Week 3

3 Accomplishments from the week:

My main accomplishment this week was creating a working draft for my research paper introduction. Another one of my accomplishments was being able to find some secondary sources for my research paper and analyze some of my letters. I also managed to navigate and create maps using GIS despite having to miss the introductory lecture last week and having no prior experience. 

3 things preventing my best work this week:

One of the main things that prevented my best work this week is that I felt that my absence last week put me behind. I have also struggled to transition from writing in a journalistic style to a more scientific and history based style. Giving up some things from my AP style guide has been more of a struggle than I thought it would be. The third and last thing that prevented my best work was that I have been overwhelmed by the amount of letters about my topic, but I am working steadily to sort through them.

3 things I learned this week:

I have never had to write a literature review before, so learning how to write one was one of the biggest things I learned this week. Similarly, I learned how to use Chicago citations as I wrote my introduction. Though I learned a lot during this week, the last thing I will mention is that I learned about the digitization process for archival items.

The next action/step/thing I need to do for my research:

The next thing I need to do for my research is continue to analyze my letters and determine the census data that I will need as I continue working on my project.

Link to my working introduction:

Jaylynn Conner Mapping Freedom Intro