Emily Alvarez

Writing 2

Writing 2 Portfolio Cover: A Look Behind the Scenes

This quarter in Writing 2, both my writing projects, although they could have been two

drastically different pieces, were very similar in that they were both fictional stories. Previous

classes, especially literature/writing classes, have been very straightforward academic writing,

but in this class, the assignments were much more open to students’ choices. This class was also

more broken up than others I have taken, but it had an important and clear purpose in this

different pace. The pace allowed us to truly reflect and take time to consider our writing choices.

The reflections helped my writing improve, as well as my understanding of different writing

processes. In this portfolio, you will see my Writing Project 1 and 2 after going back and

thoroughly editing them, and through the following paragraphs, learn about my process in

writing the projects and what I discovered from reflecting back.

One of the most critical things I learned about in this class was genres. Obviously I knew

what genres were, but I had never really thought about the importance and effects they have in

writing. Dirk’s essay, “Navigating Genres,”1 honed in on the purpose of different genres and how

the conventions work to meet a goal. The topic of genres extended beyond just the class, but into

my other courses. For example, one of my classes this quarter was on the climate crisis, and we

had many people from scientists to activists to writers come in and talk about global warming. It

was interesting to see how each one differed. Each genre had a different way of getting the same

message across, which was interesting to look into, especially in relation to such a serious topic.

I felt this was especially true because there are so many people who are firmly against believing

1
Dirk, Kerry. “Navigating Genres”. Writing Spaces Readings on Writing, Volume 1, pp.249-262
in global warming. It's important to look at how different genres help convince different people

and effectively share information. For example, some people would find an academic research

journal on the topic most influential, but others might read a novel based in the future and

become more interested in the plausibility of such a world. When deciding what genre I wanted

to write in, I thought about these ideas of the audience and the message I was trying to impart.

As previously mentioned, both my projects in this class were works of fiction, which is

not a genre I've done much writing in. In the past, most of my writing has been for classes where

we were only assigned to write academic essays. I enjoyed having more freedom while

completing these projects, and I think that, above all, the freedom we had in the writing process

pushed me creatively. When it came to writing my first drafts, I drew on each of the articles we

read in class, specifically Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts”2 and Peter Elbow's "Teaching Two

Kinds of Thinking By Teaching Writing”3. These pieces both share a central idea: not focusing

on the first draft being perfect; this is something that has previously gotten in my head and

hindered my creativity. Lamott’s tips focus on the idea that first drafts are not supposed to be

perfect and Elbow’s is centered around the idea that the first draft should not be focused on the

minute details, like grammar and sentence structure. Overall, they emphasize lessening the stress

of and pressure placed on the first draft. Elbow looks at it as two ways of thinking; the first being

the creative and the second being the more analytical. It was not until the final editing process

when I took a closer look into the structure and grammar of my writing instead of just the

content. I kept this in mind as I worked on the first drafts for my projects; I did not think about

making them flawless, but instead, I focused on getting something down that was creative.

2
Lamott, Anne. “Shitty First Drafts”. Bird by Bird, Anchor Books, 1997, pp.4 -.6.
3
Elbow, Peter. Teaching Two Kinds of Thinking by Teaching Writing.
 Not only was the creative aspect in this class new to me, but so was the reflection

process. My academic experience has never included writing such in depth reflections. In the

past, my reflections have been just a simple paragraph or so, but in this class, they were actually

in depth, including reflections on every aspect of the assignment in question. It was more critical

thinking about the writing and creating process than I had ever done. I think the fact we worked

on the projects in small increments really helped, not only to get the project done, but also in

making sure there was time and thought put into each decision. I did not skip to the final product

but took steps to plan out the projects; I started with brainstorming and questioning, moved on to

finding sources, and then carefully putting the pieces together. Practicing doing an in-depth

analysis of my writing was quite helpful in my other classes. It also helped me formulate my

opinions and make more solid arguments when having conversations with fellow students and

peers. It gave me the ability to think of my opinions from different angles and question my

perspective. When going back over my second Writing Project, this idea of looking from

different angles was helpful as I needed to think about making the dialogue less confusing for the

audience. All in all, the reflections we were assigned throughout the class were quite eye

opening.

After nearly completing the class, I can confidently say my writing skills have improved.

One of my main weaknesses as a writer, in my opinion, has always been my lack of creativity.

Both of my projects, however, helped to push past the blocks I had when it came to creative

writing. I feel as though creativity in writing is not emphasized enough and is certainly an area of

writing I’d like to continue working on through future classes.

 Works Cited

Dirk, Kerry. “Navigating Genres”. Writing Spaces Readings on Writing, Volume 1, pp.249-262

Elbow, Peter. Teaching Two Kinds of Thinking by Teaching Writing.

Lamott, Anne. “Shitty First Drafts”. Bird by Bird, Anchor Books, 1997, pp.4 -.6.