Core Value I. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.

By being in this class, I have realized my first draft of anything I wrote was never going to be written well. That is also the point. I should not be able to write a paper and expect it to be perfect within the first try. Little by little I would be able to go back and make any corrections that were necessary. Also, having the feedback option and another set of eyes on my work helped me realize what I needed to improve on.

For example, with my Casual Argument I had multiple corrections to do. Whether it was an oversight or grammar mistake, I was able to fix that because of the feedback option. I added in-text citations and more useful information to help prove my point. I then had to make sure to add more information to help further prove my point.

Core Value II. My work demonstrates that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities.

In order to prove a point, there needs to be words from other sources and not just yourself. Without other people’s words, readers may not entirely believe everything they read. Having multiple outside sources allows me and others to gain more knowledge and information to further prove the point. I will also be able to find people who disagree with my standpoint, which is also good to have. The information found lets the reader having statements from a reliable source, which will most likely result in them trusting the writer. For my White Paper assignment, finding outside sources was a main requirement. If it were not for researching my topic and finding sources I would not have been able to tie my paper together. Having these sources helped me see ideas that would either relate to mine viewpoint or widen my standpoint.

Core Value III. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.

When I am writing, I need to realize and understand who the audience if. If I do not write accordingly to my audience, it will not make sense. I also need to take notice of the purpose I am writing for. If I express something, but in the incorrect sense, I will not be able to prove the point I was hoping for in my paper. In order to achieve this, I had to analyze my own text to make sure I was letting the reader understand what I was trying to say. When it came to understanding other texts and visual assignments, I had to analyze precisely. With the Visual Rhetoric assignment, I had to examine the video and write down everything I thought to be important. Every little thing that was shown became important to the message that was trying to be told. Even though the video I watched only had two hands with a glass in each visible, it carried a much larger picture with it.

Core Value IV: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.

During my paper, I have used many quotes, meaning I needed to cite correctly. Since I was using someone else’s word, I needed to give credit. I did not just find this information anywhere and did not come up with it by myself. I knew when it was acceptable to quote and when to add the author in order to show the outside source I found. In my Rebuttal Argument, I had to make many claims proving why animal testing should be allowed to have. I did not think of everything on my own and had to find information from other writers to help prove my point. I had to make sure I had enough information in order to prove the point I was trying to get across. If it were not for other reliable sources to help support my own ideas, I would have never been able to convince any readers.

Core Value V. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation. 

In my research paper, I had to make sure whenever I used a quote, I knew where it was coming from. If I did not have a reliable source or just leave it with no credit to anyone, it would not entirely help me. Without the knowledge from that writer, I would not have the information in my own paper. During my Research Position Paper, I had to find many outside sources to help prove my point why animal testing should not be allowed. I found many different quotes from Doctors and researchers and without that information, I would not be able to learn and prove the fact that animal testing should be put to an end.