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Matthew Price
Professor Blandford
UWRT 1103
December 4, 2015
Reflection
When I began to research and write about the topic of born-again Christians I believed
that I would find very definite results and most findings would be the same and point towards a
point of self-actualization. However, as I researched and wrote I found that there are a vast array
of reasons someone chooses to become born-again, but a common occurrence among born-again
individuals is an instance of childhood victimization. My viewpoint about my topic changed
when I found a case study that showed the possible causes of religious and spiritual instability
that certain people face later in their lives. This case study changed my viewpoint because
originally I thought that the cause was a very simple event later in someones life but this study
showed that events in childhood can affect a persons entire life. The farther I read into the case
study the more I changed my viewpoint on born-again Christians and religion as a whole.
The beginning stages of my research were tough because I did not find as many credible
and reliable results when I searched through both library databases and general searches. The
bulk of the information that I used in my paper came from a case study done by Markus Schafer
into how and why born-again Christians changed their thought processes about religion. The
majority of my other sources offered just bits and pieces of usable information for my paper in
comparison. I think that I found such little information about born-again Christians because it is
such a difficult topic to conduct research on. Researchers conduct tests to find empirical and

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irrefutable data that they can use to support or discredit a hypothesis. However, in the case of
people who identify as born-again, it is exceedingly difficult to get data because of the fact that
there really are not any viable tests to run that can return empirical data as opposed to the
persons thoughts and logic.
Through the course of my research I expected to find many more credible testimonials
and personal experiences than I actually did find. When I began my research I wanted to hear
from the people who identified as born-again themselves as to why they believe what they do but
instead I found scarce mentions of parts of what someone may have shared about their
experience. After I kept finding things of this nature, I broadened my search to include other
peoples findings on born-again Christians such as case studies and articles. It genuinely
surprised me that there really didnt seem to be very many people willing to share their
experience with a credible source, and instead participate in studies about born-again Christians.
When people participate in studies the researchers are trying to find very specific results instead
of trying to hear each individual story.
The majority of my writing occurs with writing a single draft and making minor changes,
or major changes if required by the feedback that I receive from either peer reviews or from my
own choice. For this paper in particular, I wrote in bits and pieces over time instead of writing an
entire draft at one time as I normally do because while I write a bit at a time I have a fresh
perspective on the paper instead of writing it to get it done. This process allowed me to maintain
a new and interested viewpoint on everything I was writing and keep my interest in what I was
writing throughout the process. I did do a research outline while I was writing with a paragraphs
topic and then certain pieces of research that I wanted to include and then while I was writing I

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would look at this outline to see how I wanted to organize my thoughts. This paper was a change
for me because I used a different process than I have used previously.
Peer reviews offered a great amount of help throughout my writing process because it
allowed me to see what I had written that wasnt as clear and concise as it could be. Sometimes
while I write, I write things that make sense in my mind but while others read it there is
confusion, so when it gets pointed out its relatively easy to clarify in my paper. Overall, I have
had a positive experience with my peer reviews with mostly helpful members of my peer review
groups that genuinely seemed to care about helping me write a better paper. Most group
members offered constructive criticism that I agreed upon on things that were possible to change
and modify. I would say that the peer review sessions that we had in class helped me
tremendously through my whole writing process.
This inquiry project has been different from other research projects that I have done
because although it is a research project, it involves our own input. Other research projects
required just facts and only empirical data with the only input coming from me was an impartial
analysis of my findings. In this paper we are required to relate our topic and the literacies that we
are learning about back to our own literacies that we wrote about in our literacy memoirs.
However, it is similar in the general format of the research projects that I have done before as in
citing sources, critical analysis and a lot of independent research. I would say that this was a
refreshing change from all of the very similar research projects that I have done before and I
liked that I was able to share my voice in this paper.
This entire semester has been an eye-opening learning experience in which I learned
about myself as well as about writing. When I started this semester I thought that this would be
just another class where I had to get things done for the sake of getting a good grade and doing it

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just to get it done. Because of this, I put a low level of effort into my work during the beginning
of the semester, something that I would change if given the chance now. Throughout my
experience with school writing classes have contained nothing but busy work and this course was
a great change and I enjoyed writing (to a certain extent) because it was for a purpose. One of the
main things that I learned through this course was reflective learning and being able to look back
and see the progress that you have made and what you can change going forward.