Zara

Professor Ingram
UWRT 1103
8 December, 2015
Final Portfolio Essay

INTRODUCTION
I strived to give my e-Portfolio a very simplistic feel to it and make it very easy to view. It has a clean,
minimalistic look so that viewers are not overwhelmed and find it easy to navigate through my blog. As
you approach my home page, you see the background image of a person staring towards a mountain they
set to climb. That image is set throughout my blog to express the gestural mode. This very gesture is that
there is a long way for me to go before I can become the writer I hope to be. It also represents my journey
to constantly improve my writing skills and become the best writer I can be. It will be a long, hard
process that will require plenty of effort and hard work, but I am willing to endure it in order to become a
better writer. This image is also the largest component on my blog for the very reason that I am trying to
suggest that becoming a better writer was the main, most important component of my e-Portfolio.
In addition to the gestural mode, I appeal to the visual mode by using a clean, simple layout to make my
e-Portfolio easily navigable. I also try to use the visual aspect of the white color background to represent
UWRT 1103 and the blog required for it as a new start as a writer due to the fact that I incorporate new
things I have learned in this course into my writing now. I also make my name a deep blue color to attract
attention to it in my intentionally colorless blog and to add some personalization to it as well. I also make
use of the spatial mode by making my tabs evenly spread out and arranged in the header so they are easy
to go through. Along with this, the introduction on my home page allows my blog to incorporate the
linguistic mode. When you first view my blog, you notice my FPE as the very first tab next to the home
page as I wanted it to be the most noticeable and viewed tab. The tabs that follow are listed in the order
they are included in my FPE. Overall, I am very pleased with the design of my e-Portfolio and hope that it
proves easy to view and follow.

BLOG
The blog posts seemed like the hardest part of this course when I wrote each post. As I reflect on them, I
think I finally understand the purpose of the blog in UWRT 1103: to understand, reevaluate, and reflect on
our work. I also believe the blog posts were intended to be a tool used to measure how much our writing
had changed and improved as one can see the difference from their very first to very last blog post. For
instance, in my very first blog post I ask, Will they include personal reflections? when inquiring about
our writers notebooks. I also ask if the reflective activities we did in class would include reflecting and
analyzing the work of others? My first blog post had made it very apparent that I was reluctant to do any
reflection as I had found it very repetitive and tedious in my previous writing courses. However, my last
blog post drastically contradicts my tone towards reflection in my first blog. I acknowledge how the key
concept of critical reflection was a major aspect of the blog posts and how I also believed that it was
one of the most helpful aspects of the blog posts. My change in attitude towards the blog posts and
critical reflection is due to the realization that both allowed me to reflect on my work assigned in class
and assess which direction it was going in. as I wrote in my blog post #7.

Regularly writing about and reflecting on what we were working on class greatly helped me to notice
what I was doing wrong in my work and if I needed to change the direction of some of my work. Blog
posts were almost like a self-check to myself if I was doing my work right. In my blog post #4, I wrote,
after reading the feedback on my exploratory essay, that I had written it with very little direction and
that it would require some major changes. Looking back at blog posts #5 and #6 also helped me to
realize that I needed to change the topic of my inquiry project as I remembered the great deal of difficulty
I had gone through to move forward with my project due to the limited information on my old topic, time
management. It was after reassessing my mistakes that I finally understood the idea of the inquiry project
and I changed topic of my inquiry project to corporate social responsibility and the format to multi-genre.
Though I have probably made it very evident throughout this essay that the key concept I found most
helpful was critical reflection, I truly believe that it is the backbone of the writing improvement process.
Blogs were not only helpful in the aspect that we assessed what we were having difficulty with, but they
were also tremendously useful in learning from peers. By being able to read my classmates blogs, I was
able to see what they were excelling at or comprehending easily and they would usually offer a simple,
different approach at understanding a concept. For instance, I had a lot of difficulty understanding the key
concept of rhetorical knowledge, but after reading a classmates (Lauren) blog post #2, she offered a
unique insight to the concept that I had overlooked. She broke it down into steps and wrote that when it
comes to rhetorical knowledge, you have to consider the writer or speaker and secondly,
Consider the target audience and how to communicate to them properly. as well as taking the topic into
thought. In other words, her insight made me understand rhetorical knowledge by remembering to always
think of the writer, target audience, topic, and communication and how they all connect and affect each
other. Overall, the blogs were not only a means of following writing progress and reflection, but also a
tool for learning from each other.

EXPLORATORY ESSAY
The very last line of feedback on the second draft of my exploratory essay read, Im unsure where Zara
fits in to her own passion This could not have been clearer of an indication that I needed to change my
essay and I even mentioned in my blog post #7 that it was necessary for my exploratory essay to undergo
some major changes. My first and second drafts of my exploratory essay focused on how I enjoyed
learning Spanish and how I wished that it could be integrated into elementary education. However, after
reviewing the feedback I received from a peer and my instructor, I realized that I had failed to answer the
prompt question correctly and convey that I even had a passion.
Recently, I rewrote my exploratory essay and changed the focus from my interest in Spanish language to
my passion for volunteering. I believe my final draft grasped the idea of the exploratory essay much
better than my previous drafts. The exploratory essay was definitely the assignment that helped me
understand the key concept of the composing processes as revisions I made and feedback I received
helped me to see where I had failed to understand the topic of the essay. I wrote about something that
interested me, but not something that I could not ignore. I believe that in my final draft I could not be
clearer about having a passion that I actually cannot ignore. In my final draft I write how, Even though I
am told by many to pursue other extracurricular activities that will benefit my professional development, I
do not think I will be able to stop volunteering. to emphasize that I truly enjoy volunteering and do not
think I will be able to quit. Although I did feel that the prompt question did not offer much insight as to
how the essay should be written, I was still able to change and improve my essay after reviewing the
essays of my peers and receiving helpful feedback from them as well as my instructor.

MIDTERM

The midterm required for UWRT 1103 had to be one of the most unique approaches to a midterm I have
come across throughout my college career. It had also been one of the most helpful midterms I had ever
completed as it gave insight to not only myself, but also my instructor as to what I have mastered in the
course and what components of the course I still struggled with. I had explained which concepts I was
quickly grasping and expanded on key concepts that I found particularly challenging. Though Reynolds
Preparing to Write the Introduction and Other Reflective Components was intended to help with the FPE
and e-Portfolio, I stumbled upon two sentences that made me think directly of the midterm. Reynolds
writes that you must show that you can evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your writing, that you
understand what you do well and what you still need to work on. He follows this sentence by describing
that Instructors are not looking for perfection; they are looking for writers who are insightful,
conscientious, and engaged in thinking. The very first sentence makes me understand the objective of
this assignment much better as I look at it in retrospect. The second sentence is very reassuring in the
sense that it makes me feel that I understood the objective of the midterm very well and that this is also
what my instructor is looking for in this FPE. In other words, I feel much better knowing that it is not
perfection my instructor is after, but rather for me to able to point out my growth and demonstrate it with
examples from my own learning.
Though I had listed making connections, getting out of my comfort zone, and responsibility for my own
learning as my strong concepts in this midterm, I realize at the moment that I had completely overlooked
the concept of critical reflection in this essay. I had also overlooked the fact that this midterm was an
exercise of critical reflection itself. Since coming across this realization, it also brought to my attention
that this particular assignment was a significant contributor in helping me comprehend and apply my
understanding of the key concept of critical reflection. The First Year Writing Student Learning
Outcomes page describes it as a writers ability to articulate what s/he is thinking and why. This has
been a central idea of UWRT 1103 and heavily practiced in peer groups as we completed focus questions
and offered feedback to our peers regarding their work.
Reflection has also been a major aspect of the blog posts as well. In my blog post #7, I expanded on how
critical reflection also makes one question their writing processes, another key concept. I described how
it made me evaluate the way I wrote and made me understand what I did wrong in my writing, which
the midterm also prompted me to think about. Blog post #7 was also a practice of critical reflection itself
in which I chose to highlight this very concept. I strongly believe that the midterm was my first actual
reflection in this course and the most significant contributor in teaching me how to reflect on my writing
and work properly. My writing has definitely grown and improved since completing this midterm and
assessing and reevaluating what I had written in this essay. In my midterm, I even highlighted how "I
would eventually come to enjoy these reflections more than I anticipated and I demonstrated this by
taking the initiative to practice this concept outside of the classroom by composing two poems that were
both a recount and reflection on my personal experiences during summertime. Overall, I could not have
appreciated any key concept more than critical reflection and commend the integration of this concept in
the midterm, blog posts, and UWRT 1103 course.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
The annotated bibliography for the inquiry project served as my main guide for the direction I wanted
take my research project. I started with my first draft of my annotated bibliography with only two sources
on the topic of NASCAR, which hardly interested me. By my second draft, I had decided on a topic and
included nearly eight sources. My second draft revolved around the topic of time management in college
students and could not have been more different from my first draft. It included numerous credible
sources, detailed explanations of the sources, and made great connections between each source. Overall, I

had put a large amount of effort in my second and third draft and believe that my bibliography came out
to be an exemplary annotated bibliography. The connections I made to each source created a smooth flow
throughout the bibliography and displayed how one source led me to another. For instance, in the
connections column of my third source, I wrote how after exploring the reasons for poor time
management, it led to me to inquire the consequences of poor time management. In addition to the
connections, I also color-coded my bibliography to show which sources specifically related to each other
and how they compared or contrasted. This assignment in particular allowed me to greater delve into the
key concept of making connections that made me make sure that all of my sources related to each
other and that each source further expanded on the previous one but also went on to include to new
research information. Prior to starting this course, I had never really taken making connections into
consideration when working on English projects as it had never been emphasized in my classes. However,
I have realized that this key concept benefits the writer in the sense that it makes them better synthesize
and understand the research information they would like to include.
Perhaps the most helpful aspect of the annotated bibliography was not the fact that it required making
connections, but rather that it was the first step in the composing processes of the inquiry project. The
FYW Student Learning Outcomes describes the composing processes to research a topic before drafting
then conduct additional research while revising or after consulting a colleague. I had completed three
drafts of my bibliography before I realized that my research topic needed to be changed. When
composing my annotated bibliography, I came to the conclusion that there was very limited information
concerning my topic and that I needed to conduct research on my own through interviews, questionnaires,
and surveys. Despite my extensive independent research, I still felt as if I did not have enough
information for my traditional research paper. I came to the realization that this topic did not interest me
as it first did and that it was not a prevalent topic as it had very little information to be found. I also
realized that struggling in the preliminary stages of my composing processes meant that it would be even
more difficult for me to draft the traditional research paper that I had hoped. After reassessing my
annotated bibliography amidst the composing processes, I knew that I had to shift my inquiry project to a
more engaging and relevant topic and I received approval to do so.
I am very pleased that an annotated bibliography was included as one of the five major assignments in
this course as I otherwise would not have been able to notice how weak of a topic my initial topic was. I
found it very helpful that there was a composing processes involved in the inquiry project before creating
the finished product as it enabled to me detect the flaws within my research project and alter it before its
due date. Prior to this class, I did not even know what an annotated bibliography was and was never
required to complete one. However, the more I have engaged in college writing, the more I have noticed
that it is very prevalent and required beyond UWRT 1103, so I am very pleased that I was able to gain an
in-depth understanding of it in this class as I know it will help me in my writing courses to come.

MULTI-GENRE PROJECT
The inquiry project had to be one of the hardest parts of this course for me. It was a big portion of this
course and a long process for me. Overall, I changed my topic three times and went through countless
hours of work and research before I finally settled on my final topic. Despite the fact that I felt very
behind my peers during this process, I am glad I got to experience this writers journey. I had originally
intended to write about the importance of time management in college students in the format of a
traditional research essay. However, after reviewing my annotated bibliography and assessing the fact that
there was very little information on this topic, it became clear to me why it was so difficult for me to even
get to the second page of my essay. However, in return I got to explore more topics and the multi-genre
format. I eventually decided to write about corporate social responsibility which I found much more

interesting and more information on. I also stepped out of my comfort zone by changing the format of
my project to multi-genre project. I had tried multi-genre projects before in my English classes in high
school but never seemed to grasp the idea of them. However, this time I feel like I understood the purpose
of multi-genre and also allowed myself to have fun with it.
Even though the inquiry project proved very difficult for me, I think it was a main component in my
journey as a writer. I assessed where I needed to improve and chose to explore new topics to expand my
horizons as a writer. I am glad I was able to change my topic and that there is a certain degree of freedom
as a writer in this course in which writers are allowed to go back and make revisions and improvements in
their writing instead of it all being graded at once and never revised again. In the very last sentence of Ms.
Ingrams My Midterm Reflection, it states that there are many freedoms for writers, even in researchheavy rhetorical situations. I believe this applies perfectly to my experience with the inquiry project as I
truly got a taste of freedom of a writer during the process of my multi-genre project.

PROCESS WORK ARTIFACTS

For three of four of my Process Work artifacts, I chose the three drafts of my annotated bibliography as I
believe they highlight my understanding of the key concept of Composing Processes. Throughout my
inquiry project, I had changed my topic three times. My very first draft had two sources listed and
concerned NASCAR as the topic. It is poorly done as I failed to understand how to properly complete an
annotated bibliography. I color coded each section though each color did not even have any significance
in my bibliography. My second draft focused on my new topic of the lack of time management in college
students. By the second draft, I had understood the idea of the annotated bibliography much better than
before and used color coding to highlight where my sources related and where they contrasted. I also
made sure to include a smooth flow between my sources to display how each one led to the next.
I followed the same pattern for my third draft but acknowledged that I had difficulty finding information
concerning the topic of time management within college students. I had even resorted to conducting my
own research in order to meet the required amount of sources. It was at the third draft that I realized that I
would not be able to write a seven to eight page paper concerning this topic as I had hoped. Eventually, I
had to change my topic for my inquiry project. The FYW Student Learning Outcomes page describes the
Composing Processes as flexible and states that successful writers can adapt their composing processes
to different contexts and occasions. This particular line stood out to me as I felt like I had already
worked so hard on my annotated bibliography and that it would be difficult for me to change my topic.
However, this line also made me realize that the way I was completing my work and research was not
wrong, my topic was just very uninteresting, and that if I was in fact a good writer, I could change it and
complete my inquiry project properly.
The FYW Student Learning Outcomes page also describes the Composing Processes as process to
conceptualize, develop, and finalize projects. My fourth Process Work artifact is a hand-edited midterm
that I had printed before the start of class and intended to turn in for a grade before I had reviewed it. I
thought that it was perfect and ready to be turned in, but I stopped to read it once more just to make sure
that there were not any mistakes. However, after reading it, several mistakes were brought to my
attention. The paper was not very clear and my word choice had made it difficult to fully understand what
I was struggling with in this course. For instance, I had written that citation practices have been the most
difficult concerning knowledge of conventions. After looking back at this printed copy, I felt as if I had
written that sentence in a manner that made it seem like it was hard for all of my peers in this course. I
soon changed it to include In my case to specify that Knowledge of Conventions was a key concept that

I personally struggled with. After this instance, I made it a priority to always proofread my essays as the
last part of the composing processes in order to ensure that my work is not confusing to my audience.

FEEDBACK ARTIFACTS
I chose both of my Feedback Artifacts to be related and go hand in hand to demonstrate how I did not
understand the mistakes in my exploratory essay. One of my artifacts is answered focus questions for the
first draft of my exploratory essay which mention that my essay needs improvement. I did not pay enough
attention to the feedback my peer group had given me regarding my exploratory essay and had
overlooked the fact that it did need to be changed completely. It was not until I read the very last line in
my midterm note that my EE needed substantial revision that I decided to start a new exploratory essay.
In the feedback I had received in the focus questions from my peer group, I noticed a trend in them that
my group members kept on suggesting that my essay needed personal experiences and quotes, but I had
ignored this as I thought this was not needed for the essay. However, after reading the comment on my
midterm note, I realized my group members could not have been more correct. Since then, I have come to
appreciate and value peer feedback much more as I realize that sometimes I might not understand the idea
of writing assignments as well as my peers and I should always take their opinions into consideration to
make sure I am writing properly.
I also had difficulty understanding why those who read my essay responded the way they did and gave
this sort of feedback. I thought my essay was acceptable, but after some long and hard thought, I tried to
put myself in the shoes of the readers. I even read back to Richard Straubs RespondingReally
Respondingto Other Students Writing to get a better understanding of how to give feedback and to see
if I even understood the basics of giving feedback. It was when I read the line that told the reader, Youre
there to play back to the writer how you read the paper: what you got from it; what you found interesting;
where you were confused; where you wanted more. that I understood the perspectives of the readers of
my essay and the guidelines that I would come to follow when giving feedback to my own group
members. Straub follows this sentence with another insightful sentence that describes that after the first
part of giving feedback is completed, you can go on to point out problems, ask questions, offer advice,
and wonder out loud with the writer about her ideas. Since reading this, it has been my exact method for
providing feedback to my peers in our peer groups and has proved effective each and every time.

WRITERS NOTEBOOK ARTIFACTS

My first writers notebook artifact is a warm-up in which we were asked to draw a fish. I drew a basic
shape of a fish and did not include any detailing on my drawing. When we were asked to hold our
drawings up for each other to see, I had noticed my classmates intricate illustrations of fish. Though I do
not quite remember which assignment this warm-up was related to, I do, however, remember that the
main idea of this warm-up was that the major assignments were to be interpreted and completed in
whichever way you would like (for the most part). That particular warm-up stood out in my mind as it
made me think back to the key concept of responsibility for your own learning. Just like we were given
the freedom to learn and interpret course material on our own, we were also allowed the freedom to
interpret and complete the major assignments in this course according to our own styles.
The second artifact I chose was a copy of Ms. Ingrams My Midterm Reflection. I chose this as one
point I read in it really stood out to me and ultimately gave me a better understanding of what this course
encourages us as students to learn and improve upon. This was how using language found in this course
will help you learn new vocabulary and will ultimately help you learn the material. The more I read and
incorporated language from the course into my own work, the better I understood it and it did make my

work establish a strong student ethos. After reading My Midterm Reflection, I felt like I had a better
understanding of what was expected of me in this course and how I could meet these expectations.

WILD CARDS
For this portion of my e-Portfolio, I chose to include two original poems that I written this semester and
decided to submit to the Universitys literary arts magazine, the Sanskrit, for publication. I had written
two poems, So Long and Lady Niagara, which were both a recount and reflection on my personal
experiences during summertime. I had unintentionally experienced the key concept of composing
processes in which I went through an extensive process of writing three drafts before final submission
and even had my poems reviewed by a tutor at the Writing Resources Center. During my session at the
WRC, I explained to my tutor that I had very little knowledge of poetry or background in writing, but I
was told to take a leap of faith by my tutor and go ahead in submitting my poems. I wholeheartedly
believe that the key concept of getting out of my comfort zone that was heavily stressed throughout
this course was exactly what encouraged me to take a leap of faith. I had recalled in my very first blog
post how I had written that I wanted to submit a piece of writing into a writing competition and win in
any category and that gave me the encouragement I needed to submit my poems.
After writing and submitting these pieces, I can clearly see the effect UWRT 1103 has had on my
individual writing skills and thought process as a writer. My writing has become more eloquent and I
know how to better set tones to tailor the context of my writing. This was something I struggled with
greatly and I even wrote in my second blog post how I have trouble setting a tone that matches my piece
of writing. After forming these poems and submission, I feel as if the concept I explored the most and
mastered is none other than responsibility for your own learning as these poems also represent an
extension of my learning in this course. By using what I had learned in this course regarding writing
improvement along with key concepts and applying it to a real-life instance, I have gained a greater
understanding of this course.
Lastly, another aspect I really admired about this course and that I believe is an undiscovered writing key
concept would be freedom of the writer. Unlike any others, this course has given us as students freedom
as writers to write about whatever it is that interests us. I think the lack of this in high school English
courses is really what bores and frustrates students, but its existence in college English courses refreshes a
student as it goes hand in hand with the freedom of college.

GRADE REFLECTION
I believe that my efforts in this course and the demonstrated effort applied on my e-Portfolio should allow
me to earn an A in this course. As demonstrated in my FPE, blog, and major assignments, I have put a
great deal of effort in each assignment required in this course. I have spent countless hours composing,
revising, and perfecting this essay as well. I thoroughly outline my composing processes from beginning
to finish for all of the major assignments, highlighting my mistakes, revisions, and improvement in my
writing. In addition, I analyze and explore parts of my writing to account my growth and improvement as
a writer. I explain in detail my engagement and connection with more than three key concepts that include
but are not limited to: critical reflection, composing processes, getting out of my comfort zone,
responsibility for my own learning, and making connections. Throughout this FPE, I quote my own
work, assignments, and writing to a great extent to support, prove, and illustrate instances of the claims I
have made throughout my essay. I also go on to include examples and my own insight of five different
texts from the course from other writers. Aside from my FPE, my e-Portfolio is easy to follow and
includes a finished draft of each major assignment and all required artifacts. My FPE and e-Portfolio go

hand in hand to display my engagement in the course throughout the semester. With that being said, my
FPE and e-Portfolio not only illustrate my journey in the UWRT 1103 course, but my journey as a writer
as well, and I believe I have earned an A for this course.