Juliana Francis

UWRT 1103
5/2/2016
Dear Reader,
The purpose of writing this letter to you is so that you may understand what I have
learned throughout this process. I have learned many things about writing, reading and
communicating to others, this class has help me tremendously to improve my writing capabilities
and has given me confidence in the things I write. My E-Portfolio is comprised of many
important assignments I have had throughout the semester, many of these assignments I know I
will look back on for future references in other classes. Before beginning this class I was not a
very avid thinker, I tended to shy away from any form of educational thinking or reading; now
I find myself wanting to learn more about subjects I previously had no interest in. I want to have
my own journal, a sort of rip-off of our daybook entries, because I thought that being shown
something and having to write down our opinions of them was an amazing idea. The daybook
entries helped me put together my thoughts on issues of the world, made me look at education in
a different light, made me see things that maybe I hadnt been able to see before.
I enjoyed sharing my daybook entries with the class because it helped me see that I was
not the only one who thought a certain way, yet it also helped me to understand that not everyone
thinks the same, and that there are some people with drastic differences in opinions, yet you
would never be presented with these differences unless discussing topics that elicited response. I
think my most important work in the class was my EIP. I understand that EIPs are excessively
important in preparing me for my future. I plan to have a career in teaching (and possibly pursue
a career in psychology) and I know that I will forever and always have to research topics and
compile my finding to present them to others. The EIP helped me to compile my research in a

compelling manor and to persuade the reader to see my side of the issue and perhaps agree with
me. I wrote my essay on the over-exaggeration of cyberwarfare; I understand that cyberwar is
exaggerated but I also know that its possibility is not unlikely. I think that every assignment I
have been given in this class has played an important role in helping better myself as a writer.
I know that I am not the best writer, and I dont try to pretend to be. I have noticed in my
works that I have a weakness in punctuation and proper word usage, and I recognize that
weakness and I have worked on it all semester. I can definitely see an improvement in how a
write based on the comments I have received from my professor throughout the semester. I began
sending my work into my professor early on in assignments to try and get as much possible
feedback. I actually had sent in a rough draft of my EIP before our actual rough draft was due;
when I received my draft back, it was littered with mark up and comments from my professor, I
diligently went through my paper to try and see all the errors I had made that he pointed out, and
then I went through and began to change everything. By the time our rough draft was due I was
feeling pretty confident in my paper. When I received the true draft I had little comments here
and there that I missed the first time, and when that final was due I only had to look at
punctuation.
I have kept every paper we have written and I can see my own progress, I dont mean to
brag, but Im happy with myself and how far Ive come. I have had many challenges when
writing my papers and completing assignments; I struggled with topic ideas, finding good
research material, putting all my work together, and eventually writing the actual papers. Despite
my challenges I faced, I realized I was not alone. For every class I had prior to this one, I had
always been under the assumption that I must not share my work, I have always believed that
writing was something you do privately for fear of critique or judgement. When I came to this

class I was shown that a writer never works alone, if a writer wants their work to be great, they
must share. I participated in peer reviews, I loved seeing others comments on my page, at times
the critique hurt and I was afraid of turning in my papers, I though well if my classmates dont
like it, my professor wont; I couldnt have been farther from the truth. Seeing the comments on
my papers actually helped me to create an even better paper, one that could pass the high
standards a college professor holds. Once I realized I was not alone in my writing, writing
actually flowed a lot easier for me and I was able to have less and less difficulty over time.
I believe the annotated bibliography to have been the hardest assignment for me, I did not
understand parts of the assignment, not in the way that the professor explained them, but rather
on how to actually carry out the required instructions. The annotated bibliography was really
hard for me to complete and it has actually been my lowest grade. Despite not being happy about
the grade, I understood that I probably deserved it. I basically summarized each of the sources
that I had found, yet I could not analyze its importance or what part it could play in my paper. I
had a simple approach to the essay and it came out bad. I tried to redo the annotated bibliography
but I honestly believe it to still be less than its potential. I believe that this is something I need to
work on a little more in the future, and I have come to terms with myself, it is okay to make this
mistake as long as I continue to work on it and improve it, not just for a grade, but for myself as
well.
Despite the topic proposal, the annotated bibliography, and the final EIP being the bane of
my existence, I actually enjoyed class. I think my favorite thing in the class to write about was
my literary narrative. I loved being able to write about something that was important to me and
that had shaped me as a person. I remember having a really hard time writing the narrative, I was
worried about saying too much, yet not saying enough. The narrative explained my experience

and difficulties with non-verbal (body) language. As I was writing I tried to incorporate the
importance this "new" language really held; I worked really hard to ensure that the reader
understood that the people and experiences in my early life, were ones that held both positive
and negative influences in the way they shaped who I am.
I actually enjoyed this essay assignment the most, it challenged me to think harder
than most assignments I had been given. I wasn't given a topic to do research on, no; I had to
find a time in my life that meant the most to me, which was so important that it actually molded
me into who I am. Not only did I have to find that moment, I had to ensure that all of my
feelings at that moment could be expressed through my writing. This was an extremely hard
assignment (in my opinion) but it was also amazing, fun, and creative, it definitely paved the
way for the rest of the semester; and it made me think about who I am as a person, and what I
expect from myself.
I think that this class will probably be one of the most important classes I will ever take in
college (thats non-major related) and I can honestly say that it was the most important of this
semester. I loved learning about myself as a writer and I loved watching myself improve as a
writer. I know for a fact that I will look back on my blogs and my assignments and I will be able
to write papers that can far surpass the ones I have written in this class. I enjoyed having
Professor Malcolm as an instructor and I enjoyed having his assistance in creating the works that
I did; I know that this class will continue to help shape me in the future and help shape my work
as well. This portfolio can act as a tribute to how hard I worked this semester, and looking at my
drafts, my changes, and my finals for every assignment, I believe that you (as the reader) can see
how much I have grown as a writer throughout this semester. I hope that my E-Portfolio can

express the changes I can see in myself, and I hope that it shows how hard I have worked, not
just on the E-Portfolio, but on every assignment I have been given.

Sincerely,
Juliana Francis