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.

Throughout the entire course of the semester, I have utilized Core Value I with all of my assignments for Comp II. For every assignment that I completed, I learned that it was not possible to write a perfect draft from the start. It takes time, hard work, and concentration to make improvements for every assignment to be the best that it can be. In the beginning of the semester I did not realize how important it was to ask for feedback until I received a few grades that I was not happy with. I then came to the conclusion that I needed to take time to ask my Professor for feedback and take everything into consideration that he had to offer. For example, I had to completely rewrite my Definition Argument and still make changes to it after rewriting it. For my first draft, my topic was: “Is Technology Making Society Weak,” this was way too broad of a topic and my Professor told me that I had to narrow it down and focus more on one specific aspect of technology in order to receive a better my grade. So instead I rewrote my essay on, “Is Technology Impeding Social Skill Development.” From here I had to fix a few errors that were made after asking for feedback once again. This essay shows that I was able to ask for feedback, revise, and edit to receive the best grade possible, which is what Core Value I demonstrates.

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.

For all three of my short arguments and my final research paper, it was very important for me to demonstrate the second core value throughout. Finding reliable articles to use in papers can be difficult, so it was vital for me to read up on several different databases and articles to utilize the one’s that I felt would be best for my work. I feel that this core value was most useful in my Research Argument. For this assignment I did use a few sources from my previous short arguments but it was also important for me to find new ones. When reading up on different statistics and opinions, it was important for me to find convincing and strong research on how technology and social media is causing a lack of social interaction. Taking work from outside sources can be difficult because it sometimes leads to academic integrity. This is why it is so crucial to pay close attention to how we utilize information in our own writing, which is why Core Value II is not only extremely important in this class but in all work that we complete throughout the course of our lives.

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.

I feel that in this course I have learned the importance of the purpose of every piece of writing. Even if I felt that some assignments were unnecessary at times, I have realized in the end that everything I have completed throughout this class has benefitted me as a student and has made me a better writer. I have also learned that it is important to keep my writing detailed and as best as it can be so that my audience stays interested and understands what I am explaining. I feel that I demonstrated this core value best in my Visual Rhetoric. For this assignment I analyzed every second individually of the thirty second ad: “Never Give Up Until They Buckle Up.” For my first draft my Professor gave me feedback saying that I needed to expand on each second more so that my readers could get an even better understanding of what the video was about without watching it. So from this, I re-watched each second of the video and took note of every little aspect of each clip. I wound up realizing that things that I felt were unnecessary to include in my first draft were very important parts of the video that my readers should understand. This ad was about the importance of wearing a seatbelt, and from the notes that I took on each second, I believe that my readers will understand how it led to this conclusion. I believe that by demonstrating each second as best as I could that my readers will have a good vision of what the video might look like while reading my assignment which is what Core Value III demonstrates.

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.

With every paper that we are assigned to write throughout the course of our lives, it is important to research the opinions of others and statistics to prove points that we are trying to make. Without specific evidence other than ourselves, it is hard for a reader to be convinced of a topic or take a side in an argument. I was able to incorporate the research of others to support my own ideas in my Causal Argument. After reading the first draft that I wrote of this assignment, I realized that I did not have enough evidence to make my points valid. So I did some research and added more insight. For example, I was attempting to prove the point that technological advancements are altering society’s social skills and cues but did not have enough information to prove this. I found an article written by Emily Drago entitled, “The Effect of Technology on Face-to-Face Communication,” and used the evaluations I made to show studies that were conducted regarding technology’s effect on social interaction. This situation, along with the fourth core value demonstrates that I was able to incorporate new illustrations to my writing in order to receive a better grade.

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.

Core Value V is important to utilize in all papers we write that include work that is not our own. When researching, we must cite the information that we are using directly from others. If we do not do so this can lead to plagiarism and academic integrity violations. In my Rebuttal Argument I not only cited sources to give credit to the Authors’ work that I found useful, but I also used certain articles to refute and make counterarguments against. For example, I used the article “Social Media’s Impact on America” to show that many people in society feel more connected due to social media. I made the point throughout my essay against this by explaining that even though people feel more connected, they are still using technology as their primary use of communication which is causing a lack of social skills. While making the argument against this point, I did so in a respectful manner which is what the fifth core value consists of. It is important to respect other people’s writings even if we do not agree. It is also important to respect them by citing when we use their sources.