Marino 1 Dane Marino Ms.

Ingram 11/27/2012 English 1102-024 Danes Collection All the work I have chosen has had an impact on my growth as a writer. I included work from when I started the semester to my final writing as a student in English 1102. It surprised me how quickly my writing changed when getting into the class. I really believe my writing matured and improved very quickly in this class. In high school I do not believe my writing changed very much. It seemed like it remained the same for a while. The changes that did happen were not very evident so it was hard to tell the difference between where I started and where I ended. In this class, which will be evident in my portfolio and all my work as a whole, my quality of work changed very fast starting with my first assignment. I decided to arrange my final portfolio in a way that shows that progression. My first page of my portfolio I tried to show a basic overall timeline of how my work changed and something I learned that helped me improve as a writer and group member in the class. My second page to my fourth page is a more in depth timeline of my work and the progress I made. I started with a smaller look so the reader can get a general idea of my change then get a deeper look into that change. I started my second page with this essay so the reader can understand how each assignment impacted my work and the change I made from each assignment. After this essay I go on to start with my WILTBY essay and all the work that went with it. This was my first major assignment for the class

Marino 2 and gives a good base for my work. My third page I go over my annotated bibliography and three-sided assignment and an assignment that really got me started building my research essay. My last page covers my research paper. I placed my research paper last because other than this essay it was the last major assignment I did in the class. It was the culmination of all my work in the class and shows the most change from my start. The first piece I started with came from the daily entries section. It was one of if not the first free write we did in class. I put this piece first because it was the first writing I did in the class and it shows my writing at the very beginning of the class. This piece more than any other shows where I was coming from. Because it was the first write I did had not made any change from being in the class. It also gives a little background on exactly who I was as a writer at that time. I talk about what I do well and what I have trouble with in writing. I do not elaborate very much I really tried to engage in this assignment by being truthful about my writing at that time. The next part of the first page was another entry from my daily entry section. It was a free write we did about our argument for our research paper. I added this because it gives an idea of what I stilled needed to work on in my writing getting close to the end of the class. I think I still need to improve on my content in my writing The assignment also highlights on the portions I feel strong about in my writing at that time. I felt confident in my approach to the argument essay by using a counterargument. This fish draw at the bottom was also important. The purpose behind that was to show

Marino 3 you gave a whole bunch of people the same task and it is completed in my different ways. This helped me when I was writing my argument. I was not just writing an argument for another counterargument but for any kind of argument that someone had. This way my argument was not just focused one kind of argument. I used my blogs next which were from the required work section. I used these blogs because they were spaced out over the course. They do not just give a perspective of one part of my writing in the class but across the whole class. Each blog is a different part of my writing development. The blogs talk about assignments we were doing at the time and how I was doing. They talked about what I was having trouble with and what I was doing well at. All the blogs have different things I was having trouble with and different things I was doing good at. By having them all together you can see my change in my struggles and the change in my strengths. I made sure each one was over the word minimum and tried to truly answer each question the best way I could. The last thing I included on the first page was a piece from my artifacts section. It was notes I took from a reading we did about reading. Pages 51 through 67. It was about how to read some ones paper and how to do make comments for that person in the best way. This assignment was a very helpful assignment. I normally just made basic comments for my group members but after reading this article and taking notes I started to be able to make better comments. It helped me concentrate on the larger picture instead of just basic grammar errors when I was commenting a team members work. From that point on I made better comments for my team members. Page two I started to focus more on my work from the beginning to end in depth. I start with this essay, my final portfolio essay, which is from the required work section. I

Marino 4 start with this because it gives the reader an understanding of how each piece impacted my writing and the meaning behind each piece. This essay in itself gives me the opportunity to look back over my work and see for myself how I changed. The second piece is my WILTBY (What Its Like To Be You) essay. This was the first major assignment I did. I noticed immediately I had already changed my writing from when I was in high school. I had done an assignment kind of like this one and I compared after doing it and noticed how much I changed. In high school I just talked about my past. Now I was able to make connections between my past and myself today. Also, connections in my past I was not able to see before. I at first focused a little too much on my past and not how I am today. I tried to add more points of how it affected me today compared to not just saying what happened to me in the past. This was a hugely helpful assignment for me. I believe I grew a lot from this assignment. When I first wrote it I had trouble making connections between stuff. As I wrote the paper and worked through the paper I started to realize connections. After that paper I found my selfmaking connections using the same process I used in that essay. I took risk by writing a poem in this paper, which I never do. I also from draft to drafted started to realize things about myself I had never really realized before. The next piece is from my process work section. It is the brainstorming I did for the WILTBY essay. It shows where I started in my brainstorming process. It has all the basic ideas I had about that paper and where I thought I was going with that paper. It has all the basic connections and ideas I wanted to go into. The next part is a draft of my WILTBY essay this shows my almost end product. I added this because it shows the thought process I had at that time. This was when I missed connecting myself from today to my experience in the past. This shows

Marino 5 my what I thought was finished work to now what I believe is finished work. The draft is part of the growth I was making. I had made some better connections, but I was still missing the last connection, which was to myself. I next added a piece from my responses section. This was feed back I got back from Ms. Ingram. What is it like to be Dane TODAY? She helped me see that I only focused on my past and not how I am today. This was extremely helpful because with out that feedback I would not have seen that myself. I was able to change my work and make it answer the question correctly. My third page I go on to cover my annotated bibliography and three-sided assignment. Both assignments are from my required work section. The annotated bibliography helped my to choose the best research I had found. I had never done research to this extent before. This assignment got me to improve my research skills. I had to look more in depth in my sources. Before I only used one or two facts for my papers. For this paper I need sources I could use multiple facts from. For other assignments in the past I only used a couple of sources and did not go as in depth as I had to for this assignment. This was a really helpful assignment because I quickly could tell which were my best sources and which sources I really did not need. It also helped me work on my MLA citations, which is always helpful. It helped me improve on that because MLA had changed from how I used it in the past. In high school we always used citation builders and with this assignment I learned how to do it myself. The three sided assignment was one of the most important assignments we did the whole class. It got me to really realize who the people were that were looking in on my topic. I was able to form my argument based on that assignment. I had a better understanding of my

Marino 6 audience so I was able to write a better argument because of it. In the past would just make my point for anyone. I never really focused on my audience. By focusing on my audience I was able to more efficiently make my argument. I included one more piece for this assignment. It was from my Artifacts section. It was reading we did about claims for arguments. Rogerians approach to arguments This assignment helped me realize what kind of claim I was making in my argument. Making the right claim helped me make my argument the best way. The reading also went into what kind of arguments there are. That helped me because I knew which type I wanted and the reading gave me more information on that kind of argument. I was able to make my argument in better ways because of the reading. I decided to use a counter argument because of the reading. I saw how it was used in the reading and I wanted to do the same for my argument. My last page I go over my research paper. This assignment was the most important assignment I did. It showed all the work I had done through the semester and the combination of all my new strengths I had gained through the semester. I start with a piece from my responses section. When I wrote my first draft I ran out of things to say and had no idea what else to add. After the first peer workshop I got great advice on exactly what I needed. My research paper changed tremendously after that. I really tried to explore each idea I got from my group. In the end I got a more refined paper with all the content I needed. My first draft was the foundation of my final argument. It got me started in the right direction for my desired product. My next piece is from my process section. It was the cover letter to my research paper. I included this because I go in

Marino 7 depth on exactly how I was making my argument. I based this assignment for my questions to my group mates on suggestions for improving my paper. This assignment helped me realize how I was making my argument and where I could improve on. I really made sure to include all the areas I was trying to make my argument from and what I had learned from my research so far. I situated my argument by explaining organic and the view people have of it then breaking down each part of organic food This assignment got me to look at my work so far say what I want to do and possibly see areas I could make better for the future. The side shadow assignment also helped me change my essay a lot. The side shadow assignment is also from my process work section. All the struggles I was having with the assignment I saw much clearer because of this assignment. I was also able to fix some of my problems by just doing the assignment. It helped me with my structure very quickly. I changed the layout of my essay because of the assignment. I was able to strengthen my topic sentences and find anything that was out of place. The assignment got me to take a step back and break everything down. I looked at each piece individually and make the best decision for each part. I was able to make better choices when I was able to look at sections piece by piece instead of the whole thing at once. When writing the paper I wrote it seeing the whole picture and focusing on that. This assignment got me to look at each section as a small part and see if it works for that section. I finally included my research essay, which is from my required section. I added it last because it was the last assignment I did and after reading about the struggles I had you can see how I fixed them. It was one of my hardest assignments because I was not able to get a complete idea after my first draft.

Marino 8 It is also one of my best assignments because of the new tools I gained in the class I was able to change it from a struggle to a work I am proud of. I took a struggle I was having turned it into a final product I am proud of using the tools a gained from the class like my new research skills I learned. I believe my portfolio came together very well. I was able to give an accurate view of how my work has changed and the work and effort I put in the whole semester. I showed my best work I had done the semester. I also showed the biggest changes I made. From maturing in my writing to gaining tools like peer editing and new researching skills. I included all the steps in the class that got me to that final product. I did all those steps. I was always prepared for class and any quizzes we took. I only forgot my binder once and it was for a syllabus quiz. I had accidentally placed the wrong binder in my backpack. I sprinted from our classroom on the fourth floor of fret well to the eleventh floor of Sanford hall and back barefoot to make sure I had what I needed for class. If that is not dedication for being prepared for class I do not know what is. I made it in less than seven minutes, which I think is pretty good. I always had detailed notes for all reading quizzes. I only turned one thing late in the entire class and that was a blog. It was late only because of a mistake I made in making my schedule. I have other wise turned all my work in on time. Whenever we had workshops I brought my best work and gave my best effort in my group. My group was always trying to share and participate in class to the point Ms. Ingram had to call on other groups because we would talk. I believe I have earned an A in this class. I have put my best effort forward. I have never missed a class or been late. I always show up early and prepared. I was dedicated to having my work finished and helping my group

Marino 9 mates. For conference I was there early and made sure to have enough copies for everybody to read. I made the changes I believed necessary for all my assignments. I never gave up on an assignment and showed up to class empty handed. I also made sure to make comments on other peoples blogs when most other people did not. No one is perfect, but I believe I did everything to deserve an A in the class.