Gutke 1

Joseph Gutke
Professor Nkenna Onwuzuruoha
English 1010
5 December 2014
ePortfolio Self-Assessment
Objectives
My objective with the class as a whole was to increase my understanding of writing as a
medium. I also wanted to be able to increase my effectiveness in increasing the use of
Aristotles rhetorical appeals in my writing. Ive always been fairly persuasive verbally but my
skills in writing.
My goal with my IEP project was to look at a subject that is prevalent in todays world,
but in a non-standard way. I chose immigration but tried to focus on the challenges that affect
those trying to obtain a legal path to naturalization.
Achievements
Ive always found English to be a very challenging subject for me. I dont enjoy writing
at all. Again, Im great at verbal persuasiveness, but Ive always struggled to change that to a
written medium. While my grades, on my essays especially, werent stellar, they were well
above what I thought I was capable of when I first started the class. I feel that Ive gained a great
understanding of how to more effectively communicate in a written format.
Why Does This Matter?
My chosen major is Psychology. Ive always enjoyed the subject and after a semester of
Computer Science, I decided to go after a degree in a field I love. Writing skills, while not as

Gutke 2

necessary in the Computer Science field, are very necessary for a Psychology degree. Ive
already enrolled in English 2010 for next semester to further the learning I obtained this
semester.
Challenges
My biggest challenge is procrastination. I tend to put off assignments as long as possible.
This comes from a lifelong disdain for homework. This led me to turn in some assignments late
this semester, which hurt my grade. Further, it definitely affected the quality of my work. Had I
allotted more time for my assignments, I would have probably pulled off an A in the class. As it
is Im probably going to end up with a B or B+. This is a challenge I need to focus on next
semester.