Prove it

Always cite. Always give sources. This was instilled into my head back in the seventh grade. We made two sets of index cards for a research paper: one with primary sources and the other for secondary. My topic was the Bermuda Triangle. Do you know how hard it was to find primary sources for the Bermuda Triangle? Anyone and everyone who went into this Caribbean abyss never came out.

That assignment introduced me to the importance of research, whether for writing, producing a video, or making a presentation. I had to go out and find the truth. As last week’s lecture noted “Research is painstaking. Often it is time spent in libraries with dusty old books. But it can also be talking to whistle blowers in the shadows of a parking garage.” I wasn’t in a parking garage, but conducting interviews in Long Island and gathering nautical charts at the Merchant Marine Academy. It was a daunting task, but one that was essential to convincing the teacher and class how real the Bermuda Triangle was.

Through my primary and secondary sources, I proved to my teacher and class the following conclusions:

1. Aliens are not involved
2. Mythical sea monsters are not involved
3. Mother nature was definitely involved (e.g. waterspouts, storms)
4. Faulty technology on planes and sea vessels caused many disappearances
5. The Atlantic Ocean is a large area that can make any evidence disappear

If I researched the same project now, with the Internet, finding sources and interviews would be easier, and more adventurous. The lecture said that “As Americans, we automatically have adventure in our blood…When we discuss research and get into lessons about footnotes, and libraries, and peer-reviewed literature, it can be easy to forget the adventure of investigating.”

Gathering research not only backed up our argument (as crazy as the topic was) but it was also was a complex and frustrating journey.

My group introduced our topic as the Bermuda Triangle. At first, other classmates giggled and gave weird looks relating us to the tabloids and aliens. What facts and conclusions could we have possibly had gathered on this area?

With our research and substantial written conclusions, we convinced both the teacher and class that our topic was just as credible as the others. “Credibility is a judgment call. Knowledge is your call. Everything you write can be a reestablishment of integrity and facts, if you take care.”

We proved it. And we enjoyed it.