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Green 1 Noah Green Professor Suzanne Ingram English 1102 100 April 31th, 2014 Portfolio Essay Organization

n of Portfolio When opening my e-portfolio, there are five main pages displayed across the top of the page beginning with the Home page which includes my portfolio essay. The second page on my e-portfolio is labeled Blog, which is important since it encompasses writing from the entire semester. I decided to place my Blog page second so, it would be easily accessed throughout the semester by my professor and my peers. The next page on my e-portfolio is labeled Exploratory Essay, which contains a final draft, and multiple feedback/work artifacts that I will later discuss. It is located here because it was the first major composition that I wrote for English 1102. The fourth page located on my e-portfolio is my Midterm Assignment, which is placed here so it would be easily found by my professor at the middle of the semester. The final page of my e-portfolio is labeled More and includes the four assignments that were directly related to my extended inquiry project. These assignments include my Annotated Bibliography, my Academic Journal Article, my Info-Graphic, and my EIP Reflection. These pages were placed in a logical order in the sense that they were placed in the same order which they were completed. I also included a page listed under More titled Primary Source, which was instrumental in learning the writing techniques associated with the topic that I was discussing.

Green 2 English Course Evaluation During the course English 1102, one of the first assignments was to compose a blog and post it to our e-portfolio. Prior to this course, I had already became adept at writing blogs posts in English 1101. During English 1101, I wrote Throughout the semester, writing blogs has allowed me to experiment with my writing, and explore my thoughts. Frequently writing blogs has also allowed me to express my feelings, and explore my thoughts and ideas. I believe that writing blogs during English 1102, has also served this purpose as well as prepare me for upcoming assignments. Specifically, my blog post Snow Day helped me prepare for the extended inquiry project, and my blog post Examining the Library, helped me prepare for research that I would conduct using the librarys resources. Another assignment that I composed throughout the course was reader response letters, which would parallel reading assignments. By writing reader response letters, I found that I gained a more sufficient understanding of the reading. I also found that taking notes while reading, enhanced my ability to compose reader response letters. This is a technique that I began during this course, and will continue throughout my college career when reading artifacts is necessary. At the middle of the semester in English 1102, I was required to write a midterm essay. Writing this essay allowed me to examine my progress in the course, as well as prepare for future assignments. Specifically, I explored my progress in my exploratory essay and my annotated bibliography. As part of the assignment, the following situation was developed Imagine you're sitting at a round table with others who are invested in your inquiry topic--experts, scholars, and informed observers. Who do you expect would be at this table with you? By thoughtfully answering this question, I became aware of specific individuals such as Brother Colm O Connell and David Rudisha, who I wanted to discuss my inquiry topic with. Since it would be

Green 3 nearly impossible to speak with either of these people, I knew that I would have to locate interviews or articles with them to include in my annotated bibliography. Another section of the midterm essay was to rhetorically analyze an e-portfolio from the spring 2013 semester. By doing this, I became more aware of the five modes of communication and Aristotles appeals. The first major assignment that I had to write during English 1102 was the exploratory essay, which allowed me to examine and explore my passion. I had difficulty with this assignment from the start when the instructions for the essay simply wrote Compose an essay that conveys and explains your passion(s). I was not sure where to start, so I began by writing all of my thoughts down on paper which I have included in my e-portfolio labelled Pre-Writing & Brainstorming. Instead of staring at a blank computer screen trying to decide what to write, I have found that this brainstorming process can be quite beneficial. Once I developed all of my ideas, I composed a first draft that I have also included in my e-portfolio. This draft also includes feedback that I received from my professor, which I found beneficial since it allowed me to see specific things that I should work on such as adding sensory details. I was unsatisfied with this draft at this time as I discussed in my midterm I still found that my essay was sub-par, due to the fact that I found difficulty in expressing my passion in words. My passion is clear in my thoughts, though Im unsure how to express those feelings on paper. I then decided to completely re-do my essay, by focusing solely on my passion for running, and taking out the section that discussed my passion for rock climbing. When writing the second draft of my exploratory essay, which I have included in my eportfolio, I exercised the key concept Risk-taking, by completely changing my introduction paragraph. During class my professor said that Everyones introductions are weak since they all begin with the definition of passion, and that included my own introduction. I completely

Green 4 changed my introduction by taking my audience to an event that exemplified passion. This is a type of introduction that I had never utilized, though I found that it is a good way to introduce a topic. In my second draft I also spent time adding sensory details that can be seen in the following quotation At this time in the morning, the only sound to be heard is my feet repeatedly hitting the cold hard ground. As I have shown, my exploratory essay has undergone drastic changed which exemplifies my engagement in the key concept The writing process and revision. To begin my extended inquiry project, I had to compose an annotated bibliography including six sources. Researching my topic allowed me to enter the conversation on Why the Kenyans have dominated distance running events for decades? By completing this assignment, I became more curious about my topic, which encouraged me to continue to look for answers. From the beginning of the extended inquiry project, I have been engaged with the key concept Independent inquiry, since I have continuing to ask/search for answers pertaining to my research topic. Along with my final draft, I have also included one artifact that assisted my writing process that includes notes that I took while watching a documentary titled Man on A Mission. I included this artifact because it is a process that I used for each source to plan out my annotated bibliography. On the page labelled Primary Source, I have included an article titled Kenyan and Ethiopian Distance Runners: What Makes Them So Good? This is an article that is included in my annotated bibliography, and taught me how to write in a form that was necessary for two genre pieces that I would later write. This form of writing can be shown in the following quotation, The rst approach adopted was to investigate the genetic ancestry of the elite East African runners using the uniparentally inherited genetic marker mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).

Green 5 mtDNA provides a unique opportunity to explore the matriline of select groups. This article also taught me what terms and what vocabulary was appropriate when discussing this topic. In my e-portfolio, I have included notes that I took while reading this article to show how I would simplify the concepts that I was reading. The majority of this article was written on a high scientific level, which required me to take notes on it, so I could gain a better understanding of my topic. Once completed all of my research, and developed an argument on my inquiry question, it was required that I compose two genres to articulate my argument. The first genre piece that I composed was an academic journal article titled Is Allens Rule the Secret to Kenyans Success in Athletics? By writing this piece I learned how to write in a scholarly manner as shown in the following quotation, Studies have shown that this is advantageous since the Kenyans have enhanced biomechanical and metabolic efficiency. This efficient running economy allows the Kenyans to run long distances using less energy. Along with my final journal article, I have included a work artifact, which contributed to my learning, as I took the time to address my incorrect use of possessive apostrophes. The second genre piece that I wrote was an info-graphic that was also used to convey my argument to my specific audience. During the process of developing this piece, I learned how to convey my message using modes of communication that I seldom use, since many of my compositions rely solely on the linguistic mode. I have included an artifact along with my info-graphic that assisted the development of my final piece. This Brainstorming & Planning, artifact was crucial since I had to make sure my info-graphic was organized in a logical fashion that can be easily understood by my audience. The final page on my e-portfolio is my extended inquiry project reflection. On the beginning of this page, I have included a picture of David Rudisha as he won the 2012 London

Green 6 Olympic Games 800m in world record time. Since David Rudisha is the present hero of Kenya, I thought it was necessary to end my e-portfolio with him. For nearly every Kenyan athlete, the goal is to set a world record or to win an Olympic gold medal; therefore, the London Olympic Games was the pinnacle of David Rudishas athletic career. During the writing process of my extended inquiry project reflection, I utilized the opportunity to make connections throughout my entire project. For example, I found that one persons opinion made a large impact on me, which completely shaped my argument and genre pieces. This reflection also taught me more about Aristotle appeals, and how to use them in my genre pieces. In my reflection I wrote, Throughout my journal article I established myself by the use of ethos. I did this by claiming myself as a PhD and using the proper format associated with academic journal articles. I also appealed to my audience through the use of logos, since I developed my argument by discussing the basic running culture of Kenya that facilitates the athletes success. Prior to this course, I had never heard of Aristotles appeals, though I now believe that I have a sufficient understanding of them, and can apply them to my writing in the future. Lastly, I included my first draft and the feedback that I received from my professor to show the details that I have worked on to get to my final draft. These details included adding a clear thesis to an earlier part of the reflection, and a better discussion of the visual/spatial mode that I relied heavily on throughout my info-graphic. The Grade I Deserve Throughout this semester in English 1102, I have engaged myself in every assignment including providing feedback to peers, participating in class discussions, and composing essays. I have also witnessed an improvement in my ability to express my thoughts and feelings an essay, and an improvement in my technical writing ability. I was able to improve these things since I

Green 7 utilized the key concepts during my writing and I took the advice of others to enhance my writing. As I have previously discussed, my drafts have progressed greatly throughout the semester which led me to developing final drafts to my best ability. Due to the significant effort that I put forth towards English 1102, I believe that I have earned an A in this course.

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