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.

Core Value 1 is best represented by my Editorial, for a number of reasons. One of the reasons is that I had originally chosen a topic that was saturated with ideas and articles and had been overplayed. I stepped back and asked myself “What is a topic that is relevant today, and will resonate with more readers.” From here I changed my topic from the legalization of marijuanna to the vaping epidemic. I used the feedback that I was given to craft an editorial that not only gave information on the topic but gave solutions and examples of how it has been solved in other areas. I had to do a lot of reading and research about the epidemic in order to craft a plan to fix the problem and while I was reading shaped my idea on the subject. 

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. 

In my letter to the editor I had used my critical reading skills to understand what the writer of the article was trying to convey through their article. Once I had read the article I decided to question and challenge I had to go back and start to construct my argument. I read the article carefully looking for the points that were made that I can refute form my letter off of. By reading through the article sop carefully I found some holes in their argument and was able to use facts and analysis to substantiate my position on the topic at hand. If it were not for how well I understood the writer’s point of view, my letter would not have been so strong. The first step to making an argument is understanding what the other side ios built on and that is exactly what I did in my letter to the editor. 

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.

While writing my Op-Ed I was able to target a specific audience. I targeted my writing and arguments to college students and college graduates when I wrote about the student loan crisis which almost all college students and graduates can relate to. I shaped my writing in a  way that made it much more appealing to the readers who had a personal connection and attachment to the subject matter. For those who did not know the true severity of the crisis I filled them in on what what going on and then began to formulate my argument. I was able to adapt my arguments around the current information and formed solutions to the problem. 

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.

Each of the pieces that I have written throughout this semester have used a number of different sources for my research. While some was through personal experience, more often than not my research went above and beyond the personal level. I looked up many surveys and studies while also reading other people’s personal accounts when it came to different scenarios. This is represented in my Op-Ed when I wrote about the struggles of a real college graduate and their personal experience. I picked and chose certain facts that would properly support my arguments in the strongest ways possible. I made sure to not have facts that were not relevant to the issue at hand. 

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. 

While writing pieces that are heavily surrounded with your own opinions it is easy to misrepresent an autoru or article to better represent your own stance. As a writer I always made sure that I represented the other writers fairly and did not take what they had to say out of context. In my letter to the editor it was easy to take what the other writer had said and twist it to make my own argument seem stronger, but I made sure I steered clear of those types of practices. When getting facts and statistics I always made sure that I gave credit where credit was due and did not claim things as my own. Never did I use another person’s ideas as my own or take a statement out of context to better my position.