Outcome two involves collecting and analyzing different texts to incorporate in a paper to support a new, unique argument. This important skill in writing can be easily abused. With a looming deadline for a paper added with a hefty minimum page requirement, it could be tempting for the procrastinator to misuse this outcome and get closer to the page requirement by incorporating large quotes from a text. This results in the shift of focus of the paper moving from the author’s own argument to that of another author. However, when this outcome is used correctly, the incorporation of different sources adds a new dimensionality, credibility, and depth to a paper.

My short assignment four titled “Annotated Bibliography of Sources Involving the Ideal of Humanity” best represents my mastery of this outcome. A weakness I have as a writer is that I can sometimes have trouble thinking abstractly, and I want to find sources that deal directly with my topic. I can find it difficult to find connections between sources that aren't explicitly dealing with my topic and what I'm writing about. When first composing this annotated bibliography, I naively thought it would be easy to find sources that directly deal with the topic of how Buffy the Vampire Slayer views the ideal of humanity and extends this ideal from traditional boundaries. I wasn’t able to find any sources that explicitly talked about this topic, so when compiling my sources, I first focused on finding ones that explain historical contexts of humanity and what the traditional ideal of humanity is. These sources provided a good foundation for my paper in that I could compare how the ideal of humanity in Buffy is different from the traditional ideal discussed in these sources. My articulation in my annotated bibliography of how I would use these kinds of sources to back my upcoming major essay is seen when I state, “The origins of humanity and citizenship that are discussed in this article will help show how Buffy the Vampire Slayer has moved forward to expand this notion of humanity through its depiction of humanity as including anything with human nature”(6). I’m showing my use of the source to back up and serve as a comparison to my argument. I’m demonstrating how the ideas presented in the article I’m citing will interweave with my own ideas to form a stronger argument. I was also able to find a source that specifically cited Buffy the Vampire Slayer through the character Spike, and I used the analysis that this source provided on this character in order to forge my own thoughts about how Spike functions as an extension of the ideal of humanity in the show. Furthermore, I was able to draw various connections between the sources I analyzed in order to create conversations between the pieces. An example of my sources behaving in conversation with each other is when I connect the point that Keen is making in the importance of knowing the context to a person's actions and the instance where Cornell recounts the story of the girl who became a suicide bomber giving this person context for her violent act. “This is similar to how in Cornell’s article “Facing our Humanity”, a terrorist who is normally thought of as inhumane and evil can be seen as having humanity when a context for his or her actions is explained”(4). This instance demonstrates my ability as a writer to be able to find connections between sources in order to better formulate my own argument.

Overall, this assignment demonstrates how I carefully accumulated and analyzed a diverse group of sources ranging from articles to television shows to provide a solid basis for my upcoming major paper. This assignment also shows how I correctly cited all the sources in the appropriate MLA format.