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.

This semester of College Composition II I have used various practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development. Firstly by utilizing our mandatory conference with my professor to improve my 3,000 word research paper. In these conferences I first established what I needed assistance with, and what I wanted to go over in the conference. My professor and I would meet and discuss in depth my hypothesis for my research and provide assistance on steps I need to complete when working towards completing my 3,000 word research paper. I have discovered a lot within this research paper. It has evolved greatly from my original topic. I was taught in this class to look in a rabbit hole and find a puppy not a rabbit, so that was my goal to find a hypothesis that was counterintuitive. I began by asking myself the question “Why are gymnasts so short?” and it led to my new hypothesis that Olympic gymnastics should be all gender and separated by height and weight classes. Exploration for this idea was from conferences and also my own research about gymnastics both male and female, which led me to that hypothesis. Throughout all my assignments this semester feedback from readers has been a way for me to accomplish core value 1. Going through the process of constantly revising my work to improve it. By rereading and making sure I get rid of the fluff within my writing, and using my sources in the correct way. 

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. 

This semester of College Composition II I have accomplished core value 2 by reading arguments and interpreting and understanding what the writer is trying to convey. I have done this in PTSD Claims. In this assignment we reviewed a paragraph within an article and picked out as many claims as we could. I have learned there are many different types of claims to name a few there are: numerical claims, analogy claims, evaluative claims, and comparative claims. From this assignment I was able to evaluate each sentence and understand what the author is trying to convey and claim. Another task given to me this semester that helped me achieve core value 2 was Stone Money. From this assignment I was about to make my own abstract ideas about money based on the research from NPR’s The Invention of Money and Milton Friedman’s The Island of Stone Money. I incorporated quotes and paraphrases from these sources into my essay, to help synthesize my own ideas. 

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.

My work in College Composition II accomplishes core value 3 by analyzing the purpose, audience, and contexts of my writings and other texts and visual arguments. From the Rhetorical Analysis assignment I was able to, I stand that the purpose of this assignment was to establish the purpose for every second and science within an advertisement from the ad council. In my own writing I was writing as if the reader can not see or hear the ad and I had to provide as much detailed information as possible so they could understand the infomercial. I have then also included my own perspective as to why the producer of this advertisement chose the certain things to happen, and that it was done on purpose; nothing was an accident. 

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.

My work demonstrates core value 4 by meeting the expectations of academic writing. By creating a White Paper for my 3,000 word research paper I was able to collect research. Within my white paper I was able to collect sources that were outside of my personal knowledge and use and cite these sources within my essay as evidence to support my own ideas and hypothesis. I used sources included in my white paper within my Causal Argument, Definition Argument, and Rebuttal Argument which all formed my 3,000 word research paper. From the sources within my white paper I had to find which information would best support each of my short arguments. From my white paper I have learned how to put all of my information into an organized space, that was full of trial and error when trying to find what best supported my hypothesis. 

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. 

In College Composition II my work demonstrates core value 5 by respecting my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citations. In a short assignment in the beginning of the semester we did called Citations taught me the proper way to give credit to my sources. It was a short assignment that required us to write a small paragraph using a source and correctly citing it. This assignment benefited me for the rest of the semester when writing all of my short arguments to be sure I am giving credit where credit needs to be given. Also we have been working a lot with in-text citations, which has helped me a lot when doing rewrites for papers and being able to easily locate articles and reread them.