lasting impression (portfolio essay)
TRANSCRIPT
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Morgan BrittonEnglish 1103-029
Portfolio Essay
When I walked into Friday 122 on the first day of class, I remember sitting down in the
front row with my syllabus in hand. I remember having a clean notebook, having a folder filled
only with fresh college ruled paper, and having way too many pencils in my bookbag, as if the
first nine would break that day and that tenth one would simply be a lifesaver. I remember
thinking of how much I love English classes, and how I was anxious to see what the semester
would bring. I remember thinking that most people in the class probably hated writing, but
hopefully a few were as passionate towards it as I am. I remember thinking how hungry I was.
However, through all of those initial reactions to this class, I never once thought that I
would walk away with an extensively greater knowledge of academic writing. I never once
thought that I would write, and approach the tedious process of writing, in such a dramatically
different way. I never once thought I would change the way I edited papers. I never remember
thinking that I would come out of English 1103 with as much passion for genuine research and
inquiry as I actually did. Though some people may say these things and have no real emotion
behind them, this is simply not the case for me; I have truly learned so much from this class that
it seems difficult to describe in one essay.
Despite that challenge, I have found that two overarching themes really define what Ive
learned most from in this class, those two themes being the process of research and inquiry and
also the process of editing and critiquing work. These two main ideas (inquiry and editing) have
shown to be the areas that I have grown most in this semester, and my hope is, through this essay
and my actual portfolio, you will be able to see this change and growth, and be able to
understand how much of an impact it has had on me as a writer.
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from, let me talk about my history to, let me inquire about my true feelings at this moment.
It was a huge change in mindset. The entire What ItsLike To Be You essay was a change in
mindset, as that was the first inquiry I had to engage in. However, from that point on, the whole
process and idea of research turned in a new direction which only increased my growth as a
writer.
After this essay was written, we looked onward to inquiring about health, and I (up until
this point) had never been told to take one idea, research it, and follow the trail of questioning
until it leads you to solid ground (even if its completely different from where you began). I had
always been taught the opposite in school, that being, pick a topic and research it, only. What a
whole new concept for me!
What helped me through this uncharted area, however, was the Blogger we did. This site
became a place that I could throw all of my questions, findings and concerns into. It was almost
like a safe haven, where I could ask myself (and those reading the blog) questions that I still
needed answers too, and also where I could analyze my inquiries and organize them in a sense.
From Blogger, I learned that sometimes, inquiring about things can lead you down confusing
paths. A few of my blog posts talk about how chaotic my research was; did I want to talk about
babies, labor, or food for pregnant women? TOO MANY CHOICES! But being able to put
these concerns down somewhere almost seemed like a method of relief for me, and I learned that
organizing your questions and thoughts can make these confusing times of research a bit less
stressful.
While blogging, however, we began our Annotated Bibliographies and then our Three-
Sided Assignment. These assignments helped me grow in my knowledge of the process of
research and inquiry. The Annotated Bibliography taught me (unlike high school) that there
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must be a reason you are using a source as a whole and not that youre using that source simply
for one or two quotes. My Annotated Bibliography was a challenge at first because I found it
unnecessary to have to describe to myself the source I just read, but it later helped me remember
my sources so well that my mind was changed, and I was a fan. As for the Three-Sided
Assignment, though I found this to be the least impactful piece I wrote this semester (because
when I wrote it, I was still confused about what my inquiry question wasy), it did help me
organize my sources, help me categorize who was speaking to me in these sources and help me
analyze what they were saying. This assignment was pretty straight forward for me, but had
some impact on the way I approached who I was as a reader.
The most influential piece from this semester, however, is by far the Research Essay, the
one which I felt this whole semester was centered around. This essay (and all of its process
work) played a huge part in my growth as an inquiring writer. The essay was the final product
behind all of my inquiries; it was the destination of my journey, if you will, and was ultimately
the piece which summed up my learning of inquiry and the academic writing process. I also feel
so satisfied with this piece, because I know the hefty amount of work I put into it, and I also now
feel so strongly about the topic I cover. This has proved to me that intense inquiry and discovery
can lead to real satisfaction, and I think thats the most important thing Ive learned.
However, if it wasnt for two major pieces (Interview Notes and Thesis Breakthrough),
I may never have tasted this satisfaction. Once I had realized that I wanted to solely focus on
pregnancies and whether or not they needed to take place in a hospital, I needed mostly new
sources. I decided to speak with my cousin, Brittany Valigore, who had both of her babies at her
home in Ohio. The interview notes I took are posted, as they were literally the notes that guided
me to my future thesis. These notes, though messy and jumbled, were a road sign on my journey
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through inquiry about pregnancies. They showed me that inquiry doesnt have to just come
through peer-reviewed journals or library books, but from real people with real stories as well.
Also, if you notice on the second page of the notes, there is a bullet which says, Recommend:
Business of Being Born doc lots of info from that. This fact (which Brittany stated and
restated throughout our interview) was one which later led me to watching this documentary that
solidified my views on hospital births and also on the topic I wished to focus on within the
broader topic of pregnancies.
Even after all of this had occurred however, I was struggling with what my argument was
going to be aboutwith homebirths. It wasnt until I spoke with you when I had a literal light
bulb moment. As shown on my Thesis Breakthrough piece, I had been working on what to say,
when I had asked her for an opinion. This scratched up paper turned out to be the basis for my
thesis which holds my whole research paper together. I love this messy work; I included it
because it was a vital part of my inquiry process, as was all of the work I have spoken of from
this semester. I have learned from all of this work that inquiring on things in life only leads to
more inquiries, but thats not always a bad thing! In fact, it can be invigorating and really quite
rewarding.
The other aspect of my writing which has been greatly influenced by this class is my
editing skills. Before this class began, I was (to be honest) quite an over-editor. As shown
through my first piece under the heading Editing Pieces, Adams Paper is marked up with
edits that were not even edits but rather complete changes to the paper itself. I had no idea that I
wasnt actually doing him a favor but instead was taking away his personal voice and making it
my own. Thankfully, we had the opportunity to draft other papers as well as read the
Responding.. article by Richard Straub, which completely changed my perspective on
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providing feedback. This article, the first page of which I have attached for you to see my notes
on, really taught me that I need to avoid re-writing peoples papers and work on guiding the
writer in the right direction. This was a huge mindset change for me, and I wanted to show
Adams Paper and this article as proof of my old habits and why they were changed.
My editing mindset was not only changed by this article but also by, as said before, edits
that were both given and received throughout the semester. TheWhat Its Like to Be You
Draft Two essay edits that you gave me, along with your edits from my Research Paper Draft
Two (the most edited parts of which are posted for you to see), really opened my eyes to good
editing skills but also to revisions I needed to make on my own papers. The note you wrote me
on the back of my What Its Like to Be You essay, for example, really allowed me to critically
think about the necessary changes I needed to make to fill the reader in on Nicks fatal accident.
I changed that whole section of my paper because of your notes; I added the following sentences:
What started out as an exciting trip to New York turned out to be one of the most heart
wrenching times for my family. Mixing alcohol and motor vehicles can only lead to
disaster, and my family awoke to a phone call only hours after the wedding. Sweet Nick
had been off-roading with his brother, had crashed into a tree, and had been crushed.
This added a more descriptive tone to my paper and gave the audience what they needed in terms
of that story. Also, your notes on the Research Paper Draft Two were extremely helpful as well;
they guided me to realizing my errors, but did so in a tactful way. I learned what I needed to do
for my paper but also what I needed to do in my editing for future papers to come. My editing at
that point had grown a lot more since my editing for Maegans Three-Sided Argument Draft
Two, which I included because it shows how my editing had changed from Adams Paper, but
still was not as good as it could have been in terms of depth and over-editing.
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Finally, I have expanded my editing skills in a technical sense, but also in a more broad
sense as well. I now realize that, when editing, my opinion is very subjective, and isnt always
right. This realization came through two specific pieces, the Good Writing Warmup and also
the Cover Letter for Draft One Research Paper. The warmup really made me realize (as I
wrote) how good writing is such a general description. As I said in the piece, Im not really a
fan of the word, good. This whole journal entry made me see how my writing may not always
be what people want or deem good. Also, the cover letter for the research paper was a way for
me to emphasize my new editing skills. I knew that, after working so hard on my research, I
didnt want to write something that wasnt what I wanted to convey; I had rather not write
anything at all. I didnt want to have others edit something that I wasnt proud of, and for me,
that was a declaration of how much I appreciated my peer group and didnt want them wasting
their time.
Overall, I hope you can see how much this class, English 1103, has really impacted my
writing, reading and thinking skills. I have grown so much, especially when it comes to the
process of inquiry and also the process of editing. Because of this personal growth, I feel like I
deserve an A in this class. I know that is probably what you have read in most of these essays
(because everyone wants a good grade), but I hope that throughout this semester, you have truly
seen the effort and enthusiasm I have shown, and how much I really have appreciated your
teaching abilities and your lessons (even though, as you say, they are just part of the
curriculum). I have put in so many hours and given so much thought to each piece I have
handed in, and I feel like an A is definitely a well-deserved letter for this class. However, I dont
want to beg you for it, and because I have been so fully satisfied with this class and its impact
on me personally, I will take whatever grade you deem I deserve. The lasting impression this
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course has left on me for the future will far surpass any temporary grade I am given now. Thank
you for an enjoyable and truly insightful semester.