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Cory Sweet

Ms. Thomas

UWRT 1104

10 April 2019

Writing Theory Essay

The first Student Learning Outcome (SLO) is Rhetorical Knowledge. An articulate writer

uses rhetorical knowledge to analyze and compose a multitude of texts with reference to

audience, context, and purpose. They will be familiar with the fluidity of an author’s writing and

how voice, tone, and design will change as well. The rhetorical situation is the context of a

rhetorical act that is comprised of an exigence, a medium, and an audience. The rhetorical

situation of any text will be easily recognizable by this point.

The following example is from my post for Studio 7: “The OWL includes an MLA Guide, APA

Guide, Chicago Guide, as well as OWL writing exercises. It also includes general writing tips,

researching and citing, teacher and tutor resources, subject-specific writing, job search writing,

and English as a second language. This is just a couple of resources that are included on this

comprehensive website.” I used rhetorical knowledge about the knowledge of the audience to

adjust my writing style. Writing as if the audience was unaware of the OWL was my primary

writing style.
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The second example is also from my post for Studio 7. My example is included in the following
screenshot. I used my
rhetorical knowledge
of text analysis to
write an informed
response to the Letter.
I analyzed audience,
purpose, exigence, and
constraints in my
response.

The second
SLO is Critical Reading. An articulate reader uses critical reading to make discoveries, learn, and
inquire about relevant concepts. Analyzing a reader’s own work and the work of others will be
easy if critical reading is focused on. A student will be able to locate and evaluate various
sources for research that are credible and accurate. If a writer is reading critically, then evidence,
connections, and patterns of texts will not be difficult to notice.
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My first example is from Studio 7. My example is included in the following screenshot. I read

King’s Letter critically so that I could efficiently recognize the connection that he was trying to

make. If I was not reading so crtitically, identifying King’s use of ethos and logos would have

proved to be quite difficult. This SLO taught me the importance of inquiring about

interpretations and nuanced meanings in texts. Thoughtfully analyzing ever line of text is crucial

to reading critically.

The following is my part of my response to They Say, I Say Chapter 4: “1. Disagreeing can be a

very good way to respond to a conversation. Find something you disagree with, summarize it,

and argue with it. 2. Agreeing is another way to respond to a conversation. It is important to

bring something new into the conversation that will make you a valuable participant. 3. Agreeing

and Disagreeing is also very useful when you need to agree or disagree with something but are

not completely bias.” I read TSIS Ch.4 as critically as I could in order to interpret three of the

main points. This SLO makes important themes, ideas, and concepts easily recognizable to an
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student that utilizes it. I believe that my response was accurate because of my use of critical

reading in the chapter.

The third SLO is Knowledge Conventions. An articulate writer can use knowledge of

conventions to shape readers’ and writers’ expectations of correctness or appropriateness. A

writer who has extensive knowledge of literary mechanics, usage, spelling, and citation practices

will be able to write very effective texts. Intellectual property, language structure, and genre

conventions are also concepts utilized by a writer with knowledge of conventions.

The following screenshot is from my discussion post on Beginning the Portfolio:

I believe that I have utilized my knowledge of conventions to write sentences with interesting

and unique sentence structure. Each sentence is uniquely structured. I did not start every sentence

saying “I” or “We”, but instead adjusted them to keep the readers interested and my text from

being dull. My use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling was all proper and contributed to

create a sense of cohesion throughout the text.

My second example is also from the discussion Beginning the Portfolio: “The first web page

includes a very nice layout for the home page, but some of the background images make the text

hard to read. The inclusion of personal graphics to supplement the about the author section was
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very useful. Most of the font type selections I saw were also very good. The color schemes were

selected with purpose and I did not have trouble reading most of them. Layout design was not

taken lightly for most of them. I felt like many of these students thought about the layout so that

it would be easy for people to read.” In my post, I presented a review of a website. First, I

described one examination, then I wrote a more critical examination of the piece in the second

half of the sentence. Connecting them together creates a response that flows better and improves

readability. I typically write in a more conservative and refined style. My knowledge of

convention variations is not presented in most of my responses because I tend to stay close to the

rules.

The following is my last example from my Thesis: “Tulbure endorses the continued education

and imagination of instructors in teaching when she says: “Effective teaching requires flexibility,

creativity and responsibility in order to provide an instructional environment able to respond to

the learner’s individual needs” (398).” This section of text exemplifies my knowledge of MLA

conventions. I introduced the quote from the source with the author’s name and included the

page number of the quote in a parenthetical citation at the end before the period.

The fourth SLO is Composing Processes. An articulate writer can use the processes to

conceptualize, develop, and finalize their projects. These flexible processes can be applied to

researching, revising, rewriting and rereading. Efficient analysis and deeper understanding of a

writer’s text can be attained with a proper understanding of composing processes. This SLO can

also be used to create text structures that engage readers more.

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The following screenshot is a section of text from my Thesis rough draft:

The following is a revised version of the previous screenshot:

In the revised text, I included a sentence describing my personal observations about my teachers.

Ms. Thomas suggested that I include this so that the reader can actually know what I noticed and

experienced for myself. This supports my plan to express personal experiences as well as my

reason for inquiry research.

The following is another segment from my Thesis rough draft:

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The following is a revised segment of my previous screenshot:

In the revised text, I expanded on the idea of modalities and several main learning styles. This

helps the reader gain a better understanding of such concepts. Ms. Thomas suggested that I

explain what these concepts are because of the assumption that my audience does not have any

prior knowledge. I believe that this revision improved the clarity and flow of my thesis.

The following screenshot is from my thesis rough draft:

The following is a revised segment from my thesis:

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The revised text introduces the paragraph with the actual title of the source instead of using a

phrase like some of the other introductory sentences. This adds interest to the paragraph and keeps

the readers interested and motivated to read more. This was suggested to me by Ms. Thomas. I

believe that this adds interest and uniqueness to the introduction of the paragraph. All the previous

revisions created clarity and interest for my thesis. The composing processes SLO was crucial in

allowing me to make these adjustments.

The last SLO is Critical Reflection. An articulate writer can use critical reflection to efficiently

analyze his own thinking and why. The conceptualization of his composition choices, revisions,

feedback and response analysis will be easily attainable with a solid understanding of this SLO.

Reflection and rhetorical awareness are crucial in order to improve their writing and advance their

knowledge. A writer that utilizes this SLO will be aware of their own writing process, techniques,

and use of conventions.

The following screenshot is from my Inquiry Source Synthesis paper:

In this section of text, I described one of my main sources. After a thorough analysis of the source,

I could efficiently reflect on the claims, viewpoints, and main ideas that were presented to me.

Using my knowledge of critical reflection was very helpful in formulating this section of text.
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Describing multiple sides of the argument as well as the conversation behind them shows that I

have properly reflected upon and understood the content in the included source.

The following section of text is also from my Inquiry Source Synthesis paper: “The fifth

and last source I will include in my synthesis, in fact, also supports the position that coincides

with the implementation of adaptive instruction in education systems. It claims that this

adaptation to instruction will improve learning and success for students from all cultural

backgrounds. The topic is still quite controversial, therefore; this position is disagreeing with

several others.” Before this section of text in my paper, I explained the main ideas and concepts

of the source. After critically reflecting upon this information, I can describe an insight that the

topic at hand is very controversial and requires more research. This intellectual advancement that

I have gained was used to further my inquiry research and provide myself with a more nuanced

understanding of the subject.