Sean Guymon

Self Reflection
Portfolio English 2010

In writing I have always felt like it has been something that comes naturally for me. Through my
extended experience to writing that I have received through this class; I realized this wasnt the case. I
can write a shitty rough draft with no problem. That is what I realized Id been doing with my prior
knowledge on writing. From this class I was able to learn how to write papers that are more than just
shitty rough drafts. I learned to add other elements rather than just talking about the item at hand I
realized how to give stories context, cite meaningful sources, and how to effectively revise.
Giving context was the first important element of writing that I developed. Context is important
because it sets the form and the setting for an event, statement, or idea. The context makes it so it can
be fully understood and assessed. When my papers lacked this it made it so they didnt have quite as
big of an impact on the readers. The audience could read my papers before I was able to add context to
them and theyd get a general idea of what I was telling. However I was just telling I was not setting a
scene making the story have a purpose by setting the events and bringing them to life. The context was
something that I had to add and add more to my papers throughout the various stages of revision that I
put them through. I found that the more context that my paper included the better the setting of the
story was able to come alive.
I was able to get a lot of practice with context with my memoir. When I first brought in
my paper to get reviewed by the class and the teacher I was told that my paper didnt have
context. My initial recation to this criticism was, what does context even mean? I
remembered learning about it in the class but kind of figured by just telling the story thatd
include context. I realized I was wrong after digging in further into what context was. I was able
to revise my memoir and turn it in with my midterm portfolio. The midterm feedback I got was I
needed more context to help focus more on the point I was trying to portray. I was able to add
a few things into my memoir and take some stuff out for this submission. I also was able to add
a better visual aesthetic feel by putting a quote at the top of the memoir. The main change I
made was by adding a bit of context involving conversations that took place amongst me and
my parents when I was a kid. This little change helped form a setting for an event that took
place later in the paper. This addition of context in my writing really helped create a scene in
my writing instead of just telling a story without meaning.
The use of sources in a paper can help add logos to your paper. Logos can be very
important in a research paper because if youre arguing something without having a source that
backs up your argument. Sources can help portray your views through someone else or you can
use the source of someone with opposing views to help bring up your views. Essentially it gives
you the opportunity to bring up your views through mentioning somebody elses views and
expound on them. I learned how to more effectively do this by using techniques such as, they
say this however I feel that This technique is one of a few I learned to help introduce
someones view.
I wrote my research paper on a sports topic. The sports topic compares two players and
the debate is of the two players who is the better player. On this I was able to find many sports
analyzers and their opinions which I cited and used for logos. These were some good logos
seeing as they are educated in their field. However after revisions with the teacher I was
challenged to dig deeper and find a source on the psychology of ranking, and why we have a
need for ranking and how we rank. I found a source that explains ranking and what should be
used for rankings. This really helped tie in my article because it talks about how ranking should
be based off the qualities that are possessed. This gave my paper a lot more logos which helped
back my reasoning on why I chose the person I chose. By citing this source my paper instantly
got more logos and more credibility because instead of just being the way I think and my own
personal reasoning it gained substance. With this substance the reader who is reading this
article instead of thinking oh well thats his opinion theyre able to see the why behind by
reasoning. At first when I got this revision request I was a little annoyed because I didnt think it
was necessary I thought it was a nuisance. I read many examples and found that they didnt
include this in any of the articles that were similar to the one I wrote in this genre. I thought it
was just getting an additional requirement put on me. However after going through and making
my revisions and re reading my paper as well as having others they were able to point out how
much better it was. This addition of citing a source and using it to help support my thesis and
conclusion worked out well for me.
The revision process was something Id never done much of in my writing. In previous
English classes Id just write a shitty rough draft and turn it in. Id usually get a decent grade
never a great grade but good enough. I now realize why I wasnt getting great grades on my
work because I wasnt revising my work. The revision is the best way to find mistakes and find
ways that you can better your work. I found that the strategies that worked our for me were;
having peers read my paper and give me feedback, read my paper aloud, and make corrections.
The third piece that I chose to put in my portfolio was my review paper. I chose this
paper because I didnt get as much opportunity to get feedback on it so I reached out to a few
others so I could get feedback on this piece. I found that on this piece the majority thought it
was good. I got a few recommendations that were helpful towards my revisions. I was able to
add more points of views to this piece, form my own opinion more strongly, and added a
graphical element to the original. After the review on the piece I was able to realize that I
hadnt formed my own views strong enough and that it was a weakness that my paper had. I
took that and ran with it improving my paper thanks to my peer revisions.
In my experience from this class I feel Ive grown a lot as a writer. Ive realized its not
my strongest suit and it doesnt come to me as easily as I thought it did. However I have learned
some very important things that I didnt know and or put in practice prior to learning these
things. I put a lot of effort into these papers. I have revised my work a minimum of three times
a piece. I have revised and worked on the memoir the most. I feel that my pieces still could be
re worked and edited, I dont think theyre perfect by any means. I feel like Ive written some
pretty good pieces. I can see how theyve improved through the various stages of revision and
reworking Ive done on them. I feel that I was able to make good with the feedback I got from
my peers to help better my papers.