Tate 1

Dear Malcolm,

My ePortfolio is comprised of many assignments that represents what I learned and

created throughout the semester. The semester began with composing a letter to you, which gave

me a chance to connect with you and feel more comfortable in the classroom. Many professors

dont get to know their students on a personal level and allow the opportunity for them to express

who they are. Daybooks were a key item this semester. At the beginning, I thought they wouldnt

be useful and it would be a waste of class time. As the semester went on, I began appreciating

the time given to write down our daily thoughts or privately reflect on a topic that was given to

us. I reflected on those daybook entries many times throughout the semester to see how far my

thought process has came since the start of this course. I began my own blog at the start of the

semester to create posts about my thoughts on Ted Talks and assigned reading throughout the

semester. In the last year, I have contemplated creating my own personal blog but always

thought I would be considered lame for doing so. After being required to create one in this class,

I got a feel for what having a blog is like and how they work. It gave me the opportunity to see

what it would be like having my own blog. For me, I found that it was a lot more time

consuming than I realized. I am a major perfectionist and found myself wanting to make each

post creative and thought provoking, yet I lacked the extra time to do so. In this course, six

studios were assigned. These studios each addressed a skill used during the inquiry process. Prior

to this class, I had never heard of the inquiry process. I soon found out that it will be used in

many courses throughout college. At the start, I dreaded these studios and the time it took to

complete them. But once I began focusing on my project, I saw the benefits these studios
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provided. Studio 6 about Revision benefitted me the most. It provided me with useful tips when

revising my first draft. I wanted to write an exploratory essay opposed to an argumentative essay,

yet I had never written an exploratory essay before. I learned certain techniques and phrases to

help progress my essay. Also, the annotated bibliography studio impacted my research process.

In the past, I didnt focus on the type of resource I was using, causing the information to be

unreliable. When proposing my topic, I easily knew what I wanted to address. My dad recently

retired from the Highway Patrol, and many family members have been involved in law

enforcement, therefore I was aware of the recent controversy regarding the accusations of racial

bias of law enforcement due to police related shootings. During my research process, I found that

many stands on opposing sides. There is a significant amount of tragic cases that have taken

place in recent years that indicate these accusations might be true.

In this course, the assignment that helped me the most were the daybook entries. Though

this daily assignment didnt seem so important at first, I realized it helped my thought process in

several ways. Many times, I find myself holding in my thoughts rather than expressing them.

With this activity, I could write down exactly what I was thinking in that moment without

knowing it had to meet a certain grade requirement. It was solely based on me which reminded

me that my input and my thoughts are important. Along with this, I found the assigned reading to

be useful and allow me to have an open mind. One piece, From Degrading to De-grading, we

were asked to read was addressing how grading can have a major impact on students and the

material they are learning. Throughout school, I found myself always completing the

requirements to meet the rubric and receive an A instead of absorbing the information that was

being taught. Instead of having a strict grading system, I think educators should want to provide

opportunities and assignments for students to fully gather the information being taught in the
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course. I felt that this class followed a system like that. Instead of feeling pressured just to

receive a high grade, I found myself focusing on the powerpoints, assigned readings, and

assignments and Im walking away with new information that will be beneficial to me

throughout the rest of college and in real life.

Regarding the Student Learning Objectives presented at the beginning of the semester, I

find myself improving on several traits of the SLOs. I have gathered many new strategies on

how to successfully complete the composing process. When working on my inquiry project, I

used my daybook to jot down any ideas that crossed my mind and was later able to refer back to

those ideas when composing my essay. Another strong suit I gained was critically reflecting my

own work and others. After composing our first drafts, we had to conduct a peer review which

enhanced my skills on providing others with my opinion and give them tips to enhance their

work. After completing my own paper, I was able to criticize my work and determine the things

it was lacking or didnt need.

In completing my ePortfolio, I reflected over all the topics taught this semester and

realized this course has been nothing but beneficial for myself. I went into to this course

dreading it knowing it would consist of primarily writing, but I took so much more from it than I

ever thought I would. I am thankful to have had you, Malcolm, as a professor because you

helped in many ways other professors have not. The time you took to make comments on my

first draft helped me tremendously. I wouldnt have been able to revise my paper as well as I did

without yours and my peers comments. Thank you for a great semester!
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Stay cool,

Karleigh Tate