Christina Tran

March 10, 2014

UWRT Blandford
Midterm Reflection
You know you have developed as a writer when you begin to look at writing
differently. Starting from the beginning of the semester, I knew I was going to enjoy the
Extended Inquiry Process project. Its significantly different from any other English
assignment Ive completed. This project focuses on our progression as writers. It was
really neat when I began to notice every little improvement while working on the Inquiry
Project.
Essentially, every inquiry needs an idea that is questioned to some extent; like
how a research paper needs a question to be answered. Research papers have always been
my least favorite writing assignment because they require materials I was inexperienced
in finding, and it didnt allow much personal thought. Initially, I thought this assignment
was purely based off of research and nothing more. I was wrong: already halfway through
the semester, I have learned how to create a proposal, found credible sources, annotated
bibliographies, and most importantly: developed my inquiry question to allow plentiful
ideas and perspectives into my final paper. Because were not limited on our topic of
choice, I was able to choose a topic that interests me. This freedom of choice is rare in
most English assignments Ive completed, almost overwhelming at first.
My topic altered multiple times, negatively at first. I didnt know where to start
without my peers and teacher. At first, I chose something on fairy tales, because I liked
fairy tales as a child, and I still do today as a young adult, and will most likely continue to

admire them in the future. My personal interest in fairy tales allows me to be fluent with
motivational writing. From classroom discussions, we talked about possible ideas I could
look into, such as feminism and bullying due to negative stereotypes. The class ended up
morphing my topic into something fairy tales contained: negative stereotyping of women.
However, thats not exactly where I wanted to go. Although I didnt stick with my peers
ideas, it was an option that I bounced off of to get to the effects of fairy tales on children.
From that discussion, I planed on covering the negative stereotypes of women in fairy
tales. From all of the discussion posts and in-class discussions, Ive found to appreciate
peer reviews as well.
Ive always dreaded peer reviews due to the lack of aid, but theres a completely
different environment in our class. Everyone speaks his or her mind on any topic, and
were encouraged to do the same to theirs; it feels good to help others. My classmates
topics expand amongst a variety of controversial ideas, in which Ive learned a lot from
just by the discussions and verbal debates we often have. Im excited for the final results
of my peers once we present our final product. The online assignments that require
commentary on our classmates discussion posts is something I find academically
beneficial. It allows me to see others perspectives. The online assignments and questions
always relate to what we learn to help us on our final paper. After I chose my topic to be
focused on effects of fairy tales on children, one of the articles we were assigned to read
by Bernice Olivas helped enlightened me in two ways. Besides the coincident fact that
Olivas wrote a paper with basically the exact same topic as mine, I learned about the
significance of an inquiry question. She described her process of writing three drafts
without beginning with a question. It seems that without a question, she used more time

writing about the research findings of fairy tales, rather than focusing on what the
problem may be pertaining to that idea. After her third draft, she finally managed to find a
question worth answering, however she realized that her essay transitioned from her
personal beliefs, to a more research based essay. Reading her experience on writing her
drafts helped me steer away from making the same mistakes she did. The Extended
Inquiry Projects purpose is to allow students to express our ideas and comment on its
solution with the support of research. In the most eloquent expression, Olivas reminds us
that cupping the spark of interest in our hands and blowing it into real academic
curiosity is watching our students grasp the idea that inquiry and research are one way
we experience the world, how we come to new knowledge; its how we change the world
around us, which is evidently why this assignment is crucial to understanding how to
best express ourselves through writing.
I thought it was going to be tedious finding valid sources for our papers. After the
library orientation, I was able to navigate through the librarys search engine and find a
variety of sources varying from books, to articles and psychological research. I was
surprised to find that there were so many other sources that pertained to my topic
question. I went through a greater extent trying to find a book called The Uses of
Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim. The
only two copies UNCC held were unavailable because one was already checked out, not
to be returned until July, and the other was missing. I was going to request for another
through WorldCat and possibly borrow it from other global libraries. I live near a local
library called Midwood Plaza and decided to see if the public library had what I was
looking for in order to annotate the book I was desperately in need for. I requested the

book from the librarian in which she responded, Do you want your kids to be smart?
Read fairytales to them. This is where I realized that parents and filmmakers arent the
only type of audience Im looking for. Who knows fairytales better than parents and
filmmakers? Of course, I thought, librarians. This gave me the idea that I could get
some insightful comments from librarians on the significance of fairy tales. It also
showed me the extent to where fairy tales applies to reality.
Before finally deciding on my topic, I wasnt aware of the impact fairy tales had
on children. Annotating the bibliographies was a long process, but Im still not quite
where I want to be. Although it seems like a ton of work, using the resources Ive found
to a great extent will benefit my final product in the end. I read the summaries and
introductions of the books, articles, and case studies, but the inspiration Im looking for
will be in the actual text of the authors. Im excited for the sources Ive found because
theyve been referenced numerous times in other scholarly papers that are relevant to
mine.
One thing Im having trouble figuring out is my purpose. Ive identified some of
the problem(s) but where do I go from there? I know that my audience ranges from
parents, to teachers, and librarians and practically anyone that children look up to, but
what is my message? Im sure Ill figure it out by the end of my conclusion, but if I dont,
Ill just have to accept the fact that there may not even be a conclusion but ideas and
perspectives we should be aware of as aspiring creators and teachers.
A part of me wants to get the paper over with, but another part wants to wait for
inspiration to hit. Im not the type to just sit down and immediately start writing.
However, Ive gathered many ideas from my peers, resources, and every day experiences.

My topic follows me everywhere I go because it is a real life situation that many, even
myself, are not aware of. All I know is Ill have gained more knowledge than I began
with concerning my topic and as a writer.