks:
Time management
Myself
Everything
Negative thoughts
Work
Procrastination
Fear of failure
Personal life
Lack of time
Stress
Feeling stuffed
Time
Anxiety/unsure
Lack of concentration
Professor Belli

Some TIPS of how to make your research essay be successful:
Integration: integrate your sources effectively and ethically.
Synthesis: bring the essay together, connecting with each other the facts that you find and your argument.
Analysis: break down the information you provide for your readers.
DO NOT BE SUPERFICIAL WITH YOUR ANALYSIS OF SOURCES. (Don’t be vague).

Introducing quotes:
Make sure you don’t just throw in quotes without introducing them, citing them or analyzing them appropriately. Also, REMEMBER to contextualize your sources, meaning that you need to include in your paragraphs what is it that makes credible the person who you acquired the information from.

*When you paraphrase make sure that you also give credit to the source you got the information from.

Look at Signal Phrases (Links are in the schedule)
Signal phrases are to introduce your source.
Indicate where source material comes from.
Shapes your reader’s response to a source through appropriate word choice.

Good luck to everyone finishing their essay!