McKenna Metz

Final Portfolio Essay

Final Portfolio Essay

Writing this portfolio essay was a little difficult to start off with because
I have never
had to write this before. I didnt know where to start. Though out this
semester I have learned
about various modes of communication and different key concepts. I feel like
I have
incremented different modes of communication throughout my e-portfolio. I
have appealed to
my readers in a visual manner. The appearance of my e-portfolio draws the
readers attention.
It is neat, organized, and pleasing to the eye. There are images of me and
things I like to do.
On my Power Point, there are colorful images as well. There are tabs that go
to different pages,
so the portfolio isnt cluttered. There are lots of linguistics/words. They
describe what is going
on in the portfolio. Some are bolded, highlighted, and italicized. The
different fonts, express
the different aspects of the portfolio. Larger fonts that are bolded, are
headings, they describe
what the artifact is. The highlighted fonts show what I revised in my
portfolio. I have used the
spatial mode of communication in various locations. For example, on my
home page, my
pictures are spaced out and the writing underneath them is also spaced
perfectly under it. This
gives my homepage a clean and organized feel. The rest of my artifacts are
spaced nicely apart,
so they arent cluttered looking.

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Final Portfolio Essay

My e-portfolio is broken up into different tabs. Each tab has different

pieces of work
that I have done throughout this semester. This next section of my Final
Portfolio Essay, I will
describe what is on these tabs and why I chose to use them.

Home Page:
When the reader firsts looks at my e-portfolio, they see my homepage.
My homepage
has four different pictures and then a little excerpt about what the picture is.
The four pictures
I chose, allows the reader to get to know me a little. The pictures I have on
display are the
important things in my life. I chose to include a picture of my best friend,
Sam and I, at the
beach. Then I included a picture of my boyfriend and my other best friend,
Brandon. The
picture of the city is New York City; traveling is an important part of my life
and NYC is one of
my favorite cities to travel to. One of my favorite quotes is from an
anonymous writer,
Experiencing the world is something one cannot learn in the classroom.
This statement is
very true! I dont think someone can get the full picture of a country or way
of life until they
experience it first-hand. The last picture is of my siblings. My siblings are a
big part of my life
and I wouldnt be who I am today without them.

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Final Portfolio Essay

Final Portfolio Essay:

As the reader continues on with my portfolio, he/she will notice that my
Final Portfolio
Essay tab is next. I decided to place this second because this is an important
aspect of the
portfolio as a whole. This essay describes why I put these pieces of work in
my portfolio. It also
directs the reader through my e-portfolio.

Blog:
The next tab in the e-portfolio is for my blogs. I chose for this to be
third because the
different blogs that we had to do was for the majority of the class. The blogs
are where we got
to plan out ideas and write about them. We go feedback from our teacher
and classmates on
them. Much of this section was pure linguistic communication. My favorite
blog post we had
to do, would have had to been blog post #4. In that blog post, we had to
come up with who
would be at our round table if we were to have one. I stated, the people
who would be at
my roundtable would be, a victim, a pimp, an FBI agent, Jillian Mourning, and
someone who
bought the girls. I feel like this exercise helped me realize who my audience
for this multigenre project would be.

Prezi:

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Final Portfolio Essay

My next tab is for my Prezi. My Prezi contains the 10 annotated

bibliography notes. My
annotated bibliography appeals to the readers senses because I used spatial,
visual, and
linguistic forms of communication. I spaced out the boxes of writing all along
the picture of the
world map. The world map suites my topic about sex trafficking because,
this problem happens
all over the world. The last four bibliography notes are highlighted because
it shows Ms.
Ingram the ones that she didnt check. I collected many notes from various
resources. Some of
the resources were from the FBI page themselves, while others were about
different
organizations that are involved with Sex trafficking and how they help the
victims.

Midterm:
As the reader continues on, they will notice my midterm tab is up next.
This is where
my original midterm and where my revised midterm is located. My midterm
is basically a
reflection of the multi-genre itself. We had to describe what key concepts we
had used so far in
the class and what key concepts we needed to work on. After Ms. Ingram
read my midterm,
she asked me to revise my midterm. She stated that I needed to revise my
midterm by
incorporating quotes. I took in consideration of what she said and revised
my midterm. I

McKenna Metz
Final Portfolio Essay

incorporated quotes where I saw fit and re-embedded the new midterm.

Missing/Make up Work:
The next tab in line is for my makeup work. This includes two makeup
works that I had
to do. My first makeup work has to deal with my first of my traditional essay
for the project. I
had started writing my traditional paper for this draft, but it didnt save
properly so when I
went to pull it up in class to show my group for peer review, I couldnt find it.
I talked to Ms.
Ingram and told her that I didnt save. So instead of having to rewrite the
four pages I had by
memory, she told me to just describe what happened on this tab. After my
first draft of the
traditional paper didnt save, I decided to switch over to do a multi-genre
project instead. I felt
like that would be a lot more fun to do and more creative. My second
makeup artifact I
decided to add was blog post #8. I added that as makeup work because it
only seemed fitting
since I hadnt done the blog post when it was due. I was busy and didnt do
it on time.
However, I am glad I did this blog post eventually since this helped me with
exploring my topic a
little more. I had to describe my topic and why I chose it. I had to describe
my audience and
what I want the audience to know about my topic. I enjoyed this blog post
because it really

McKenna Metz
Final Portfolio Essay

helped me think more about my research and how I can convey my message
better.

Multi-genre Project:
The next tab is a major tab. It is the multi-genre project itself. I
decided to include three
different multi modalities. I included a PowerPoint, a personal interview, and
a roundtable skit,
as well as the multi-genre project reflection. The PowerPoint shows the
history of sex
trafficking and talks about the pimps and how they make a living. It also
states how the FBI is
involved with this problem and how they are trying to fix the problem. I also
included two
different organizations that are involved with sex trafficking. They both try
and educate society
as well as the victims. They help liberate the victims. One of the
organizations that I included is
called All We Want Is Love. This organization was started up by a woman
named Jillian
Mourning. She is a friend of mine who was trafficked when she was younger.
I decided to
interview her and get her feedback on the issue and how we as a society can
prevent trafficking
from happening. Setting up times to interview was a bit tricky due to both of
our busy
schedules, but we eventually met up and I asked her a few questions. After
interviewing her, I
decided to put her input and the research I had done into a roundtable skit.
The skit isnt long

McKenna Metz
Final Portfolio Essay

but it ties together my research and interview. The skit talks about how
different people are
involved with this problem and how the FBI as well as society can help
prevent it.

Process Work Artifact:

My next tab is where you can find the process work. The four artifacts
that I decided to
include was my revised midterm, which is located under the midterm tab,
and my pre research
ideas paper, a dear reader letter, and my research proposal paper. My
revised midterm is a
form of process work because I took in consideration of Ms. Ingrams
feedback on how to revise
my midterm, and I made it better. My second process work piece I chose
was our very first pre
research ideas. We had to come up with a research topic that we wanted to
work with
throughout this semester. In this paper I had chosen to research the
importance of traveling
and experiencing new cultures and the importance of volunteering. My first
few blog posts had
to do with the importance of volunteering because that is the topic that I had
chosen to do
when I first decided to research. This is a form of process work because it
shows that idea can
change. After researching more about this topic, I found out that I wasnt
that interested in
writing about it, and I decided to change my topic to sex trafficking because I
was interested in

McKenna Metz
Final Portfolio Essay

learning more about it and ways it can be prevented. My third artifact was a
dear reader letter
we did in class as a warm up. We had to write about what form of annotated
bibliography we
did and what problems we were having. I chose to write about my Prezi
experience. I had
decided to do my annotated bibliography in a Prezi because I had never
worked on it before
and thought it would be a good website to know how to use. This is a form of
process work
because in this letter I had stated that I didnt know how to edit the text
boxes when I first
started. After working with this website over time, I have learned how to edit
the text boxes
and I have become comfortable with using this website. It takes time and
effort to learn how to
work a new website. My last piece of process work is my research proposal.
In this proposal I
focused on researching about sex trafficking. I had written out three
questions that I wanted to
focus on throughout my research. These questions eventually helped me
narrow down a thesis
statement for my topic.

Feedback Artifacts:
Continuing on to my next tab in the e-portfolio, you will find my
feedback artifacts.
These are two pieces of feedback that I got throughout my research process.
The first feedback

McKenna Metz
Final Portfolio Essay

artifact I decided to include was feedback from Kelsey when she and Olivia
were peer reviewing
my first few annotated bibliographies. I think peer review is always good,
because they allow
fresh eyes to look at my work and tell me how I can improve. Kelsey liked my
annotated
bibliography and thought I was heading in the right direction. She stated
that my citations
look good and my sources back up my argument. My second feedback
artifact that I decided
to include was the midterm sheet Ms. Ingram handed out to us for our
midterm. It had our
grade as if it would be at the midterm point. On the sheet of paper Ms.
Ingram also left a
comment on what she thought about our midterm and what we needed to
work on for the last
half of the semester. This falls under a useful feedback artifact because who
wouldnt want
feedback from the person who grades your work. She stated what she liked
about my writing
and thought process so far as well as how I can revise my work to make it
better.

Writers Notebook Artifacts:

The second to last tab on my e-portfolio is my writers notebook
artifact. I chose to
include a dear reader letter and a reflection we had done from a peer
workshop. The dear

McKenna Metz
Final Portfolio Essay

reader letter was how either the traditional paper or multi-genre project was
going and if we
had any questions about it. I chose this artifact because it shows that I
transitioned from a
traditional paper to a multi-genre project. I stated that the transition was
smooth and that I
didnt need any help with anything during this workshop. I also stated in this
letter my plans for
the multi-genre project. My last artifact for this section was a reflection I did
about the speed
dating workshop. I thought it was an interesting way to do a peer workshop
and I enjoyed
listening to my classmates ideas as well as their feedback on my work so
far. I had stated in my
reflection that I had changed my mind about doing a traditional paper, and I
told my classmates
my ideas of the multi-genre project.

Wild Card Artifacts:

My last and final tab on this e-portfolio is where my wild card artifacts
are. I was able to
choose two different artifacts that helped me throughout the semester in
some way, improve
my learning/work. The two artifacts I decided to include was a do/dont list
for peer review and
a page out of our textbook that had to do with different perspectives. The
do/dont list stated
what one should and shouldnt do during a peer review workshop. Some of
the things on this

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Final Portfolio Essay

list I already knew, while others I didnt realize that I should or shouldnt be
doing. My favorite
dos were try to be open to criticism and try to admit when you need
help. I think this is
important because we as people dont like to admit that we need help or we
dont like to hear
how we can improve. But, being open minded and allowing help when
needed will not only
take you far as a writer but also as a person. It enables us to better
ourselves because we know
how we can improve. My last and final artifact in this portfolio is from a page
out of our
textbook that I found useful in my research. We had to read this page before
we had to
complete blog post #4. This page talks about different peoples perspectives
and how different
people view a topic. This helped me come up with my audience for the
research and how they
would view my topic. It also helped me choose who I wanted at my
roundtable for blog post
#4. Different perspectives on a topic allows for a more complex and
interesting discussion.
After completing this assignment and looking over my work from the
beginning to end, I
feel like I have grown and improved my writing skills. I had some obstacles
in the way but when
I got them figured out, it bettered my writing. For instance, one of my
obstacles was deciding
on a topic to research. I went back and forth for a month deciding on a topic
I liked and found

McKenna Metz
Final Portfolio Essay

interesting. I went from the importance of traveling, to the importance of

volunteering, to my
topic now of sex trafficking. I also had trouble coming up with a good thesis
statement for my
research. My first thesis statement was too broad: The importance of
educating society about
sex trafficking. After multiple peer reviews, continued research and an
office visit to Ms.
Ingrams office hours, I came up with the thesis statement I have now: sex
trafficking is a
national and international problem that should be prevented by educating
the public and
increasing the police and FBI awareness and task force. Some of the key
concepts that helped
me grow as a writer is providing and receiving feedback, multi-modality of
print and digital text,
and responsibility for my own learning. I was able to grow as writer because
I was able to
accept feedback and constructive criticism. There were multiple peer
reviews and I talked to
Ms. Ingram a number of times about how I can improve my research and eportfolio. On the
midterm review, Ms. Ingram stated that I needed to embed my midterm
and that I need to
incorporate quotes. I took what she said and changed my writing to make it
better. I added
useful quotes to my midterm where I saw fit. I also asked for help since I
didnt know how to
embed my midterm. I received the help and now I am a pro at embedding
texts into my

McKenna Metz
Final Portfolio Essay

website. Using multi-modality of print and digital texts helped me improve a

writer because I
didnt know how to use different outlets for writing. In the beginning I was
not comfortable
using a Prezi or Wix to display my writing because I had never used it before
and I was scared to
learn. But after a few mess ups and learning from others, I am really
comfortable with using
these websites. I even decided to switch from writing a traditional paper to
doing a multi-genre
project. I feel like I have improved as a writer by taking responsibility for my
own learning. I
found a topic I was passionate about and wanted to learn more about. There
were times I
slacked off; I am going to be honest. But, for the most part, I completed the
work on time and
to the best of my ability. I take full responsibility in the things I researched
and learn. I got
what I put in, which new knowledge about sex trafficking and the different
ways one is
involved.
After reviewing my portfolio and this essay, I feel like this is an A-/B+
work. I would like
to say I got an A because I included everything that needed to be included in
the e-portfolio and
essay, but I had some late work throughout the process so that would be a
few points off. I
think this is A work, and I learned a lot in the process, but it is honestly hard
to grade myself. I

McKenna Metz
Final Portfolio Essay

would be happy with and A-/B+, both of those grades would be fitting. After
going back and
finishing up my late work, I think I would have an A. But, if I hadnt made up
that work then I
defiantly deserve a B. But I included all aspects of the e-portfolio and
portfolio essay and based
on the grade scale, I think I deserve an A.