Dear Portfolio Review Committee, 

From the beginning of my writing journey up till now, everything has changed. Whenever I think of mindless writing, an essay for my social studies class in middle school immediately comes to mind. There was absolutely no passion involved. I felt like I was filling out a checklist and throwing information onto paper. Even in my senior year of high school, when I had the opportunity to write for a passion project, I had a total lack of motivation. Picking a topic was difficult, because I cared so little about every option. Putting the words down on the page was such an unnatural feeling, a feeling which I continue to fight to this day. I have struggled time and time again to discover a better version of myself than the one who was writing the last assignment. Whether I have to write for one of my classes, I’ve become more confident in developing a unique, versatile style. Though I don’t find much passion in the topics I write about, I feel moved to deliver information in an effective and creative manner. However, I wouldn’t say that my apathy for writing has totally gone away. I still procrastinate a ton. I still hate looking at my rough drafts. I understand that I’m still growing as a writer, and I hope to become even better next semester.

In my senior year, my professor made a big point about revision. She would demand that our writing transform from the rough draft. This emphasis on revision was unheard of to me. In all of my English classes, I was never asked to make such huge changes to my essays. After writing for this class, I have begun to understand the importance of doing so. What once was a process I used to hate, I now have somewhat of an appreciation for. I find it necessary to take some of the effort away from drafting and set it towards revision. It takes some pressure away from writing with large word count requirements, something that I’m relatively new to. Sadly, it functions as a double-edged sword, because my drafts have become slightly messier. For me, this is a fighting mechanism for my procrastination, as I feel it gets in the way of writing a lot. It makes it slightly easier for me to come up with ideas, since I’m not much of a brainstorming or outlining type of person. My editing has also changed greatly. I frequently find myself cutting more and more redundant or repetitive phrases out of my writing. Sometimes it will boil down to the smallest details, such as diction or the amount of ‘filler’ words.  I find it to be satisfying, and think it makes my writing seamless and oriented to readers.

For the first assignment, I was very proud of myself. I struggled to pick a story. I had convinced myself that no one would really find any part of my life interesting. Once I finally got the courage to pick a topic, much of my time to draft had already passed. I’d realized that my rough draft wasn’t really going to be much of a spectacle as I had wanted. Though I wasn’t confident in my story, I had figured out a way to accomplish my goals. I was particularly satisfied with the way I appealed to my audience. I realized that besides the content of the personal narrative, it was very important to put the readers in my shoes. I think I did a great job with adding a nostalgic theme to my writing. I also wanted to compliment my language, as I felt like it fit pretty well with the style of the essay. It was relatively simple, which was adequate for the subject I chose. However, one of my drawbacks from this assignment was the lack of imagery and detail. I put a lot of emphasis on relating to the readers sentimentally, but I took my mind off making my writing more memorable and visual. I think my essay would have benefited greatly from a further emphasis on using tools such as imagery, metaphors, or similes. 

Most importantly, I did a good job with the third assignment. Though I strayed a bit from the academic style of the essay with some of my arguments, my writing was more unique. I put a lot of emphasis in the introduction. I didn’t want it to sound robotic, because I knew that that wasn’t appealing to myself, and I hope I can vouch for others too. I wanted to compliment my language yet again, as I believe that it fit properly with the style requirements. I made a big point to mimic some of the professional writing I’d observed in some of my sources. A couple of the journals I sourced were filled to the brim with information, yet they were still relatively organized. On the revision, I followed the advice from my professor and put forth a ton of effort into referencing my sources effectively and adequately. Another healthy quality to my final draft was my use of organization. I did a fair amount of rearrangement with the topics, which made my essay more of a pleasant read. With the addition of rewriting transitional sentences, my essay was much more reader-oriented. In the latter half of my essay, I felt like my writing was lacking. There was very little research to back up my points, and I instead created a number of arguments building off other researched topics. 

This course has made me feel like a better writer. I feel confident in saying that I’m ready for the next course, ENG 170. Though I’m not well versed in my academic research skills and writing, I’m willing to put in the necessary effort required to write meaningful essays and receive strong grades. College-level writing is still very scary to me, but after taking this course, I feel much more at ease and less frightened as I was initially. My emphasis on revision, language, and targeting audiences has paid off. In an emotional sense, I have discovered meaning in the way I write, rather than focusing purely on the negatives. I attribute this to my willingness to try harder on final drafts. I think this has paved the way for more meaningful ideas to enter my writing. All around, I feel more confident and willing to change as a writer. College-level writing is a new season of my writing journey, and I’m confident in saying that it has started on a good note.