Self Assessment Memo

As a writer, I think I pretend to be very objective. I like to write in such a manner that I only include facts; however, my pretense comes in the form that I am very selective about the facts that I include in my paper. Even if I have to put my opinion into a paper, I will state that opinion as a fact and not indicate it as my opinion. For example in my first draft of the unit 2 controversy paper I begin my paper with a parallel of why decision making involves more than just the consequences of one action chosen. Although this may give the reader a good basis for the paper, it does not give them any emotional attachment. In the same paper, I make the claim that an increase in Marijuana use will negatively affect society, but I do not illustrate it with something the reader can relate to. I think that as part of my objectiveness I avoid trying to "trick" my readers into thinking the way I do using something like emotion that is not necessarily based in fact. At the same time, I only give the reader enough facts to believe my side of the controversy.
In unit 3 I will edit my first draft of the Unit 2 controversy portfolio to involve more of an emotional appeal and to give a more diverse spread of facts and my own opinions. This will improve my writing because it will allow my reader to have a connection and a deeper understanding of what I am writing and also allow them to be connected to me through the use of my own personal opinions.

Reflection on Research Paper

Throughout Unit 2, I have become a better writer and learner. Before I researched and learned about the different aspects of Marijuana legalization, my projects for school always consisted of something I already knew a lot about. Whereas for this project, I knew very little about the political controversy of Marijuana or the different affects of Marijuana on the body. Through the research process I learned how to teach myself through reading and finding facts and scrutinizing other people's arguments. I also learned how to write a more convincing argumentative paper by balancing arguments for a controversy and arguments against that controversy. This allows the reader to go through the same process of thinking and learning as I did when I did the research. This adds to the ethos of your argument because you are showing the reader that you did the research and you understand both sides. The part of this project that I resisted the most was doing the research. At first it seemed pointless because I would get information from the internet, but it wasn't necessarily credible. Using an academic search, I began using more reliable and interesting sources. Then I began to learn tons of in depth things and became interested in the project. I was just resisting doing the work, but after I started doing the work I discovered that I actually like learning about new things and being involved in current affairs. I think this research paper has made me a better, more educated citizen who has the desire to be involved in political decisions and controversies.