Mason Dean

Professor Morton
UWRT 1103-066
30 April, 2016
Final Reflection
Looking back on this class throughout the year as this semester is coming to a close, I am
not entirely sure as to whether or not I have improved as a student with my writing during this
course. However, I met my goals that were previously set by myself for this course and I felt as if
I did the best I possibly could this semester during this course. I feel as if I expanded my
knowledge with the inquiry project and argumentative essay on a topic that I have been
passionate about throughout my academic career. This class also assisted in teaching me
persistence and creative thinking in order to generate new ideas and new ways to solve problems
and difficulties I came across as I did my work throughout the semester.
Coming into this course at the beginning of the semester I did not expect to do much or
learn much. This is due to the fact that I had to retake this course for grade replacement because I
was not happy with the final grade I received in the same course during the fall semester of my
freshman year. Considering my previous experience with this course, my main expectation and
goal was to receive an A or a B in this course for my final grade. Within my main goal, I
expected to earn higher grades on my assignments than I did last semester and so far I would say
that this main expectation is being met because the majority of the grades that I have earned have
been a B or higher. In the future my main concern is keeping my grades up and not having to
retake any more courses that I do not have to already. In order to do this I will have to not

procrastinate as much and get people to review my work so that the work I turn in is the highest
quality possible that I can put out.
In my final portfolio I included a number of assignments and projects that I completed
throughout the semester. These assignments and projects included the team mind map, the
literacy narrative, the argumentative essay, the inquiry project topic proposal, the choose a text
paper, the midterm review, and the final reflection that I am currently typing. All of these
assignments were added to my portfolio for a reason and all can either reflect back onto my
inquiry topic or are a piece of work that I was proud of and felt strongly about.
I included the team mind map for the one required group assignment that was supposed
to be put into my portfolio. I added this assignment over the group genre remix because I felt that
this assignment was a higher quality of work. I also felt that it would be easier to tie the team
mind map into my inquiry topic than the group genre remix because I had to add in three sources
for my inquiry question on the team mind map while the genre remix I felt had no relevance to
my inquiry topic at all.
I included the literacy narrative in my portfolio because it was one of the largest projects
we were assigned all year. The literacy narrative took at least two or more weeks to complete
from start to finish and was worth a test grade. I also included this paper within my portfolio
because I felt that my personal opinion on writing and reading may have swayed me to choose
the standpoint I took for my inquiry project and argumentative essay. The reason I feel that my
standpoint may have been forced is because I stated within my literacy narrative that I did not
enjoy writing or reading in school when I was younger and I still do not enjoy either. I also
struggled with writing so it made me feel unintelligent compared to my classmates and this

feeling was only bolstered when I would not score as high as my peers on the writing portions of
standardized tests that I had to take during school.
The inquiry project proposal was put on the portfolio because I felt that this assignment
was the prerequisite to the entire project mainly because it was. I also received one of the best
grades I have received all semester on this assignment. The topic I chose was whether or not
standardized testing truly and accurately measures an individuals intelligence. I took the
standpoint that these tests, such as the SAT and ACT, did not accurately measure someones
intelligence because of the fact that the tests only provide one score for all of the various kinds of
intelligence. Therefore, because the fact that these tests only provide one score, these tests are
inaccurate. I chose this standpoint because I was very passionate about this topic throughout my
high school and middle school career and felt very strongly that my opinion was in fact correct
and that I had a good amount of evidence and facts to support my side of the argumentative
essay.
I included the argumentative essay not only because it was required to be added on the
portfolio, but also because we spent the entire semester working on this paper. There were
several other assignments that had to be completed as prerequisites for this assignment as well. I
struggled with this essay because I added as much valid and relevant information as I could to
prove my point but I did not meet the length requirement. I did not want to add a bunch of fluff
to my paper so I submitted it regardless of not meeting the page requirement so that I could get
an opinion on the paper as to what I should add and what I should elaborate on in order to make
my paper longer. I ended up adding possible ways that the problem of standardized testing not
truly measuring an individuals intelligence. After editing my paper I added it to the portfolio.

I am including the choose a text assignment because I felt that this piece was one of my
stronger papers that I created during this course. However, this paper was difficult for me to
include because I was not sure how to properly incorporate this assignment seeing that this
assignment was not really relevant to my central theme which is my argumentative essay topic of
whether or not standardized testing truly and accurately measures an individuals intelligence. I
still feel strongly enough about my assignment to include it because I am proud of the work that I
put into this assignment and I feel strongly about the points I made and stood next to during the
process of creating this paper.
The midterm review was added to my final portfolio for this course because I feel that it
is important to show where I was at the point in time at which I wrote the midterm review and to
compare it to this final reflection. This midterm review is important also because it shows how I
felt the semester was going so far halfway through the semester and it also shows what my goals
were for the rest of the semester. I can use the midterm review to see if the goals and
expectations I had listed were met as I am closing out this course as well as the semester. This
review also has assisted me in developing this final reflection paper because my views and
standpoints on this course have not changed much if at all since the completion of the midterm
review.
As expected, this final reflection paper will be added to the portfolio. The main reason
this paper will be added is because the final reflection paper is a required piece on the final
portfolio project. This final reflection is also a reflection of all of my work that I have completed
throughout this semester and an explanation of the struggles I have faced and how I have
overcome them to create a final product that I am proud of. This paper also explains why I have
developed and designed the portfolio the way I did. This reflection paper also explains why I

added each piece that I added to the final portfolio project and why I added the specific
assignments whether it be because I felt that I was very proud of the work that I put out or that
the assignments I had listed heavily correlated with my argumentative essay and the topic of
whether or not standardized testing truly and accurately measures an individuals intelligence.
This paper also shows how I felt about this course and how I have grown throughout the
semester. This paper also reflects on how I have set my goals, what they were, and what steps I
have taken to reach these goals in stride. This reflection also lists my expectations for this course
and why I expected the things that I expected coming into this class as this semester began. Most
of all, this paper should entail how I plan to continue to grow as a person and a student
throughout my educational career.
When I revised my papers and assignments I would often ask either the professor or my
group mates for assistance and ideas to add to my work. I also would look at the comments that
were given on my assignments after I submitted them in order to see what I needed to improve
on for my next assignment so that my quality of work would increase and earn better grades.
When creating my portfolio I decided to go with a minimalistic and generic style because
that is what I felt the most comfortable dealing with. This is because I did not want to make my
website too complicated to navigate and to edit so that it is much clearer and more concise. I
think that is partially due to the fact that when I do anything from notes to actual papers I prefer
to keep my answers short and to the point. This transferred into my portfolio with its simplicity
and tabs that label exactly what is linked within them. I chose to make my web page green
because I felt that my favorite color, which is red, would have been too loud for the web page
and unprofessional. I also chose green because, seeing as this portfolio is for school, the colors
would match the actual school color. I chose a simple font because it did not draw too much

attention away from the actual work and it made the text and the website itself seem more
professional and mature to me. Overall I tried to make my page seem like it was meant for the
school to use and to be very professional and official.