Darida 1

Chelsea Darida English 1103 Ms. Ingram Portfolio Essay When I first stepped into English 1103, I was instantly overwhelmed. I remember being told that I had qualified for a higher english class than most college freshman would be taking, and I was shocked. I had never thought of myself as a writer, and if anything I was just an average one. I felt I was no where near the skill level of the other students who had made it into English 1103. After reading over the syllabus, I remember feeling scared, not thinking I would be able to come out of the class with even a passing grade. But after going through English 1103 this past semester, the way I view myself as a writer has completely changed. This course has forced me to grow, deepen, and, more than anything, be proud of myself. The growth Ive made in English 1103 started first when the class read Peace Butter & Jelly. David Seidel opened my eyes to the fact that good writing doesnt always have to be found in a boring five paragraph essay. When he came in to visit our class, he taught me even more by showing that good writing comes from inside yourself, and that anyone can do it. It was right then that hit me, that I could be a good writer, and I had the ability to be a good writer. I didnt have to look at myself and think that I would never be able to do it. It was Davids kind words that first opened this door for myself that I had always kept closed.

Darida 2 The first writing we did in English 1103 was a journal entry. In this journal entry I evaluated myself by saying that in my writing I was very good at staying on topic, but had trouble including details that would add to my work. It was something I felt I definitely needed to work on. The journal entry helped me to evaluate myself as a writer before starting the class, and looking back at the entry I remember what I struggled with and how that has changed throughout the semester. We also started our own blog. The blog posts we posted caused me to look at myself and evaluate my work and also my writing as a whole. It also introduced me to new technology and a new way to write, not on paper, but online. I found that posting blog posts was a lot more interesting than turning in pieces of paper. I also kind of enjoyed being able to run my own site and decide its layout and design. Our first major piece was the Whats It Like To Be You? essay. I can honestly say Ive never been challenged by a piece of writing so much before. I remember staring at a blank piece of paper for what felt like hours, having no idea where to start and no idea what to say. Then I remember what David had told us in class. I began to really look inside of myself and the words started to flow freely. I finished my essay and I remember feeling something I hadnt felt before, pride in my own work. Sure, it wasnt perfect, and I still had a lot of editing to do, but I was happy with the way it had turned out, and that was definitely a first. I went back and edited my Whats It Like To Be You? essay by adding a poem, something I have never been comfortable with writing, and more information about myself. Adding these things were both challenges and risks I was taking, but in the end I think they only added more to my essay.

Darida 3 Both the first journal entry, my blogger account, and the Whats It Like To Be You? essay caused me to look inside of myself and grow in the writing process, risk-taking, and intellectual growth and maturity. All of these things helped me throughout the entire semester and all of the pieces that were yet to come. During this point in the semester is when I also had to do something Id never done before, which was workshop. I was used to receiving constructive criticism and suggestions about my own writing, but it was a huge challenge for me to give it back. Every time I would write something on one of my peer groups papers about what they could improve, I felt that I was being mean, or too pushy. But looking back on it now, the advice my peer group gave me was always really helpful and never made me feel bad about myself, and I hope my comments on their work did the same. Workshopping in class taught me how to receive and also provide feedback. Everything that we had done in the class so far was new to me, so I was ready to see what was coming next. We had started to read From Inquiry To Academic Writing, which was a textbook that I found myself wanting to read. It provided so much information about inquiry and about the writing process that I couldnt really get enough of it. The words that I found in the textbook definitely had a huge affect on the rest of the work I put out in English 1103. Before putting too much thought into what my inquiry question was going to be, though, I again had to evaluate and look into myself while writing the midterm. I looked back at the work that I had done and explained why I had done it that way and why it had helped me grow. Again, this helped with my intellectual growth and maturity. It was first with my peer group that my

Darida 4 inquiry question came to my mind. As we brainstormed different ideas centered around the question what does it mean to be healthy?, things like positive attitude and enjoyment of life kept coming up. The class also mentioned things like models and self esteem. It was this brainstorming on paper that brought me to my first inquiry question that was does a womans self esteem affect her health?. I have gathered information for a works cited page many times before in other English classes, but writing an annotation under each source was something Id never done before. It caused me to actually read through all of my sources information, and I found that annotating each source led me to actually know everything about my topic, and not just memorize it. Researching my topic so thoroughly helped me to realize that ultimately Im responsible for my own learning. After work shopping my inquiry question and doing a lot of my own researching, I realized that my inquiry question was too broad, and the answer was obvious. Of course if a woman has low self esteem it will lead to her having bad health. I wanted to narrow my search and form my own opinion, so I changed my inquiry question to how the media affects a womans self image. After researching I knew more information about my inquiry question than I thought was possible. When it came time to write the three-sided assignment, the words came easily. I had no problem explaining three different sides and opinions to my inquiry question, but found that it was really difficult not to insert my own opinion into the essay. Not including my opinion anywhere in the paper helped me to intellectually grow and mature, though, because it taught

Darida 5 me that my thoughts arent needed in every piece I write. Writing the three-sided assignment also taught me how to effectively explain what other people are saying without directly quoting them. Cover letters are something that demonstrate my growth in English 1103 first hand. My first cover letter was written with the Whats It Like To Be You? essay, and my last cover letter was written with my three-sided assignment. In the first cover letter, I was very short with how I felt about my writing and what questions I had for my group on how to improve it. In my last cover letter, I ask my group a lot of questions and let them know exactly what they could do to help me make my piece better. I learned how to ask questions, and found out how to get the exact answers I was looking for. When I first found out I was going to be writing an argumentative research essay, I was really nervous, because I wasnt sure how I was going to form my own opinion and be able to back it up with evidence. I didnt know how I was going to be able to convince anyone that what I had to say was worth reading. But after going through English 1103, reading From Inquiry To Academic Writing, researching, and writing the three-sided assignment, writing my essay wasnt hard at all. I knew exactly what stance I was going to take, and had all of the evidence I needed to back it up. In my mind, my research essay is the best work I put throughout the whole semester. Im proud of the work I put into it, and the finished product that came out of that. The order that the assignments and essays were assigned really had a big impact on me. It wasnt because the assignments got consecutively harder or had more worked involved, because that wasnt case. Starting off with the Whats It Like To Be You? essay helped me to look inside of myself and really learning how to find the right words before jumping into other

Darida 6 assignments that involved more research, like the annotated bibliography or the threesided assignment. In the research essay I was able to use both of these skills and put them together into one piece. Overall, English 1103 changed and improved who I am as a writer, and I think thats made clear through my portfolio. All of my work came together in a certain order that made displaying my growth in the class an easy thing to do, and I feel that my portfolio shows my best work, along with the work that it took to get there. Each time I made a revision on one of my pieces, it helped bring me closer to my goal of a finished product, and the final pieces I put in my portfolio are what I think examples of my very best work. Throughout English 1103 I was always prepared for class, quizzes, and work shopping. I never missed a day of class, and I always added my thoughts when I thought they would be a good contribution in class discussions. If I were to give myself a letter grade for not only the work Ive done in English 1103, but the amount of time I put into that work, and my growth as a writer, I would give myself an A, or exemplary. Throughout the class Ive worked to the best of my ability, and I have definitely seen the rewards of giving it my all every time.