Final Portfolio Essay

Tish Hill
UWRT 1102
KEY:
RED: Quotes from readings
BLUE: Quotes from my writing
PURPLE: Quotes from Ms. Ingram/peers

What I learned:
This semester I learned what it means to be an effective writer. An effective writer knows

how to be curious and how to continue to ask questions until they reach a level of understanding

of whats being questioned.

One of our first readings was an article by James Melcer who stated A curious person

doesnt become frustrated when they encounter a task they are not capable of accomplishing.

They seek to understand how. Prior to this class I had no real clue as to what it meant to be

really curious about a subject. To question things further than whats on the surface. In the my

first RRL, I stated I admit I havent had the interest or sometimes the courage to ask many

questions. I generally sticks to what I know, no need to add more work or thought to a

situation. However, after reading What are questions by Jason Fried, I realized I was going

about things the wrong way. In the article Jason Fried found the statement Questions are places

in your mind where answers fit. If you havent asked the question, the answer has nowhere to

go. It hits your mind and bounces right off. You have to ask the question-you have to want to

know- in order to open up the space for the answer to fit. to be very insightful. That statement

was beneficial when writing my developing curiosity essay. I had to really think of something

that I was very interested in and wouldnt get bored with. Which turned out to be prostitution,
Final Portfolio Essay
Tish Hill
UWRT 1102
but I wanted to be able to talk about it in a more informative yet respectful manner, hence my

research on sex trafficking in North Carolina, although the victims are not willing participants

sex trafficking involves prostitution. With that being said, I guess I also learned about making

connections.

Speaking of connections, this semester I tried to successfully make connections with

what I learned in class to some of the simple things we do in life. For example, you may tell a

friend how great a product is that you just purchased after doing extensive research before

making the purchase. Without realizing it you just used ethos to get your point across because

you were knowledgeable about the product. Rhetorical knowledge was something I have a much

better understanding of, when writing adding my personal experiences make me want to write

more. Learning about different conventions and how to draw the reader in and make them

interested in something they otherwise might not have thought about.

Ive learned so many things this semester that are necessary when writing, but I will give

you the highlights on the key concepts that I felt were very challenging for me in the beginning

of this course. The composing process, stretching my comfort zone and rhetorical knowledge

were critical to me this semester. The Student Learning Outcomes page says Rhetorical

knowledge is the ability to identify and apply strategies across a range of texts and writing

situations. Using their own writing processes and approaches, writers compose with intention,

understanding how genre, audience, purpose, and context impact writing choices. In order to

reach my target audience, I have to step outside my comfort zone to be curious and inquire about

topics that really pique my interests. Rhetorical knowledge was vital when I had to choose an

audience, the delivery of my research, and what genre would I use to attract the audience.
Final Portfolio Essay
Tish Hill
UWRT 1102
Speaking of genres, I didnt fully grasp the term genres until my conference with Ms.

Ingram. I didnt understand genre also meant what method you chose to produce your work

(blog, infographic, or brochure). In my Readers Response Letter #3 I said Before reading the

Navigating Genres essay by Kerry Dirk, I thought of genres as only having a purpose when it

came to music and writing. And when it came to writing I thought of genres as being horror,

romance, mystery, etc. Once I understood the meaning I was good to go, when it came to the

multi-genre project.

Finally, through peer review I learned how to accept and grow from constructive criticism

in and out of class, and I wouldnt have been about to accomplish that without peer review. As

an adult freshman I learned to appreciate the positive and negative feedback of my peers. So

much so that I would get my teenage daughters to proofread my work. We all know, positive

feedback motivates us; however, its the negative feedback that makes us strive for greatness!

Challenging Key Concepts

In my first blog post, I stated Stretching my comfort zone seems to be something Ive

been trying to get a handle on my entire adult life so this challenge is a welcomed one.

Although I welcomed the challenge of stretching my comfort zone, it proved to be more difficult

than I expected at times. I have a track record of quitting things when they seem to complicated.

I would complete assignments or tasks without much effort or just to get by. However, I realized

when creating my multi-genre project, I wanted to create something that would be informative

yet attractive to read, eye catching so to speak if I had an actual audience. In order to make that

happen, I had to stretch my comfort zone by actually doing the footwork necessary to make my
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Tish Hill
UWRT 1102
project come alive, by adding images to drive a point home instead of just words. The way I saw

it was that I had to produce something I even I would want to read if I werent the author.

The composing process was a little muddy to me in the beginning of the semester, I had

never archived every piece of paper for a class before. To better understand the composing

process, I saved every single piece of paper that I either scribbled on or balled up. In Shitty First

Drafts" by Anne Lamott she quotes a friend by saying the first draft is the down draft you just

get it down. The second draft is the up draft you fix it up. You try to say what you have to say

more accurately. And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth, to see if its

loose or cramped or decayed, or even, God help us healthy. It wasnt until I had to draft my FPE

that I realized the true importance of that quote.

Out of the 10 Key Concepts, curiosity and inquiry were the most challenging of all the

key concepts. Writing my developing curiosity essay and multi-genre project helped to better

understand the need to be curious and ask questions. As I stated in my midterm curiosity came

into play when it was time to come up with an inquiry question for my topic. I know what I

wanted to research, however, I had no idea where I was really going with the subject. Being

curious and asking questions aided in making my research that much more interesting and

effective.

Revising and Editing

At the beginning of the semester, I actually thought that revising and editing were the

same thing. I had never really paid attention to how important each technique was when it came

to writing. In my blog post Revising, Editing & Proofreading, I stated After reading the

handouts on revising, proofreading and editing I see that each technique is critical in becoming a
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Tish Hill
UWRT 1102
good writer. One thing I did notice was that we use these techniques almost every day. For

example, how many of you have written a text message to someone only to read it and change up

a few words to get your point across (editing) or you delete it and rewrite the whole thing

(revising), then lastly before you hit send, you read it again to make sure nothing is misspelled

(proofreading). When I thought about it this way, I realized that the process of revising, editing,

and proofreading isnt that difficult at all. This analogy I came up with made it easy when it

came to revising, proofreading and editing my work and it helped not to over think the

assignments.

The input I received from Ms. Ingram and my peers during peer review ended up being

helpful when it came to most of the assignments. After writing the second draft of my

developing curiosity essay I still hadnt given it a title. I hadnt realized a title was necessary

until Ms. Ingram after reading my essay simply stated Better title?, so with that in mind I

changed the title to Sex Trafficking in North Carolina, what can WE do to END It? Also, Chris

gave critical feedback when it came to writing this essay he suggested trying to flush out your

ideas, I think maybe narrow down more into either being in or getting out. That suggestion

aided in moving in a solid direction when it came to my essay. I was able to focus more on what

can be done to end sex trafficking and how to help the victims recover from their ordeal.

There were times I actually looked forward to peer review because I wanted some input or

suggestions how to make something better by either adding and image or changing a sentence or

phrase. During our conference Ms. Ingram suggested that I give all examples of human

trafficking when it came to my blog post for the Multi-Genre Project. If you visit my blog post

Human Trafficking in North Carolina, youll see that I added an image that displays three

reasons why people are trafficked which are sex, labor and organs.
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Tish Hill
UWRT 1102
Overall, I would say that I was more accepting of the process than I thought I would be, not to

mention the fact that I became a better writer in my opinion through the processes of revising

and editing.

Design & Organization

I chose to organize my work in the order that the assignments were given. Since each

assignments purpose was to prepare us for the next one, I wanted to arrange my portfolio in a

similar manner so my writing progress can be seen from one assignment to the next.

Throughout my portfolio you will notice that I used various shades of blue as well as

photos of either the ocean, clouds, rain or just the Carolina blue sky. The one thing all my photos

have in common is that the color blue can be seen in each one. Blue has always been a color that

calms me and I wanted to give my portfolio a calming peaceful effect. As for the fonts I wanted

to use colors that went will with the theme of the page, so I choose colors that would make the

text stand out again the blue background but made sure it was pleasing to the eye.

Also I choose to bold, italicize, and or underline subtitles and italicize key phrase or sentences to

emphasize a point Im trying to make. Other colors I utilized were colors such as red and yellow

when creating my multi-genre project because they are attention grabbing colors.

Future Courses

Honestly, this course has given me the courage and ability to ask the important questions

and focus on the task at hand without going overboard. For instance, I was very wary when it

came to peer review. In my blog post about peer review I stated When I did peer review first

semester, I can honestly admit that I didnt put much effort into it, because I really had no clue as

to what I was supposed to be doing. I didnt know if I was supposed to check for spelling errors
Final Portfolio Essay
Tish Hill
UWRT 1102
or if I could offer insightful advice. After Ms. Ingram gave out the handout on Focus Questions

for peer review, I felt much better about it. The handout was useful because it provided

guidelines as to what as to what information me as a writer want to present to the reader.

Basically, it gave me a sense of what most serious readers including myself are looking for.

Curiosity and inquiry bring out the best in research even when you let you mind wonder to silly

things and questions. No matter how minute or silly I thought something was, it proved to be

useful at some time or another. It could be something that I disagree with my may be useful to

the reader and its my responsibility to represent that information in a thoughtful manner. If I can

maintain that thought process I will be able to excel in any course. Multi-modal composition

seems to be my new favorite gem, because I learned to step outside the box and use various

modes of communication to make my work more interesting and standout.

Artifacts

Blog

In the beginning I wasnt thrilled with the fact that I had to create a blog. Dont get me wrong I

love to talk and share my opinions, but when it came to having to write my thoughts down I get

nervous. Its hard to put my personal touch or thoughts down in a creative and interesting way.

However, blogging turned out to be a very beneficial activity for me. It helped me make real life

connections with what I was learning in class.

Annotated Bibliography

The annotated bibliography was difficult. I was under the impression that all my sources had to

provide huge amounts of information in order to considered a source. Also I had difficulty when

citing my sources. Ms. Ingram after reading my annotated bib draft commented These citations
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Tish Hill
UWRT 1102
need a lot of work. I researched the Perdue OWL website and researched out to properly cite a

source.

Multi-Genre Project

The multi-genre project was a bit challenging until I fully understood the term genre. With the

advice of my peers and Ms. Ingram I was able to think outside the box and be creative by using

different modes of communication. By adding videos and images I was able to make my Multi-

Genre Project creative and interesting.

Developing Curiosity Essay

Composing my developing curiosity essay, Human Trafficking in North Carolina was a great

starting point. I learned what it really meant to do research and not just sim the surface of a

website. To sit for countless hours at a time going through every inch of a site or source to get as

much information as you possibly can.

Midterm

In my midterm I spoke of key concepts that I felt were challenging to me and how I was utilizing

them in my research to become more comfortable with them. And now at the end of the

semester I am confident that I have conquered those challenges.

Final Portfolio Essay

My final portfolio essay was probably the MOST challenging assignments of them all. I wont

lie, I was very anxious because this assignment required me to actually put forth an effort and to

complete the assignment without half assing along the way. To take the time to produce

something that was personal to me and meaningful to you the reader, to be able to express what I
Final Portfolio Essay
Tish Hill
UWRT 1102
learned in an intelligent and thoughtful manner. I will say this for myself, no matter what the

grade, I am proud of myself for the amount of effort I put into composing my final portfolio

essay.

Feedback

These artifacts demonstrate my willingness to accept criticism. By accepting the input of my

peers and teacher I was able to make the necessary improvements to my work.

Notebook

My notebook artifacts are notes taken during our reading on peer review and a readers response

letter. These items were very instrumental when it came to understanding assignments such as

peer review and the multi-genre project.

Wildcard

The wild card artifact shows how my initial curiosity about prostitution came into fruition. How I

was able to turn that curiosity in researching sex trafficking.

Process Work

These particular artifacts are really special because this was the first time that I saved every

single piece of paper that I wrote on. And it was surprising to see how I could think a sentence

something was useless in one paragraph but would fit somewhere else perfectly in another.

Grade

The grade I feel that I deserve is a B, because I have worked very hard on my e-Portfolio. A lot

of effort went into creating my portfolio; it wasnt just thrown together. I carefully thought of
Final Portfolio Essay
Tish Hill
UWRT 1102
the quotes that I wanted to use when it came to my work, reading materials and feedback from

my peers and Ms. Ingram and did my best to show that I did in fact learn valuable tools this

semester.