Exercise 1

The top 5 statements I chose were:
-It's okay to say things the instructuor might disagree with
-You have to know your thesis before you start
-You can use your experiences and observations as evidence
-You can't use the pronoun I
- Form matters than content

 Some of these I agree with and some that I do not agree with. I believe that is it okay to say things that your instructor might disagree with as long as its done in a respectful and intelligent manner. You are writing to have your reader GAIN knowledge so even if its not what your teacher agrees with, as long as its factual it should be acceptable. I also do not think you have to know your thesis before you start. It might be good to have a slight idea, but you should be able to have the freedom to write first and form your thesis from that. I do not think that using your own experiences as evidence is acceptable. Furthermore, I think it is okay to use 'I' by a paper by paper basis. Meaning some papers you get might give you the freedom to use 'I' and some may not. I think it all depend on the format that the paper requires. I think content is more important than form. The content if your paper is what your reader is going to notice most. Form may be taken into account as well, but not as much as the quality of your words.

Part 2

I chose the statement "There is a big difference between facts and opinions". I agree with this in the sense that facts have proof that backs them up while opinions are just based on the thoughts of person. You can not present your opinion and try to pass it as fact. That happens a lot in common arguments and debates. I believe that everyone's opinion should matter, but opinions cannot trump cold hard facts.