A Brief Commentary on My Portfolio This portfolio shows the evolution of my writing process.

Beginning with my audio narrative which was a single-draft work of fiction it moves forward, finishing with my nicely outlined and researched TED talk script. This portfolio shows how this class has augmented my organization and research skills. Even moving from the research paper to the TED talk which I based off of it my research improved. Me TED talk was a second shot for me to attempt to narrow the field of my research and I believe I was successful. This portfolio shows that I am far more comfortable in writing freely, as with the audio narrative script, than in an analytical manner, like the rhetorical analysis. My ability to use rhetoric to express my ideas and prove a point has been greatly assisted by this course. In the rhetorical analysis my essay was weakly constructed with a swiss-cheese argument. I have a hard time keeping a logical analytical flow when I am writing analytically and I often find my claims hard to support. This was the case with the rhetorical analysis but moving forward to the research paper I believe my ability to make a logical argument in a rhetorical manner became sounder. The best evidence for this evolution is the script for my TED talk. Although I was no Cyrano when I delivered the talk, I believe my script illustrates a wellthought-out argument that is rhetorically sound. I had to develop better research and critical thinking skills as the class progressed. The research paper and TED talk were my biggest obstacles because I never know what information to look for. This stems from my difficulty with narrowing the focus of my topic. Once I was able to do this, the research process became much easier. The analytical aspect of the course was less challenging but still tried me harder than the freedom of the audio narrative. Learning about the rhetoric used in different forms of media has helped me become more analytical and has aided me in my writing. Before this class I lacked an appreciation for the presence of rhetoric in various forms of media. I was blinded by the conventional screen of conversation and literature; convinced that rhetoric could only be present in particular forms of media. This class helped me gain a greater understanding of numerous types of media while also teaching me how to use said media in my day-to-day life. By focusing on a variety of unique projects this course kept me engaged and required that I devote more of my focus to the projects I was undertaking. The purpose of the audio narrative was to start the class off outside of the students comfort zone while also introducing a unique form of media. The rhetorical analysis allowed the class to analyze the rhetoric of something other than a book and provided students an opportunity to show what they had learned about the rhetoric of sound from the audio narrative. The research essay forced the students to find their own subject to analyze which caused them to write a paper and create an argument using rhetoric. The TED talk was a combination of all the previous assignments, which brought everything together. My favorite project is my audio narrative. I believe it high lights my ability to put my thoughts on paper and to create a story that fits an assignment while also having a significant underlying meaning. Although this work highlights my strengths, it does not show my growth.

The evidence for this is in my TED talk. While the audio narrative was a work of fiction the TED talk is based entirely in reality and the rhetoric used is by my design. This shows an evolution from my one-dimensional creative writing former self to an analytical, multi-media literate, future self.