Core Values: The Importance of Composition II

Composition II has taught me much when it comes to academic writing. The transformation of my work through this class is clearly seen. This is because I have learned core values throughout my time this semester. They have thought me what is important to take into consideration when writing. These Core Values are what has shaped my writing through this course, especially my final research argument.

Core Value I.
Understand that writing is a multi-stage, recursive, and social process. 

Writing is more than just scribbling down thoughts. Writing is an art, a craft, it needs to be perfect to send a message that the artist is trying to convey. That does not come with a rough draft alone. It comes through revision, sometimes multiple. Every assignment within my portfolio has been revised again and again. Over the revisions, my messages became more clear than they were before. Eventually, I had papers worthy of being called art. Writing is definitely a multi-staged process because it is nor art until it conveys the correct message as perfectly as possible.

Core Value III. Understand how texts represent meaning and how the processes of writing and reading create and interpret meaning.

Text represents some sort of meaning, always. Why would anyone read otherwise? Writing starts as an idea, which has meaning behind it. Then the challenge is to convey that meaning to the audience as clearly and concisely as possible. My entire Definition Essay is a paper on trying to convey the meaning of chance. Within that paper, I conveyed several examples and understandings in order to construct a reasonably lengthy and full definition of chance. The purpose of that was to create a meaning of the word which was important for my research paper. Understandably, all text has meaning and writing helps create just that.

Core Value V. Understand the role and use of information in writing.

Information is a foundation for writing. I cannot publish anything if it contains no information. If I did, it would have no benefit to my audience. My information comes from other places with information. Known as my sources. My Annotated Bibliography is where I got all of my information from for my research argument. Without those sources, I would have no solid foundation for my argument. My entire paper would collapse because I would have nothing to show where my information came from. AT&T hat point, my paper would be invalid. Information is important for writing a paper. You must find it through sourcing and then use that information as a solid foundation for constructing an academic paper.

Core Value VII. Understand the power and ethical responsibility that comes with the creation of written discourse.

Words can have lots of power behind them. It is important that words are used in a good and truthful manner. The entire point of my Research Argument is to educate my audience about The Monty Hall Problem. That is the goal of my paper and that is what my reader believes that I am doing for them. That being said, it is important I don’t lie. Since lying would go against my goal of educating my audience, it would be unethical for me to state something incorrect and pass it off otherwise. Then, I have given everyone in my audience bad information and they wouldn’t even know. It is important to follow your goal and be responsible when writing. It becomes unethical once you trick your audience.

If I have achieved anything out of this class, it would be that I have learned the four core values listed above as well as form clearer arguments to make it easier to convey to an audience. If I remember everything i learned and take all of it with me into other areas, my papers will surely stand out from the rest.