Makana O' ke Akua Edwards

Professor S. C. McGriff
Enc 1101
22 November 2016
My Progress
After analyzing my work through out my semester in Enc 1101, I've noticed an obvious
improvement in my ability to write coherent essays. Because of this, I now am confident that I
have the ability to write at a more professional level. At the beginning of the semester, I had
trouble with a lot of aspects of writing. One example is punctuation. I would use incorrect
punctuation and sometimes too much of it. And whenever I finished an essay, the end result
would be terrible and sloppy. Another aspect of writing I had trouble with, is the correct use of
pronouns and plural nouns. Even though I had a lot of trouble and made mistakes like these at
the beginning of my semester, I eventually was able to learn from these mistakes and grow as a
writer.
One of my essays that I believe conveys my progression in writing, is my essay titled,
"Movies vs T.V". In this essay I took a stance on whether it is best to go to a movie theater or
watch a movie at home. In the introduction, I was able to provide a very clear and concise thesis
statement. Compared to my early writing assignments, this was a huge step forward. I used to
focus too much on creating my body paragraphs. This made me blind to the fact that a good
thesis statement makes for a more developed essay. So whenever I sat down and created a
thoughtful thesis, the rest of my essay benefitted from it. In the body paragraphs, my points were
developed and there was proper use of support for these points. In some of my old writing
assignments, I did not use support as well as I should have. And often, the only support I used
was my own experience. Although the use of personal experience is not bad, when it comes to
convincing a reader of an argument, the use of logic and facts is always more convincing then
ones own opinion. I learned this the hard way when I created my roughdraft for, "Movies vs
T.V", and received a negative review about my opinionated arguments.

I believe that all my essays convey some sort of improvement, whether it be as a student,
a critical thinker, a writer, or an analyst. For example, when I began this semester, I was a huge
procrastinator and didn't put much thought into my work. But because of the schedule for the
assignments, I was forced to work diligently on them. This sudden concentration on my work can
clearly be seen in my essays as they grow increasingly better with every submission. I also have
been steadily improving on my critical thinking skills. This can be seen as my points and ideas
become more developed and professional for each writing assignment. Based on these
improvements, I can safely say that I have improved as a writer in general.
For each of my writing assignments, I would first have to write a roughdraft which would
then be reviewed by a fellow student. This peer reviewing allowed for me to get help from other
students. They provided me with thorough corrections and tips for making my essay more
professional. If I had not had peer revisions, I would never have been able to get better at
writing. For example, In my rough draft for my essay titled, "Movies vs T.V", I did not
understand the structure of a compare and contrast essay. I used a standard essay format and
didn't separate my points into individual paragraphs. I would not have noticed if I wasn't tipped
off by one of my peer reviewers. Therefore, my progression as a writer is mainly due to the
reviews from my peers.
This semester I learned that some of the things I've always done in my writing
assignments is incorrect. One example is the use of plural pronouns when referring to one person
or thing. Also, I learned that there are rules for the use of the words like lay or lie, and who or
whom. After learning these rules, I went back to look at my old writing assignments and realized
that I was using these incorrect terms or words. I have since started to apply these rules to my
writing assignments and this can be seen in all my essays in this portfolio. I have also learned to
properly cite sources and how to properly introduce these sources as support in my essays.
Although I have made a significant amount of progress during my semester in Enc 1101,
I have had some trouble getting to where I am now. One instance is my use of plural pronouns
for singular nouns. This may seem like a simple fix, but I genuinely had difficulty changing the

way I refer to singular nouns. I always feel as if I should write the word they or them when
referring to a singular noun such as: he or she. I was able to get over this by constantly reminding
myself of this rule while writing and during my revisions. Now it has become second nature to
me and is no longer a difficult task. Another challenge I faced was using sources that accurately
supported my points. One example is in my essay titled, "No Damage Done By Texting or Social
Media". I had a hard time finding information in the source material that supported my argument.
I soon realized that I had a hard time because I didn't actually understand the source material; So
after I read the text, I had an easier time locating information that best supported my argument. I
was also able to create more developed points without worrying about not finding support.
I have made this portfolio mainly for future reference. If I have an issue with my essays
in my future classes, I will look back to this portfolio and see what kind of obstacles I used to
face and determine whether or not they apply to my current situation. I will also have more
advanced critical thinking skills and a better understanding of the fundamentals of writing at my
disposal. I will learn from my mistakes and use this new found knowledge in all my future
courses.