RI reflection

So for Theatre HL, we have to write a 2000-2500 word research paper about a theatre practice and how it pertains to an aspect of a play. I wrote about how actors protraying Mother Courage and Swiss Cheese would convey Brecht's idea that theatre should appeal to reason, not feelings. I have written my rough draft so far, and since it was our first RI, Mrs. Burke had us reflect:

The first RI was certainly a learning experience. I'm not accustomed to research of this magnitude, or even writing regular essays of this length, so it was definitely a struggle. Although, in the scope of IB, having to write a 2000 word research paper will certainly prove a helpful practice for our extended essay. However, it was not just the superficial word count that proved difficult. Finding good research was a certainly a challenge, making it even harder to create a thesis because I wasn't sure if my ideas would have enough research to back them up. Organization of my essay also proved to be another challenge. I wasn't sure how to space out my summary of the play, and then it felt awkward not to start talking about what I would actually do with the play until a couple pages into my paper. Although these challenges were sometimes incredibly frustrating, I know they helped me to learn something totally new in writing this research paper. Another rewarding challenge was the actual topic of my RI. I chose to research Brecht's Epic Theatre, which I discovered I didn't really like. It made me uncomfortable to envision that type of theatre. However, it was good because I know I need to expand my horizons to learn about new theatre practices. In that aspect, Epic Theatre was a good topic to choose if only to challenge myself. Yet, in the future I will probably try to pick a different topic that I can find more information about and that I will be more interested in. Despite its challenges, I'd say this first RI was a success in that it taught me a lot. What's life without some learning experiences? ;)