Megan Barnhart

Mrs. Raymond
UWRT 1102-013
21 January 2016
Writing Prompt #1
The biggest question I have about writing portfolios is what to include. I never know
which work I should put in the portfolio and I struggle to determine my best work. Over the
semester I know we will be doing a lot of writing and projects and I am going to eventually have
to narrow it down to my best work to include in the portfolio. I do not know what qualifies a
certain piece of work to be good enough to include in the portfolio. Should I just go by the best
grade that I get? Another question that I have when thinking about the portfolio is how the work
is supposed to be organized. I am a very neat and organized person and I cannot stand for stuff to
be everywhere. I do not know the best way to organize the projects and writings in a way that
they are not just randomly placed or all in the same area. I have produced a portfolio before but I
struggled in those areas. The one thing I am good about in portfolios is adding pictures and
making the portfolio look more appealing. Nobody wants to read a bland looking portfolio and
by adding pictures and color to the page it may draw more attention from your audience and they
may become more interested in your work. I feel that the style of writing I have is more
interesting than others. I feel that my work can draw people into what I am saying and they will
stay engaged throughout my writings. I try to make my writing more interesting because I know
how it feels to read boring and dry readings. I am hesitant that my organization of my writings
will make it seem overwhelming to my audience because there is so much in one area. This all

ties back to the questions I have about my portfolio. My success in my portfolio will come when
I figure out the proper projects and writings to include along with the correct organization.

Megan Barnhart
UWRT 1102-013
Mrs. Raymond
25 January 2016
Time to Reflect

I want to show how my writings and work have improved throughout the semester. I can
put the writings in order of the time they were written so that the audience can see the

improvement and not have to search for it.

I want to show persistence by editing my work to improve it and adding extra things to it
to make it stand out more or to improve the quality. I can explain more in my writings
and elaborate on certain things when extra time is available (like when added to the

portfolio)
I want to show my abilities as a web based designer because you have access to so much
and it is amazing what you can do with everything when you have access to the internet

and all this technology.

I want to be able to show flexibility so that people can see my different styles of writing

by my work and through my word choice.

I want to show creativity by adding my own touch to my work so that it becomes more
interesting and holds peoples attention.

I will probably not show independence because I do not believe my editing skills can out
do those of my peers and professors.

Megan Barnhart
UWRT 1102-013
Mrs. Raymond
4 February 2016
Writing Prompt #3
I attended a softball camp one year and learned a lot from it. I am a very hands on and
visual person and the entire camp was based on my learning style. I got to practice the new
things I learned right away and that helped me get comfortable with them and retain and practice
what I learned. I got to see the improvements the new techniques made while I played and
proved to me how helpful they were. Learning this way was a lot of fun and made learning
enjoyable and worth my time. It also was easier to learn about something I was very interested in
and cared a lot about. I was always wanting to improve my game so learning new things was a
top priority and made learning so much more enjoyable. We learned techniques back down to the
basics and then built on them as we went along which made it easier to understand. Being able to
watch demonstrations of the techniques and then someone helping you one on one is very helpful
in learning the techniques properly. Getting able to practice the techniques and having someone
watch you and critique you is also a huge factor in learning these techniques properly. This was a
very positive learning experience because of the learning styles they used and the one on one
attention they provided. It was a learning experience I will never forget and that I still practice

when I play softball. I will teach these learning styles to other people the same way they were
taught to me.
Megan Barnhart
UWRT 1102-013
Mrs. Raymond
11 February 2016
Writing Prompt 4
My most recent peer response session was very recent and it involved us reading over
and revising a proposal for a semester long project. All four of the group members participated
during this peer response session. Each member contributed by reading over the proposal and
making sure all the components were there. Each member could also edit any grammatical errors
and make comments on parts they liked and disliked.
We expect each group member to work together because in the end we all end up with
the same grade. We want each group member to earn the grade that the whole group is getting. If
a group member is not participating we will politely tell them and hope they change but if not we
will speak to our professor. A pattern of communication that has developed in our group is a
group chat through text messaging. It is a simple and effective way that allows all of us to
communicate with one another at one time. We communicate very well when in person and we
are not afraid to speak our mind to one another. An activity that our group always engages in is
sitting in class together and meeting once a week in the library to work on our semester long
project. This is a recently known group but we have had enough time together to get to know one

another and feel comfortable around each other. We communicate very well at all times and I
think that communication will not be an issue with this group. I am looking forward to working
all semester long with my group.

Megan Barnhart
UWRT 1102-013
Mrs. Raymond
18 February 2016
Writing Prompt #5
Artifacts
Writing

Subject Matter
Planning an E-

Strengths
Planning out

Weaknesses
Might not all fit

Skill it highlights
Planning and

Prompts
Daily Writings

portfolio
Analyzing

what is needed
Being able to

together in the end Analyzing

Not very detailed in Analyzing and

different topics

know what to

the topics

learning to

Semester Long

Light Rail

write
Working with a

Finding research

understand topics
Learning to create

Project

Systems

team

for the Light Rail

presentations and

System
research projects
Even though it feels like the semester has just started I have completed plenty of work I
plan on including into my portfolio. What surprises me most about my work is that I can right so
much about such a simple and small topic. I am impressed at how much I can write and explain
with such a simple topic. A pattern I see is that all my writings are about the same length. They
are usually no longer than a page when it comes to my writing prompts and my daily writings are
usually a decent sized paragraph.

Projects that involve analyzing

Writing prompts
Daily Writings
Semester long project
Each one of these works involves analyzing content to write about a certain topic. Only one
includes creating a presentation but to create that presentation you have to analyze
information. The visual presentation probably should be left out of the e-portfolio because
viewers would not be getting to hear the oral part of the presentation which would mean they
are missing a ton of information. The other work goes together very well and they all involve
having to analyze. I can group the writings that are the same topics together so that the
viewer can see the connection between them.
Megan Barnhart
UWRT 1102
Mrs. Raymond
24 March 2016
Writing Prompt #6
My understanding of revision is taking something that you have already completed and
changing it in a way that will improve the work. You should focus on areas that seem boring or
messy and clean them up and make them more interesting and presentable. You should look at

your work in a different way than before. This may take another person to help you revise your
work because they are going to see it differently than the creator. I have found efforts to revise in
many places in my portfolio. I have revised the tabs on my webpage to match the products that it
will navigate to when clicked on. Once all my work is completed I will include all of my work in
those tabs. I have also revised my home page to make it simpler and less cluttered. I also focused
my homepage more on me and who I am. It will help the audience get a better understanding of
who I am and my interests. This will help give them an idea of how I write and my thoughts
within my writings. My goal for my revisions is to make sure my portfolio is presentable and
intriguing. I want it to be easy to navigate through and include all the materials it should. I want
the audience to be entertained while going through my portfolio and really getting a taste of who
I am.
Megan Barnhart
UWRT 1102
Mrs. Raymond
29 March 2016
Writing Prompt #7
I think that I have used rhetorical knowledge in my project by showing that I understand
the audience and what they will want to see and hear. My audience is a bunch of college students
so I am not having to speak very professional but still appropriate. When presenting I will figure
out what all the audience knows because I may need to go into more or less detail depending on
their background knowledge about the topic. I wanted to find out more about our topic, the light
rail, because I was interested on the impact that it will make on our college campus. I was

curious in finding out where all it will take people and how it will affect the traffic on campus
and surrounding areas. I felt that I needed to find out more about this topic because it will
directly affect me and my fellow students in the new future. I felt like I needed to be informed on
the topic of it and to share that with my classmates. The sources that challenged me the most was
the studies done to see how the light rail system affects peoples health. I never thought that a
light rail system could affect peoples health so much. This got me thinking really deep about
how this could make a difference in peoples lives. It made me think about how all the other
sources of transportation can affect peoples health too. Those sources really got my mind going.

Megan Barnhart
UWRT-1102
Mrs. Raymond
7 April 2016
Writing Prompt #8

Figure 1: Charlotte
Light Rail Extension Map
Source: www.thetransportpolitic.com
What I will say: This map shows the expansion of the blue line rail in Charlotte, NC. Shown
above you can see the stops on our campus and in areas around campus where you have seen
construction. There are also more than one line of rails that travel throughout Charlotte.

Figure 2: 1990 Transportation to Work

Source: www.publicpurpose.com
What I will say: This graph shows how people get to and from work in Charlotte in 1990. This
graph is similar to what it would be today. With the expansion of the light rail the area hopes to
lower the amount of auto drivers and reduce traffic on the roadways.

Figure 3: Safety While Riding a Light Rail

Source: www.metrotransit.org
What I will say: This is a poster that you would find in a railway station. It warns you about the
dangers that can occur when distracted in the station. It is your responsibility to be alert and to be
aware of your surroundings at all times.

Works Cited
Charlottes Rapid Transit Plans Map. 2010. The Transport Politic. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
N.d. Safety along METRO Lines. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
Transit. N.d. Breach of Faith: Light Rail and Smart Growth in Charlotte. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.

Megan Barnhart
UWRT 11002
Mrs. Raymond

14 April 2016

Writing Prompt #9
I held a conversation with one of my roommates in my dorm. This conversation was
helpful to my project because I got to see the knowledge of what other students on campus have
about the light rail. I saw the lack of knowledge that they have about where the light rail will take
them and how it works. My roommate has ridden a light rail before in New York City so she
understood how to safely ride it and what it looks like. She understands the atmosphere of the
light rail and the basics to how it works. I asked her if she knew where the light rail could take
her if she left form campus and she was unsure. I was shocked that she did not know where the
light rail was going because I thought it was common knowledge that the light rail took you to
Uptown. I also asked if she thought that the light rail would help traffic on campus and she was
unsure if it would or not because she does not see many people using the light rail to get on and
off campus. This surprised me because I thought that because it was a new way of transportation
that people would be excited and want to use it. I guess the location of where you are traveling
from has a big impact on whether you will use it or not. This made me want to further research
which area around the campus would use the light rail the most. It also made me want to research
what age group the light rail would attract or if it would be spread out among all ages. This
project helped put in perspective how I should present because not everyone has the background
knowledge that I do. I need to start with the basics and explain in simple terms how the light rail
works and is affecting the campus.
Megan Barnhart

UWRT 1102
Mrs. Raymond
19 April 2016
Writing Prompt #10
The initial idea about this project was that it was going to be hard to look at the different
ways to view light rail systems. As time went on and the further we dug into the research about
the light rail systems the easier it was to figure out different views and topics that involved it. I
thought that this project would focus mostly on how the light rail affects traffic but over time I
found a lot more interesting topics to talk about and how they could relate to the traffic. I
honestly did not think that I could find a way to relate the light rail system into something that I
was interested in but I found a way. I found a way to relate the light rail system to health and
safety. I can apply critical reflection to this task because I found a way to make sense of my topic
in a way that is interesting and relevant to me. An area of research that surprised me was the
health aspect of light rails. By using a light rail system instead of driving you can lower your
BMI (Body Mass Index) and help reduce obesity. I guess that I never thought of public
transportation in that way before. I think that my composing process has improved greatly over
the semester because of this project. I have been able to develop multiple strategies to present my
information to different audiences in a way that suites them best. I create my work in a way that
will make it interesting to different audiences viewing or reading my work.