Summary

The steps in the stages of research involve preparing for research whereby you need to first know what kind of information you need for the research. The second one is accessing resources that will guide you through the research. This involves finding credible resources and that fulfill the purpose of the research. The third step is processing the information which includes analyzing, sorting, and organizing the information. The final step is transferring your learning in the best way possible for the audience. Here you have to know who the audience, the purpose of the research, and the format to use. For the theories of fear, the main thing that is involved is figuring out the source of the horror in the story. The three sub-genres of horror include moral allegory which mainly focuses on good and evil. The psychological horror focuses on abnormal human psychology. The final one is the fantastic which is a kind of horror that comes from not knowing. In the elements of fiction, there is the narrative's voice which includes the difference between a reliable and unreliable narrator. The thinking section includes visualizing thinking strategies, avoiding distractions in the listening strategies, and brainstorming in the writing strategies. The communication skills developed include business letters: audience, purpose, structure, voice. Throughout this learning, I have developed different skills that have improved my way of thinking, listening, and even communicating.

Knowledge

As you prepare for research, it is important to first define a task and this means knowing exactly what the task is and the kind of information that is needed. To access resources, it is of utmost significance to find information from a variety of sources to ensure that you have a complete idea of what is needed. Librarians are research experts, therefore consulting a librarian will be important because they will enlighten you more about the sources. Reading and taking notes is very helpful and this includes noting your sources. After getting the information that you need, you then need to process the information. Before everything else you need to analyze the information that you got, this means comparing the information from the different sources and test its consistency. This will help you sort out the sources that have the information that you need and eventually enable you to organize your information. Graphic organizers which include fishbone diagrams can be used to help you organize your research. It is also important to know the headings and sub-headings to use and based on your analysis, then it is easy to conclude. The final step is where you transfer your learning. Here you think about the audience and who your audience is, what you think they need to know, and what you want them to know. It also includes the purpose and format of the research and in what form your audience will take it.

In the theories of fear, the sub-genres of fear include, moral allegory. In this sub-genre, there is normally a focus on the battle between good and evil and there often will be a kind of intrusion of supernatural evil. When you break a rule, you get punished and the rule and punishment might or might not make sense. The rule and punishment too might or might not involve death. Psychological horror is the other sub-genre which focuses on abnormal human psychology. Here the abnormal human or creature creates horror through his or its actions. The “monster” is at the center of the story and often represents some aspect of ourselves. The “monster” can either be human or supernatural. The third sub-genre is fantastic whereby the source of horror in this sub-genre comes from not knowing. There is an occurrence of a supernatural but we only know about it indirectly. There is no explanation given and if it is given, it does not make sense in everyday reality.

For the elements of fiction, the difference between a reliable and unreliable narrator is that a reliable narrator is one who narrates what exactly happened and does not add any of his emotions or comments. A reliable narrator does not have any prejudice. On the other hand, an unreliable narrator is a narrator that does not narrate about the real happenings in the true sense. An unreliable narrator does not bother about the outcomes of the actions or events. This means that their credibility has been compromised. This allows the audience to make their interpretations of the story that is being narrated.

Thinking

In the reading strategies, visualizing was helpful because it improved my concentration, motivation, and coordination. It helped me not to get distracted and focus on what would enable me to achieve my goal. For the listening strategies, avoiding distractions was very helpful to me because I stayed focused and this increased my concentration. For the writing strategies, brainstorming was helpful because it allowed me to effectively generate innovative ideas and analyze the information I got.

Communication

The communication skills for a business letter: audience, purpose, structure, voice involve how well the information gets to the audience, with the correct structure, voice, and fulfills its purpose. The audience is the person or group aim of the writer, the purpose is the reason the writer writes the business letter, the structure is the order of ideas, which should be linked together and the voice is the attitude the writer conveys about the letter.

Application

Visualizing will help me focus on my goals and aspirations and this will motivate me to keep moving and accomplish what I want in life. Avoiding distractions will help me concentrate on my projects and tasks in my workplace. It will help me give them my full attention and this will yield great results. My knowledge about audience, purpose, structure, and voice will help me write an effective letter while applying for a job.