Introduction

Over this first half of the semester, I have learned how to rhetorically analyze articles and other sources of media to determine the author’s purposes and why the content is the way it is to communicate a point across to their audience. I’ve enjoyed being able to use my personal experiences to be able to relate to or comprehend the content we look over in class. Writing the source analysis over the writings in the textbook were some of the more difficult parts of the semester for me. One of my goals that I believe I am doing very well at is keeping my language appropriate to the context, content, and audience of my writing. I want to get better at contributing to class discussions.

Goal 1: Collaboration (10%): Helps collaboration move forward by articulating the merits of alternative ideas

Here is an entry from my class goal journal. These are instances of me adding to group discussions by sharing my own ideas. Throughout the semester, I have learned that there isn’t really a “dumb” question to ask or “dumb” idea to share out. Most of the time there is always someone else with the same question or same though/observation. This has encouraged me to share more of my opinions during open discussions.

Goal 2: Information Literacy (30%): Accesses information using effective, well-designed search strategies and appropriate sources 

This is a screenshot of my works cited page from Multimodal #1. This demonstrates my goal because it shows that my information and evidence in this paper comes from trusted and credible sources. New York Times, KSDK, and depending on what the topic is, Fox 2 are tenured and trusted news sources that have been credible over the years. I felt safe in getting by evidence from these sources for my paper.

Goal 3: Problem-Solving Skills (20%): Implements solutions to address multiple contextual factors 

I have not yet gotten the chance to participate in any group work in research team so far this semester. I will get the chance to do so during MC#2 and Source Analysis #5. I will be journaling down how the group work goes in detail. I will talk about any problems faced and the solutions that are implemented.

Goal 4: Written Communication (20%): Demonstrates a thorough understanding of context, audience, and purpose  

This is a paragraph from Multimodal #1. This essay is supposed to be about a wicked problem that has to do with water in a place that is close to where I am from. The paragraph above shows that I keep the language in my writing appropriate to the context, content, and purpose of the paper. Through this assignment I learned how to use my words effectively to get a point across to my audience without using too many words.

Goal 5: Intercultural Knowledge and Competence (20%): Articulates own cultural rules and biases and recognizes and responds to biases

Above is an entry from my class goals journal. It describes a time that I recognized my own cultural bias in an instance of drinking water straight out of a faucet. This goal is one of the goals that I believe is important not just academically, but socially also. I was able to recognize that I had my own bias for something that is different than what I am used to. This helped me learn how to be more culturally aware and accepting.