Being able to use textual evidence is important and I think it strengthened my paper. I believe that having textual evidence was one of the easiest skills to use in writing. For example text-to-text connections is important to have as a evidence of your paper. It gives a strong point into what you are trying to say and prove it from the text. I think I am pretty good at this part where I can use one author’s quote to explain my thoughts and also connect it with another authors quote. I believe that something that made me write better through the semester was to know the relationships between different authors and what their articles was about. I had a good idea on how to connect different authors into one and was able to write a better paper because of it.

It is important for people to start thinking critically about these issues, since it will allow them to realize that there are other ideas and views than just their own. HR 40 not being passed by Congress has a connection with Scheuer’s ideas of critical thinking. Scheuer says that “[critical thinking] is the advanced skills that form that bridge include thinking independently, an almost self-evident intellectual virtue but a vague one (and no mind is an island); thinking outside the box (likewise crucial but unspecific); grasping the different forms and divisions of knowledge and how they are acquired (but the forms of knowledge and ways of acquiring them evolve); seeing distinctions and connections beyond the obvious; distinguishing reality from appearance; and engaging with complexity, but not for its own sake.” (27)This shows that critical thinking requires someone to think outside of the box, which is what congress should have done for African Americans. It also states to grasp the different forms of division of knowledge and seeing distinction, which congress also failed to do. This is important because the members of Congress are not taking in the African Americans point of view. They are mostly white men, so they do not notice the hardships African Americans have endured. If congress engaged in critical thinking, HR 40 would have been passed already. African Americnas could have had a better life a lot sooner with a bill to help protect them. Being able to think critically allows people to understand other people’s perspectives and take a view from their side. People have different ways of thinking and it is important to incorporate everyone, since America is not just about one race. Congress should start to use critical thinking and have more perspective for others and let reparations happen. 

In this paragraph I was able to first introduce my statement on Hr40, then use the quote to prove it and put more of my ideas into the paper. I also explained the quotes nicely and tied it up with my thoughts and the stamens I made of how America should let reparations happen. This shows a strong integration of ideas since I have used textual evidence as well my ideas to prove my point. It also let readers know a clear vision of what my paper will be about with reparations as I start the paragraph with HR40.