Meaghan Shea Prof.

Ingram English 1103 036 4 December 2012 Final Portfolio Essay This semester, for me, was a constant battle of new vs. old. Philadelphia vs. Charlotte. High school vs. college. This contrast spanned to encompass much more than just my English class, although this course was definitely the inception of the change. In high school, my teachers bred me to read, sleep, and breath rhetorical analysis and college essays; however, after the first day of class, I realized that regiment simply wouldnt cut it. When you posed to us our theme question for the semester, the first thought that ran through my mind was, This is not what we wouldve done in high school. While I spent the first couple weeks of the semester resisting this notion in all my courses and with all my might, I soon realized that, yes, it was different, but that was okay. One of the selling points of college is that its an experience unlike any other, that it broadens your mind, among other things college recruitment letters advertise. Up until a few months ago, the only essay I ever wrote about myself was part of a college application. But throughout this course and my work within it, Ive explored writing in ways that I never thought I would. I

Shea 2 cant say that I had ever considered the benefits of meditation or vegetarianism prior to this course, but as I near the end of it, I now regularly practice yoga and revamped my diet to include the vegetarian principles similar to the pillars of Peace, Butter & Jelly. These changes arose not from a eureka moment while reading David Seidels book; they arose, I believe, from the way I was allowed to broaden my thinking in the class. I dont think that David Seidel is some kind of enlightened genius, but I do think the discussions we had in class about his book and the discussions he had with us made me think about thing in a far greater context than I had previously. Just as a realized that there were ways to write past the rhetorical analysis and college essays of high school, I learned there are also other ways to think, other ways to exercise, other ways to learn, other ways to eat, than I had thought or realized previously. I didnt even realize these changes were happening in my life or in my writing until I took the time to analyze them myself during midterms. A trend I saw in my own writing was that I wrote many of my first drafts in a high school mentality, refining them in my second and third (sometimes fourth) drafts to better suite the course and to improve my writing. I organized my portfolio to include the process work that lead up to all the pieces, but they are not necessarily in order of the way we did them in class.

Shea 3 I looked at them myself to see which of them reflected a more or less developed style, putting the least developed foremost in my portfolio. I think that showcases my evolution this semester most completely, and I hope you will see that too. From my brainstorming in my writers notebook, to drafting my (mostly horrendous) first drafts, the step-by-step approach we took in class got me thinking about topics and assignments before I ever picked out research questions or was even introduced to an assignment. At the beginning of the semester, my writers journal entries and in-class brainstorming were largely sarcastic remarks about how I was too tired to write. However, just like with most things this semester, I adapted to the work and found the value in it. Brainstorming and journal entries became invaluable ways to get my ideas out on paper, to work through the necessary word vomit as I called it in my midterm and begin to form a coherent essay. A step up from brainstorming, my first rafts were always in need of revision; however, less and less revision was needed as the semester went on. Be harsh, I begged my group members in many a cover letter, and they were. As time went on, I could almost here Hannahs voice in my head as I wrote, asking me what the relevance of the paragraph I just wrote was, or something of the like. The more I learned what my audience would say, the stronger I think I became as a writer. Especially in terms of harnessing my vocabulary,

Shea 4 since I sometimes slip in to using longer-than-necessary words to get my point across, without realizing that I just confused my reader completely (what? was often scribbled in the margins of my drafts). Blogger was usually an intermediate step, allowing me to almost formalize thoughts I had presented in my writers journal and in cover letters. However, as I wrote in my midterm essay, Blogger and I did not always get along. At the beginning of the year I felt very uncomfortable using it because it was not style or medium that I was used to. Although practice makes perfect, I am still not used to it, but I am a whole lot more comfortable with it overall. I think that the use of technology in this class has been one of the most valuable aspectsthough I am adequately tech-savvy, theres a lot to learn and even more to be comfortable with in an age where almost all media is going online. My final revisions were painstaking, to say the least. Nothing, to me, is really ever finished because I can always see ways it can continue to be improved and added to. Nevertheless, these are the most finished pieces I think I have ever written, and that is completely a result of my participation in this course. The finished essays included in my portfolio, to me, are the culmination of a semester of change and adaptation, of improvement and effort. I would have never thought myself capable at the beginning of the semester of writing such an involved piece as are argumentative research essay, or one so

Shea 5 introspective as the Whats It Like to Be You? assignment. But I did it, and it was worth it. Unlike with life, I can see step-by-step my progression as a writer and as a participant in class. I can look through my portfolio and see which revision advice resonates through my writing, even into final drafts. I can see where I made mistakes, and I can see where I changed them. I am so grateful for that, because I know that seeing these things while making my portfolio allowed me to grow, and each time I reflect on the work in my portfolio I can grow a little more from it. After I look at the changes Ive made and seen as a result of this semesters course, I believe I deserve an A. I believe that my work has steadily improved throughout the year. I believe I challenged myself with each new piece you assigned to us. I believe I opened my thinking up to become a better writer, thinker, and person. Hopefully, you agree.