Reflections on the outline and First draft

This week my first assignment was to create the outline for my research.  I began by using the sample outline provided, inserting my headings and subheadings.

The second assignment was to begin writing by filling into the headings synthesized information from my readings. I had to go back and forth to my annotated bibliography in order to address the four question stems in the outline. In some instances, I have had to go back to search  and review new articles and journals that address the question stem more comprehensively.

As I continue to flesh out my first draft, I am getting a deeper understanding of my topic. For example, as I was writing the rationale section of the draft, I realized that I was answering the benefits section of my draft. I took a pause and asked myself what is meaning for rationale, and only then did I realize that the two are completely different.

This is the first time I am doing a literature review. During the IDT 8100, we did mostly the topic introduction  and abstract sections of the research.

The best strategy for this assignment is to flesh out the synthesis for the four questions, which form the body of the research. In this way, I am able to see the big picture by pointing pointing out the main ideas and gaps in the topic. These leads to the conclusion as a summary of the whole body.

This assignment has made me to dig deeper into the meanings of the keywords of my research and how they are related to each other.

Advice: Break down the assignment into smaller tasks. This  is very helpful because the process of synthesizing requires a fresh and clear mind! Very early in the morning I take a look at the main task that I need to accomplish that day,  then I break it down into 3-4 sub- tasks. At different times during the day I can work on each sub-ask and then compile the main task in the evening.