Invention Activity

Amber Cousin
Part 1:
Rhetorical Knowledge is definitely something one should know. Without it, many would
individuals would a hard time understanding certain types of text and how to write certain pieces.
All works of literature have different rhetorical situations and one must understand this in order
to comprehend and compose successfully. Everyone who reads and writes should have the skills
of rhetorical knowledge. Those in the journalism field or even someone working in an office
needs these skills. Journalists write a variety of genres and must have rhetorical knowledge in
order to know how to compose for various rhetoric situation. In an office, many write memos
and if one does not know what a memo is and understand its composition there could be some
problems. I honestly need rhetorical knowledge on a daily basis. When reading various works, it
is much easier to understand what Im reading if I know the rhetorical situation that is involved.
This applies to my writings as well. Later on in life, rhetorical knowledge will be necessary for
me. In the field of psychology, there is always something to be read and new information that
needs to be documented. This semester many of the readings I was assigned truly showed me
how incredibly valuable rhetorical knowledge.
Part 2:
Critical Reflections are a required part of the learning process. It very important that one reflects
upon their work and past experience in order to grow from it. Without it, no one would think
twice about their mistakes and repeat them again. Everyone needs critical reflection skills in
order to be successful in literature. It is essential for almost all career fields. Doctors would
definitely need critical reflection skills to assess information and conduct research. Without those
skills, one could have many misdiagnoses, as well as repeated error in research. I need critical
reflection whenever I write and also after I read something. Before actually composing my
writings, I reflect on past experiences with that particular type of writing and what went wrong,
as well as past experiences that could help enhance my work. After reading, I have to reflect and
consider the new information that I gained through that reading and connect to previous
knowledge to build my overall understanding. As a psychologist, I will definitely use critical
reflections to help me diagnose patients and help them to gain an understand of their condition.
Critical reflections are required to progress in everything.
Part 3:
Knowledge off conventions has always been something that is extremely important to me. Rules
are needed in any circumstance, writing is no different. Without knowledge of convention,
writing would not have any structure and it would not be specific enough to receive critique.
Everyone needs knowledge of conventions! It is a basic skill required for any type of writing and
reading. These skills are needed in every profession actually, especially in teaching. One must
have knowledge of conventions in order to guide their students the correct direction. Some
would have to know more about them than other, like an English teacher would have much more
knowledge of convention than a math teacher would. I will need knowledge of conventions all
the time, especially when writing papers. I must know the format of the genre, as well as general
rules for writing and the English language. My career future career as a psychologist will require

Invention Activity
Amber Cousin
a knowledge of conventions too. One must always be professional and adhere to the rules and
guidelines when writing within the workplace. Without sufficient knowledge of conventions, one
may read my work and think that I am not educated and qualified enough to be credible.
Knowledge of conventions is needed to reach success.
Part 4:
Before this course, I knew very little about the subject of rhetorical knowledge. I had never, to
my memory, even heard rhetorical knowledge being used. Although this is true, I was
knowledgeable enough to be able to identify various types of text, as well as applying the
strategies to my work. In my AP writing class in high school, my teacher often had us view and
discuss different types of literature in order to assess and gain knowledge of each type. Though
this assignment I was able to gain enough understanding to recognize different types of literature
and know what was involved in that particular genre. In this course I was able to read and
compose many different works of literature. This gave me more confidence in my rhetorical
knowledge and actually understanding the components of various genres. Without the readings, I
would have never known exactly what rhetorical knowledge was and how to apply to actual
works.
Critical reading has always been stressed by my mother, as well as in school. I was always given
challenging works of literature to read and comprehend. This helped to increase my critical
reading skills a bit. In high school, reading multiple works of Shakespeare was really something
that helped me to increase my own understand of critical reading and how it worked. In this
course, I was given the opportunity to expand upon my previous knowledge. Critical reading was
something I valued by the time I reached the college level. Although this is true, when I first
arrived here, I still was not as sufficient as I wanted to be. Through reading The Concept of the
Discourse Community by John Swales, I was able to gain an overall better understanding of
critical reading exactly how to improve my own skills. I was not only able to read better, but I
was able better able to gain important information from what I was reading. Without actually
understanding critical reading and how important it was for me to better understand what I was
reading, I would have never been able to better my skills.
The composing processes of writing were never something I thought about, I just did them. From
a very early age I was taught various process that could be used to compose writings. Whenever I
actually wrote things I never really thought about composing, I just wrote freely. By the time I
made it to high school, I had begun writing longer and more complex works of literature. This is
really when I was introduced to the composing process and actually had use for it. Y senior
project included an eight-page paper on book. I was completely overwhelmed until I spoke to my
teacher about how to make it simpler. I decided to break my assignment down into parts and
gather ideas about each before I actually started to write. This was only a small part of my bigger
composing process now. With UWRT 1103, I was given the opportunity to compose several
relatively large works of literature. I needed a new composing process and my professor had
given me just that. Now I know how to break my assignment up into parts and actually work on
each component separately and eventually taking the time to put them all together. Without the

Invention Activity
Amber Cousin
composing processes I have adapted this year, I would be completely overwhelmed every time I
received an assignment.
It is essential to have a knowledge of conventions, especially when it comes to reading and
writing. I have always had a passion for having strong skills when it comes to the conventions of
reading and writing, simply because I want my work to be as close to perfect as possible. By the
time I had reached high school, I was already very knowledgeable when it came to conventions
in literature. Although this is true, having a AP teacher who shared my love of conventions made
all the difference. I was able to expand upon my knowledge with daily exercises involving
different texts, as well as composing works of different literature. I would say that my college
writing course, only increased my knowledge of conventions. As I was exposed to even more
genres of literature, I was able to retain the conventions of them. The readers guide remix was a
real eye opener when it came to the conventions of different genres. It helped to be able to
understand different works as well as create my own more effortlessly. Conventions are an
important component when it comes to reading and writing, as well as actually having a known
understanding of the genre.
Critical reflection was not really as stressed as much as other skills during my educational career.
I always knew what it was, but I never really understood its important. Reading was more of an
activity that was done without taking time to reflect upon what was read. In many cases, I was
just reading to get it over with. In high school, one I actually started reading things that mattered
more and were a bit harder to understand, I began to realize how much I really needed to use
critical reflections. They are really required in order to have read a work of literature and have
retain information successfully. When I finally made it to college, I was given a lot of reading
assignment all of which were more about understanding the actual text rather than remembering
facts. Reading Scholarship Boy by Richard Rodriguez really helped me to gain a better
understanding of how to use critical reflections. At first this article was a little difficult for me to
understand, but as I broke it down and actually took the time to process each part of it, I began to
understand. By the time I finished, I felt as if I had a clear understanding of the article. Critical
reflections are now a big part of my reading process, even when the works are relatively easy. It
really helps to reflect and process on the new information that is received.
Part 5:
Things learned:

Writing efficiently
Bad drafts
Composing
Breaking down
Comprehension

Four Artifacts:
1. Literacy Memoir: critical reflection, composing processes, knowledge of conventions
2. Readers Guide: critical reading, composing processes, knowledge of conventions

Invention Activity
Amber Cousin
3. Readers guide remix: rhetorical knowledge, composing processes
4. Writing Portfolio: composing processes, critical reflection