As we approach these last two weeks, the pieces of my paper are seemingly falling into place. The most exciting development of the past week was finally turning in my first full draft. There still needs to be some brushing over with my sources and some grammar mistakes corrected, but I feel confident about where I am right now. One aspect I am concerned about is completing a second draft without some feedback on the first draft. I am not sure about how I should go about completing it in these next couple of days, especially whether Nathan’s review is enough. Speaking of Nathan, his paper is coming along nicely. Last week’s class was the first time in a while that I got to review a peer’s draft. I am glad that it was his. During the last time I reviewed his paper, I marked it far too much out of passion for his topic. This time it was much more subdued and it was to both our benefit. I feel like he will take my advice to heart and improve his paper for this week.
Unfortunately I still have no material for my backdrop as of this writing. My hope is that Dr. Nepa or Dr. Lowe will point me in the right direction in the next couple of days. It is not during my period of research but it is relevant to my topic. One aspect that is on my mind is what happens with my paper, research, and effort following our allotted class time. Dr. Urwin’s advice from earlier this semester is on my mind again, but I feel like I should pursue getting this paper published. I understand that this would require more research and perhaps delayed at that due to Paley’s closure. I feel strongly that my lack of non-“Bulletin” primary sources would be scrutinized by a publisher. This will persist as long as my uncertainty for post-graduation persists. In the coming week I hope to edit my paper to sufficient detail for the second rough draft. Later in the week I plan to begin work on my presentation. I plan on flowing my work in the following matter: title page, introduction, historiography, cemetery history synopsis, case studies, current events, conclusion, and citations. It is my hope that the presentation is an accurate representation of my research. When that day comes, it will start to hit me that my time at Temple is almost over. I am honored that this class was part of that journey.