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was the peer review. I loved the fact that I had multiple people looking at my paper and

when it came to revisions I had a heap of them to choose from. I think that it is interesting

and helpful to have someone look at your work that has different experiences and

perspectives than you. My only complaint with this task was that it was group work and

the members assigned with me did not put forth the effort to get in touch with me before

it was last minute; however, it all worked out in the end and I am thankful for their

helpful opinions.

The Inquiry Process was an interesting and long-winded task. I was thankful for

the opportunity to really think on my own and to understand what it was like to research

at the college level. We were given free reign on our topics and revisions, and the

majority of the work was left up to us in our time outside of class. Although I did not

necessarily enjoy working in that manner, I did need the lesson in time management and

prioritizing tasks. The Inquiry Process helped me develop the ability to think critically,

which we learned through readings and informal writings.

Completing my Topic Proposal was an assignment where I knew what I was

trying to say but not how to go about doing it. At the beginning of the Inquiry Process,

my topic was much broader and contained three different health problems rather than

one. There was no specific geographic location other than the entire continent of Africa.

After meeting with you for a conference, I chose to narrow my field of research

considerably. I chose the country of Ethiopia, which is the subject of the documentaryA

Walk to Beautiful, which I wrote about in the Topic Proposal, as it was the source of

inspiration for this project. Ethiopia is also home to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, an

important aspect of my paper and my research on obstetric fistula. These were the only

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changes that my topic undertook, and I never once felt the desire to switch as I continued

on to the research process.

I found the Annotated Bibliography to be among one of the most difficult and

tedious assignments that we had this semester. I believe that the mental preparation for

beginning to work on this Abib was probably the worst part. It took countless hours

sifting through sources to find the ones that I deemed worthy to write about. I spent more

time staring at a computer screen with a frown than I did actually summarizing and

evaluating my sources. However, I found this assignment to be extremely helpful. Not

only was this an exercise of my rusty MLA skills, but it also helped me choose the

sources that I planned on using since I spent so long finding reliable websites and articles.

The Annotated Bibliography helped me get a firm understanding about my sources before

I even began writing my actual paper. This saved me time when it came to finally

creating the draft because I knew exactly what material I needed to find to have all of the

information that was necessary and I had some organization issues figured out.

The Extended Inquiry Project was by far the most important assignment in this

class in my opinion because it was the one that mattered the most to me. I chose a topic

that I am passionate about and getting a more in depth look at the topic of fistula has only

made me want to help African women even more. I have a renewed interest in

fundraising and raising awareness, and I have been looking for a nonprofit organization

that I would like to work with or donate to. I hope that now I will be able to inform others

of my knowledge by using the shocking statistics and saddening facts that I have found. I

had a few problems with revisions for my papers because I am still unsure about how to

effectively mix my research with my own opinions. I reviewed the documents posted on

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Moodle, but while I was editing my paper I continued to struggle. I am sure that this will

become easier with practice, and I am optimistic for future research endeavors.

Overall, I believe that this semester has been a huge success. I have learned how

to research with an open mind and have a renewed confidence in my writing ability. I

have experienced such a major growth personally and as a student, and I have written a

paper on a topic that I am extremely passionate about. This Extended Inquiry Project has

served to motivate me into telling as many people as I can about the depressing and

complex problem that is obstetric fistula. As I bid adieu to the papers and daybook

entries, I must say thank you for a wonderful semester!

Sincerely,

Allysia Trindade