SLO 1 Rhetorical Knowledge.

The definition of Rhetorical Knowledge is “the ability to identify and apply strategies
across a range of texts and writing situations.” It is important to be able to write with purpose
and to be aware of your audience in order to write a variety of texts for different purposes. With
rhetorical knowledge, a writer knows to create different versions of text when considering
different audiences and their needs.
“A study of California high schools found that if a student failed or did not complete

Algebra I, a general education class, in their Freshman year, that the chance of them graduating

on time or at all was merely six percent. Statistics such as this were part of the reason that North

Carolina established the North Carolina Early College High School Initiative. The NCECHSI

was funded by the North Carolina General Assembly and the Bill and Melinda Gates

Foundation.”

“The students and student leaders, such as mentors and tour guides, have taught me many things

about going to school here. They can often give us freshman tips on how to navigate campus and

the best places to go.”

I use rhetorical knowledge often in my own writing. In the first example, I wrote that

Algebra I was a general education course. I decided to insert that background information in case

some readers were not aware of the high school curriculum. In the second example, I decided to

mention the specific students and leaders so that people who are not aware of the leaders around

campus could understand who I was referring to.

SLO 2 Critical Reading

Critical Reading is officially defined as “the ability to analyze, synthesize, interpret, and
evaluate ideas, information and texts,” but I think of it as being able to dive deeper in the text
and read more than just the first layer. Reading critically is essential to any writer or reader.
Critical reading is important to the writer in the writing process as well as the reading process.
Writing with critics in mind allows you to address them and account for them in your paper.
Reading critically over your paper allows you to make sure that critical errors are dealt with.
 I looked into using Wikipedia as a source for my paper. Upon opening the webpage I
found that many of the statistics on the page did not have sources linked to them. The page was
also rather short and lacked information. I used my critical reading skills to determine that the
website was not a credible source because anyone could have written something.

One other source I thought of implementing into my paper was the website of my local
early college high school. I decided not to use it because the page itself did not have an author
and it did not allow much information that I would be able to use in my paper. I also worried that
having information from one specific school would make my paper unbalanced.

SLO 3 Knowledge of Conventions

The definition of Knowledge of Conventions is “the formal rules and informal guidelines
that define genres, and in so doing, shape readers’ and writers’ expectations of correctness or
appropriateness,” or simply knowledge of the rules of writing. Knowledge of conventions is
important because a writer needs to know how to spell and organize their text. If a writer does
not have a knowledge of conventions and does not understand what is appropriate in a given
situation, then their writing will not fulfill its purpose. Being able to distinguish between which
methods and types of essays and reports to write for different subjects can make a author much
more successful.
“His research led him to conclude that most early college students find themselves
attending an early college and being successful via three broad categories: family influence,
relationships, and challenges.” In this example I expressed knowledge of conventions several
times. I used a colon to make a list. The list was of three different categories. Each of the three
categories was separated by each other using a comma. Finally, I ended the sentence with a
period.
“Here on the campus of UNC Charlotte, there are two early colleges: an ECHS focused
on Engineering and an ECHS focused on Education.” Again, in this example I use multiple
symbols. I use a colon to show that I am listing categories. One is the Engineering ECHS and the
other is the Teacher ECHS. I finish the sentence with a period to bring the sentence to a close.
“All this has had me thinking over the past couple of years, “How do these ‘early college’

programs impact a student’s higher education?” This sample from my Thesis’ introductory

paragraph showcases my knowledge of conventions. I insert a comma as I change my sentence to

form a question. I put early college in apostrophes as I am introducing the topic without showing

its full technical terminology. Lastly, I used a question mark to end the sentence as a question.

SLO 4 Composing Processes

Composing Processes is defined as “multiple strategies to conceptualize, develop, and
finalize projects.” I envision this as a layout for how you plan your paper will go. The composing
process is important to creating a brilliantly written paper. The composing process is commonly
flexible, meaning that the writer can draft, review, collaborate, revise, rewrite, reread, and edit
anytime throughout the process. Writing a paper is not strictly prohibited to be researched before
writing.
 In my above examples, I took what my peers had commented and corrected my errors for
the final paper. I was able to correct my paper even though I was only halfway through it.

SLO 5 Critical Reflection

 The definition of Critical Reflection is “a writer’s ability to articulate what s/he is
thinking and why.” In other words, you are reflecting on how you are influenced by your
surroundings and experiences. It is important to be able to put ideas, experiences, and facts
together to truly understand the meaning behind one’s own writing. It enables writers to consider
issues in society and characteristics of our everyday lives that may not be realized otherwise.
“I have learned through this Studio that taking notes allows you to retain most of what the
author says that you find important. Also, the words and sentences that stand out are typically the
more important ones. When King would raise his voice, I knew that what he would say would
almost certainly be good to include in my paper.”
“In my high school career, we did learn about ethos, pathos, and logos, although it was
brief. Through this studio I have refreshed my knowledge and will be enabled in the future to
recognize the types of persuasion that I have seen in this lab. I can advance my education on the
topic by researching it myself and reviewing other commercials to discover more ways that
advertisers appeal to their audience. The time spend on this lab was roughly two or three hours.
The majority of the time came from watching each video several times while taking note of their
use of ethos, pathos, and logos.”
Both of these were reflections from my studios. I chose these to use as an example of critical
reflection because I was reflecting on what I had absorbed when doing the Studio. In each of
these studios I learned something new and was able to get a better understanding of each topic.