FinalPortfolioEssay

WhatILearned

ThisclasshastaughtmealotaboutwhoIamandwhatIamcapableofdoing.Togiveyouan

example,Iamaverylazypersonandcompletingaprojectaslargeasthisrequiresanunearthly

amountofconcentrationandtime.CountlesshourshavegoneintothisportfolioandIbelieve

thattimemanagementisthemostimportantskillthatgoesintothisproject.Thisportfolioisdue

aroundthesametimethatfinalsoccurandasafreshman,Ihavetwocommonfinalswithanother

exambetweenthedaysofthecommonfinalsandtheportfolioduewithinthesameweek.As

anyonecanimagine,lifeisgettingextremelyhecticandworkingaheadonthisprojectbecauseI

knowIcanfinishthisearlieriskeytosuccess.Istartedworkingonmyportfolioapproximately

oneweekbeforeitwasdueanditwasablessingandacurseatthesametime.Iwasabletowork

aheadtomakemymindsaneduringfinalsweekwhenIammoreconcentratedonmyother

harderfinalsbutalso,IwasunmotivatedtoworkbecauseIhadonemoreweektowork.Thisis

theproblemIhavehadsincemyhighschooldays.WorkingaheadissomethingthatIamnot

familiarwithratherIworklastminuteandworkasmuchasIcan.Althoughthisismyoldself,I

knewIhadtochangeforthisproject;IhadtoworkaheadasmuchasIcouldandIstarteda

weekpriortotheduedate.Thiswasbeneficialbecauseittooktheloadoffmeduringfinals

week.IlearnedthatIhadtochangemyselftomakesurethatIwascapableofcompletingallof

theprojectrequirements.SomeothersmallerskillsthatIlearnedarebranching(aprogramming

term)anddesign.Branching,inprogramming,essentiallymeansthattheprogramissenttoa

numberoflocations basedonwhattheoptionis.Forexample,iftherewasaprogramthat

calculatedagradeforastudentandoutputtedananswer,thedifferentgradewouldoutputa
differentanswer.Ifastudenthasa95thentheoutputwouldbeA.Similarly,inmyportfolio,I

redirected the headers to different webpages so that the process seems more efficient that

displaying all of the artifacts and essays and drafts in one screen. I also learned a lot of

informationaboutdesignbecausethelayoutoftheportfolioshouldbeeasytoreadandeye

catchingbutnottoomuch.Idecidedtogoforamoreneutralthemebecausethatwaswhatmost

oftheexamplesconsistedofanditsthecolorthatiseasyonmosteyes.

HowILearnedIt

Explaining what I learned like in the previous section is informative for the reader but the

significanceofanyreflectionisthejourneynottheendresult.ThewhatIlearnedsectionis

usefulforfindingtheendgoalbutIbelievethereadersdeservetoknowhowIreachedthegoal.I

struggledalottocompletethisessaybecauseofthevastamountofpartsassociatedwithit.

ThereareatotalofeightpartsandIhadsevendaystodoitsoIhadtodivideitupalmost

equallywithonedayreceivingtwoparts.AllofthisseemssimplenowbutIlaterfoundoutthe

amountofworkthatisincludedintheartifactssectionofthefinalportfolioessay.Thefifteen

artifacts alone will take up twodays so Ihad to split the sections more disproportionately.

Overall,Ilearnedhowtotimemanagebylookingaheadintothefutureandseeingwhatevents

were happening around the due date for the final portfolio. This course is similar to my

engineeringcourseinthewaythatthereareassignmentswithduedatesthatareassignedfarinto

thefutureanditisimportanttokeepupwiththem.Forexample,oneprojectthatIworkedon

wasmywholelifeprojectwhichIusedasmywildcardartifact(whichyouwilllearnaboutlater)

andthiswasathreepartassignmentinwhichallthreepartswereassignedatthesametimein

earlyFebruarywiththreeseparateduedatesforeachpartstaggeredinMarchandApril.Ihada
large amount of time to work on it but I couldnt fall behind because each part was

approximatelythreepagessinglespacedwhichisalotofwriting.Engineeringassignmentsdiffer

fromUWRTinthesensethatthereareabouttwelvetofifteenengineeringassignmentsthatall

requirealotofenergytocompletebutthereisonlyoneUWRTassignmentthatisdueattheend.

Theamountofworkissimilarforbothbutitalldependsonhowyouseeit.Twelvetofifteen

small assignments add up quickly especially when you fall behind so I used my time

managementskillsfrommyengineeringclassandappliedittothisUWRTclass.

RevisingandEditing

ThereweremanyrevisionsandeditsthatIhadtomaketomydraftstogetthemapprovedforthe

final draft product. In most situations, I had grammatical mistakes but I also had content

mistakes.IntheReader'sResponseLetterforStartingwithInquiryReadingartifact,Iwasgiven

feedbackforthefollowingphrase,evenwhenapersonisnotwillingtofurtherhisorher

education..TheissuewiththisquoteisthatIwasnotspecificenoughinthebuildupofthis

quoteandIdidnotexplainitafterwardseither.Ileftaveryvaguesentenceinmydraftwhich

puzzledmypeerasshewaseditingmypaper.IntheDevelopingCuriosityEssayDraft#2,Iwas

askedtoinquirespecificquestionsthatwererelatedtomyoveralltopicwhichisthelackof

vegetarianoptionsoncampusdininghallsandIclaimedinmydraftthatIhad,Idontthink

therearespecificinquiryquestionsthatIwouldneedtofocuson.andIlaterhadtochangeit

becausethepurposeoftheinquiryprojectistoaskquestionsandnotgowiththeflow.Evenif

thereisaquestionthatIalreadyhadinmine,Istillshouldbeaskingmorequestionsbecausea

goodexperimentyields greatoutcomes andaskingonequestionisnotenough.Ieventually

createdapetitionwhereIaskedpeopletosignitiftheycouldbringawarenesstothelackof
vegetarianoptionsthatUNCCharlotteoffersinitsdininghalls.Vegetarians,likemyself,have

struggledallyearindininghallstofindhealthyvegetarianfoodandwefeelthisisunreasonable

becauseoftheamountofmoneywepayforthemealplan..ThisisimportantbecauseIaskeda

questionsimilartomytopicbutIchangedituptoaskpeopleiftheywerewillingtomakea

changeinsteadoflisteningtomelectureaboutmyissues.

Artifacts

FinalPortfolioEssayDraft

Inthedraftofthefinalportfolioessay,Iwasextremelyconfused;moreconfusedthanIeverwas

whenIsteppedfootontothiscampusanditwasforacoupleofreasons.Forstarterstherewere

toomanyartifactstokeepacountofandIhadtoworryabouttheportfolioaswellasthefinal

portfolioessay.Iwasworriedaboutbothaspectsbecausethisisalargepieceofmyfinalgrade

andskimpingoutononepartwouldbecatastrophictomygrade.Thisessaydraftissignificant

becauseIwasabletomakerevisionsfromthistomyfinalessayandIcouldsavetimetowards

theendofthesemesterwhenbothitemsareduesimultaneously.Anotherreasonwhythisessay

issosignificantisbecauseitisareflectionofeverythingIdidfortheportfoliowhichmeansitis

areflectionofeverythingIdidforthisclass.Thisincludesprojectsvaryingfrommultigenre

projectstominiessaysandthisisthemomentintheclasswhereIlookbackandfigureout

whetherIlearnedornot.Mywritinghasimprovedtremendouslyfromthisessaydrafttothefirst

pieceofwritingIcomposedforthisclass.ThemostimportanttakeawayformeistheeditsthatI

wasgiventomakemypaperbetterthanwhatitcouldbe.

DevelopingCuriosityEssay
OneoftheessaysthatIwroteforthisclasswastitledDevelopingCuriosityandthepurposeof

theessayisexactlywhatitsoundslike:Howtodevelopcuriosity?.Inthisartifact,Iexplain

thepurposebehindtheHumaneLeagueProjectandmythoughtprocessforchoosingwhatI

chose.AtfirstIchoseatopicrelatedtoanimalcrueltybecauseitisimportantforsocietyto

understandthedangersandinhumaneaspectsofanimalsuffering.Thisseemedinterestingatfirst

butlaterIrealizedthatthiswouldbeahardtopictodiscussfurtherinformationaboutandI

foundinterestinthelackofvegetarianoptionsatthedininghallsinUniversityofNorthCarolina

atCharlotte(UNCC).ThiswasaneasiertopictoexplainbecauseIamavegetarianandIfindthe

lack of variety of food extremely alarming and I believe this is easier because I have not

personallywitnessedanimalcruelty.Thisprojectforcedmetothinkoutsidetheboxandinquire

manyquestions tofigureoutthemostidealtoaskpeoplequestions.Whilethisisfarfrom

complete,themultipledraftshaveallowedmetocompilesomeofmybetterideaswhileleaving

outsomeofthelesscriticalpointsandallowingmetoreviseandeditmyessay.

Overallthisprojecttaughtmehowtothinkmorecriticallyandaskmoreimportantquestions.I

learnedthatIshouldntaskthequestionwhatbutIshouldasthequestionwhy.Thistypeof

questionletsmelearnmore.

AnnotatedBibliography:3columnnotes

Intheannotatedbibliographyartifact,IstrategicallyselectedtendifferentsourcesthatIcanuse

tobackupmyclaimoflackofvegetablespresentindininghalls.Inthispieceofwriting,Ihadto

writethesourceofthearticleinMLAcitation,Ihadtowritedownsomeannotationsfromthe

texts,andIhadtowritedownmythoughtsandconnectionsthatIcanmakewiththearticles.The

significanceofthisbibliographyisthatIcanusethesesourcesinotherpiecesoftextsandIwill
havenotesreadytouseandcitationsthatareeasilyaccessible.Typicallyforme,itisdifficultto

findsourcesanditistedioustowriteoutallofthecitationssothisbibliographymakesiteasier

formeinthefuture.Inthemultigenreprojectreflection(whichIwilldiscusslater),Iusedthree

ofthecitationsfromthisbibliographyandthissavedmetimefromworryingaboutitlater.

MultiGenreProject,Final

Themultigenreprojectwasessentiallythemainprojectofthiscoursewhichincludedthree

separategenrestoconveymymessageofbringingawarenessofthelackofvegetarianfoodsin

campusdininghalls.ThethreegenresthatIhaveselectedareapetition,aninterview,andagala

dinner. The significance of the petition is that people can sign the idea behind the petition

(bringingmoreawarenesstothisissue)andmyideawasthatifIcouldgetaninitialamountof

peopletosignit,thenmorepeoplewouldjoin.Inmostcampus,peoplearetoobusytocare

aboutstartingamovementbutoncepeoplehavesupportedit,thenalloftheotherfollowerswill

supportitaswell.Thesignificanceofthegaladinneristohostadinnerwhichincludesaspeaker

aboutlackofvegetarianfoodsontheUNCCcampusandhealthy,tastyvegetarianitems.Thisis

importantbecauseitwillshowcasetothepeopleabouttherichfoodstyleofvegetarianfoods

andmakepeopledesirethistypeoffood.Thefinalgenreistheinterviewandthisgenreis

significantbecauseIliveinanoncampushousingdormandoneoftheresidentadvisorsisa

nonmeat eater and she voiced her complaints about the lack of food that she was able to

consumeandsuccessfullychangedhermealplan.Thisisanimportantachievementbecauseon

campushousingrequiresyoutohaveamealplan(evenforresidentadvisors)andshewasableto

getridofhersbecauseitwasmoneywasted.Ideallyonewouldwantmorevegetarianoptionsbut

itisastepforwardtogetamealplanchanged.
BlogPosts

Wecompletedaplethoraofblogpostsinthisclassandeachposthassomesignificancebehind

it.Numberonewasrelatedtotheoverallprojectoftheportfolio,numbertwowasanalyzinga

reading,numberthreewasreflectingonthedevelopingcuriosityessay,numberfourwasgetting

backgroundinformationandsourcesformyinquiryquestion,numberfivewasdiscussingthe

typeoftheaudience,andnumbersixwasthedesignoftheportfolio.Ibelievethateachofthese

has significance value to the overall portfolio but number six is the one that impacted my

portfoliothemostbecauseitgotmeoffmyfeedonwhattheportfoliowassupposedtolooklike

andwhattheteacherislookingtograde.Thecontentoftheportfolioisextremelyimportantbut

itisalsoimportanttotakeintoconsiderationthedesignandtheunityoftheportfolio.Thecolors

mustbematchingandthereshouldnotbeanyboldcolorsthataredistracting.Thequalityofthe

portfoliomustbetopnotchandthisblogpostwashelpfultomebecauseIwasabletoanalyzea

wellcomposedportfolio.IlearnedthatIshouldkeepthecolorsneutralandthatIshouldinclude

relevantpicturestokeepthereadervisuallyinformedonthetopics.Thisblogpostalsodiscusses

howthereflectionshouldbebecausemyversionofthereflectionhadvariationscomparedto

whattheteacherwants.Ibelievedthatthereflectionwassupposedtobewrittenininformal

present tense based on what I learned but I eventually found out that it must be written

professionally.ThisblogposthashelpedmeasawriterbecauseIammoreknowledgeableabout

whatareflectionshouldlooklikeandtheoverallpresentationoftheportfoliowhichshouldbe

simpleandelegant.

Midterm
ThemidtermpaperthatIwroteforUWRT1102isessentiallyareflectiononthefirsthalfofthe

semester.Inthispaper,IdiscusstheconceptsthatIlearnedinthebeginningandreflectonwhich

onesIbelievedwereinterestingandengagingandwhichonesweredifficulttograsp.The10

keyconceptsthatallstudentsneedtounderstandwereveryfamiliartome,isaveryapplicable

quoteformebecauseIhaveusedallofthesekeyconceptsatsomepointinmylife.Theissue

lieswithhowoftenIusedthem.IconsideredthecuriosityandreflectionasconceptsthatIam

interestedinbecauseacuriousmindleadstoajourneyofvastknowledgeandreflectionteaches

oneonachievementsandmistakesthatonemakes.Iconsideredworkingoutsideofmycomfort

zoneasadifficultconcepttoachievebecauseIamonethatlikestotaketheeasywayoutandnot

workdifficult.IlikethingstobeeasyformesoIdonthavetoputinalotofworkandthisisa

weaknessbecauseIneverchallengemyselfandIshouldchallengemyselftolearn.Thisproject

wassignificantbecauseittaughtmewhatIwasstrugglingwithandwhatIwasinterestedinand

areflectionofthesemester.Thisisimportantbecauseitsetsapathformeforthefuture.IfIfind

outthatIaminterestedincuriosityandaskingquestions,thenIshouldcontinuethatinthefuture

projects.

NotesonAristotlesAppeals

InthenotesthatItookduringclasstime,IlearnedaboutPathos,Ethos,Logos,andKairosand

eachstyleofthiswritingeffectseachpieceofwritinginadifferentway.Pathosusesemotional

appealtoconveyitsmessage(i.e.appealtothereadersemotions),Ethosusesethicalappeals

(i.e.persuasiontomakesomeonefeelacertainwayanduseethicsatthesametime),Logosuses

logicalappeals(i.e.usesfactsandreasontoconveyamessage),andKairosmeansthetimeliness

ofyourargument(i.e.thetimeperiodiscriticaltoyourargument).Ifoundthesenotesextremely
significantbecausetheyalterthewritingsandthemessage.IfIuseLogosinmywritingthenI

amappealingmoretomathmindedpeopleandifIuseethos,thenIamspeakingmostlyto

peoplewhocanbeswayedinanydirectionfordifferentsidestoanargument.Inethos,the

emotionthatthereadersfeelisntalwaysforemotionalreasonsbutalso,writersuseethosto

separatethereaderfromthespeakerandIfindthisveryinterestingbecausethissteersaway

fromthetopicofusingethicsandleansmoreontheseparationofthereaderandthewriter.I

believethatthesefourstylesofwritingplayamajorroleineverythingIhavewrittenbecausethe

petitionforthemultigenreprojectandtheinterviewquestionstomyresidentadvisormustbe

conveyedindifferentmethods.

ExploringInquiryAnnotatedBibliography

Theexploringinquiryannotatedbibliographywasacriticalaspecttotheinquiryprojectwhich

wasadeeperresearchintoatopicthatIwasinterestedin.Ichosethetopicoflackofvegetarians

incampusdininghallsbecausethiswasamajorissueformeinmyfirstyearatUNCCandI

intendtochangeit.Thereisalsosomediscrepancyinthedininghallfoodbecausethesoupthey

claimtobevegetarianisntalwaysavailable,ThesoupstationsintheLibraryCafandMain

StreetMarketwillalsobeincludingveganandvegetariansoupsintotheirrepertoire.Thisis

ironicbecauseIhavebeentothesedininghallsfrequentlyanditisrarewhentheyhavethe

veggiesoupsthatIcanhave.Thistopicdeservesmoreanalyzingandastatisticalfindingon

whetherornotthereisveggiesoupeveryday.Theannotatedbibliographyisessentiallyallofthe

researchthatwentintotheinquiryprojectsuchasthedifferentsourcesandtheannotationsI

madefromthesources.Iwasabletojotdownallofmyresearchrequiredfortheinquiryproject

thusmakingmyjobeasierwhenIwrotethedifferentaspectstotheproject.Thesignificanceof
thisassignmentisthatIhadabunchofnotesandallofmycitationsformydifferentsources

previouslyoutlinedsoIcanbemoreefficientinmyfutureassignmentsrelatedtothistopic.

MultigenreProjectReflectionDraft

ThisisthefirstofficialdraftthatIcomposedforthemultigenreprojectandthequestionis

similarasbefore.Iamtryingtoconveythemessageofthelackofvegetarianfoodsoncampus

andhowIshouldovercomethatordealformyselfandforotherlikemindedpeoplelikeme.At

UNCC,thedieticianatUNCCclaimsthatthereareplentyofvegetarianandveganoptions,

andIfindthistobeironicbecauseIhaveaninsanefoodissueyetthedieticianclaimsthatthere

isfoodthatIcaneat.IbelievethatIcouldtakethisfurtherandinterviewheronwhatherviews

areandifshewouldbeabletohandleonlythisstyleoffood.Thisdraftconsistsofalotoferrors

suchasgrammaticalerrorsandalotoftopicsthatIlaterchanged.Adraftismeanttobearough

copyofwhatIthinkthefinalpapershouldlooklikeandIshouldgobackandreviseittomakeit

moreperfectandmoreappropriate.TheaudiencethatIamwritingtoshouldbereferredto

properly.WhatImeanisthatifIamwritingaprofessionalpaper,thenitshouldcatertothose

thatrequirethosethatsophisticatedlanguage.IlearnedalotfromthisdraftbecauseIrealized

thatthiswasalongtermprojectandIwasntabletowritethisinonesittingandthatIhadto

takebreaks.IfIdidnthavetowriteadraft,thenIwouldfallbehindwhichwouldhurtmeinthe

endsoessentiallythiswasacheckpointformetoachieve.

Reader'sResponseLetterforStartingwithInquiryReading

Inthereadersresponseletterfortheinquiryreading,Iwrotealettertotheclassonrelatedtoan

articlecalledStartingwithInquirywhichisallaboutbecomingmoreintelligent,nottobe

confusedwithbeingsmarter.Thegoalistohaveavastamountofknowledgethatyoucanuseto
becomemoreacademicallyproficientandthebestwaytodothatistoconstantlyreadandwrite.

IbelievethisisimportanttotheportfoliobecausethisissimilartooneofthekeyconceptsthatI

aminterestedinwhichiscuriosity.Ifyouarenotcurious,thenitishardtolearnbecausepeople

learnwhentheyaskaquestion(i.e.doingsciencelabsrequiresyoutoansweraquestionor

essentiallytestthehypothesis)andaskingquestionsissomethingIaminterestedin.Thesetwo

topics, asking questions and inquiring more, are important to any research and this can be

appliedtomyresearchbecauseIneedtoaskaquestionthatIwanttoanswer.Mygoalishow

canIbringmoreawarenessofthelackofvegetarianoptionsonthiscampustothestudentand

staffpopulation.IalsolearnedfrommypeersthateditedmypaperthatIshouldexplainwhyI

needscholarlyarticlesandnotwhatascholarlyarticleis.Itisimportanttoexplainthereasons

behindanideathanitistoexplainthegeneraloverview.

DevelopingCuriosityEssayDraft#2

Forthedevelopingcuriosityessaydraftparttwo,IusedadifferentquestionthatIwantedto

answerwhichwasrelatedtoanimalcrueltyandwhyitexists.Iamananimalloversoitis

saddeningtoseepeoplekillinganimalsforsportandfun.Thisprojecthaslesssignificancethan

someoftheotheronesmentionedherebecausethiswasmyoldtopicbeforeIrevertedtothe

lackofvegetariandishesoncampus.Inthisartifact,IusedaquoteIneedtomakesureto

includethegovernmentsroleinthiswholeconcern,andthisisimportantbecauseifIhad

continuedthistopicthenIwouldresearchtheroleofgovernmentinanimalcruelty.Thiswould

be an interesting topic because of the recent switch in the political party that controls the

governmentandwhattheywoulddotofixit.Iwasgivenexcellentfeedbackonthisassignment

bymypeersandtheconstructivecriticismmadeadifferencefromthistothefinaldraftthatI
submitted.IrealizedthatsomeofmyphrasesthatIusedinthearticlearetoogenericandIhad

to make my word choice more specific because it left the readers wondering what I was

discussingabout.AsImentionedearlier,thisprojectwaslesssignificantthansomeoftheother

onesbecauseIlaterchangedmytopicfromtheanimalcrueltytothevegetarianideas.OverallI

believethatthisstillhelpedmebecausethecriticismIrealizedisapplicableineithercase.

MiniResearchReport#1

Thisparticularartifactisthefirstoftwowritersnotebookartifactsandthisparticularoneis

abouttechnicalwritingintechnologyfields.Iamcurrentlyafirstyearstudentaspiringtobea

computerengineering(butIcouldchangemajors)andIalwaysthoughtthatsinceIwasdoinga

majorinamathandsciencedegreethatIwouldneverhavetodealwithwritingbutquitethe

oppositeistrue.Iamconstantlywritingformyengineeringclassesbecausetherearemany

design packages and proposals that you have to write. This essay confirms my previous

engineering assignments because engineering is mostly technical writing when you are not

creating a product or working on an ongoing project. This essay is helping me realize the

importantofwritingandhowitaffectsmeonadailybasis.Ialsolearnedinthearticlethat

gettingbyincollegedoesonenogoodbecausethenthepersonislackingtheimportantskills

neededbyfuturejobsandinternships.Thesignificanceofthisessaywastolearnthatcollegeis

theonetimeinyourlifeyoucanlearnasmuchinformationasyoucanwithqualityfaculty.

MiniResearchReport#2

The second of my notebook artifacts is the second research report which is a TED talk

(Technology,Entertainment,andDesign)andthisparticularonewasonthetopicofpassionand

perseverance. This was recommended to me by my engineering professor and I took great

interestinthisbecauseIbelieveIamlackingpassioninmylife.Thisisasorelossforme

becauseIdonottakeprideinanyassignmentIdo.Otherstudentsinmyclassesworkhardtobe

asperfectastheycanwithexperimentsanddesignsandtechnicalreportsbutIdohavethatdrive

toworktomyhearts extent.AngelaLeeDuckworthchangedmyattitudetowardslifeafter

watchingthisvideobecausesheexplainedthatstudentsneedapsychologicalboosttohavethe

motivationanddedicationtodobetterinschoolandthisappliestomebecauseIamlackingthe

criticalmindsettofunctionlikethis.Gettingbyewithcollegewillnothelpmeinmyfutureyears

soIneedtohavemotivationandIbelievethatAngelaDeeDuckworthisgoingtohavealarge

impactonmylifefromnowon.Oneexampleisthisportfoliorequiresatremendousamountof

workforaclassthatIdeemasonlywritingclassbutifItakethisportfolioprojectasaminor

assessmentofmycapacity,thenIwillseetheconsequenceinmygrade.

WildCardArtifact

TheonewhilecardartifactIchosewasaessayfrommyengineering(ENGR1201)classwhich

iscalledtheWholeLifePaper.ThispaperwasahugeburdentowriteanditwasbecauseIhadto

write a maximum of four pages single spaced and I had to answer all the questions. The

questionsweremostlymultipartedandtheyalsoreferredtothreedifferentgoalsatoncesoeven

thesimplesinglepartquestionsmightreferencethreedifferenttopics.Thegoalofthisproject

wasthefindmypassion(whichIchosedancing)anddiscusseverythingIcandothatisrelated

todancingandmymajor.ThisprojectgoesintodetailsonwhatgoalsIshouldsetforthree,five,

andtenyearsdowntheroadandhowIshouldaccomplishthem.Thisisextremelysignificant

becausedancingisapassionofminesinceIwasaboutfiveyearsoldandsettingaplannowfor

thenextfewyearsisbeneficialtomebecauseIammoreinclinedtofollowit.Thisproject
allowedmetothinkaheadwhichisanadvantageoverothercollegestudentsbecausemanyare

stuckinthepresentandnevermoveaheadinlife.

Reader'sResponseLetterforFinalePortfolio&FinalPortfolioEssay

Formyfinalartifact,thisisthemakeupartifactthatservesthepurposeofmeworkingbeyond

whatistold.ThisisntrequiredbutthesignificanceisthatIshouldalwaysstriveforextracredit.

Extracreditisntavailableineveryclassbutwhenitisoffered,thenitshouldbeclaimed.This

letteristhefinalversionofaletterthanIwrotepreviouslyandIspecificallychosethispieceof

writingoverotherpiecesofwritingbecauseImadethemostamountofeditstothisfromthe

originaldraft.Theoriginaldraftwasacoupleoflargeparagraphswiththoughtstrailinginevery

directionandnoflowtothewritingbutthisisamuchbetterdraftbecauseIinsertedmorebreaks

forthereaderandIwanttoshowtheprofessorwhatIamcapableof.Thisartifactalsohelpedme

includeanykindofnotesorideasthatIhavewritteninthespurofthemomentandIbelieve

this isimportantbecausesometimes thebestideas comefromsillythoughts thatpeoplejot

down.IfIjotteddownmorenotesthenIwouldhavemoreideasandwritingideasdownis

scientificallyproventostayinmemorylonger.ThisprojectissignificantbecauseIshowthatI

cansucceedinawritingclassafterreceivingconstructivecriticism.Itisverylikelythatmany

editsarenotusedbutinthiscase,ItriedmybesttoeditallofthemistakesthatIsawearlierand

amendthem.Ialsolearnedhowtomanagemytimeefficientlybecausethisprojectisvery

demandingandmyotherengineeringrelatedclasses(ENGR1201,ECGR2103,andMATH

1241)arealsoverydemandingandwithfinalsaroundthesametimeastheduedateofportfolio,

itbecamehecticveryquickly.Fortunatelyalittlebitofplanningaheadgoesalongdistanceand

helpedmeoutintheend.
KeyConcepts

Writingisnotaneasytaskallthetime;sometimeswritingislooseandflexibleandsometimes

writingisintricateanddifficulttofollow.TherearemanyconceptsthatIfindcomenaturallyto

melikecuriosityandinquirybutthenIfallflatonotherconcepts.Oneparticulartopiciscritical

readingandthisisveryimportanttoacademicwriting,andlifeingeneral,becausethisdeals

withthewayoneshouldtackleaproblemanditsimportanttoaddressmanypotentialoutcomes

and pick the best option. I find this topic difficult because it is hard to comprehend some

readingsthatgetchallengingandIalsofinditdifficulttostayfocusedononepieceofreading

forsolong.Answeringquestionsthatarewhatorwhoaresimpleenough(i.e.whatthisthis

characterdo)buttypicallyIstrugglewithquestionsthatarewhyandhow.Idealtwiththis

struggleinaslowbutefficientway;IrereadthereadingandtriedtoseeifIcouldunderstandit

inthesecondattempt.Ifoundoutthatittakesmetwoattemptstofullyunderstandadifficult

reading.IalsofoundstretchingyourcomfortzonetobedifficultbecauseIamalazypersonand

IprefertodothingsinthewayIwastaught.Stretchingmycomfortzoneishardformebecause

Imnotveryextrovertandtalkingwithnewpeopleisntmystyle.Iprefertobeclosertothings

thatIassociatewith.OnegoodexampleofhowIdealtwiththiswasthatIworkedinagroupin

whichIdidntknowanyofthegroupmembersanditwashardatfirsttocommunicatewithbut

later as the semester progressed and we started completing more group revisions, the

communication became easier. One final hurdle that I had to overcome was knowledge of

conventions.IamnotgiftedingrammarskillsasEnglishwasmythirdlanguagesoItendtoadd

commaswhenIdontneedtoandIcreatesentencesinwhichthesubject,verb,andobjectarein

anunorthodoxorderwhichmakesthesentencesoundfunny.Imightendupsayingshewas
throwntheballbyhiminsteadofsayinghethrewtheballtoher.IntheDevelopingCuriosity

essaydraft#2,Iincorrectlyusedthewordsuffrageinthephrase...justwrongtoinflictpain

andsuffrageandIlatermadearevisionbecauseIthoughtsuffragewasanotherformofsuffer,

nottherighttovote.Iovercamethesemistakesbygraduallycatchingontosomeofmymore

commonmistakes.IrealizedthatIwasntaddingcommasafteropeningclausessoIdidsome

practiceonlineandaskedacoupleoffriendsandovercamethisproblem.

DesignofPortfolio

ThedesignoftheportfolioiswhatIconsiderthemostimportantaspectoftheportfolioin

general.Ifthedesignisdullandnotappealing,thenthereaderswillhavenoattentionandifthe

designisjustabunchoflongpiecesoftextputnexttoeachotherthenthereaderswillstillhave

noattention.CapturingattentionisoneofthemostimportantpartsofaportfolioandIdecidedto

stickwithaneutralcolorinorderforthecolortonotoverpowerthetextbutnotbedullor

washedoutinthebackground.Thewhitebackgroundhasthepurposeofkeepingtheportfolio

clean,presentable,andprofessional.MyinspirationwasthecompanyApplybecauseinaseries

ofcommercialsfromafewyearsagotonowincludedawhitebackgroundwithblacktext.It

wasandstillisoneofthemostaestheticallypleasingsightsforacommercialandtheyhavebeen

able to capture so much attention because of their fantastic camera work and neutral

backgrounds. For obvious reasons, a portfolio doesnt need a camera but the white neutral

backgroundisenticingtostareat.ThenImadealloftheimagesthatcorrespondtodifferent

links as rectangles.The idea was the rectangles should be longer than wide sothe Weebly

webpagelookslongerthanitappearstobe.IfIincreasedthewidthtoomuchthenreaderswould

havetomovetheireyesfromsidetosidetoofrequentlyandthatisuncomfortablesoIchoseto
makeitlongerbecausereadingguptodowniseasier.Ichosetheblockswherethetextiswritten

tobeasoliddarkercolorbecauseofthecontrastitgivesfromthewhitebackgroundandthe

whitetextiseasilyreadable.Atthetop,Ihaveatitleandasimplehomebuttontonavigate

throughthewebpage.Theorderoftheboxesareinaparticularorderbecausetheygofrommost

importanttolessimportant.TheinformationaboutmeinimportantbecauseifIamshowingmy

portfoliotoanotherperson,theyshouldhavesimplebackgroundinformationaboutme.Thenext

blockisthefinalportfolioessaywhichisthispieceofwritingthatisonelargereflectiononthe

classandthisisessentiallyeverythingIlearned.Thencomesthepolishedartifactswhicharethe

editedprojectsfollowedbytheprocessworkartifactswhicharethedraftsandnotesthatItook

thatseemrelevanttothecourse.ThenIusedplacedthefeedbackartifactsbecausethosewerethe

editsthatIreceivedtoimprovemydraftsfollowedbythenotebookartifactsbecauseclassnotes

areimportant.Thewildcardandthemakeupartifactservelessofafunctionastheotheronesso

they have less priority and this is the order in the project rubric and I feel like this is an

acceptableordertoplacetheartifacts.Withineachwebpageisanembeddeddocumentthat

includestherelevantinformationwithatitleandeverytitleisthesameturquoisecolorbecauseit

isneutralfriendlyandgoeswellonwhite.ThedesignoftheportfolioisoftenoverlookedbutI

spentqualitytimemakingsurethethemeisconsistentandeyecatching.

GradeIDeserve

Afterspendinghoursworkingonthisproject,IbelieveIdeserveanAbecauseIbelievethatI

accomplishedeveryrequirementonthesyllabus.Thedesignistopnotchandeasilynavigable,I

includedmultiplequotations,IincludedthreeconceptsthatIstruggledwithandhowIovercame

them,andIusedrevisionsfrommypeerstoimprovemywork.IbelievetheworkIputintothis
projectwarrantsanAbecausethisisntlastminuteworkthatIcompiledonthefinaldaytoget

bywithUWRT1102,Iputinsincereworktogetthrough.

FutureApplications

IcandefinitelyseemyselfusingthisinthefuturebecausethisportfolioiseverythingthatIhave

accomplishedinthis class andthisis moreelaboratethanwhatIusedforUWRT1101.A

portfoliocancomeinhandywhenapplyingforjobsorinternshipsandshowcasingwhatIam

capableof.WhilethisisnttechnicalproofofwhatIamcapable,itshowcasesmytechnical

writingabilitiesandmycohesionofthelayoutandthefunctionalityoftheportfolio.Thisisalso

somethingIcanlinktoonsocialmediaforotherpeopletoseemycapabilities.