lasting impression (portfolio essay)

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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.