Counterintuitive Spring 2023

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.

Before taking this course, I thought it was just going to be another writing course with a research paper at the end. Print it out, hand it in, done. But this was not the case at all. This course taught me to think. Professor Hodges put a lot of emphasis on the analyzation of writing, and how it’s just as important as the writing itself. If I didn’t clearly understand my topic, or what audience I was writing for, then I would need to go back and figure out exactly where I wanted my paper to go. A lot of the rewriting process was done in my head, and then I had to sort my ideas out into a clear progression and publish them in a paper. I think my best example of this is my Definition Rewrite. I think this shows my work clearly in ideas that flow well.

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. 

Until this course, I had no idea that various sources could be used so well to prove the same point. Before, I would just insert block quotes here and there to prove that I was using sources, but I didn’t really give it too much thought. Now, using my sources and adding them to my own ideas gave me a much bigger picture in my head of my topic. They all came together to help prove not only my point, but also those of the other sources. And since not all sources were written from the same viewpoint, I got to collect several different opinions of the same idea and put it all together.

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.

My topic is a very vague one, and it could apply to almost any audience, so my job in analyzation was a tough one. Even though it’s probably not as good as it could be with a lot more time and energy put into it, having an entire semester to deliberate on whether happiness is created or inherent, and whether we have the power to change ourselves despite the circumstances, was eye-opening for me. I went into the project thinking that it would be an easy topic, and it certainly wasn’t. Not by a long shot. But I learned so much from choosing this topic, and from the clear feedback provided.

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.

My paper would be nothing without first-hand experiences written by the authors of some of my sources. My best demonstration of this is my Rebuttal Rewrite.  The author of my source experienced very closely how bad circumstances can ruin your life. But he chose to overcome that by looking at his circumstances and deciding not to let them run his life. He changed for the better. With my topic, articles like these are crucial, as first-hand accounts are needed for a relatable aspect and context.

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. 

I learned a lot in this course about taking all views into account. Our job as writers isn’t to convince other people of our personal opinion, it’s to know the facts and put everything out on the table in a calm, fair way. Readers shouldn’t feel like they’re being overwhelmed by the writer’s opinion. They should know the facts and be able to decide for themselves. Overall, this course has really changed my thinking about how to approach writing, and they’re not things I’ll soon forget.

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.

My work demonstrates that I have involved myself in a social and recursive process. During this class I produced small papers that received constructive criticism after I submitted. After receiving feedback, I rewrote my paper and submitted it again. Each time I turned in a paper, I made significant changes to my work. The best example fro this was my Causal Argument Rewrite. The work of this course was also part of the social process. My work was posted on a blog website where I could view other submissions and people could view mine.

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. 

Before this class, I was aware that placing texts into conversations was a big aspect of having a good essay. After the first essay I realized that synthesizing the ideas from others was a large part of a good paper. As the class progressed, I felt more comfortable placing my writing in conversations with other authors. I also realized that the sources I chose couldn’t just agree with my point of view because then my paper would not be original.

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.

During this class I realized the true importance of writing for a purpose, having a certain audience and the importance of context. If I didn’t decided who my audience is, I wouldn’t have wrote my paper the same way I did. For the Rebuttal assignment, the purpose of the paper was to refute one of my original ideas. The sole purpose was to have a strong argument against the position I actually wanted to write about. This smaller paper within the bigger paper showed how I was able to show both sides of the story. I had to make sure I was writing for an audience that would be interested and could understand my Rebuttal. Without each of these aspects, my writing would not have any meaning, and my audience may not have been able to understand what I wrote.

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.

I have met the expectations of academic writing by citing my evidence. I have also met the expectations when I wrote my Annotated Bibliography for my research paper. I used citation websites to make sure my source was cited correctly at the end of my paper and in my bibliography. By incorporating sources into my paper I was able to back up my paper with facts about my topics.

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. 

For each paper written in the course I made sure that I was respecting my ethical responsibility by citing my source. I also was extremely careful when using quotes,  I made sure I was representing the author’s ideas clearly in my writing by spending time with the article to figure out what their view was. This course also provided the skills needed to attach an article to a link so the reader could find where the information was from by clicking the link.

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.

Today, instead of reading a newspaper or turning on the television news, a large part of the population turns to sisal media as their main news source and also to see what others, their friends, and prominent people in the media, are saying about the news. Even the pope has a twitter. Social media has become almost more relevant than any other news source and for that reason I used a mixture of blogs, news articles, and forums to explore the issue, discover what a variety of people were saying about it, for my own concepts about the issue, and to develop my own opinions.

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. 

In my research paper the Target chain is cited as being both part of the problem, and part of the solution of sexualized clothing for children based on two different people’s perspectives. Without the rebuttal argument, I never would have known how important a refutable counter argument is to a research paper.

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.

Although the process was– and continues to be time consuming, this course taught me how important it is to write, write it again, and write it again after that and continue that process until there is legitimately nothing else to write. This course also taught me how to rhetorically analyze visuals, which unsuspectedly help me grow as a writer by helping me become more observant.

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.

Because of this course, I have realized that primary and secondary sources do not cut it. You need facts, statistics, out-of-the-box opinions and of course, your own. This was crucial for writing my paper because the more valid sources I had– the more diverse my argument became.

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. 

I made sure to respect my ethical responsibility by always citing sources and giving the author their due credit. I also made sure to quote and cite correctly as to not accidentally cross over into plagiarism territory. Aside from citations, this course has taught me to remain true to what I believe in and to find the proper sources that back up my position my counter-intuitive topic of choice.

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.

Insert here a 125-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, read the description of Core Value I above.

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. 

Insert here a 125-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, read the description of Core Value II above.

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.

Insert here a 125-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, read the description of Core Value III above.

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.

Insert here a 125-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, read the description of Core Value IV above.

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. 

Insert here a 125-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, read the description of Core Value V above.

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.

Insert here a 125-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, read the description of Core Value I above.

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. 

Insert here a 125-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, read the description of Core Value II above.

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.

Insert here a 125-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, read the description of Core Value III above.

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.

Insert here a 125-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, read the description of Core Value IV above.

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. 

Insert here a 125-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, read the description of Core Value V above.