Dear

Reader, It has been a swell semester in my English 1102 class. I sit here looking at my

completed portfolio relieved and proud. I put a lot of effort into the work Im presenting. I can see the progression of tiny ideas from my thinkbook evolve into the focus of my Topic Proposal that I wrote about throughout the entire semester. The Annotated Bibliography shows the delicate research that I conducted in order to make my Extended Inquiry Project what it is. I can also see how the lesser assignments (like the Margin Outline) helped in fine-tuning my writing skills. Lastly, I can see how, through the creation of this portfolio, how all the work I did this semester collaborated into one epic piece of writing. Through its contents, I am able to see how I progressed in certain areas of my writing and have improved my abilities to ask questions. When I started this class, I thought of myself as quite the competent writer. I

had always gotten good feedback from peers on my written documents, and I thought this course would be no exception. To be perfectly honest, I did not approach this class with attitude of trying to improve my writing. My sole purpose in being in this class was to impress myself with how well I could write. This would be the last English class that I needed to take for my time here at UNCC; yet I stubbornly did not seek an opportunity to grow, but merely to pass. Whether I wanted to or not, I did grow as a writer. I sit here writing to you without any doubt that my writing skills have been sharpened through the continuous work that I put into this class.

As evidence of this improvement, the thinkbook gave me many faucets to

grow as a writer. One of these areas is the ability to say whatever I want without thinking about the consequences. A few of my entries dont make much sense to an outsider for the very reason that I was writing for myself. Many freewrite entries show me answering questions like, Who are you?, and Why does your topic matter?. By answering these questions, I could see how I was able to reflect on what I knew and explain it to the paper. This ability to explain myself through writing has helped me to relay my thoughts and opinions more effectively. Though the thinkbook was required for class, I did not take the opportunity

to write in it outside of class. This lack of desire to expand my thoughts by writing them down did make the thinkbook less impactful on my development as a writer. The thinkbook may not have been the most influential assignment, but I can see bits and pieces of how it has helped me answer questions. This whole idea of answering questions through the thinkbook is, in my

opinion, quite contrast to what the inquiry process was about. Though it is good to both ask and answer questions, I believe that the area I grew the most in my writing was my ability to ask questions. The inquiry process, for me, was the most beneficial for me because there seemed to be no clear answer to any posed question. By learning to consistently ask questions, I was able to find a topic that I loved. This ability to ask questions has bled into other areas of my life as well. In my faith, I have been able to pose more questions in order to understand the Bible more. This act is what I call observation, but it is essentially reading a text and posing multiple questions that will lead to an answer. Needless to say, the whole

idea of inquiry is so important. I was able to break free of my stubborn mindset, and find an interest in my English course once again. Through the constant asking of questions, I was able to enjoy the Topic Proposal assignment. This assignment helped me to compile a ton of information into a neatly designed package that would allow my professor to get the main idea of what I wanted to research. Compacting and summarizing information was the skill that I was able to sharpen through this assignment. Far too often I feel like I cant explain something in an orderly fashion. After my proposal, I felt a sense of competence that I was able to present enough information to hook a person into liking my topic. In addition, I was introduced to the idea of asking open-ended questions in my writing. I carried this idea in and out of the classroom. In the classroom, I used the open-ended question in order to transition from one subject in my EIP to another. My blog also uses these questions in order to get a person to think about spiritual things through music. I learned that questions are important; especially those that dont have clear answers. Now, as far as the annotated bibliography is concerned, I learned how to dive into research like had never done before. Sure, Ive done research for my other classes, and I consider myself good at it. But Ill have you know, I probably spent more than twenty hours trying to find the best sources to be included into this piece of writing. Through this grueling process, I definitely discovered how to use different sources and databases in order to gain a larger understanding of a topic. In addition, I learned how to format and cite sources with more proficiency.

Finally, the most beneficial document I wrote in this class was my Extended Inquiry Project. This project challenged me to take an entire semesters worth of research and questions, and try to analyze the material. This paper, in my opinion, was the most well-organized and thorough piece of writing that I have ever written here in college. By asking questions, I was able to tie explore my topic with my readers in such a way that was easy to follow and understand. At this point, I had the confidence to present differing opinions with an unbiased mindset. These conflicting opinions showed the complexity of my topic, and allowed my reader to chose a side of the issue. My research was thorough and diverse, something I still struggle with. In most of my papers, I find it hard to incorporate my sources in order to make a point. In this paper, I was able to let the research really speak for itself. After this assignment was over, I realized how much I progressed this semester as a writer. Comparing the start of this semester to the end, I can safely say that I am more inclined to ask questions than to seek answers. This is, in my opinion, the greatest tool that I have learned how to use through this course. I hope I leave you, my reader, satisfied with what I have accomplished this semester as a writer, but more so as a thinker. I take from this course the notion that I am no longer a person with all the answers, but a person with all of the questions. With swell thoughts towards you, Seth Locklear