Writing Portfolio
Reflection
Here it is already, the end of a semester that went by faster than usual this year, I think because I found out how much I enjoy writing. I’ve always been a scribbler. Ever since I was a little kid, just ask my Mom, wait, I don’t really want you to ask my mom. I’m just saying that I started writing practically when I was knee high to a grasshopper – and my mother has saved every scrap and journal. Well, except for the ones she doesn’t know about.
The great thing about this semester is that I learned how to take my time writing and enjoy myself. Learning the small organizational tips helped a lot. I realized that I am always researching in the way I keep an eye on the Internet always scanning for news on politics and the economy. But calling it research seems so much more wholesome and acceptable. I take my time and enjoy my Internet real-time news life-style without feeling guilty at all. That’s because I know that I am doing research. I’ll be able to put the information to good use sooner or later.
I have written about issues that are serious and subjects that I feel are important to talk about. I write about politics and the economy for example and I able to reference my writing well, with quality sources and with the appropriate reference page.
I feel a lot more confident about writing argumentative essays. I have a natural inclination for that type of essay. I think that is because it goes with my interest in politics. I like knowing the essay structure, so even if I only have time to jot down notes during the day, when I have time to write my opinion in a persuasive way I can do it. I take the scraps of paper with my notes and organize them along the structure I’ve learned.
I have chosen to highlight pieces I have written to showcase my work on writing to analyze, taking an argumentative approach, writing to convince, learning appropriate research and citation methods, and argumentative research.
The first essay I offer is one I tried to do in a lighthearted way. I chose a lighthearted subject. The others I wanted to be able to make a strong point and prove that I know what I’m talking about. That is why I needed to learn to write with a persuasive voice. I’ll be able to use the skills I’ve learned for the rest of my life.
I have learned the most this semester about how to back up my words with good reference sources. No one may ever ask for references but I know that I have easy access to high quality information on the Internet and in the library. That is a great feeling. In order for me to be able to make a persuasive argument to anyone else I need to make one to myself.
I started out during the first part of the semester learning what was meant by ‘writing to analyze.’ By working on the assignment I learned a lot because there was a source I needed to analyze and I needed to focus. That helped me think of an essay as a type of jigsaw puzzle you could say. There are certain parts that are needed or the puzzle isn’t going to get put back together. That is the same thing with an essay. An essay may not have many words but it can still pack a lot of information and even emotion if you want it to do that.
Working on the argumentative approaches gave me a chance to focus on how I wanted to present information I felt was important so people would want to read the piece all the way to the end. In general I learned that for the types of arguments I want to write about, having to do with politics and the economy; I can’t go wrong using a logical presentation of the facts and concluding with the positive reasons it is a good idea. This works when I am writing to convince someone to eat better or to support a particular government policy.
I’ve put as the last essay in my portfolio my argumentative research which turned out to be my favorite. I read books that interest me very much. I liked being able to use the skills I learned during the semester, especially my chance to analyze what the other authors had to say.
I’m feeling confident about my writing. The skills I’ve learned for researching are going to help me out a lot because I am interested in so many subjects.
Suggested Organization of Portfolio
I have organized my portfolio in chronological order because the essays demonstrate how I kept learning throughout the semester and was able to apply what I learned to my writing.
Some of my favorite authors write blogs on the subject of politics. (list a few)
I always look at a variety of newspapers for my news (on the Internet) such as The Guardian, International Herald Tribune, The Progressive Populist, The NY Times, etc.
Informational blogs that I keep my eye on are WhiteHouse.gov, MarketWatch.com, BigThink.com, etc.
Political Writers that I think of as mentors are . . .
Favorite subjects to read about in print and some authors . . .
