Misanko1

JamieMisanko
ProfessorBranson
Writ2
3June2016
CoverLetter
Inthebeginningofthequarter,myfellowclassmatesandIwereverynervousabout
takingthiscourse.However,throughoutthepasttenweeksIbelievethatIhavemadesignificant
progress,bothasastudentandasawriter.
Theworksinmydigitalportfoliomeetseveraloutcomespresentedonthesyllabus,
especiallywithintheWriting,Research,Revision,andReflectionclause.Forexample,dueto
theamountofpeerreviewactivitieswedidasaclass,Iwasabletouseprocessesinvolving
drafting,revision,andeditingthroughoutthequarterinordertoimprovemywriting.For
instance,heresasentencefromthefirstdraftofmyDiscourseCommunityAnalysis:
Ifyouansweredyestoanyofthesequestions,yourenotalone.Infact,thereisan
entirecommunitydevotedtosuchimaginativefanswonderingWhatif?:theonline
fanfictioncommunity.
Bothmyclassmatesandmyprofessorthoughtthiswasabitdisorganized.Withtheirhelp,
thissentencewasrevisedtothefollowing:
Ifyouansweredyestoanyofthesequestions,yourenotalone.Infact,theonline
fanfictioncommunityisentirelydevotedtosuchimaginativefanswondering,What
if?

Misanko2
Notonlyisthisrevisionmorecomprehensivetothereader,butitisalsomoreconcise.
Furthermore,Ialsoengagedevidencefromsourcesforacademicaudiencesinordertosupport
anddevelopmyideas.IntheDiscourseCommunityAnalysis,IquotedJohnSwalesseveral
timesinordertoprovethattheonlinefanfictioncommunitywasinfactadiscoursecommunity.
Likewise,intheWritingHabitsAnalysis,Ireferencedtheresearchoftwodifferentstudiesin
ordertosupportmyhypothesis.CoupledwiththefactthatIengagedevidenceintheWriting
HabitsAnalysis,Ialsoparaphrasedscholarlysourcestoengageacademicaudiences.Looking
back,IrealizethatIdidntparaphrasemuchintheDiscourseCommunityAnalysiscomparedto
theWritingHabitsAnalysis,nordoItypicallyparaphraseinmywritingforotherclasses.I
usuallyfeelsecureinmywritingwhenIquotedirectlyfromsources,butIvelearnedthatdirect
quotesarenotalwaysnecessary.Plus,paraphrasingallowsmetoshowmyaudiencethatIknow
thesourcematerialwellenoughtosummarizeitinmyownwords,whichmakesmywriting
appearmoresophisticated.
TheworksinmydigitalportfolioalsomeetatleasttwooftheeightHabitsofMind,
particularlycuriosityandengagement.Curiosity,definedasthedesiretoknowmoreaboutthe
world,playedasignificantroleinbothwritingprojects.FortheDiscourseCommunity
Analysis,mychoicetoanalyzetheonlinefanfictioncommunitywasmotivatedbythefactthatI
wasalreadycurioustolearnmoreaboutitandhowitoperateswithintheworldofwriting.For
theWritingHabitsAnalysis,Iwascurioustoknowhowmywritingfunctionsinmydaytoday
life,andmorespecifically,howexercisecorrespondswithmyproductivity.Allofthisintrigue
waslinkeddirectlytothefactthatIwas
engaged
duringbothoftheseprojects.Insteadofbeing
toldwhattowriteabout,Iwasfreetoanalyzeanydiscoursecommunity,oranypatternfoundin

Misanko3
mywritinglogs.ThefreedomtochoosewhatIwroteaboutmostdefinitelyfosteredasenseof
involvementandinvestmentinmywritingthatisntpresentinmostofmyotherclasses.Since
weweregiventheopportunitytowriteaboutsomethingofourownchoosing,Ibelievethatmy
writingwasmorepassionate,whichcausedthequalityofmyworktoimprove.
Myideasaboutwritingandliteracyhavechangeddramaticallyinthepasttenweeks.For
instance,IhadnoideathatwritingplayedsuchasignificantroleinmylifeuntiltheWriting
HabitsAnalysisproject.Almosteveryhourofeveryday,Imwritingsomething,whetheritsa
textmessage,anemail,anessay,oratodolist.DuringtheDiscourseCommunityproject,Ialso
learnedthatanyandallpiecesofwritingcanbesubjectsinterest.Forexample,Ianalyzeda
reviewsectionforaspecificfanfictionstory,andIlearnedthatthesereviewersplayactiveroles
inhelpingandencouragingaspiringwriterstocontinuedoingwhattheylove.Toanyoneelse,
thiswouldjustbeanothermundanetextwithnosignificance,butitsquitetheopposite.My
ideasaboutliteracyhavealsobeenaltered.Throughoutmyyearsasastudent,Ivealways
thoughtofliteracyintermsoftheabilitytoreadandwrite,butasTonyMirabelliclaims,literacy
ismuchmorethananinthgradelevelofeducation.Forexample,fanfictionauthorsmustnot
onlypossessliteracyinthattheyhavecorrectspellingandgrammartheymustalsobeableto
effectivelyreadthecharacterstheyarewritingabout.Withenoughanalysisofacharacter,the
authorwillbeabletomaketheircharacterizationmuchmorebelievableandcreateamore
enjoyablereadingexperiencefortheiraudience.
Thedesignofmyportfolioisverycleanandsimple,withadirectorylocatedinthetop
righthandcorner.Fromlefttoright,thefirstlinkistheDiscourseCommunityAnalysis,thefirst
projectofthequarter.NextistheWritingHabitsAnalysis,thesecondandfinalproject.Withthis

Misanko4
order,theviewerwillabletoseehowmywritinghasdevelopedoverthecourseofthesetwo
projects.Inthebeginning,IwasunsureofmywritingsincetheDiscoursepaperwasourfirst
project.However,oncewebegantheWritingHabitsAnalysis,Ibecamemorecomfortableand
confidentinmywritingabilities.IalsomadeamentalnoteofthefeedbackIreceivedfromthe
firstproject,andusedthattomyadvantagewhilstcomposingthesecondproject.Allinall,Ifeel
likeIhaveaccomplishedalotoverthepasttenweeksandhavelearnedwritingskillsthatwill
aidmeincollegeandbeyond.