Self-Evaluation
Throughout this very short semester I have learned a lot of valuable information that will follow me through college and possibly even my career. With everything that I have learned I have been able to apply it to my writing and make my writing more informative, argumentative, and just generally a more engaging research process. All the writings I have included here in my e-portfolio demonstrate this, some better than others, but that only means I was improving. From the beginning to the end, I have improved my understanding on assessing the key terms within a rhetorical situation, finding credible sources for my papers, and engaging in an effective research process to come to a final product.
The Rhetorical Situation
Before learning anything else in the writing process, I think of the most helpful things I came across were the contexts of the rhetorical situation. The most general of these being the rhetor, the exigence, the audience, and constraints. These were all things I had to take into consideration when doing my writings, no matter if as big as the research paper or as small as a discussion post. I learned how to effectively aim my writing toward who I was writing for, learned how to accommodate for constraints such as word counts, and as for exigence, that probably played the most important role. Every writing has a different goal, and that goal has to be the main focus throughout. Every claim, argument and source should go back to supporting that goal. Before this class I sometimes lost sight of what the actual goal of the paper was, and only focused on getting the page or word count completed, but this class made me realize that if I focus on these four basic things, the word and page count will come by itself. Past the terms of the rhetoric situation, however, I have also gained knowledge in other areas of research.
Searching for Sources
I have learned how to find sources, analyze complex pieces to determine what kind of source they really are, and then incorporate them into my argument. The Digital Paper Trail and the Rhetorical analysis (found in the 'Processes and Final Texts' tab) are two very good examples within the e-portfolio demonstrating my ability to complete this part of the research process. The Digital Paper Trail shows how much time goes into finding all the sources listed. Although the initial assignment only required 20 sources, as my research continued I continued adding sources I thought might be helpful and finished with more than 20. As I found more sources, more ideas sparked, and I was able to develop an argument based off these sources. As my sources changed, sometimes so did my argument, but I eventually learned that this is all a process of writing. I used to develop a set-in-stone thesis and find sources to back this, but I have learned through this class that is not the best path to take. The rhetorical analysis shows, in much more depth, how I analyze each of those sources to determine if they are right for my purpose. Although it is not seen here in my e-portfolio, many of my class discussions represent this, also. Taking information from The Everyday Writer, Understanding Rhetoric, and the other readings in From Critical Thinking to Argument, these are also examples of sources I was able to use to support my claims that I made throughout certain discussions. I have learned that a source is not the primary argument, nor is it a claim. It is the information you use to back both of these up. I like to think of sources as support, the beams that the house is built on, and from those beams I can build onto my argument and make it that much more convincing.
Effective Process Leads to Effective Paper
After learning to find and validate sources, the next big skill I learned was how to engage in a beneficial research process which led to developing a complex and effective argumentative research paper. Learning how to organize my plans for the process was arguably the most important skill I acquired. This started with the Research Map, which can be found within the Research Dossier under the Process and Final Texts tab. This map was the initial planning that led me to my sources and helped me develop an argument. It required me to provide key terms, where I would find my research, and even a calendar to give me an idea of what the process would look like and what my expectations were for due dates and other events. From someone who usually just sits down, begins a paper with no preparation and turns it in, this organizational skill was extremely helpful. As my ideas and plans became organized, the path to the final product became more clear and I was able to begin creating my argument.
In creating my own argument my goal was to “fill the gap”. This gap is an area where research may be lacking ideas or support, and that is where I come in. This is the time where I can let my own ideas shine through, and in the past this has not always been my strong point. In high school when given a writing assignment, the topic was always provided; compare and contrast these two characters, argue why this statement is true, explain why this character did this, etc. So creating my own topic and argument was something new for me, but it is definitely an area I have excelled in. Examples of this in my e-portfolio include the Rhetorical Analysis, the final research paper, and even the two minute pitch (all found in the Processes and Final Texts tab). Although at first I did not view the rhetorical analysis as including my own claims, I eventually learned that the whole point was to make a claim about how affective the source was. As for the two minute pitch, my claim here should be that my research is interesting enough for people to listen to it at the TED talk. I did not necessarily do the pitch correctly because I more described my research, but thankfully I was able to learn from this experience and gain a skill regarding public speaking. It ties back to the exigence in the rhetorical situation, and my goal for the talk was not what it should have been. This will help me in the future when I have to speak again. My research paper was the final and most evident example of this skill. The paper is filled with claims, followed by arguments and support, hopefully trying to convince my audience that the research I have done does propose there is a problem, and to get interested enough to get involved. By using sources such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), credible sources, I was able to establish an argument behind my claims in each area regarding doctors/patients, the FDA and the U.S government.
Goal: completed!
Overall, I honestly made much more progress in these last five weeks than I ever expected to. Considering this was a summer class, I did not think I would learn or accomplish much in such a short time. However, I think my works of writing say much different. No, they may not be perfect, and yes, they could still use revision, but knowing how well I was able to apply the concepts I learned, and not only get good grades, but also walk away with new skills and learn from mistakes makes me feel extremely accomplished. I confidently feel I have been able to demonstrate the expected learning outcomes of this class, and I think my work shows that.
Throughout this very short semester I have learned a lot of valuable information that will follow me through college and possibly even my career. With everything that I have learned I have been able to apply it to my writing and make my writing more informative, argumentative, and just generally a more engaging research process. All the writings I have included here in my e-portfolio demonstrate this, some better than others, but that only means I was improving. From the beginning to the end, I have improved my understanding on assessing the key terms within a rhetorical situation, finding credible sources for my papers, and engaging in an effective research process to come to a final product.
The Rhetorical Situation
Before learning anything else in the writing process, I think of the most helpful things I came across were the contexts of the rhetorical situation. The most general of these being the rhetor, the exigence, the audience, and constraints. These were all things I had to take into consideration when doing my writings, no matter if as big as the research paper or as small as a discussion post. I learned how to effectively aim my writing toward who I was writing for, learned how to accommodate for constraints such as word counts, and as for exigence, that probably played the most important role. Every writing has a different goal, and that goal has to be the main focus throughout. Every claim, argument and source should go back to supporting that goal. Before this class I sometimes lost sight of what the actual goal of the paper was, and only focused on getting the page or word count completed, but this class made me realize that if I focus on these four basic things, the word and page count will come by itself. Past the terms of the rhetoric situation, however, I have also gained knowledge in other areas of research.
Searching for Sources
I have learned how to find sources, analyze complex pieces to determine what kind of source they really are, and then incorporate them into my argument. The Digital Paper Trail and the Rhetorical analysis (found in the 'Processes and Final Texts' tab) are two very good examples within the e-portfolio demonstrating my ability to complete this part of the research process. The Digital Paper Trail shows how much time goes into finding all the sources listed. Although the initial assignment only required 20 sources, as my research continued I continued adding sources I thought might be helpful and finished with more than 20. As I found more sources, more ideas sparked, and I was able to develop an argument based off these sources. As my sources changed, sometimes so did my argument, but I eventually learned that this is all a process of writing. I used to develop a set-in-stone thesis and find sources to back this, but I have learned through this class that is not the best path to take. The rhetorical analysis shows, in much more depth, how I analyze each of those sources to determine if they are right for my purpose. Although it is not seen here in my e-portfolio, many of my class discussions represent this, also. Taking information from The Everyday Writer, Understanding Rhetoric, and the other readings in From Critical Thinking to Argument, these are also examples of sources I was able to use to support my claims that I made throughout certain discussions. I have learned that a source is not the primary argument, nor is it a claim. It is the information you use to back both of these up. I like to think of sources as support, the beams that the house is built on, and from those beams I can build onto my argument and make it that much more convincing.
Effective Process Leads to Effective Paper
After learning to find and validate sources, the next big skill I learned was how to engage in a beneficial research process which led to developing a complex and effective argumentative research paper. Learning how to organize my plans for the process was arguably the most important skill I acquired. This started with the Research Map, which can be found within the Research Dossier under the Process and Final Texts tab. This map was the initial planning that led me to my sources and helped me develop an argument. It required me to provide key terms, where I would find my research, and even a calendar to give me an idea of what the process would look like and what my expectations were for due dates and other events. From someone who usually just sits down, begins a paper with no preparation and turns it in, this organizational skill was extremely helpful. As my ideas and plans became organized, the path to the final product became more clear and I was able to begin creating my argument.
In creating my own argument my goal was to “fill the gap”. This gap is an area where research may be lacking ideas or support, and that is where I come in. This is the time where I can let my own ideas shine through, and in the past this has not always been my strong point. In high school when given a writing assignment, the topic was always provided; compare and contrast these two characters, argue why this statement is true, explain why this character did this, etc. So creating my own topic and argument was something new for me, but it is definitely an area I have excelled in. Examples of this in my e-portfolio include the Rhetorical Analysis, the final research paper, and even the two minute pitch (all found in the Processes and Final Texts tab). Although at first I did not view the rhetorical analysis as including my own claims, I eventually learned that the whole point was to make a claim about how affective the source was. As for the two minute pitch, my claim here should be that my research is interesting enough for people to listen to it at the TED talk. I did not necessarily do the pitch correctly because I more described my research, but thankfully I was able to learn from this experience and gain a skill regarding public speaking. It ties back to the exigence in the rhetorical situation, and my goal for the talk was not what it should have been. This will help me in the future when I have to speak again. My research paper was the final and most evident example of this skill. The paper is filled with claims, followed by arguments and support, hopefully trying to convince my audience that the research I have done does propose there is a problem, and to get interested enough to get involved. By using sources such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), credible sources, I was able to establish an argument behind my claims in each area regarding doctors/patients, the FDA and the U.S government.
Goal: completed!
Overall, I honestly made much more progress in these last five weeks than I ever expected to. Considering this was a summer class, I did not think I would learn or accomplish much in such a short time. However, I think my works of writing say much different. No, they may not be perfect, and yes, they could still use revision, but knowing how well I was able to apply the concepts I learned, and not only get good grades, but also walk away with new skills and learn from mistakes makes me feel extremely accomplished. I confidently feel I have been able to demonstrate the expected learning outcomes of this class, and I think my work shows that.