Engl1101 PortfolioBud Burruss
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This year for English has been an experience for me. I am typically your worst nightmare in an English class, simply because I am typically bored and have trouble creating content to the things I write. This year was somewhat refreshing because we focused in on a topic that actually made me want to write about, not what the teacher wanted me to write about. There were some course goals outlined on the syllabus, and I finally took the time to read them. First was to focus on a purpose. By the last assignment, my purpose was very focused, and you can see the progression from my initial work to the final outcome. Second goal was to use conventions of format and structure appropriate to various situations. My work is typically chaotic, but on the website project I feel that I was finally able to make some organization with the different pages. People can read what I wrote in any order they prefer, and that is what I like. The third goal was to understand a writing assignment as a series of tasks, including finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing appropriate sources. I feel like that is the area where I need the most improvement on, however I am getting a good bit better at that as well. It really seems to me like an extension of the second goal by making it a systematic process. On the third assignment, I managed to find and evaluate some really good sources, and for once I did well on that. The fourth goal was to use a variety of technologies in the writing process. I think that is my strongest area on that goal list, because I am a technology oriented person. I do better when I am on a computer versus using pen and paper. The fifth goal was to develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proof-reading. I found an amazing strategy to compensate for not having my academic accommodations: spell check. That is the single greatest revision tool, but I also found the peer review process helpful if and when my peer took it seriously. The final goal was to demonstrate competent use of syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. I feel like I still could improve on this area, but at the same time I feel that my results greatly improved as the semester went on. One final point I would like to present was my determination to not give up, and always be at class rain or shine. I was told that given my learning disabilities and lack of compensations, the chances of college success was slim to none, and I feel I took those comments made and defied the odds. I stuck with the class until the very end, and I can safely say that I put some of my best work ever into it. From project 1-3, you can see the progression of my work, and how much better it got as time went on. I got a lot out of this class, and as I look back, I do not regret sticking with it, even though I felt uncomfortable about the subject matter. |