Chase Stodden

Professor Arnold
UWRT 1101-073
October 26, 2015
Midterm ePortfolio Reflection
I have realized that writing is a process and the process requires steps.
Each step builds off the previous one, but the final paper will only be as good
as its weakest step. Before this class, when I would start a paper I would
jump right to the draft of the paper, but really the draft would be my final
without any invention work, planning, or editing and I would make up it all
up. I did this because the complexity of my previous writing class was zero
out of ten and no effort was needed.
After several weeks of having a different writing course that required
extra attention, I have started to realize that planning is necessary as well as
a shitty first draft. My least favorite planning technique that I find the most
effective for myself is timed brainstorm writing allowing all of my thoughts to
be written down on paper and ultimately helping with writing my draft. I now
recognize that with good planning comes for an easier time writing a first
draft, which is the goal. With all of that said I believe that the invention work
and the planning is the most important piece into writing a good paper, it is
the foundation.
Someone could have the best planning in the world, but it would not
matter without the editing and the view of another person. Peer review is a

must for a good paper. I have been able to take other peoples advise and
criticism and apply it to my essays, but my editing skills for someone elses
paper is lacking. I find it hard to see flaws in someones work, but overtime
that will change. It will improve by reading and editing more work.
With two essays down so far, I can see my weaknesses pretty clearly,
but my strengths are still vague for me to see. As I write, I notice that one of
my main issues is that the flow of my essays needs work. I tend to struggle
with how to organize things when what Im writing is not happening
chronologically, but even if I do organize correctly I struggle with endings.
The endings are very important and help wrap a paper up. Although I would
not call it a strength, one weakness that I thought I had at the beginning was
sentence structure, but after writing a large amount over the past months I
see that I am improving on that particular portion of writing.
Another weakness of mine is length. I have trouble elaborating and
going into detail on both small and big ideas within a paper. I find myself
being short and to the point, which can be good at times, but it hurts me as a
writer as well. Being short in an essay is not good for the audience and after
all, it is all about the audience. In my found genre essay, I feel it is too short
and does not go too far into detail, but I said everything about formal lab
reports in a few amount of words which leaves me without any thing more to
write about.