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Shane Miller
Debra Dagher
UWRT 1102
5 December 2014
EIP Reflection
The idea for my extended inquiry project changed slightly from beginning on the
proposal to the final idea in the essay. It started out almost too narrow as I was trying to address
a local problem that has developed in the youth wrestling league in Rowan County. As the
inquiry unfolded, the topic began shifting toward a more analytical address on the effects of
cutting weight. I had originally planned on doing questionnaires then interviews of local wrestlers
to tie in the quantitative aspect of the research done by others to the youth league. It quickly
became apparent that the time required to follow that methodology to a conclusion I would be
satisfied with was not going to happen within the confines of this class. I adhered to a more
analytical view with some anecdotal evidence from my own coaching experience to make it
relevant.
In researching for this essay I made a mistake at first. I tried to fit this inquiry model into
the standard research model I had done for so many years. My first three sources I selected
were in defense of my thesis. After a few class meetings I had to make a change and I
generalized my search criteria. I discovered a journal regarding eating disorders among
wrestlers. That had never occurred to me despite all my years spent in the sport. After reading
the essay I was intrigued and developed a question about what else can be done besides
cutting weight that would still make wrestlers competitive. This avenue led to very little of use.
Mostly because all related material comes from people who have no concept of the sport.
Someone cant give sound strategy on how to perform in a sport like wrestling without the
experience to back up that strategy. Following all my research findings I directed my essay into
a broader category detailing how cutting effects wrestlers and exploring what can be done to

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mitigate its harmful effects. I feel this direction was much better than my initial idea because the
time I had to conduct research was too limited to allow for my initial proposal thesis.
Writing this research essay I found to be the one of the easiest I have ever written. With
the combination of a topic that was interesting to me and the ability to include myself in the
discussion, it made this essay enjoyable or at least as enjoyable as writing an essay can be. I
would have liked to have more time to follow through with my topic I feel as though my research
was left hanging. There is definitely room in the topic for further expansion and analysis. The
differing format versus the classic research paper was a dramatic improvement in my opinion.
The most daunting part however was in the first few weeks of class. Knowing that a massive
project worth half of the final grade is hanging over your head but not getting a clear picture of it
for several weeks is a bit of a stress. That being said the process we followed did make it quite
easy to assemble in the end.
This was my first attempt at ever doing a project so free form both in format and topic.
Im a much more structured thinker, lacking in creativity until I become very familiar with a topic.
This was a challenge at first to direct the project into a topic and then to let the research guide
me instead of defending my idea. I was able to learn about the prevalence of eating disorders
among wrestlers and discovered I was also afflicted during my high school career based on the
definition given by the academic journal.