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.

In my essay I unfortunately did not take advantage of the editing sources that were given to me. I regret not using the notes that Professor Hodges left me as they were very in depth and could have made my paper so much better and maybe even interested people a little more. While this was not my first research paper I do feel as if I have done better on my past papers but if a perfect work and life did not happen I would have enjoyed writing this paper. I also tend to write for myself and not for an audience as I tend to forget other people can read the paper other than the professor. I also have never written a paper this way like writing separate pieces and then piecing them together to make one big research paper. I think that makes it a lot less stressful as you do not have to worry about sitting down and writing a whole 3000 word paper in one sitting. 

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. 

Personally I love reading argument pieces because I love to see opinions from all sides even though I most likely will not agree with their opinions. I love to read them. When I was trying to find articles for my essay it was a little difficult to find because ethanol is supposedly something amazing and the best thing to happen. As much as I love to read other peoples argument essays I am pretty stone faced when it comes to my own opinion but no one will change my mind on what it is set on. I believe that my paper hits the minimum of portraying visually how ethanol can have a good and bad effect on the environment and allows the readers to see both sides and be able to make a good opinion based on the essays. 

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.

Like we have talked about in class I also believe that every piece of writing can be an argumentative piece whether it be a grocery list or a big research paper like this one. So to me identifying a specific argument essay can be a little tough because even if it is an opinion piece then that could still be an argument piece. I think when creating my essay I was able to easily demonstrate my adaptability to everything in the essay from the very beginning when I had to find something that was counterintuitive. I personally love to write essays to bring awareness to the environment specifically ocean pollution but I really struggled to find a counterintuitive topic until I talked with Professor Hodges about my life in Iowa for the past couple years when I was able to adapt and land on the topic of ethanol. 

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.

When it comes to research I am not that good at reading articles as I tend to read the title and then skim over the article to see if I can find something. However, finding those articles to research it was particularly easy to find different points of view on ethanol and I was able to identify which article was reliable or which was just something like a blog. Luckily since I was researching something that had to do with a branch of the government, reliable sources were easy to find. I believe that my articles work well with my paper and they are easy enough to find and understand if you go through the sources I have set out at the end of the paper.

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. 

I believe that my paper is there to show both sides of the argument but I made it clear which side I am on although my opinion doesn’t matter it just matters that I make it clear which side the essay is on. I think my conclusions in my essays are made clear at the end of each form of essay and even the beginning I think I make it clear on what I am talking about. In my paper with my sources I believe that I give credit where credit is due and the sources are there to back that up. I believe that my essay follows the rules of academic integrity when it comes to plagiarism as I had no reason to plagiarize.