In this unit, I began to explore the Quick Reference Guide Genre. I am used to persuasive essays and analytical papers, so this transition was very new to me. I learned a lot about efficacy, and "to the point" writing in order to create a simplistic but informative paper. I also grew more comfortable with scholarly sources. I did not use a lot of databases throughout my highschool career, so it was interesting to see studies rather than articles. I noticed the scholarly papers were much more dense than most online articles, and I did not like having to sift through unnecessary/irrelevant information to find the arguments I was looking for.
In regards to the death penalty, there is budding communication between the well-known political parties, the Democrats and Republicans. There is an evident shift in conservative voters from a traditionally supportive stance on capital punishment to an anti-death penalty view. This shift allows conservative voters to relate to liberal voters, and commuication between the two parties will result in actions taken to refute the practice of lethal injections and executions. For example, the Nebraska legislature has voted to repeal the Death Penalty, and they are generally accepted as a Republican state. This indicates cooperation between the two parties, and a shift in political views.
While writing my QRG I learned the value of peer edits and outside commentary. In my previous writing, I generally trusted my instincts and did not utilize those around me to help me improve my writing. However, this assignment forced me to allow judgement from other individuals which helped provide me with a refreshed perspective on my work. Overall, I think the critiques helped me write a more organized and informative piece.
In my work I really strived to provide accurate and informative information about the new political shift taking place in America. I utilized direct quotations and analyzed the implicit details of each article in order to draw a deeper meaning of the themes represented throughout my QRG. These implications reflect the importance of the transition towards anti-capital punishment actions, and ultimately comment on humanity overall (the less we kill, the more humane we are). However, I really struggled with keeping my personal bias out of the QRG. I found articles that I agreed with so that I could tell the perspective of the authors easily, but I did not challenge myself in finding counter arguments or altering viewpoints because I knew they would anger me. I am a very opiniated person and it is difficult for me to validate opposing arguments. I was proud of myself for writing about such a dense topic that I am very passionate about, but I don't think I fully brought the argument justice (for my readers) in that I avoided opposing evidence.
For the next project, I intend to fully analyze the topic instead of choosing one side to focus on. I think it is important that individuals choose their opinions based on accurate and complete information, and I want to be able to provide that to my readers. Although it is difficult for me to even talk about topics that I do not agree with, my goal is to become less subjective and more open minded when analyzing topics. I know I will always hold my opinions, but I will research evidence and quotes from well-known individuals involved in the topic in order to provide complete information about the topic I am writing about.
Overall, this unit blessed me with new perspectives and insights on what my classmates (and myself) are passionate about. However, the most important thing I learned from this unit is that writing does not have to be lengthy and wordy in order to be effective.
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