Matthew Piercy Ms.

Ingram ENGL 1103-036 27 November 2012 Portfolio Essay: Progression and Knowledge This portfolio contains evidence combined with an explanation that helps to explain the work I have arranged and how this work has helped me to grow as a writer throughout the semester. This work shows how I have engaged in the course and acknowledges the grade that I deserve for the course based on the evidence and explanation that I have presented. My work consists of six assignments known as required work, which is most of the main assignments that I have completed over the course of the semester. Other pieces that I have included are my selfselections that include process work, notebook entries, brainstorming, warm-ups, responses, and other artifacts, some of which is writing from other classes. This essay as well as the work in my portfolio will help to illustrate the progress I have made as a young writer in many areas of my writing. I have selected my evidence based upon careful examination of my finished work as well as the work in progress. In order to show my growth as a writer and how I related my work together, I chose work that directly showed my use of the writing process and how I developed my thoughts and feelings into different types of papers and writing activities. When I selected my required work, I chose the third draft of each essay, assignment, and bibliography. I chose the third draft because this was the draft that illustrated my best work and best represented my thoughts. The first two drafts were working papers and helped to create a path that was necessary for revision on what I considered the final draft. As a writer, I challenged myself to write each draft to the best of my ability. This said, there was always something more that I

could improve upon on each and every draft whether it was sentence structure or the organization of my thoughts. For example, in my process works section, I included my second drafts for my Argumentative Research Essay and my WILTBY essay, as well as the cover letters for each of these. I chose the cover letter and the second draft of my WILTBY Essay because this was the first major paper that I wrote this semester. This paper was one of my first papers in college, and I wrote it very similar to the way that I wrote papers in high school. This said, when I look at the WILTBY paper and the last couple of papers that I wrote, I can accurately describe the improvements as well as the items that still need work. For example, the cover letter for my WILTBY essay was short and to the point. By the end of the semester with my Argumentative Research Essay, my cover letters were elaborate, in-depth, and interactive with the readers. The work at the beginning of the semester shows my writing as a student, and my writing at the end of the semester illustrates my writing as I work my way towards becoming a professional. The work in between, such as the Annotated Bibliography, shows the growth process. The growth is also evident with my brainstorming activities and warm-ups that I wrote throughout the semester. In this class, the different types of writing such as the formal essays, free writing, prewriting, and blogging have helped to improve my writing in all aspects. I approached each type of writing differently, as I took a professional approach and organized my content in a professional manner on the formal essays. To me, the essays proved to be the most difficult as it was more difficult for me to organize my thoughts and get my point across, especially in the Argumentative Research essay. At first, some of my examples did not directly relate to my position on the argument, and I had to reorganize my position to where the relationship between my position and examples was evident. The side-shadowing activity helped me quite a bit with this issue. I also approached the Annotated Bibliography and the Three Sided Assignment in a

different manner than I would my everyday writing. In the Annotated Bibliography, I learned how to perform adequate research and summarize my findings in a way that was useful. The Three Sided Assignment allowed me to write to a particular audience as I looked at three different sides of an argument. I realized what my topic looked like from several different viewpoints. Also, the cover letter on the Three Sided Assignment made me consider the audience I was writing to and how I needed to convey my research in a way that they could easily understand. The second draft of the Three Sided Assignment also helped me to effectively determine what my inquiry question really was. I approached the blogs with a positive attitude because I did not view them as threatening. The blogs were more of a free write dealing with my research and opinions. I could present my own feelings and opinions in the blogs without having to worry as much about structure. The blogs are not as formally organized, and it is easier to organize my thoughts when I am just writing what comes to my mind. In my opinion, I felt that the blog was more interactive, and I connected my thoughts more efficiently. The blogs helped to jumpstart my writing on the formal writing assignments and make the proper connections. Also, Ms. Ingrams comments on the first blog gave me direction and helped me to narrow down my question/topic in relation to what it meant to be healthy. I viewed many of the warm-ups and writings as a class the same way and I feel that my writing grew with each individual assignment. My most important work in the class was the Argumentative Research Essay. I felt like this assignment was where everything that I had learned came together as one. All of my writing and research was directly related to this paper. In this paper, I situated a valid argument while considering and respecting the opinions of others. I directly connected with my audience and practiced academic writing. As a writer, this paper allowed me to practice most of the elements

that I value in my writing. In the real word, I must be able to construct arguments and situate my opinions in a way that is non-offensive, yet convincing. No matter what field of study I go into, this paper outlines exactly what is needed in order to become successful in this class, and as I pursue a degree as well as a career. In this portfolio, some of the daily entries that I included contain samples from my reading notes, brainstorming free writes, and warm-ups. I included my free write from the second class and a warm-up from October 18th that shows my growth in writing as well as my thought processes in these timed writing activities. The notes that I included illustrated how I learned, read, and interacted with the material that I read. In these notes, I included the main points and certain details that were pertinent to my academic writing and academic conversation. This combination of activities shows how my perception of health and academic conversation evolved over the course of the semester. I believe that I am a well-rounded writer, but I have strengths and weaknesses that need to be improved upon as well. My strengths in my writing consist of my grammar, paragraph structure, and the flow of my feelings and thoughts from one paragraph to the next. At times, my weaknesses consist of my thoughts not coming across exactly how I want them to come out. There is a huge difference between what my thoughts are and how my opinions are developed on paper. I have improved in the area of developing my thoughts and constructing arguments that directly relate to the reader. I believe that my Three Sided Assignment, Annotated Bibliography, and Argumentative Research Essay best illustrate my learning and my growth in understanding. Before, I just wrote the papers for the grade, not I write them to learn and interact with the world around me. I have found that learning consists of inquiry, and questions lead to more questions. Writing to me is not a spectator sport, but an interactive process that requires time, research,

and continued involvement by the author (me) and my audience. Now, I view critical thinking and writing as one process that goes hand-in-hand with each other. I am now a more curious individual in relation to my writing, and I take responsibility for my own learning. It is my job to ask my own questions and seek out the resources necessary to grow and mature intellectually. I have realized that the writing process takes time, and this semester has just been that start of my growth as a writer. One paper that I wrote this semester was the Whole Life Concepts Paper for my engineering class. This paper made me relate to what I learned about the writing process in my English class as it required me to analyze myself and the impact that I wanted to have in my career field in the future. This paper was somewhat similar to the WILTBY essay, and allowed me to build a foundation for the things I would learn about academic writing and conversation as the semester continued. As I gain more experience I will continue to grow and develop an even better understanding of inquiry and academic writing. I believe that my revision efforts and final drafts meet the goals for each assignment, and that the final product is the best representation of my growth as a writer. My work has developed over the semester and my work is representative of the time and effort that I have put into becoming a better academic writer. I have invested a lot of time and effort into this work and portfolio, and I believe that this is my best possible work at this stage in my life as a writer. As I continue to go through school, I will continue to improve my writing and grow as a student through inquiry. My class participation has also been exceptional throughout this semester. I commute one hour each day from Hickory, and I have perfect attendance in my English class. Not only do I have perfect attendance, but also I have not been tardy either. I have completed every draft and assignment, and I have always put the time and effort in that is required to be prepared for each class. I have treated this class somewhat like a job, and I have made sure that I

completed every task. I have completed all of the required reading and made perfect scores on the reading quizzes that were given to assess whether or not the material was read. My conferences and small group workshops have went extremely well, as my group gives feedback to the best of their ability and we are all willing to help one another. However, I am a shy person and I could have been a little more involved in class discussions. I have went up to the front of the class to share a few times and I was involved in the conversation with David Seidel the first time he came to visit. This said, I do not feel like this has adversely affected my learning because I learn by listening, thinking, and analyzing the situation. I am the type of person who listens and thinks about topics and situations in order to develop my thoughts and my opinions. I listen to the opinions of others and relate my feelings to theirs. If I had to give myself a grade for this semester, I would give myself an A. I have produced quality work and I have completed each piece of my work to the best of my ability. There are no holes in my work and I have developed each piece of work thoroughly and thoughtfully. I have put forth my best possible effort to learn and become active member in the writing process. To me, it is not necessarily about the grade, but it is about learning and becoming a more intellectually mature individual who has the tools to be successful in the future. I have completed the work in this class and prepared myself for the future as a professional to the best of my ability.