Bokhadher1

Ahmed Bokhadher
7 December 2015.
Composition II
Mrs. Davis

Portfolio Cover Letter

My portfolio collection consists of four essays that I have written within the course of
this semester from religion class, music and English classes. The collection is my own writing
and reflects on how my writing skills have improved through experience and practice. The
portfolio also reflects my experiences with real world events such as music performances, social
media and religion. They reveal that I can report my experiences as a piece of written work.
The essay on World Religion is a paper from religion class. In this essay, the professor
asked us to write about our choice of religion if we had to choose a different one from what we
have. I think the professor wanted to understand our tolerance to other religions. The second
paper is from world religion class and it shows the differences between Islam and Christianity. I
think the professor wanted to evaluate our understanding of different religions of the world. The
third paper is a music class paper where the professor wanted me to report about a live music
event I attended in a concert. In my opinion, the professor wanted to see if students could apply
what they learned in music to evaluate a piece of music or performance. The fourth paper is
composition paper that discusses my experience with social media. I think that the professor
wanted to evaluate our writing skills and gauge our experience with social media.

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My writing process has evolved from writing without planning to preparing myself well
before writing. My initial wirings included any information I could find about the topic and I
placed it anywhere in the body paragraphs. This has however changed because I learned how to
go about the writing process. I learned that there is need to first of all understand the topic and
understand what the topic requirements are. Understanding the topic and its requirements is
important because it helps the writer to know the type of materials that he should look for in
order to address the research topic. One of the guiding principles to achieving meaningful written
piece of work is to use the right information in order to address all the requirements of the topic.
I have learned that there is need to plan on how to go about my essay before I start the
actual writing. Planning involves familiarizing myself with the topic and collecting the relevant
materials that address all aspects of the topic. Additionally, making an essay outline is an
important aspect of planning because it helps the writer to know the logical sequence which his
arguments should follow. I have also learned that an outline can guide me to identify the right
sources for my references. I have learned that there is need for all my arguments to be supported
with evidence from reliable sources such as books and academic journals. Furthermore, having
good sources gives credibility to my work.
Although I can identify the right sources and obtain information from them, I have
challenges organizing my essay in a logical sequence whereby ideas can flow from one
paragraph to another. I also have challenges with grammar, punctuation and sentence structure.
Therefore my written work is generally weak and needs improvement. I will improve on my
work through continuous practice and continued reading. I am prepared for my future writing
because I foresee a lot of writing to complete course related essays, term papers and assignments.
I will continue to prepare myself for future writing by editing all the essays I have written this

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semester, reading well written pieces of work from other students and continued essay writing
practice until I perfect my writing skills.