Throughout the course I’ve really made strides in conquering my obsession with procrastination and doing work at the last minute.  I will admit that there were times that I caught myself leaning towards the “dark side”, but whenever I felt like I was starting to fall behind I just called quits on plans that I had made for the day or weekend in order to catch up.  Creative writing was a good choice for me because I really feel like I had a lot of knowledge to provide to the researching world on my topic, but I also learned that it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.  Even though fourty pages is the longest assignment I’ve ever had in my life, once I got going it didn’t seem all that unachievable.

My future goals are to actually branch out in the research field.  I would like to do academic research in the form of a fifteen page journal next time because in my field I think that a journal approach might be the most respectable.  I also am very intrigued upon looking at ways in which writing about personal traumatic experiences can provide as a healing session for the author.  The proudest moment that I’ve had in this course is being able to think of other ways to research topics and feel excited about them.  I’ve never been one to go the extra mile and do work that isn’t required, but this class showed me that in order to get ahead in life extra work needs to be done.

The number one thing that I will take away from this class is learning that research isn’t just calculations and writing, it is observing people and learning about people in everyday life.  We all conduct research and always will.

The most helpful feedback that I got back was from my classmates that have read my paper, such as Amanda and Kayt.  At that point in time I was in a state of complete confusion.  Having them reinforce everything that we have talked about in class and hearing from them that they are having the same sorts of struggles really made this whole process for me make me feel like I wasn’t in as much trouble as I thought. 

The most difficult part for me in this whole process was getting down to work.  Starting and staying on track have always been my main problems when completing writing tasks.  Once I get going and start flowing, I barely worry about it, but the problem with this paper was that it’s fourty pages.  I can’t just sit down and write fourty pages!  So the hardest part for me was being able to just manage my time (something I’m still learning how to do).  The easiest thing for me to do was to really get into what I’ve been writing.  Since my topic is so personal, I felt a strong connection to it from the beginning.  So getting into the writing part was by far the easiest.

My final essay shows one of my greatest strengths in writing, using emotion.  Not many people would know it from just seeing me in class, but I’m pretty in touch with my emotions.  I feel that I  have captured the emotions felt by my main character and have made it easy for my audience to understand what the character is going through.

          The discussion part of the paper seems to be a difficult part to write because it has to connect with both the introduction and literature review.  In this part of the paper, the writer explains ways in which the research has affected previous research from the literature review and how it will affect future research in the field.

         The main point of the conclusion section is to transition the reader back into thinking why this research was significant.  Writers should try to point out various points in this section to make the reader walk away from the paper with a sense of understanding.  The “so what approach is a very effective tool in writing conclusions.”¹  Using this method will allow the writer to make sure that the reader thinks that this research was useful.

1.  “Conclusions.” http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/conclusions.html

Some questions that really stick out to me is truthfully how am I going to create a realistic setting in a novel?  This question is more so a sense of nervousness that I have.  I know that the only way to create the setting I want is by going out there and researching as much as I can about life in that time period.  Another strategy that I plan to use is reading work done by other authors who have written novels based in the civil war.  Their insight and professionalism could aid me in learning how to create a lifelike experience for my readers.

1.  Language Center Asian Institute of Technology.  Method and Research Design.  http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/el21meth.htm

2.  Kallet, Richard H.  “How to Write the Methods Section of a Research Paper.”  Respiratory Care 49, no. 10 (2004): 1229.  http://www.google.com.

 1.

Par 1.  The author talks of a previously written article and how this one differs because it is about the adverse effects of children in a divorce.  There is variations of opinion in common literature.

 Par 2.  The author gives statistics on the frequency of divorce, amount of divorced parents who remarry, and about how many children have grown up in a broken home.  A study done showed that nearly 25 years after the divorce, the effects were still present in the now grown adults.

 Par 3-4.  Some case studies have shown that divorced parents cause children to score lower on certain tests, but after a span of about two years nearly 80% of those children are no different than those children in intact families.

 Par 5.  The author again refers to a study done by Amato where it was found that most children growing up in a divorced family experience short term effects that gradually recover.  Some of these recovered children relapse in early adulthood.

 Par 6.  Discusses how some of the findings are contradictory because of the methodology that the researchers used.  Clinical interviews portrayed more emotional distress and psychological problems.

 Par 7.  Amato tries to bridge the gap by offering the explanation that children of divorced families experience more emotional distress than those intact and that it continues to adulthood.

 Par 8.  Amato’s summary is accepted by today’s scholars.  Divorce and adverse outcomes are not cause and effect, instead they happen because of potential risk factors and existing problems.

 Par 9.  Depression of children in divorced families is found more frequently than depression in intact families.

 Par 10-11.  There is more to the psychological problems than the divorce itself.  Mothers usually obtain custody and traditionally make less money.  This provides a drop in the standard of living.

 Par 12-13.  Children of divorced families are 2 to 3 times more likely to do delinquent behavior, and also are prone to drinking more alcohol and using more drugs.

 Par 14.  Children of divorced parents score lower on academic tests and are more likely to be satisfied with lower levels of education.

 Par 15-16.  Children of divorced families are more likely to engage in sexual activity at younger years. 

 Par 17.  Children of divorced families feel the same closeness to their mothers but their fathers are a different story.  This finding supports research about absentee fathers after divorces.

 Par 18.  In regards to their own romantic lives, children may become wary of commitment and see divorce as an easy fix to marital problems.  This causes many children to repeat what their parents did.

 Par 19.  Children tend to see the divorce as a pivotal moment in their lives.  They feel they would be different people had the divorce not happened.

 Par 20.  Sets the stage for the five basic patterns of children.

 Par 21.  The competent-opportunist child gets along well with others and experienced few behavior problems.  They tended to surround themselves with people who were of use to them and discarded them when their use wore out.

 Par 22.  The competent-caring group experienced few problems like the latter but lacked the manipulative quality.  They tended to be females and would seek others who needed their help.

 Par 23.  The competent-at-a-cost group resembled the caring group because they were shaped helping to care for a dependent parent.  The inability to help solve the problem caused them to experience low self esteem and mild depression in life even though they were successful academically, socially, and professionally.

 Par 24.  Good enough group represents a majority of children who were in the middle of these ranges.

 Par 25.  Aggressive-Insecure group was most common from children who experienced neglect and high marital conflict.  This group was the highest in pregnancy and suicide.

 Par 26.  Continuing Conflict Between the Parents is a risk factor that has proven to be most influential.  Nearly a quarter of divorced parents continue conflict even after the divorce and use the children to relay negative messages.

 Par 27.  Diminished or Incompetent Parenting is another risk factor group.  In this group mothers tend to be more harsh towards children and fathers seem more withdrawn.

 Par 28.  The Economic Decline group portrays children who have experienced a decline in the standard of living by a move, loss of income, or change of school.

 Par 29.  The splitting of the family is the last risk factor.  In this group children lose relationships with grandparents and other distant families.  Also the factor of their parents remarrying could cause children emotional distress.

 Par 30.  A protective factor for children is experiencing success before the divorce.  Children who experience negative behaviors such as anti-social personality worsen after the divorce.

 Par 31.  Older siblings of children offer buffers to younger children in the feeling of stress.  Also older adult figures can help children adjust to the divorce.

 Par 32.  The protective factor of a custodial parent provides a warm accepting environment for a child to grow up in.

 Par 33.  The involvement of the “other” parent has proven to be a huge factor in child success.  Joint custody can make it very easy for a child to transition through the divorce.

 Par 34.  In conclusion a divorce is a huge moment in a child’s life that causes emotional distress, but most children gradually recover from it.

 Par 35.  Questions what lawyers can do to ease children’s transition.

 Par 36.  Divorce is more than what it seems.  As a lawyer you are part of a team to help solve this problem.

 Par 37.  Trying to steer the couple into a less conflicted divorce is in the best interest of the children.

 Par 38.  Joint physical custody is optimal if able, but when applying a  custody to one parent economic factors should be taken into account.

 Par 39.  Have mental healthcare officials there to aid the children and parents through the whole thing.

2.  The author begins to describe how children of divorce experience more distress than that of those with intact families.  The author uses statistics that really stick out to help support the idea that divorce has a large influence on American life because it is so prevalent.  In the literature review the author refers to another study that I read about.  He talks about how there has been contradictory findings in the influence of divorce and emotional distress, but one thing is certain, children who go through divorce experience rougher childhoods than those who don’t grow up through one.  The purpose of this study is to show raise awareness about how divorce can affect a child.  The importance is understanding why children who go through a divorce act and turn out the way they do.  The research used by the author helped categorize specific types of children of divorce, specific risk factors, and specific dependent factors in a child’s life.  This study has also been done to help educate lawyers on how to handle the crisis of a divorce if a family comes to them to help resolve conflicts. 

The Divorce Is Over – What About the Kids?

1.

Par 1.  The author sets the stage for how can people who can’t stand each other successfully co-parent a child.

 Par 2.  Divorce may be the end to a relationship, but co-parenting is a lifelong bond.

 Par 3.  A divorce is a big change in the family structure.  If a change arises in a negative perspective it usually trickles down throughout the whole structure.

 Par 4.  Ahron’s work of a binuclear family describe what it is and templates on how divorced parents can co-exist. 

 Par 5-6.  Co-parenting does not just mean a child having two parents.  Co-parenting means that both parents respect an d agree to help raise a child in a certain way.  This is usually very hard during the beginning stages of divorce.

 Par 7.  Scheduling and time conflict can have an adverse effect on co-parenting.  The first 2 years of separation are pivotal because usually strains are still within the parents.

 Par 8.  Family Law attorneys need to remove the children from the legal part of the divorce and get them clinical help if needed.

 Par 9.  Normally parents help fill in each other’s weaknesses as a parent, but when divorced parents are now thrust into the role of filling their own gaps.

 Par 10.  How married parents raise a child together is a good gauge of how they will raise them if divorced.  Parents need to be on the same page not playing the  I’m better card.  Also a non-residential parent probably shouldn’t be expected to provide as much care as the residential parent if they aren’t used to it.

 Par 11-12.  The problem with parents being on the same page is that many parents after a divorce experience a revenge factor.  They cannot even stand their ex-spouse, so it will be very hard for them to develop a co-parenting  method.

 Par 13-14.  These paragraphs discuss how it is highly unlikely for parents not to argue, but it is about what they argue and how they go about it with regards to the children that affect them.

 Par 15.  Parents need to be able to answer these questions when trying to create a successful environment.

 Par 16.  A parenting notebook passed from one to the other could help provide each other’s insights into their children’s development.

 Par 17.  Parents should be aware of a child’s basic rights.  Seven basic rights are listed and discussed.

 Par 18.  Involving a therapist or mediator early is a good idea for helping create a good environment, but in order for it to be successful the parents must be committed to it.

2.  In the introduction section the author tries to provide background information on the idea of co-parenting and how the traditional family structure breaks down during a divorce.  In the lit review the author shows specific studies and examples of how the family breaks down.  Using the study of the binuclear family and discussing guidelines and ideas on how to approach the idea of co-parenting.  The author tries to hook the interest by discussing the importance and difficulty of parenting during a divorce.  I felt that it was not a very effective strategy.

     The purpose of this study was to make people aware of the difficulties that parents going through a divorce are about to encounter.  I think that educating them is a key concept.  The importance of the study is it being able to show what kinds of situations that people are getting into when trying to raise children in a co-parenting environment.  The main question of this research study is how the breakdown of the family structure affects the parenting a child receives.  Families cannot expect an easygoing experience in trying to raise children through a divorce, but the only way that they are going to get through it is by a committment of both parties to both parties to raise their children together.

          Besides the talk of making first impressions count, I also found about how introductions are like “critical road maps for a paper.”²  The second website I found stressed a lot about really considering what it is that is going into the introduction.  Since the introduction does lay out what I plan to cover in my paper, I should be specific and not vague.  This site also gave strategies on how to write good introductions, and it provided examples of reasons why certain introductory paragraphs are lacking.  A strategy that I found interesting was writing the introduction last.  The website suggested that “a writer may not know exactly how they plan on arguing a particular point in the beginning of the writing process.”³  If this is the case then writing the body first should help.  I have found in my writing that I need to start with an introduction in order to get my brain focused on the task at hand.  Since I write like this, revision is usually the key for me to make my introduction noteworthy.

1.  Fleming, Grace.  “The Introductory Paragraph.” http://homeworktips.about.com/od/paperassignments/a/introsentence.htm

2.  University of North Carolina.  “Introductions.”  http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/introductions.html

3.  Ibit.