Rese@rch P@per!!!

If I have learned one thing in English 1 it would be that everything is a draft, a step in a complicated process.  This was clearly exhibited by this marking period's research paper.  All throughout the course of January, my fellow classmates and I have been relentlessly working on composing a formal, 4-6 page, MLA formatted, tense consistent, history related, persuasive, properly cited paper to hand in for a grand total of three essay grades.  The first step was to select a topic, a time period of interest.  Easy enough, 9/11.  Next came writing the thesis, my argument being that Al Qaeda's incentives for attacking were religious based rather than hatred based.  The tentative outline, due four days from then, encompassed all the general ideas I would include in my paper.  Then came the tricky, most tedious part.  Research.  The favorites bars of the half the freshmen class are most likely filled to the brim with bookmarked sources, eager to be read, waiting to be cited, a thorn in our sides.  Next?  Arguably the most painful part of the never-ending process.  Formal outlines, basically our entire essay in fragmented, very specific format with in-text citations, paraphrases and direct quotes speckling every page.  Shortly after came the rough draft, due pin one night, and the next day the rubric was distributed, and our rough rough drafts were done.  After final submissions of "final" drafts, which we can't revise due to the short amount of time remaining in the semester, I will be completely done.  After countless hours of simultaneously searching databases and searching Tumblr, countless pieces of paper wasted, and a red eye caused by radiation poisoning (I don't even think I'm joking)...I am ready to bid this research paper goodbye.  That is, until next year...