Madeleine Castellano
This platform is dedicated to the improvement of my skills in writing, rhetoric, and literacy throughout the semester. Delve into various forms of writing that not only showcasing my learning but also reflect my personal growth as a writer.
Research
Research Proposal
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Anotated Bibliography
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Research paper
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Discussion posts
Reading Response 3: Primary Research Methods
In this assignment I developed methods to research the question: “How do new aged documentaries use fear-based appeals to influence the public’s perception of social or political issues?” This assignment engages the outcome of Generating Inquiry because it made me create and explore questions that moves beyond surface-level observations. Instead of just asking whether documentaries are persuade audiences, I designed a research plan that investigates the specific rhetorical and visual strategies used to create fear. While doing so, I had to think carefully about what kind of evidence would best answer my question the best, which led me to methods like content, textual, visual, and comparative analysis. Planning these approaches taught me how inquiry is not just about curiosity, but also about coming up with structured ways to find answers to your question. This process helped me grow more confident in developing focused, researchable questions and made me realize how inquiry can guide not only the topic of your writing but also the methods and direction your entire project takes.
Reading response 4: Exigency
This assignment most clearly engages with the course outcome Generating Inquiry, because my response required me to explore genuine questions about exigency and why certain messages feel urgent or necessary. As I reflected on Vieregge’s definition of exigency, I found myself asking what actually makes a piece of writing indispensable to a reader, and how writers across different genres create that sense of urgency. This led me to examine examples like The Social Dilemma and Greta Thunberg’s UN speech, which pushed my thinking further about different strategies that spark engagement. This assignment also helped me reflect on my own writing process. I realized that when I struggle with broad prompts, it’s usually because I haven’t yet identified a meaningful question or personal connection to explore. By reframing prompts around something I’m genuinely interested in, I create my own sense of purpose in the assignment, which makes writing feel more intentional and motivated. Overall, the assignment helped me better understand how inquiry drives both rhetorical analysis and my own ability to make writing meaningful.
Reading Response 6: Analyzing Primary Data
This assignment most strongly aligns with the course outcome Contributing Knowledge, because it required me to think carefully about how to analyze primary evidence and develop meaningful conclusions from it. By learning about open coding from Denny and Clark, as well as the Quirkos video, I began to understand how researchers move from raw data to organized themes that can answer a research question. In my response, I described how I plan to reread interview transcripts multiple times, noticing repeated phrases, emotions, or patterns that emerge naturally. This process helped me recognize that contributing knowledge isn’t just about collecting information, but it’s about interpreting it responsibly and making sure the themes I identify truly reflect what participants expressed. The assignment also deepened my understanding of ethical analysis, thinking about how easily data can be misrepresented made me more aware of my responsibility as a researcher. I learned that contributing knowledge means presenting findings transparently and resisting the temptation to shape the evidence to fit a preferred argument. Overall, engaging with the coding process showed me how careful interpretation and ethical decision-making are essential for producing meaningful and trustworthy research.
Reading Response 7: Rethinking Assessment
This assignment aligns most closely with the course outcome of Revision, because reading Reynolds and Davis and Friend significantly reshaped how I understand feedback and its role in improving writing. Before engaging with these texts, I often saw grades as the final step in an assignment, or a kind of closing judgment rather than part of an ongoing learning process. But the readings made me recognize that assessment is a complex and thoughtful act grounded in shared academic standards. Their point that “oral and written commentary is more instructive than a letter grade” helped me understand why feedback is essential for meaningful revision rather than an optional extra. Reflecting on my own experiences, I realized how much more I grew when teachers provided comments that guided me toward specific changes. The authors’ explanations clarified why this kind of feedback helps writers see both the strengths of their process and the areas that need further development. This assignment strengthened my understanding that revision isn’t just editing, but also responding to informed feedback and rethinking choices as part of an ongoing conversation. It made me more aware of how assessment supports growth and why active revision is central to becoming a stronger writer.
Extra Credit Assignments
Analysing Research a Method in Pop Culture
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Spooky Special
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