Dear portfolio readers,  

I have learned very important skills about writing and rhetoric while taking this class. I didn’t think that much of my writing skills before taking this class. I improved my conclusion paragraphs while taking this class as I used to always end my papers in the same way, but I learned that my concluding paragraphs have to be more unique to the paper I was writing. I originally wasn’t that good while formatting and writing my papers and essays, but I have learned the proper way to write them. I didn’t know the correct way to credit my sources for my papers and just thought I needed to include the bibliography at the end, but I now know that I should put footnotes, in-text citations, and credit what page number I got the information from. I used this while writing my final paper for my art class as I had multiple sources and needed to let the readers know where I was getting my quotes. I used the three modes of persuasion while writing out my interview questions as I knew I had to get answers that would appeal to the readers and establish the person I was interviewing was credible, knowledgeable, and the issue was important. I also made sure to format my final paper so that it flows nicely for the reader and allows them to get a better grasp on the concept I wrote about. These skills are useful as they are required in most of my classes coming up next semester. I now know that college level classes will require me to use certain steps and processes in order to write the most effective paper as trying my usual methods of writing wasn’t working out too well.  

While taking this class, I learned that drafting and editing your papers can help you greatly in the end. I used to write my papers in one-take and would never create drafts or even revise my papers that often. We would share our drafts in class, and I would use the feedback from the others in the class to improve my work like with my final paper, I used the info that my thesis could use some more work and that I needed to focus more on my individual story. I still need to work on writing my thesis statements and backing it up with evidence. Overall, I now know what to expect when writing papers and essays for other classes in the semesters to come. I feel more confident with drafting up my essays and papers and I realize that college-level work isn’t as intimidating as it looks if you do the steps correctly.