Dear Portfolio Reader,

During these past few weeks I've come to realize that my writing skills were in dire need of remedying.  My paragraphs were exceeedingly long-winded and scatter brained, much like myself. They would stretch on for pages, and on multiple occasions encompassed more than one idea. Essentially they would explain everything that needed to be explained, but not in the most cogent manner. This course has helped me rectify this injustice, as well as many others.

Another major issue that this class has resolved for me is my overuse of quotations; this was most problematic when writing my textual analysis paper. I used to have this notion in my head that no one could explain something as well as an author in the instant that they formulated their idea, albeit, this is not always true. My words could be just as refined and explanatory as the authors, perhaps even moreso. So with time I have allowed the number of direct quotes per paragraph to dwindle to usually two to three maximum for a lengthy paragraph; which may also be a funtion of the shortened paragraph length. Now I can quote as well as a seasoned professional, well maybe not a seasoned professional. 

Lastly I was arduously tasked with realizing that revisions were not a mere thing of suggestion, but rather an all too often occurence that needed to take place. Being the very stubborn, confident person that I am revisions were not something that came naturally to me. In my mind my word was golden, pristine and irreproachable and therefore not in need of mending. Then it dawned upon that the best works of art have been refined and refined again with fine toothed combs and then with a bit of disdain, and moderate hubris still intact, I learned to revise and revise again to my heart's content; namely on the seemingly infinite proposal paper. I'll have you know that I can now totally propose an idea in a coherent manner in under eight pages, no need for applause, but it is appreciated.

By this point you can without hesitation predict what type of person I am, so I do not believe it will come as a surprise when I tell you that I like to romanticize my writing and make situations seem so much more glamorous than they actually are. This minor little problem weighed down my profile paper like a ton of bricks. I just could not seem to manage writing in manner that didn't consist of every sentence overloading the senses with visual imagery. Alas, this was another thing I needed to remedy. So I set forth to create a vivid, yet not overstimulated profile that would do nothing but absolute justice to my amazing interviewee, and I would like to believe, after hours spent at my laptop, that I did just that. 

So now with a heavy heart I must acknowledge that this class has come to an end, but in the same instance I can revel in all that I have taken from it. If I were to ever become an editor I, without a doubt, could give the most constructive criticism that anyone has ever given. More importantly I would like to believe that I have become a much more patient individual who is less opposed to refuting any type of criticism, which I am sure will help me in any job that I work at. The revisional skills that I have honed throughout this course will definitly be my greatest asset in other courses that will require that I write any type of paper, namely every other course I will take in the foreseeable future.

With that thought in mind I bid you, my fair profile reader, adieu!

Warm Regards,

     Pamela Stevens