Dear Reader,

During the early years of my education, I absolutely despised writing. With my natural talents
lying in math and science, I did not possess the originality and creative flair that good writing
entails. There were no methodical formulas or theorems that could help me produce a brilliant
essay; I had to be innovative on my own. Convinced that I didnt have a right brain, I began
seeing my freshman English teacher after school in order to improve my writing skills. With her
guidance and my unwavering perseverance, I began producing more complex and engaging
works that empowered me to excel in the class. Writing was no longer a necessary chore, but a
creative outlet that ultimately shaped me into a well-rounded student and individual. My
experience in this writing seminar, The Roman Arena, has shown me that I do not have to
abandon my logical thinking in exchange for creativity. In fact, this course has shown me how to
synthesize these two elements to write a powerful essay. The contents of this portfolio display
how I have developed an understanding of dynamic writing and how I have demonstrated such
growth in my most recent works.

The baseline document in this portfolio is a literary analysis essay I wrote in senior year, and I
feel that it perfectly exemplifies my writing skills prior to this course. In this essay, I used textual
evidence, symbolic interpretation, and creative reasoning to effectively support my proposition.
While revisiting this baseline document, I noticed that some of my reasons and evidence slightly
deviated from the main assertion in my proposition. I received comments on this exact issue
from my peers on the earlier drafts of my midterm essay. Having this mistake brought to
attention, while also discovering it on my own, allowed me to eliminate it from my writing and
further improve the quality of my work. In the final draft of my midterm essay, I ensured that
all of my reasoning directly supported my proposition and my overall justificatory argument.

In addition to using more relative evidence, this course taught me how to write more articulate
and concise sentences. I sometimes used overly-complex and ornate language in my baseline
document, distracting the reader from the main reasoning in my sentences. Though using
advanced vocabulary often enhances ones writing, it can have detrimental effects if used
excessively or incorrectly. In order to make more effective and assertive statements, I simplified
my flowery language in areas that I thought were necessary.

Overall, this writing seminar has been one of the most enriching experiences I have had in my
educational career. Not only has it helped me to grow as student, but it also fostered my
passion for writing and creative thinking. I hope I was able to demonstrate this to you in my
portfolio.

Best,
Briella Meglio