Thank you for stopping by to browse through my portfolio. Within these pages you will find a variety of works I have completed or altered to different forms. These are things I have worked on throughout my junior year and I feel they reflect who I am as a writer and the progress I have made. Though I will never be a perfect writer or someone who enjoys analytical writing, this year has molded me into someone who can think about an interesting or complex idea and quickly crank out a paper that makes sense.
I started this year off with absolutely no direction or focus. I simply wanted to write things that were interesting, but I did not realize I had to be clear and concise to write well. The first real essay I turned in was my personal narrative. To be honest, the rough draft was probably the worst thing I have ever written, but it made me excited to learn how to write things that are both funny and understandable. I started to make more clear outlines of what I wanted to include in my essays before I wrote them, and the structure of the peer editing worksheets taught me how to make all of my points flow and relate back to my papers main idea. When I compare my works throughout the year, it is obvious that I have improved in having purposeful writing. Before this year, I would often get too excited about the topic I was writing about and then I would type every idea I felt related to in on my page. My essays were confusing and pointless. They contained too much information for the reader to digest, and they lacked analysis. Now I know that when I receive a topic, it is more important to tell one story well than to tell 9 different stories in a confusing way. |
Even though this is not writing specific, this year I learned how important it is to read instructions. After spending hours working with Josie and Jamie creating what I thought was the perfect powerpoint about Genocide, I was excited to receive an E. When I clicked on the canvas grade and saw the G, I was shocked. I refreshed the page at least three times. When I talked to Mrs. Crowell, she told me we completely left out an entire section of the assignment. We did not do the annotated bibliography at all. After this, I became determine to never forget to fully read directions, and I decided I would triple check them before turning in work. This has benefited me in every single aspect of my life, from history tests to baking cookies or building with legos.
Lastly, I have learned the importance of quotations. Before this class, I often used only one quotation in a paragraph or none at all. Now I can pick out important and applicable quotations which deliver a message to the reader. I know how to cite them properly, and I think I have improved my explication skills. In the past, I would try to explicate a quote by almost completely re saying them. Now I know the importance of PEE. While creating my portfolio website, I had a few goals. I wanted it to reflect who I am as a person and a writer, show my development, and be easy to navigate. I incorporated elements of dance, photography, extra memes, and many colors so I would not bore the reader. Below you can see the first draft of my worst essay, and its final draft. This is just one example of my improvement. If you care to see further improvement, I invite you to take a journey through the rest of my portfolio. |
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