Dear portfolio reader,

I have never been really good at writing. When I first came to this English 101 class I thought it was going to be just like all the others. Where I would get in trouble for my work not being perfect. I like to have run on sentences and put commas in where they don’t belong. I have always been afraid of writing because I knew my writing was going to be judged or graded. I like putting off writing till the very last minute so I only have to look at it once and I am done. Even though I feel I am not a very good writer, I have been told I am pretty good at it after I have started something. Getting the first sentence on the page is always the hardest thing to do. I enjoy writing things that no one is ever going to read, which I know sounds kind of silly. I have learned that no matter how much I don’t want someone to read my work, it has to be done. So, I hope you enjoy my portfolio.

Writing my annotations essay was hard work. I had to pick a picture and come up with an idea that would have many questions presented. Then I had to choose five questions that would have more than one word answers. I only ended up using four because I felt my questions were strong enough not to have a fifth.  After I chose the questions, I had to answer them. I had to find sources that were text and some that were from the web. I had to know how to do the in text citations along with the works cited page. I had to figure out the order my questions were going to be in. Then answer them, but the question could not be left. I had to find a way to answer the questions I asked without asking my reader, but the reader needed to be able to figure out what my questions were from reading my answer.  I had to use personal experience, along with scientific explanations to answer the questions. This writing assignment shows my ability to use the internet and books for getting research information. It also shows how I am able to use in text citations and works cited pages. I had to go over this research many times to make sure my words were in the right order, along with my spelling and grammar being correct. It also shows my ability of being about to structure my paragraph properly. My paragraphs were supposed to be in a specific order to engage my reader and to make them want to continue reading.

In my Persistence research paper I had to show my ability to use in text citations, works cited and cited a peer’s blog but I will refrain from talking more about that. I chose this essay for my portfolio because I had to use critical reading and the ability to understand of the material. I had to go from blog to blog to figure out which ones I would use, what I used from each one, and how to put I all together into my research paper. I also had to use outside sources and figure out how those would fit into my paper.  I definitely had the hardest time with this paper. What I found difficult was being able to put all the different information together into one paper to make it a good one. Once I started writing it I realized that it sounded harder than it was. If I took the time to sit down and do it then it would come out great.

My memoir assignment made me look back at a time in my life where I showed persistence.  I chose breaking my knee cap because it took a lot of time and work to be able to walk again. I chose it for my portfolio because it shows that I am able to write an essay just from personal experience.  No one could help me write this essay because no one else was there the entire time when I was growing up. Even if someone else had been there, they wouldn’t remember it the same way I did.  I had to use specific details of what happened in the accident. This wasn’t the easiest thing to remember either. I guess I used persistence in wring my memoir about persistence. There were a lot of places for me to go off topic with this paper; talking about my families injuries. I was able to stay focused and complete the task at hand.

Throughout this semester I have grown as a writer. I went from not wanting any one to ever read my work to not minding. Seeing as this class you have to post everything on a blog I had no choice but to become okay with it. It was nice to have some feedback from my peer’s along with my teacher. I look forward to enrolling in English 102 to see the challenges I face and knowing that I can overcome them and become a better writer. I have learned a lot taking this class, I am still working on my commas, but my run-on sentences are much better. Thank you for reading my portfolio I hope you enjoy it!

Molly Tribou