Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Professor Campbell
UWRT 1104
After reviewing my eportfolio, I noticed how much my writing has improved throughout
this semester. I never enjoyed writing classes in high school because I just though they were
giving us busy work. At first, I didn’t think this freshman writing class was going to be any
different. However, I see now that everything we did helped me as a writer. We had six
assignments throughout the semester that I believed helped me improve greatly. We worked on
six Studios, Topic Proposal, Annotated Bibliography, the first Extended Inquiry Project (EIP),
the final EIP, and the ePortfolio. Each one made me grow in different aspects of my writing.
Some I enjoyed a lot more than others. Regardless of whether or not I enjoyed it, all these
assignments helped my writing. I believed my best work is by far the Extended Inquiry Project
The six Studios that were assigned to us throughout the semester were probably my least
favorite part of this class. I felt like they were surprise me sometimes. I would see they were due
on a Friday, but I was so caught up in an essay and I would forget about the studio that was due.
The Studios were never difficult, but sometimes they were time consuming. However, at the end
of the day, they all helped improve my writing. For example, the studio involving writers moves
helped me use more than “however” as a writers move. With that being said, the Studios were
I personally really enjoyed the topic proposal. It was a great way to slowly ease into the class. It
wasn’t too long, and we got to write about something that was interesting to us. I believe the
hardest part about the Topic Proposal was coming up with a specific topic. I started with
generational poverty, but that was way too broad. By the end of the semester, my topic was the
lack of education and its effect on generational poverty. The easiest part of the Topic Proposal
was definitely the last four paragraphs in the paper. This is because it was about me, and I
already know me. I didn’t need to conduct any research about my interest in the topic or my next
steps. I got an 88 on this assignment, and I feel like I could’ve gotten an A if I would’ve went
back over it a couple more times. All in all, I really enjoyed the Topic Proposal and it was a great
The Annotated Bibliography is the next assignment, and I was not a huge fan of this
paper. I didn’t mind doing the research and then writing about it. However, I did not like having
to do MLA format to cite my sources. That part was by far the hardest part of the assignment for
me. The Annotated Bibliography did help me learn more about my topic, and it also allowed me
to narrow my topic down even more. The second source/article that I used was the reason my
topic got narrowed down even more. At first, my topic was escaping generational poverty. The
article that I focused on in my Annotated Bibliography was more about education being the
underlying factor of generational poverty. With this being my topic, I could focus on the cycle of
poverty and how education affects it. This was a better topic for me because I have had
experience with the lack of education and generational poverty. We would work with kids and
the elementary school in Jamaica. This allowed me to observe, first hand, what kind of education
these kids were getting. The Annotated Bibliography helped me a great deal with my topic, but I
Next is the first Extended Inquiry Project. I was not looking forward to this assignment
when I first heard of it. I saw it as just another research paper on my topic that I have been
studying throughout the semester. I was a little frustrated because I was wondering what else I
was going to write about. My attitude completely shifted when I learned I could make it an
argumentative essay. I enjoy those essays because I can put my own opinion into the paper. I can
write a lot more because I do not need to research my opinion. For example, the first two
paragraphs of my first Extended Inquiry Project were fairly easy for me because it is about my
past experience, or a story. My least favorite part of this essay was definitely the MLA citations.
I struggled with them once again. I also struggled with repeating myself throughout the essay. I
continuously stated that the lack of education was the biggest factor contributing to generational
poverty. The First Extended Inquiry Project was a great way to dig deeper into my topic, and it
The ePortfolio is the final assignment for this semester. I have enjoyed this assignment
because it allows me to be as creative as I want. I get to make the website my own, and also try
to make it capture the viewer's attention. The ePortfolio also allows me to put all my work into
one place. I can make it neat and organized so it is easier to view. However, I do not like how the
ePortfolio is worth so much. I have been stressing about this assignment for a couple weeks now
because I really want to get an A in the class. I am trying to go above and beyond. I also did not
like how this Final Reflective Letter is another assignment within the ePortfolio. It is worth 20
percent of the grade within the ePortfolio as well. The ePortfolio has been on my mind for weeks
We had many formal writing assignments in this class. However, we also had many
informal writing assignments as well. Freewrites in our daybooks and blog posts is what most of
informal writing was. I really enjoyed the freewrite’s because it gave me a chance to release
some emotion and thoughts. It allowed me to see what I was thinking. My freewrite from March
9, 2019 is a great example of this. The freewrite was about what was on my mind at that
moment. My first sentence was, “Today, I am feeling very tired and want to eat.” I did not enjoy
the blogs as much. I forgot about them a lot of times because I was so caught up in other
assignments. They did provide some interesting articles/videos though. I did not like the group
work and peer advising that much. I like to have my writing to myself because it feels personal
for some reason. My peers did give me great feedback, and they helped me get better grades. I
loved to do the readings and research because most of the stuff that I was looking at was for my
topic.
My most important work in the class was my Annotated Bibliography. I believe this
because this assignment allowed me to narrow my topic down. It showed me what my true goals
and beliefs are when it comes to the lack of education and generational poverty. My biggest goal
is trying to end poverty around the world, and also to make education better for others. As a
writer, I want to put my research out there so people are aware of generational poverty. Before
doing this assignment, I believed there wasn’t one factor that was greater than all the others.
However, after researching my topic, I found that the lack of education leads to everything else.
One of my greatest strengths when it comes to writing is my passion. If I find a topic that
I am interested in, then I will put max effort into it. If it is something I am not interested in, then
I just want to get it done. My two greatest weaknesses seem to be lack of focus and I tend to
repeat myself a lot within my writing. I struggled with these at the beginning of the semester and
still struggle with them. For example, I repeated myself a lot in my Topic Proposal. I do feel like
I have improved these weaknesses a little bit, but they are certainly not a strength yet.
My progress as a thinker, questioner, and a writer has been incredible throughout this
semester. I would put so much thought into my writing that I would get confused and give up.
Now we are at the end of the semester, and I don’t think as much. I just let the thoughts go
straight onto the paper. I am much more curious than I was at the beginning of the semester.
After everything I read, I try and ask myself questions so I can dig deeper into the topic if it
interest me. Asking questions also allowed me to research more about generational poverty and
the lack of education. Writing is at its best when you question and don’t think too much. For
example, writing my first Extended Inquiry Project was a lot easier than I thought it was going to
be. I just asked myself more questions and found more answers.
All in all, I really enjoyed this class throughout this semester. I learned so much from
formal/informal writing. This class made me ask questions, and answer them through research. It
also showed me what I am truly passionate about. It helped me set the goal of assisting in the
elimination of poverty. I liked this class even though I had to be there bright and early at 8:30
Sincerely,
Brady Michelow