The Beginning Research Activity was a great way for me to brush up on my researching skills since I haven't had to write academic papers since last year. It helped me gather background information on the topic of interest I chose and this information aided me in deciding whether it was a good topic for me or not, because if it wasn't something I was interested in and passionate about then no matter how hard I try, my papers on this topic would not be well written. The lack of enthusiasm and interest would diminish the quality of the papers.

This activity also helped me understand which key terms were the most useful in gathering good information on the topic.