Crespi 1

Joshua Crespi
UWRT 1101
Suzanne Ingram
17 March 2015
Final Portfolio Essay (FPE): A Moment of Self Reflection
Key
Pages on Portfolio and Individual Artifacts
Modes
Key Concepts
Quotes from the Course
Organization
The organization of my e-portfolio is rather simplistic and intuitive. It was designed to be
both easy to navigate and precise, so viewers can quickly find and view the various fields of
work that I have completed this semester. The spacial mode is made use of as my work is
organized into various pages and on those pages different artifacts and documents flow vertically
down the page. On pages that contain multiple pieces of work I have separated files with a
divider. The visual mode can be seen through the many pictures that appear on each page. The
pictures are meant to graphically depict the content that will be found throughout the rest of the
page. Finally the aural mode is present in the Wild Card page, in this location a video can be
found that served as the inspiration for my traditional research paper.
Artifact Explanation - Final Drafts
FPE- My FPE is what you are reading right now. Clearly you found it... wasnt this website easy
to navigate?!
Traditional Research Essay- My essay is incredibly scientific and I feel that is very reflective of
the kind of writer I strive to be when working on a paper of this caliber. My goal was to build up
to the point where readers could see that wolves, despite seeming frightening at first glance, have
a huge impact on their environment. Throughout the researching stages of my paper I kept trying
to build off of one thing (like how wolves effect vegetation/ reduce erosion) and then reach
something new (like how wolves effect stream braiding). By making these connections, I was
able to showcase my reasoning and allow the reader to understand what I am saying when I say
things such as
The extensive over foraging has led to increased amounts of riverbank erosion and
channel widening thus causing river braiding which is a prime example of trophic
cascade. River braiding means larger amounts of sediment being deposited in the rivers
and other complications that may negatively impact the environment when large loads of
wood are present in the rivers.
There were moments in my traditional research essay where I would include an image such as a
chart or a graphic but I would not really explain why they were included. After talking about this
with my peers I have added explanations to make things more clear. These revisions are
highlighted on my final paper.

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Midterm- The midterm was a very important piece of work as it allowed me to take a step back
from the work I had completed in the course up to the halfway point. By pulling quotes from the
work I had completed and then relating them to key concepts I was able to see my own growth
since the beginning of the semester.
I feel that this quote demonstrates me utilizing critical thinking as I relate the concept of
tropic cascade to the effect that wolves have on tree recovery in Yellowstone National
Park. By taking the knowledge I have gained about tropic cascade and applying it to
something like tree health, I have made a connection that others may have originally
overlooked when they consider how wolves impact their environment.
Blog Post- The blog post were a really neat way for me to receive feedback from a verity of my
peers. For instance here is a comment that was left by one of my peers Hiatt
http://youtu.be/OSPkVoGx5c4
I saw this video a while back and I thought it might help with your research. an
interesting argument is made and I have thought about the way we protect and regulate
wildlife differently since watching it.
This comment on my second blog post was really cool because it allowed me to see how my
topic was viewed by the outside eye and how I would need to introduce it in the work that would
follow.
Visual Bibliography- In the Visual Bibliography/ Three Column Notes Assignment Sheet on
Moodle the following can be found under the purpose section

to see how sources/texts/voices connect to each other

After reading this I elected to use the website prezi as an archive for my sources. In my Visual
Bibliography I was able to display multi-modality of print & digital texts by entering my sources
and then going back and linking them together in an order that would cycle through the different
topics I wanted to address in my paper. This action really helped me write my paper and allowed
me to learn what additional research was needed. The different sub-topics can be seen at the
bottom of each slide and are indicated by a different color of text.
Artifact Explanation- Individual Artifacts (The More Section)
Process Work
(1) Brainstorming of Sub-Topics to Address in Paper
After collecting a few source I began to list some possible sub-topics. I would then see if
my sources matched up with any of these sub-topics and what other areas would require
additional information and research. One of my first ideas for a sub-topic was about how

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wolves maintained what was left of the wilderness, and although this concept did not
become a full sub-topic in my paper I did address it though other sub-topics such as
wolves effect on water bodies.

(2) Cataloging Sources as they were Acquired

For research papers I typically create a physically written (handwritten) list of each
source I find. Off to the left I would write what the source is about and I would also
assign a number so that I would know what order I found the sources in. I would also
write key details about sources like wolf reintroduction improves cottonwood height so
that I could understand what each source is about. This artifact is also a great way to
show exactly where I found a specific detail, I indicated this though the use of page
numbers.
(3) Laying Out Sub-Topics for First Draft
This artifact is my final selection of sub-topics and the numbers below each sub-topic are
the sources that pertain to that concept. For instance the number 3 listed under the subtopic Wolves effect on water bodies tells me that source number 3 from my
Cataloging Sources as they were Acquired artifact can be used when explaining the
concept that wolves effect streams. This artifact was really helpful in organizing my
Visual Bibliography.

(4) Third Draft with Personal Edits

For the third draft we did a lot of peer view for our projects (in my case the traditional
research paper). I felt that I should review my own work as it neared its completion so I
knew exactly what my peers would be looking at. I also double checked my sources by
placing red asterisks next to each citation or section in which I paraphrased something.
This tactic allowed me to clearly see what information I was bringing up and where it
was located.

Feedback
(1) Comment on Ellie Ostler's 4th Blog Post
In this comment I left to Ellie I brought up the idea that antibiotics are becoming less
effective due to there over use by the general public. By being able to offer an idea to a
peer on a topic that I am very passionate about, I was able to point them in a new
direction that they may have not originally considered.

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(2) Traditional Research Essay Reviewed and Edited by Ms. Ingram
At one point in this semester we were able to meet with Ms. Ingram and our writing
groups and share our drafts. During this process Ms. Ingram left the following comment
on my work
I know this was tricky to read out loud but while I read silently along w/ you I
was never lost nor did I tip. I think it reads smoothly
This comment was very reassuring to me because one of my biggest concerns was that
my paper would not read well given the fact that there is a lot of technical jargon infused
into its pages. For instance when I said Wolves positively impact trees because of their
ability to limit the overgrazing of vegetation and plant life that is attributed to other
animals such as elk and deer, I had to be really carful about how I worded this section
and as it could be interpreted that wolves were causing the limited amounts of vegetation,
which is not the case.

Writer's Notebook Artifacts

(1) Notes/ Questions for Librarian
For one of our homework assignments we were tasked with reading chapter 15, pgs. 406411 while taking notes/recording questions we had for the librarian. During this reading I
came across the statement
Many sources can be downloaded and stored on your computer (407).
This line and ultimately the entirety of page 407 in Engaging Questions lead me to create
a catalogue of sources in a word document that can be found in the process work page of
my site. Furthermore this quote made me quite cautious of preserving my sources. In an
effort to know exactly where my sources could be found online, I would e-mail links and
articles to my g-mail account and then save the e-mails in a folder.

(2) Warm-Up from 02/10/15

For this warm-up we were asked the question
Did you choose the Visual Bibliography or the 3 Column Notes option -- and why?
What went smoothly for you while you were working on this draft? What was
challenging? What can your group help you with today?
This warm-up allowed me to reflect upon why I chose the visual bib and think about what
I ultimately wanted to get out of it. During this warm-up I decided that I would use the
path feature in Prezi to rearrange my sources so that they would flow from one to the
next. In the warm-up I comment on how I feel that Prezi has allowed me to connect my
sources in a way that is understandable.

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Wild Cards
(1) Inspiration for My Essay
The video I have in this section is one that I saw back in 2014. The video presented ideas
and concepts that I found fascinating at the time. When I reached Writing and Inquiry
1101 I wanted to tackle a paper that would address some of the concepts this video
brought up but felt that the task would be too daunting given time constraints. Thankfully,
in Writing 1102 I was able to research the idea of trophic cascade and had an ample
amount of time to write a paper that was about the scientific model.

(2) Bibliography for an LBST Essay - Barrack Battles: The Presence of Women in the
Military - (includes direct text from sources as well as annotations)
While this paper was not assigned in this class, I was able to incorporate strategies that I
learned in Writing 1102 in to my LBST Essay. For instance, I made use of a Word
Document in which I could catalogue sources pertaining to the topic just like I had done
in Writing 1102.

(3) UWRT 1101 - Ethnography with Instructor Feedback

This was an assignment I had last semester in Writing 1101. In it I chose to write about
how owning a dog can lead to a healthier life style. One component of the ethnography
was to visit a place pertaining to your topic and record what you saw and what the people
there were doing. I decided to visit a dog park and after reading the comments from my
instructor on my final product I think the decision really paid off. These comments made
me feel as though I was capable of producing a piece of work that was worthwhile and
they really drove me to push myself in Writing 1102.
Behind the Writer- This is just a miscellaneous section for fun.
How My Writing has grown
In high school we were tasked with writing an argumentative paper. While ultimately I am
thankful that I had to complete this assignment (as it made me the writer I am to today), it did
have some negative effects on my writing process. When I am assigned a topic or when I select
something to write about I often feel as though I have to convince the reader that one side is
better than another, rather than simply presenting the information I find on that subject. In this
class I strived to get out of my comfort zone by exploring the drawbacks to limited wolf hunting
in my essay. I accomplished this by adding the following subsections into my work:
Wolves Economic Impact (1)
Wolves Economic Impact (2): Agriculture

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These sections (which were taken from my Traditional Research Paper) do not seem like reasons
why North America should limit the hunting of wolves and thus show that I have altered my
writing process for the better. In fact in one of these sections I can be found saying While the
cultivating of sheep and goats is not that common in America, the cattle industry is quite
expansive. It is unknown how these numbers will transfer to the States, but one could assume
that the loss of cattle would be imminent.
What Grade do I Deserve?
Based on the amount of time and effort I have placed into each assignment this semester I
feel my efforts fully warrant the bestowal of an A. I have completed each assignment on time and
I have gone far above the set requirements. I have completed extensive research and taken that
new found information and used it formulate new thought-provoking ideas. I have shown up to
class ready to work and determined to outdo myself. During class I have contributed by offering
new approaches to my peers work, while listening to constructive criticism about my own. I
have taken my peers suggestions and used them to improve upon my work in ways I never
thought possible. I am quite proud of the work that I have produced this semester and I feel that I
have grown a lot from the writer that I was at the beginning of this course. I think that my
literacy and writing capabilities have grown in leaps and bounds since Writing 1101, as well as
my ability to take criticism. It is for these reasons that I feel my work in this course is worthy of
an A.