Nailah Calhoun

March 14, 2016

UWRT 1103-007
Prof. Wertz-Orbaugh

Weekly Writing 4

While doing my inquiry paper, I actually enjoyed learning more in depth about a topic
that I had an interest in. I was very pleased that I chose to do my paper on the Women in the
Holocaust with a focus on sexual violence. Not only did I have attentiveness when it came to
my topic, but I was also passionate and eager to learn more about what happened to women
during the Holocaust. Especially, since this subject is not touched on a lot by survivors and
historians. Being that I actually had interest in my inquiry topic, that I selected, made writing my
paper a lot easier in my opinion. My experience, as a researcher, when doing my inquiry paper
was a passable one. I did run into struggles and frustrations when doing my paper. Overall, I did
have more triumphs that outweighed my frustrations in the end.
The struggle I endured the most pertained to me actually gathering the information and
figuring out how to write it. This was very frustrating but it was my own fault. I have a tendency
to not to brainstorm and just writing whatever comes to mind which is not the correct way to
write, especially when doing a paper like this one. My thoughts and ideas where not organized
therefore that is why I struggled a little when actually putting it down on paper. My thoughts
where all over the place and not organized. As a result, I would leave out information or an
important detail that I needed to support a main idea. Another struggle I underwent was

thoroughly understanding academic articles. There where several times in which I would find a
good academic article but not be able to grasp what the author or editor is trying to say. Oddly
enough, I struggled finding videos that I can use to help further elaborate my research. Being that
no one really spoke about the sexual violence that took place towards women this was a
challenge.
In spite of my frustration and struggles, I had quite a lot of triumphs. I just about covered
and learned about the general areas that women in the Holocaust suffered and experienced. I
learned the physical and physiological affects, the Kashariyot (resistance group), more about the
Ravensbruck concentration camp and the Nuremberg Trails. Before doing research, I knew
absolutely nothing! Not only did I expand my knowledge about women in the Holocaust but I
also learned how to do multimodal writing. After being accustomed to doing traditional academic
research papers for so long, doing this multimodal assignment was a breath of fresh air. I
honestly like this form of writing way better!
By doing this assignment, I have learned no only about my topic but about myself as
well. I excel at doing research but when it comes to writing it on paper that is where I lack. I
learned the importance of brainstorming and that you can not just jump into writing. Even the
most experienced and skilled writers still need to brainstorm. Brainstorming is a way to gather all
your ideas in an organized way to ensure that you cover every detail you want to discuss. If I
would have done this, I would have not struggled so much. To save time and frustration from
occurring, I am going to start brainstorming for now on!