Kate Curless

Ms. Winter
British Literature, Period 2
11 May 2016
Writing Portfolio Introduction
I have two short stories included in my writing portfolio. My first short story is The
Golden Boy, which I wrote as a metaphorical story for solitude. It was important to write to me
because I considered it a short story somewhere between the story of my brother and the story of
me. Seeing my brother break out of his shell at college gives me hope that I will be able to do the
same thing. My second short story is Grendel: a Beowulf short story, which I wrote for class. I
am very happy with these short stories as both of them allowed me to use my creativity and I
could use the range of my artistic writing abilities without having to tamper my creativity in
order to fit a literary template.
I have also included five essays in my writing portfolio. The first essay is a literary
analysis essay written in my senior year discussing the relationship between Victor Frankenstein
and his creation. I included this one because the relationship between them was very fascinating
to read and I enjoyed being able to analyze it. The second essay is a literary analysis essay
written in my junior year discussing the greed exemplified by the Reverend Parish in The
Crucible. The Crucible was interesting to read as the darker themes were much more dramatic
than some of the other texts we had to read. Analyzing the greed in a character that was supposed
to be the epitome of purity was extremely fun. I also included this essay to show how my writing
skills have improved since then. My third essay is a comparative essay I wrote in my senior year
about the different kinds of heros, focusing specifically on Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the

Green Knight. The contrast between the two characters but how they were both defined as heroes
in their own right was very interesting to compare in my essay. My fourth essay is a literary
analysis discussing the progressive roles of women seen in Macbeth. As a feminist, it was very
interesting to see how William Shakespeare wrote his female characters and how they defied the
social norms of the time. My final essay is a comparative essay contrasting the Victorian roles of
women in numerous Victorian texts and Dorian Gray from The Picture of Dorian Gray. Again, it
was interesting to read and compare the social expectations for the different sexes and analyze
the expectations for both genders and how they have changed over time.
Lastly, I have two lab write-ups in my senior portfolio. The first one is my cardiovascular
lab write-up that I wrote in my physiology and anatomy class in junior year. The class was
rigorous, challenging, and one of my favorite classes to date. My cardiovascular lab write-up was
one of my highest graded write-ups and learning about the heart and its functions was very
interesting. My second lab write-up is a card trick lab from my senior year in my sociology class.
The teacher had proposed we play a card game, the details of which are in the write-up, and the
social implications that the card game had were very interesting to me.
My reading has become more broadened since my freshman year. During my freshman
year, my favorite books were The Harry Potter series and the Percy Jackson series. Now my
favorite books include George Orwells 1984, Animal Farm, Frankenstein, and World War Z. Not
only has my literary outlook been broadened, but it has also been matured. My writing has
evolved to be more analytical over the past four years. In my freshman year, I did not enjoy
writing essays because I did not enjoy having to pick apart books as opposed to just reading and
enjoying them. Since then, I have grown to enjoy looking for hidden meanings in texts and being

able to critique and compare great works. Mainly, thanks to my past english teachers, by
enjoyment of writing and my access to good literature has been greatly broadened.
I have found that making bulleted outlines greatly help me with planning an essay.
Putting the bones of my essay down and fitting what needs to go where greatly helps me
organize my thoughts for when I need to add quotes and commentary. When I make outlines, it
also becomes much easier to see where I need to put more commentary or take away from parts
of the essay that are too big. Another strategy that helps me with writing well-rounded essays is
asking as many people as possible to read my rough draft. Having people such as teachers,
friends, or parents can be extremely helpful in writing essays because sometimes thoughts do not
translate onto paper in a way that is clear. Having alternate opinions can also help smooth out an
essay.
One realization that has come from my writing is that I have been told that I am very
talented at quote integration. I am very passionate about literature and I love reading, so quote
integration comes very naturally to me seeing as you are taking text from a book, play, or the
likes thereof and placing it within an essay The quotes within the essay are the solid facts that
you build the commentary around and frame your ideas on, so I am pleased with how well my
quote integration has matured.
I have read many books during my time at El Dorado High School, but one book that had
a positive influence on me was In the Time of the Butterflies. The political, social, familial,
racial, and religious strains that the characters had to face was beautifully well-written and the
fact that the story is based on true events involving the rule of Fidel Castro was the cherry on top.
Not only was it great to read a book where the protagonists were women, it was also great to see
the darker tones and how it only made the characters stronger. The sisters in the book were given

such complexity and depth, and to see them fighting for what they believed in only solidified my
belief to fight back in times of need. In the Time of the Butterflies is a great book that I would
recommend.
Something that I would like to improve on is my commentary and being able to tie it
back to my thesis. I can sometimes become too invested in my explanations within my essays as
to why I used a certain quote or why I referenced a specific character, and I seem to forget to tie
it back to my thesis. This can make writing good and intriguing commentary particularly difficult
for me.