When I went into my conference with Dr. Ballenger, I was worried that my research paper wasn't going to be good enough. I had my sources and my inquiry question but worried about making the connection of the "so what" in my paper. I can write a research paper relatively easily but actually thinking about a connection that a general reader would care about is more difficult for me. Dr. Ballenger helped me to think about my topic and how I could write about it in a way that makes the general audience care about what I am saying.

I enjoy writing annotated bibliographies. I think, at least in my case, it makes it much easier for me to examine my source, identify what it is saying, and how I can use it. Not to mention, when I go back to use it I know exactly which source what. It also helps me to further outline my paper. I can establish the points I want to make, use my sources, and then bring it all together. This is a tactic that I also use in other classes that makes life much easier when it comes time to write the paper.