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.
My White Paper and my final research paper show how much my ideas and research have changed. I started with a very different topic then I ended up with. Throughout the semester, I have researched a lot about the placebo effect, confirmation bias, and stereotype threat which led me to my final thesis. I have had multiple drafts and forms of peer review from my classmates and professor. Feedback from my professor was a very important part of my success in my research position paper. I learned how to take the feedback and apply it to my next assignment and revisions. During the semester, my research has taught me a lot and prompted me to think differently than before this course.
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.
A lot of my research included studies and experiments pertaining to my, at first, very broad topic. Majority of what I was doing “behind the scenes” was analyzing, comparing, and contrasting articles or journals to further strengthen my position in my final paper. I carefully selected journals that proved my point and provided different aspects of it to the reader. In my final research paper, a lot of my points are made by different studies. I used them and analyzed them to create a better final product. I did my best to read them and analyzing what the authors said rather than what I interpret it as. Synthesizing was something introduced to me in Comp I and further mastered in Comp II.
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 definition argument, I created one or two scenarios that could help my audience really grasp my topic and position. I figured out who my target audience is and carefully picked out certain sources and examples to demonstrate my side. As the course comes to an end, I really see a difference with my mechanics and grammar due to my professor’s time and effort into making sure we understood each concept. Not only did we review, but he would go over it multiple times throughout the semester as a reminder which was a very helpful tool. I learned how to use grammar, mechanics, and other elements to target my audience. Creating arguments using rhetorical strategies was something definitely demonstrated throughout my work and especially my definition argument.
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.
Research is something I have been working on for a long time, and with each course I take, I improve. During my Comp II course, I really had to dig for some sources which challenged my research abilities. Although my causal argument contains one source, it was the best source to prove my point. This source was on my mind the whole time I was writing. I feel as if have improved my use of finding and citing sources in every course I take. (Comp I & Comp II, especially) Within one school year, I have been introduced to a completely new citing and formatting style. This was very difficult for me to transition to as my whole life I have used MLA formatting. With the help of multiple professors, though, I feel as if I have gotten pretty well acquainted with APA.
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.
Although I spoke to my success to academic honesty (or integrity) in CV4, there is much more to it than just citing your sources. I have learned to use close reading while evaluating other authors’ work. I focus on what they are saying rather than what your mind is telling you to interpret it as. I learned how to say what I think and feel and what other people think and feel (due to their work) while using differing voices to differentiate who is talking and whose claim it is. Other than this, I have gotten better at APA formatting. I have learned how to properly cite in-text and in a reference page. Academic integrity is a very important thing and I feel as if I really made good use of my sources in my final research paper.
Rowan Counterintuitive 