Core Value 1. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.

As I reflect upon all my writings from high school, I realize that writing has never really been a passion for me. I would get the assignment, complete it, and be done with it. Revising was never a thought, but with this class it was the opposite. First off, being able to write about a topic of my own interest allowed me to enjoy what I was writing about as well as helped me to critically think about each paragraph I wrote. As I dove deeper into my topic, discovering sources slowly, it showed me that writing should not be just a one and done assignment. It showed me that improvement can happen, for writing is a multi-stage process.

For example, after revising my definition argument, I realized that revising is definitely the answer to improving a piece of work. Nothing is ever perfect, especially writing, so with redoing my argument and taking in feedback, it allowed my essay to flourish just a little bit more.

Another thing I did not take into account is how many social interactions I would have with my professor and even some friends. I would constantly talk to others to spin some ideas and with this I was able to expand on my writing. I changed my hypothesis a lot, but with my professors help, I was able to finally come up with a concise argument worthy of my attention. The differences from my definition argument and its revision is very apparent, which is thanks to exploring my topic more and having conversations with my professor and friends.

Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically, and that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities. 

I was able to achieve this core value through my rebuttal argument, where I compared two opposing viewpoints: encouraging an athlete to pursue their dream of becoming a professional is beneficial versus it being harmful. To craft a persuasive argument that encouraging athletes could actually be harmful, I had to take a deep dive into both sides of the debate. This required not only understanding the benefits of encouragement but also identifying the potential negative consequences that might arise from pushing athletes to follow a path that may not align with their best interests or personal well-being.

Going through a lot of articles was both challenging and fun. I had to make sure I understood each article thoroughly so I wouldn’t misrepresent any of the ideas. I found it interesting to flip between different perspectives and figure out how to present them in a way that made my argument stronger. I had to be careful to read each source closely to ensure my argument was accurate and meaningful, so I wouldn’t lose the core of what I was trying to say. By doing this, I was able to build a strong, persuasive argument while making sure my points were clear and backed up by reliable sources

Core Value 3. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.

In my research paper, I successfully applied Core Value 3 by remaining focused on my purpose, audience, and context. As I mentioned earlier, I realized that simply writing a paper and being done with it is not enough. I understood that in order to craft a strong argument, I needed to ensure it resonated with the audience. Considering who would be reading my work and how it would relate to them was crucial, as it allowed me to engage more deeply with the writing process. Maintaining the audience’s attention while staying true to my argumentative purpose was a key goal. That’s why I carefully considered all the feedback from my professor and incorporated it into my writing to strengthen my argument and connection with the readers.

Core Value 4: 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.

I was able to accomplish this core value with my causal argument. By looking at a variety of sources I was able to find a lot of statistics and studies that helped to get ideas out. Finding sources to help this writing was not as hard as the rebuttal argument, but it was definitely still hard to gather sources that not only somewhat helped my argument, but finding how it even correlated. My argumentative topic was very difficult because I could find no sources that pertained to the side I was writing for. With that being said, I had to start from scratch; I had to bring sources together in order to create an idea. I put in a lot of effort to find reliable studies and other resources, knowing that they were crucial to helping my readers understand my claims and the reasoning behind them.

Core Value 5. 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 annotated bibliography, I was able to apply Core Value 5 by using multiple sources to support my writing. In this assignment I provided citations, summaries of each source, and then explained how I used the sources in my research. Since I had all my sources from my first 3 writings, it was quite easy to gather all my sources, but then again, it took a lot of time to find sources for my research in general. As I stated previously, my argument cannot be found anywhere, so there was no guideline to go off of. This led me to look at each source, read it carefully, and decide whether it would be helpful or not in my argument. Many people looked for sources that supported their argument, but this was not the case for me because I even used some sources that went against my argument. With the search of these sources, I gave credit to them in this assignment and expanded on how it ended up supporting my argument in a way or went against it.