Dear Professor Johnson,

The two projects I chose to include in my portfolio include writing project 1, and writing

project 3. It is my belief that each writing project we did incorporated ideals from the project

before it, but also asked that we elaborate on those concepts further by adding a few new

concepts in each. For writing project 1, we were asked to compare two different writing genres

on the same subject, and how each of these different portrayals share the same message in

different ways. I chose to compare how police brutality is portrayed in ads versus how they are

portrayed in blogs. We had just learned the beginning concepts in writing 2, so my first work

was not as well written as my last two, which is why I chose it. I wanted to show the difference

between what I wrote about at the beginning, versus what it looks like to have incorporated all

the concepts we acquired throughout the quarter. This is where project 3 comes in. Project 3

being our last (and most fun) project, I really think it shows how my writing was pieced together

by all of the ideals we learned in the course, and how I was able to put all of them together. For

project 3, we were given the opportunity to translate a form of literature into a separate genre, for

a separate audience. Though this was challenging for me because I was translating a television

scene into a paper ad, I think being able to incorporate all ideals from projects 1 and 2 helped me

with the process; and thats why Ive decided to use it. I feel that both of these projects showcase

how far Ive come in my understanding and comprehension of writing, literacy practices, and

reading other work so that I can better translate it into my own work.

When I first started this writing 2 course, it was difficult for me to understand and

translate writing genres. I didnt quite grasp or comprehend some of the concepts that were being

taught when it came to trying to identify genres. This is where Kerry Dirks Navigating Genres
became an instrumental tool for me. In her write-up, Dirk mentions, ...figuring out a genre is

tricky already, but this process is further complicated by the fact that two texts that might fit into

the same genre might also look extremely different (Dirk, 255). This was my one of my biggest

problems, I had trouble trying to identify whether or not the genre of a text was the same as the

genre in which I wanted to change it into. Dirks text described how to better identify genres, and

what to look for between genres. Things such as target audience and location were topics Dirk

elaborated on, which ultimately helped me gain understanding on how to better go about gaining

information for anything from research papers, to genre translations. Kerry Dirks text was most

helpful when were tasked with the challenge of dealing with genre translations for our third

writing project. We were asked to take a piece of literature, and transform it to a different genre,

for a different audience. I took to Dirks write-up first thing, re-reading her journal and applying

what she wrote about so that I could do my project as well as possible. I wanted to translate a

scene from one of my favorite television shows, into an ad for high school students. Being able

to have Dirks text as reference helped me take the scene and put it on paper, which I felt was

especially difficult because television scenes dont have words on a page, and having to put them

on paper can be difficult.

Another change I noticed throughout the year was that as my reading comprehension

increased, so did my writing ability. As I became more comfortable with reading a text, and

understood it, the easier it was for me to write and incorporate what I was reading into my own

writing. I credit this to Mike Bunns Reading Like a Writer. Bunn talks about how reading an

article and trying to identify reasons why the author decided to use certain phrases, or mentions

certain things at certain points, can increase your writing. Bunn states, When you Read Like a
Writer (RLW) you work to identify some of the choices the writer made so that you can better

understand how such choices might arise in your own writings (Reading Like a Writer, 72).

These concepts helped me not only understand the content I was reading, but also helped me

translate comprehension of my own writings better. I started to really notice my ability to write

come together through the readings we had throughout the course. Once I learned how to piece

together an authors text and why they made certain choices, I could, in turn, better navigate its

genre and translate it easier. And I was able to understand what I was translating, it made more

sense to me, and made the task more simple.

Reflecting on and revising my own work is another skill that I think I increased as the

quarter continued as well. I think my ability to critique, revise, and then reflect on the changes I

made increased as my ability to understand and incorporate all the concepts we learned or read

about throughout the year increased. Its a lot easier to revise your own work when you can

comprehend it, and it makes the revision and reflection process less tedious. In an article written

by Sara Giles, it mentions, Students...become independent learners who can take what they

learn about writing into the future beyond a particular writing class (Reflective Writing and

the Revision Process: What Were You Thinking?, 198). This particular quote stood out to me

because allowing myself to revise and reflect on my work really helped me with each project in

the future. As I moved from each project to the next, I took into account not only things that my

professor and peers told me to look out for moving forward, but also things that I had reflected

on myself. You know what they say, you are your own biggest critic.

Ive never been an amazing writer, but throughout this quarter Ive gained a lot more

knowledge and confidence in my own writing. Being able to use all of the techniques and
suggestions from readings and teachings weve acquired throughout the quarter has helped me

tremendously. Being able to understanding writing, how to navigate genres, how to translate

writing, and the revision process have all played staples in my progression as a writer. Being able

to comprehend what Im reading has not only increased my ability to write, but my own ability

to write easier and comprehend my own writing. I would say that Ive made big jumps in my

writing throughout the quarter, and I can use a lot of the things taught in this course to help me

improve on more writing in the future.

 Works Cited

Giles, Sandra. Reflective Writing and the Revision Process: What Were You Thinking?
Writing Spaces: Reading on Writing. Volume 2. Eds Charles Lowe and Pavel
Zemliansky. Parlor Press, 2010. 146. Web.

Bunn, Mike. Writing Spaces Reading Like a Writer 2 (2011): n. Pag. Web.

Dirk, Kerry. Writing Spaces Reading Like a Writer 2 (2011): n. Pag. Web.