Been There, Done That… Going Back

In a flash, my first year of college is coming to an end, with Composition II being part of my second semester at Rowan. The course was very demanding, and the effort put into the course was well worth it. The course followed ideas of core values, which were definitely surpassed.

(Core Value 1) Writing is a multi-stage, recursive, and social process; that’s a given.  However, understanding that writing is, may be difficult. In the past many students have written papers and handed them in and that was that. Writing actually requires many drafts, research, feedback, and this is repeated and true for all essays and papers. By posting drafts and requesting feedback, this class’ blog, students, and professor fulfilled and displayed the stages of writing, while also being a social process. The recursion was repeating the process for the other assignments, and when repeating the process on the same assignment to just keep improving.

Core Value 3 states that students must “Understand how texts represent meaning and how the processes of writing and reading create and interpret meaning.” To me, this means that we should be able to know that words express facts, points of view, and well… just about everything. This core value also wants us to know that writing and reading will also allow us to interpret other works. By creating arguments, analyzing arguments, and refuting common arguments,  we expressed ourselves and gave out an intended meaning. We also interpreted and predicted other meanings. This is an important core value because it shows the strength behind reading and writing. Especially when analyzing other works, it’s important not to misinterpret meanings or to change what is being said. This would be misusing the text.

Understanding the role and use of information in writing is Core Value 5. Throughout the semester, one of the objectives was to perform quality research on a topic that would eventually become the Research Position paper. All of the parts of the semester long project contained its own research and proper citing, showing the role and use of information in writing. Information can be used to enhance and justify points, or refute arguments. However, the information that is gathered needs to be cited, or given proper recognition if used. Information is a great resource to gather; its infinite in amount, and just helps us learn more, reach deeper meanings, and find truths. Composition II helped me be able to practice researching topics, which will be valuable in my future.

With writing comes power, and responsibilities. Core Value 7 ensures that Composition II students understand the power and ethical responsibility that comes with the creation of written discourse. The published product of writing should not falsify information, provide an understanding for others, while also not plagiarize. Plagiarism is not a joke. Copying other works is wrong, and should not be done. If any part is used, proper credit should be given. The information used should not be used wrongly either. I have learned that writing is powerful, and can affect points of view; “words are more powerful than the sword.” It is my own responsibility to create the paper properly and appeal to my audience and cite my sources, making sure my paper is its own. Regardless, being one of a kind is always much better than being one of many.

In conclusion, the course itself was magnificent. Composition II demonstrated how to create many types of arguments, and how to look at the world differently. All department requirements were met, plus much more. More importantly, Composition II was nothing but improvement. There’s always room to improve, and Composition II continued to show me that.