Ryleigh Greenwell

130 Roadrunner drive

Ponca City, Ok 74604

Tammy Davis
Northern Oklahoma College
615 North Monroe,
Stillwater, Ok 74076

4 December 2023

Dear Mrs. Davis,

I hope that you are doing well! In my portfolio, I have chosen a selection of writings from my
composition classes and two of my high school classes. I have placed them in order from what I
feel is my weakest to my strongest writing. Each piece of writing reflects on where I was in my
writing progression and the skills I possessed when I wrote them.

For my first writing sample, I chose an essay I wrote in my English two class in high school.
This writing was a research paper on the career I wanted to pursue. Writing this paper helped me
realize the only reason I wanted to be an anesthesiologist was because of the money. I now know
money is not life's most important aspect, and I should do something I genuinely enjoy and care
for. While reflecting on this paper, I realized there is minimal personality, and it is just research
with some of my opinions scattered. Although I no longer wish to be an anesthesiologist, this
paper helps demonstrate how far I have come with my writing capabilities. It played a crucial
role in helping me learn how to organize a lengthy paper and find acceptable sources. The
second writing sample is a narrative essay I wrote in my junior year English three class. This
paper was one of my favorites to write because I got to talk about something personal that
happened in my life, and no research was needed. I picked this paper as my second artifact
because it gives you a little insight into my personal life while showcasing my storytelling
abilities. Reflecting on it, I realize that if I wrote this paper today, I would dive deeper into the
emotions of my family members and create smoother transitions between paragraphs.
Considering so much happened on this trip, this essay was difficult to write because I was unsure
what to add and what to keep out.

As my third writing piece, I selected a criteria essay I wrote in my composition one class junior
year. It is over the criteria a person needs to be considered a good worker. I enjoyed writing this
essay, mainly because there was no research but also because I believe in putting in the work to
be the best possible version of yourself. You cannot expect to progress if you never put in the
work. Since I was really into the subject, writing this essay was easy for me. Although this paper
was easy for me to write, some elements could still use some work. If I wrote this now, I would
expand on specific points while discussing the qualities needed and add a conclusion to the
essay. My fourth writing sample is a letter to the Chief Justice I wrote in this class. This paper is
a formal letter advocating that abortions should be legal. Doing the research for this paper was
my favorite part of the assignment. I learned so much that I was not already aware of. This
writing was also the first formal letter I had ever written, so it prepared me for this essay. I
selected this as my last artifact because it is by far the best piece I have written. It truly
showcases what I am capable of when it comes to writing.

I have always been a pretty literate person. Since I was very young, my mom worked with me in
every way possible to improve my literacy. She would sit down with me every night and read to
or with me. She also made me work on tons of reading and writing workbooks. Her doing this
with me helped me become the student I am today. Until high school, I was ahead of most of my
classmates in reading. Sadly, my love for reading lessened during middle school and a bit of high
school. I always felt like I was too busy or I had better things I could be doing, which was very
far from the truth. Luckily, my sophomore year, I got back into it, and now, every free chance I
have, I read my book. My development as a literate person has helped my growth in writing
tremendously. To write efficiently, you must understand the meaning and tone of the words you
are using. Reading so many people's books has helped me gather ideas for some of my writings.

If I could have a writing toolbox for every time I write an essay, I would include an ideal outline
format customized to each essay type. Every time I take the time to curate an outline for my
writing, it always comes out more promising and is much easier to put together. In the beginning,
my writing process could have been considerably more thought-through. I would start my rough
draft immediately without thinking about how I planned to organize my points. Doing this made
it so much harder to get the flow going. My writing process has not evolved in that many ways,
but it has changed in that aspect. Now, before writing my essays, I always spend a reasonable
amount of time putting together an organized outline.

As a writer, I have many strengths and weaknesses. My writing strengths include good grammar
and having a clear order of my ideas. In my writings, I always ensure that they are precise and
easy for readers to understand. By confirming my grammar is correct, my papers are more likely
to be understood how I intended them to be. Having a clear order of my ideas in my writings
allows my ideas to flow logically and support my thesis. However, my weaknesses include
procrastination and struggling to get my words out. My worst habit is waiting until the very last
second to start an assignment. When I do this, I cannot truly put my all into it and end up
stressing myself out. I have been working on fixing this, though. Struggling to get my words out
is a big downfall when writing. I always know what I want to say and how I mean it, but it is
challenging to express them correctly.

Looking into the future, I do not think I will pursue a career that includes a large amount of
writing. However, I will eventually have to write some Items. While reflecting on my past
writings, I realize I must still address some aspects of my writing, including working on the
transitions between my paragraphs. When I write my essays, I could improve at ensuring the
transitions are smooth and go together. If I have any writings in my future career, they will be
research. Thankfully, this class has shown me some tips and helped me learn how to find
appropriate research. Before, I needed to improve at finding research that covered the topic. I
would say that because of this class, I feel incredibly prepared for any writing that is thrown my
way.

In conclusion, this reflective journey through my writings has been very informative. I have
recognized my growth and realized where I need to improve. I am highly grateful for everything
you have taught me this semester. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my
letter. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me. My name is
Ryleigh Greenwell, and my email is RGree086@students.noc.edu.

Sincerely,

Ryleigh Greenwell