Place Essay:

The second major assignment was closely related to the first geo-biography.  It was during this assignment when I came to the realization that each essay assigned in this class would be inter-related to each other.  Professor Jim wanted us to start out with a solid foundation (the geo-biography) and then build this place essay upon that.  The place essay was basically a research paper on any place in Hawaii with a slight twist; we had to mix personal experiences with the actual facts.  We were told to give a detailed account of the history of the specific place we chose and to actually visit this place as well.  Since Salt Lake is where I spent my whole live living, the only challenging part to this assignment was the actual research.  It was very hard to find solid information on the history of Salt Lake and I was forced to use some internet resources as a result.  This essay followed standard research paper rules: MLA citation, works cited page, and a bunch of research.  I chose to write about Salt Lake, my hometown, and I ended up learning a myriad of previously unknown facts.  Finally, this research paper had a joyful feel to it due to my curiosity, and I hope you learn a lot as well.

Learning:

The place essay was a mixture of a research paper and our personal memories.  When composing the first two drafts I did not run into many problems, and actually had a relatively easier time than the geo-biography.  Of course I met with Lehua again, but this time I had to be independent and go to the library to gather research.  This was the hardest aspect of the whole assignment; finding the time to go to the library was mildly difficult.  And yet, finding solid information in these books was even harder.  There was not a whole lot of facts about Salt Lake in the library, and I was forced to use certain online sources as a result.  But after writing my final draft and realizing that my information had certain security issues and that I didn't follow MLA citation rules, I knew my grade would not be what I wanted.  Therefore, I revised my place essay using more "reliable" sources and fixed my in-text citations too.  All of these hardships taught me a great deal about finding solid and reliable information instead of resorting to online jargon.