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.

RESPONSE: Consistently throughout the weeks of the semester, I have demonstrated engagement with my professor and outside peers in order to better my work. Writing is a social process that involves the criticism and feedback of others. I have gone above and beyond the expectations of what the Creative Writing Department has asked for. A prime example of the social process would be found in the comments concerning my Definition Argument . In this example, I demonstrate a desire to better my writing and an understanding of the feedback presented. I ask for specific feedback that I know I would most benefit from. In doing so, I learned of the mistakes I made in my earlier drafts and took those mistakes, turning my work into a beautiful, logical, and well-crafted argument.

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. 

RESPONSE: I exhibit my excellence for reading critically and creating conversation with both text presented and my writing. A perfect example would be found at my Stone Money assignment, posted on the blog page. After spending an hour listening to “Planet Money,” on NPR’s podcast titled “The American Life” and reading Milton Friedman’s argumentative essay,  I showcase my ability to analyze and read critically, writing a detailed essay in response to the podcast and essay. Creating a relationship between the texts analyzed and my response, I made superb connections that are both creative and exceed expectations. I connect the podcasts’ main theme: money is a belief system to an essay and later to my own idea that money dictates the lives of people. The meat of my argument is made possible because of NPR’s podcast episode and Milton Friedman’s essay. My essay creates a flowing conversation between all three 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.

RESPONSE: Throughout the semester I have demonstrated my ability to analyze the purpose, audience, and contexts of rhetorical work, visual arguments, and of my own writing. My Visual Rhetoric Argument demonstrates my ability to exceed the expectations of core value number three. I showcase my understanding by analyzing a thirty second council ad I was assigned during the weeks of my fall semester taking this class. In my argument I have no problem depicting the multiple scenes, describing each scene’s purpose and attended audience all while writing a logical and conclusive argument worth reading. With my work and continuous practice, I have no doubts I will continue to succeed in my abilities to analyze and logically write arguments that are meaningful in describing visual arguments.

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.

RESPONSE: Over the course of this semester I have become comfortable with locating and citing academic work to help strengthen my own writing. During the beginning of the semester I was uncomfortable finding helpful academic resources— I was immature and ignorant. By the end of the semester, I feel confident in finding purposeful academic resources. My Annotated Bibliography illustrates my ability to retrieve and cite academic articles and sources that are both purposeful and meaningful— sources that have enhanced my own work. Almost all my sources are academic and peer-reviewed, loaded with a rich amount of information. The very few sources that are not peer-reviewed, are still loaded with rich information and are acclaimed organizations— such as Planned Parenthood. Because of this course, I feel confident in my own abilities to succeed in finding and locating helpful academic sources.

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.

RESPONSE: I have exceeded in my ability to demonstrate that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas with appropriate citation. My Annotated Bibliography can also be used as an example to demonstrate that I understand and have surpassed the expectations of core value number five. This beautiful compilation, my Annotated Bibliography goes far above the expectations. In this, I make sure to cite academic sources used, along with how I used sources found to help my own writing and argument. I am respectful in my mannerism, giving credit to all those who put much time and effort into the respected works I have used to help my own writing. Before taking this course, I worried always that I would citate my sources wrong. Now after this course, I am beyond confident in my ability to do so.