Meneses 1

Elizabeth Meneses
Professor Jason Baumwirt
Argumentation and Debate Online

May 9, 2014


Reflection


As I look back I realize how much I have gained from this course in such a short amount of
time. I met most of my goals and overcame quite a few challenges. I ran into some technical
issues but was able to effectively work through them. As in life, not everything is seamless but
challenges offer an opportunity to problem solve and move forward. I accomplished to manage
my time effectively and turn in my assignments on time. During week #4 I traveled with my
family three-thousand miles to watch one of my daughter's play her last season of Softball. I
experienced the joy of watching her hit a home run and had a glimpse of her life away from
home. I witnessed the genuine love in my other daughter's eyes as she watched her twin sisters
success. They truly are each other's best friend. I stood still in the moment and thought to
myself how proud I am of both of them. I will never forget that time. It was magical. At night
however it was back to business. I got caught up on my reading, posted weekly
discussions and worked on my projects. I was able to be present with my family while meeting
my obligations in the classroom.

Through this course I gained critical thinking skills, learned how to detect the fallacies in
arguments and apply the Toulmin model. I learned about inductive and deductive
Meneses 2


reasoning and I gained a new perspective in the art of argumentation. I learned that arguing
shouldnt have a negative connotation. In fact, it can be quite constructive if two people know
how to effectively argue and rebuttal one another with civility. Where I believe I still need to
improve in is in the area of citation. I still find it difficult but I know with practice it will
become second nature. What I found the most beneficial about this course was the research. In
fact, I was surprised on how much there was to know about my topic. As I delved deeper into
it, I became impassioned and felt the need to make changes in my life. I was persuaded by the
arguments against animal cruelty and embarked in a movement of my own. I am moving
towards adopting a vegetarian lifestyle. While Im finding it challenging, I have a resolve to
stand by my convictions. I guess you can say that this course was transformative far beyond the
classroom. It was life altering.

In closing I would like to add that I enjoyed the group discussions and learning about
my classmates. I realized how diverse and unique we all are. We all come from different
backgrounds, differing opinions and have different goals but we are all the same in all the ways
that really matter. We all have hopes and aspirations that make us uniquely human.