When I first began reading this article (?), I didn’t know what it was going to explore. Blame it on my inability to recognize the short summary at the start of the article, or the break from when I last learned how to read articles which help to build one’s writing. Either way, I really didn’t understand what was going on until at least half way through the article, when Bizup ( an Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University) began to give examples of BEAM and its implications.
Reflecting on my own research process, it is both similar and dissimilar to the one which BEAM promotes. Personally, when I get a prompt, I take a few hours to just reflect on its subjects. Usually, I search for a subject which I can personally connect with or reflect on. I need something which can easily catch my own interest and keep it. Within this time, I usually will or will not do preliminary research to develop my thesis, it all depends on the prompt and subject at hand. From here I build my thesis and begin my research. I usually don’t care which kind of sources I pick, since I usually aim for a good diversity regardless of the requirement’s bare minimum. Then everything becomes kind of fluid; if I find sources which go against my thesis, I will change my thesis while taking note of what the source was, where it was, and it’s summary. If the sources I find contribute to my thesis, then I become happy and continue to research and take notes. In the end I compile the sources and write the assignment, just like most others. I wouldn’t call my process “sloppy” or “in the moment” since I usually mentally track what I’m doing and I tend to use topics which allow me to passively think and expand on them for hours.
BEAM, however, introduces a new lens to how I view my sources. Where I would usually just pick sources to display the scene or environment , and then find sources to support my claims, BEAM shows that there also exists background and method sources which I have usually just skimmed past. Sources which fall under background and method would not only help me diversify my information, but also help to develop the backbone of my essays. By “backbone” I mean the information which the audience will read, understand, and branch off from when they go further into my writing. It serves as a buffer to not only help introduce my subject, but to act as a static piece of information which can be used for comparison and application.
So in a way, I was already half way to meeting the BEAM. That means I’m only half way to further improving my research, reading, and writing.