Dear Readers,

Welcome! You are now looking at the presentation of my final portfolio for Writ 2:

Academic Writing class. In this class, I explored the topic of my interest— CRISPR germline

gene-editing technology in great depth, while also solidified my writing skills through analyzing

sources and creating my literature review.

Through six weeks of learning, I have developed a better understanding of academic

writing. In the past, I always assumed academic writing is equivalent to research papers. After

closely examining some critical concepts like genre, I recognized various academic writings

across different disciplines. I came across to annotated bibliography and literature review, two

literary genres that are most familiar to students in Humanities Department, for the first time in

my life. As I delved deeper into literature analysis, the previously acquired knowledge regarding

rhetoric situations and conventions came into use. I distinguished literacy practices across

different disciplines, recognized the central thesis, and evaluated the credibility of peer-reviewed

articles based on their exigence, audience, and constraints. 1These skills all helped me interpret

peer-reviewed articles on CRISPR technology, compose new literature reviews, and translate my

literature review to a podcast. I have also learned concrete writing strategies like developing

tension in thesis statements, which helped me build a stronger essay.

I did not make too many changes to my final draft content-wise. Instead, I enhanced the

concision of my text by reducing unnecessary words like modifiers. I changed a lot of

unnecessary phrases into a single word. For instance, I used "doubt" to replace "hold doubts on"

directly, eliminating the sentences' redundancy. I was taught to use passive voice when I was

composing lab reports since sciences emphasize objectivity. However, I learned that active voice

1
Laura Bolin Carroll, "Backpacks Vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis". Volumes In Writing Spaces:
Readings On Writing, 1st ed., 49.
is preferred in writing classes, and I changed a large portion of the sentences to it. Lastly, I

created more confidence in my text as I incorporated stronger verbs like "convincingly prove" to

replace uncertain ones like "believe."

Through this course, I developed a comprehensive understanding of CRISPR germline

gene-editing technology and learned more about researching the topics of interest. In the past, I

would research on Google scholar directly, but now I would check the peer-reviewed status and

the educational backgrounds of authors before I start reading. While composing my literature

review, I did not follow the traditional format and organize my paragraphs by sources. Instead, I

structured my literature review by summarizing different aspects. This new organizing strategy is

both novel and logically coherent. I might continue to adapt this format in the future.

I have segmented my final portfolio into multiple sections, presenting my literature

review, translation, and other useful links related to CRISPR germline gene-editing technology. I

believe that simplicity is the key coherent presentation. You are more than welcome to check

them out and learn more about the topic. Have fun!

Lastly, I would like to take some time and thank Ms. Julie Johnson for providing me with

constructive feedbacks. She is always supportive and I could never have done this without her.

Best Wishes,

Lizzie
 Bibliographies

Bolin Carroll, Laura. 2021. "Backpacks Vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis". In
Volumes In Writing Spaces: Readings On Writing, 1st ed., 49. Parlor Press.