Dear Portfolio Reader,
I started college believing that I was a great writer. In high school, I took Honors English and AP English and I received good grades. I never actually made outlines for the essays I wrote - I would just write ideas as they popped up in my head. These ideas often came to me several days before a paper was due or even the night before a paper was due. Throughout high school, my writing process worked for me and I had no desire to change it.
When I stepped into my Writing 102 class during the first week of the second semester, I had no idea what to expect. Of course I knew that I would be writing papers, but I did not know how much time and work would actually go into each of my papers. I knew that I wanted to improve my writing, but I didn't know how. Basically, I entered my Writing 102 class thinking that some of the things I used to do in high school - like procrastinating until the night before - would work for me.
I was very wrong. I did my first draft of my Informal Essay - "Vampires:Allies In Disguise", last minute and it was evident in my work. Although I was presented with a variety of topics to write about for my informal essay, I specifically picked vampires because I believe they are fascinating fantasy figures. In my essay, I consider the arguments of two professors while developing my own reasons as to why vampires are such compelling fantasy figures. The Informal Essay taught me the importance of developing my ideas clearly.
My second paper was my Textual Analysis, which I titled "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Sides of Rhetoric". The book that I chose to analyze was Language Intelligence: Lessons on Persuasion from Jesus, Shakespeare, Lincoln, and Lady Gaga by Joseph J Romm. In my paper, I discuss the rhetorical strategies that Romm uses to convince his readers of his main points, why he uses them and how successful he is in convincing his readers.
Although this paper was my least favorite, it taught me that stating a main point is more important than providing supporting information with no explanation. This paper challenged me as a writer and showed me the importance of thinking critically.
My third paper was my Research Argument called "From Boys to Men: Troubling Times". In my research paper, I argue that society has created a distorted version of masculinity that continues to negatively affect young men. I provide support for my argument with the help of several sources. It was easy for me to choose my topic because I had recently watched a film related to masculinity that really inspired me. While writing my research paper, I came across interesting information that was new to me. For example, I did not know that there were several different types of masculinities.
My last assignment was the E-mail challenges. Although this assignment was not as long as the others, it was very challenging because it required me to think about how my usage of words can give others a bad impression. For example, in one of my e-mail challenges, I am e-mailing my boss to tell her that her beloved dog passed away. While doing this e-mail challenge, I had to be careful of how I expressed the news to her. I did my best to avoid phrases that would create graphic scenes to show respect and concern for my boss. In my other e-mail challenge, I am e-mailing my boss to apologize for a mistake that I made at work. This assignment taught me that words can be determining factors in certain situations.
The time I have spent in Writing 102 has taught me three things. The first thing I’ve learned is that I actually am not a great writer; I am only a good writer who has the potential to improve. The second thing I’ve learned is that constructive criticism is extremely helpful in the writing process. Lastly, I’ve learned that revision goes beyond fixing grammar problems or awkward sentences.
I hope that reading my papers shows you that I have grown to be a better writer and critical thinker.
Sincerely,
Shanell Morrison
Textual Analysis - "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Sides of Rhetoric"
Researched Argument - "From Boys to Men: Troubling Times"
Informal Essay - "Vampires: Allies In Disguise"