Blog #3- BBG Chapter 5 "Exploring Topics and Creating a Research Proposal"- A Response

Chapter five in Bedford’s Book of Genres explored the ways in which we develop a research piece. I found that a lot of the mentioned tactics were things I had been doing already, but sort of subconsciously. Some tips seem like they would be helpful, like making a mind map to specify and explore your topic. I’ve found that I’m usually terrible at following guidelines like these when it comes to writing however, and tend to do things out of order or put my own twist on it (I like guidelines but not in the creative process). This chapter did help me brainstorm some ideas for project one, as it helped me to see how to narrow a topic down to something manageable. It was definitely helpful to read about finding accurate and unbiased sources, especially since anything can be written on the internet. I like that the book didn't immediately write off Wikipedia either, but rather told you ways to use it more wisely. I think its definitely important to develop questions that you will look into, as they give a guideline for where you want to go with your research and they allow you to focus in on specifics rather than floundering through endless information. I’ve found the working with research proposals is hard sometimes, however, especially when it asks what you hope to learn or challenges you may face because I have always felt that these types of leading questions lead to bias in my research later on and make the process a bit harder. I think the chapter did give me some useful tips and hopefully will improve my writing process.