Reflection

Why did you select_________ as your topic of choice for writing the historical
essay?

For my topic for the historical writing essay, I chose post World War I in America.
More accurately, I chose the history between World War I and World War II. I thought
that this would be an interesting topic because so much had changed in technology and
warfare that no nation was safe no matter their distance apart from one another. World
War I had taken many nations by surprise. How would America respond and prepare to
protect itself in the future, and how well was the time spent not knowing when the next
major conflict would occur. There were some major events that occurred in America
between those years which really take precedence to what history was covered and
recorded front stage during that time. I really felt like digging in a little deeper on this
topic, because I like old military documentaries and the advancement in technology that
has happened so quickly within the past 100 years. Specifically the advancements in
tanks, airplanes, submarines and ships which were all relatively new inventions during
both World Wars. These machines became very well refined and quite expensive which
becomes a challenge to fund military expenses when your country is in a depression.

 How has the final paper, honed you as a learner? Be specific. 

Not only has this final paper taught me new skills, but really the entire course has
been a new learning experience. With this paper more specifically I learned where to
find new material using the SLCC Library. I can’t believe that I am almost done with my
degree and I just barely learned about this tool. In the past I would pluck random
postings from the internet for my research. I used Wikipedia frequently and didn’t give
much thought to the credibility of many of the other sites used. Also I feel like I have
become a better writer throughout this course. This has been a very writing intensive
course, but at the same time it was really nice to be able to redo an assignment when
corrections and suggestions were offered to better the assignment content.

Reflect upon how you thought about the topic of your research before taking this
course and feel about the same topic after the completion your final research
paper.

I had not put much thought in this area of history before taking this class. There
were actually many things that had happened in America’s history that I didn’t know
before taking this course, as the course has covered the entire history of America since
the beginning. While studying I found it amazing how much nations of this world can
affect one another. Choices made in a country on the other side of the world can truly
affect the entire globe in one way or another. The rise and fall of industry, food
securities, basically the entire economy of nations can be altered due to conflict. I found
that the research of my topic on how America prepared for the future after World War I
was a fairly difficult topic as many other topics seem more important to American history
during this time. There are many articles about The Great Depression, and anything you
would ever want to know about World War II and America post World War II. I liked the
challenge of finding the right documents for my research however. I was challenged by
this assignment and the entire course, but in the end found it rewarding to find the
proper information to write good papers. 

Are there any particular skills that you learned in this course? How are they
reflected in your final research paper and other assignments?

I found the skills of citing works properly very important. I feel more comfortable
using different formats since taking this course. I had also never used the footnote
feature before which took some time. Citing a paper correctly is very important because
it gives an author the credit they deserve for all of their hard work and research that they
have done. Hopefully those skills have shown through in writing my final essay and
other assignments. The production of a professional looking paper was my goal.
Properly citing previous assignments definitely helped with the final paper.This skill will
be put to good use in future courses that I will take as well.

What information/knowledge from other courses you have taken has added to
your experience in this course?

Several Geography courses that I have taken in the past really helped me to
know where different countries are located in the world, and the Geographic
Uniqueness of America’s topography. Mapping our World (Geography 1800) covered
many topics such as immigration of Europeans to the Americas, slavery trade in the
Caribbean, and how different nations had been broken up due to war. All of these topics
were also covered in American History. Regional Geography (Geography 1400)
touched on the difficulty of farming different areas across Americas, which reflected in
the history and challenges of Americans settling westward. In all, it was nice to see that
what I have learned through various courses was very consistent with what had actually
transpired. I have received great insight on the history of our world in general, and each
course is building better information off of topics covered in other courses.