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Donte Washington
Professor Ingram
August 1 2015
A Glance of Satisfaction
Why does my E-Portfolio look like that?
When I started my E-Portfolio I had one question in mind which was "How can I make this fun
and innovative at the same time?" I have a tendency to have many ideas when given the freedom
on a project. I have a urge to create something that everyone can look at and say "that looks nice,
I wish I could do that, why doesn't my E-Portfolio look like that?" When we first got this project
I didnt have anything to do and I was going to make my portfolio dull and boring. I later found
out that I could compare this to Architecture by designing something for an end product. I
wanted my E-Portfolio to be fun to look at and easy to navigate.My goal is to create a portfolio
that is appealing to the eye as well as engaging to the reader. I have utilized all of my
technological skills to make a website that is compatible in many functions. It is easy to navigate
and pleasing to the eye. I've implemented different colors that complement each other in order to
make the reader feel comfortable. I placed bolded words and icons on the important buttons and
titles in order for the reader to quickly scan what they need to know.
What are these things in my Portfolio?
Everything in my portfolio is something that has contributed to my learning in this class. I can
honestly say that I've learned more in the few weeks in UWRT than I have learned in my entire
high school career. My very first writing in the class was a reflection of literacy. I dont think

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that I did a good job on that at all. I feel as though I didnt clearly communicate the ideas that I
was trying to relay, and this was a red light for improvement. I was blind in terms of the level of
intensity I would have to attempt to put forth. I literally typed the paper in MLA format with five
paragraphs because thats what I thought good writing was. I was weighed down with different
forms of rubrics to guide how I was able to write. I quickly disregarded that and moved on to my
self reflective essay. My main goal in that was to make it descriptive in a way that one could
picture themselves in the scene; I failed horribly at this task. But with the feedback I made it into
a pretty solid piece of writing. One of my more sophisticated writings would be my portrait of a
writer essays. This is because I wasnt making an essay about myself in general, it was about me.
This caused me to go into analytical mode and find out qualities within me, I'm glad I included
the comparison of my first draft next to my last because It shows show much I've actually
changed it; even though I was thinking feedback wasnt going to help me. I think that one of the
most helpful things I could receive is feedback. I never know how I could make a piece of
writing better after I have re-read it and checked it a few times. I need someone else's opinion to
clarify what I'm saying is understandable.
Has my writings improved at all?
I think my writing has grew past the cave that it was trapped in and is now exited at the
opportunity to explore. I could honestly say that I wouldnt of wrote the same things that I had
written if I had not gone through the readings and lectures that I have received. I find myself
excited at the next prompt I am attempting to compose because I have the opportunity to utilize
my past skills to add to the essay. I feel as though it is impossible to get worse at writing at the
pace I am going. I remember Mrs. Ingram saying "These quotes are good, it helps us understand
what your thinking." And I thought this is exactly what I want my readers to experience so I

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should do this more. That was one of the best pieces of advice I took because I felt like with
using that, I could relay a message without worrying if they would understand. Another eye
opener would be when I wrote my self reflective essay. I thought It was one of the best things I
had ever wrote and that it was the most detailed thing I could of done in life. I later figured out
that it was the most descripted and clearest thing in the world... to me. My audience let me know
that there were many parts of the essay that were unclear to them and that opened my eyes to "If
something is clear as day to me, I could be trying to look through a mirror that only reflects my
thoughts."
How did I use the Key Concepts?
Critical thinking- I have found that my critical thinking skills have improved immensely during
my time in UWRT. I pay attention to a lot more things now that I would of in high school. One
of the areas that this has affected the most is my peer review. I used to simply look over a paper
and correct all the grammatical errors I found. I thought this was appropriate because we would
never put that much effort into grading a paper if we attempted peer review in high school. This
was the normal way of doing things. I later found out that it is not all about grammatical errors.
This was explained to us on the first day of UWRT. At the beginning, I thought it would be one
of the hardest things to do when it came to judging someone else's paper and making opinions
about it. I also didnt want to hurt the persons feelings if my reviews came off harsh. Fortunately,
when I opened my mind to think about things other than grammar it was easier to analyze their
paper. I started looking at key concepts and main ideas that helped the reader consider alternative
ways to communicate a message. It makes me feel accomplished when I can influence someone's
opinion using my judgement so I try my best to read everyone's paper as if I was to receive the
grade of completion.

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Independent inquiry & curiosity- I have found myself compromising to the many theories of
writing. I used to simply write because I was told to or it was necessary at the moment, not to
express my opinion. These writings have forced me to re-evaluate "what is my opinion?" I have
also started asking myself "what is the purpose of me writing this?" I think these are really
important questions to ask yourself because it gives your paper a greater meaning. If you just
simply write without a motive then you are writing with invisible ink. When I write, I always
think of how my reader can understand something better or how can I organize this in a way that
is appealing to my reader. I'm always interested in how others perceive my writing because I
would have my own interpretation. Some of the things that I do are directly due to the fact that I
want to see how my reader will respond to it.
Responsibility for your own learning- Given that the topic is writing, I feel as though the
enhancement of learning is solely on the student. A teacher call tell you all day everyday that
what your doing is wrong but that wont help you in terms of making a good paper. The only way
to make a paper good is to write drafts and continuously edit them so that you can evaluate your
weaknesses. If you cant see your weaknesses you will stay in the hole that you are in. I feel as
though the student should check what they are writing and see if it makes sense. If you are going
to knock off all the advice then there is no point in doing it in the first place. I have leaned a lot
about my natural tendencies and have also became a better writer because I'm willing to change.
I dont think that the way I do things is always the right way. It's like what Mrs. Ingram said
"The only way to get better at something is to practice."
Getting out of your comfort zone- I think it is crucial to get out of your comfort zone in college.
It is obvious that this experience is completely different from what we did in high school. I
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think that college leaves us much room to stay in our comfort zone. I remember the first time I
attempted to write a paper in my high school ways, it was an interesting endeavor. I remember
my peers saying "This is way too long, It was hard to stay interested with all the information
coming at me." This was the first I had ever thought of how the reader might view my writings in
regard to time. With the amount of freedom we have it is natural to be scared to venture out into
the unknown but that's the beauty in writing.
The writing process & revision- Revising the paper is one of the focal points in writing. I used
to be the one to believe that I could write a paper and then be done with it. This process helped
me a little but some of my best papers in time were when I took the time to revise the piece. The
main reason I didnt take the time to make multiple drafts was because I didnt think the teacher
would read the paper and appreciate the effort I put into it. I feel that with college my efforts will
not be overlooked. It is as if I am polishing a gem; the more I polish it the more valuable it is.
Providing & receiving feedback- My feedback skills have gotten better over time. I used to be
very timid in regards to how I gave feedback because I felt as if I was limited. I didnt think it
was my place to tell someone what to put in their paper. I later realized that I can suggest my
opinions and if they dont agree with it I cannot feel some type of way. I have also felt that I
should look at feedback in a way that they think it would enhance my paper. And why wouldnt I
want to enhance my paper? I think it is impossible to give bad feedback because that is simply
how the person feels about that paper. The more opinion the better because then your paper will
appeal to a wider audience. If you dont receive the opinions then the paper is really just for you.
Making connections- I find myself making connection on a low level. I dont do it as much as I
would like. I have noticed that when I am on social media I am more conscious about how I want

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my audience to perceive my text. I also try to analyze how people are based off their language in
social media. I still need to further my activity in making sure that my writing skills are used for
more features.
Intellectual growth & maturity- I do feel as though I am growing as a writer. My writings are
more mature in a way that is comprehended to all the senses. I try to make my writings
sophisticated but not too stiff. My style of writing was already mature from the beginning of high
school so I find it harder to grow. Some of the things that I need to work on is toning down the
level of intensity of my writing in order to make it more relatable. I think I am continuously
expanding my knowledge on writing with every word I type because it forces me to think about
multiple aspects of it.
Multi-modality of print & digital texts- I am not good in this area. I would like to be better at
this but it extremely out of my comfort zone. I dont feel like adding extras to my paper will look
right to me. I am used to the traditional style of things. I have tried on multiple occasions to jazz
up my essays but have ultimately failed. I am working on planning my writings in a way that is
creative and easier. I do believe that this style of writing is helpful but I need to be taught how to
do it correctly. I feel as though there is a science to it that I am not understanding.
Rhetorical awareness- I am not sure how I utilize this skill to my best advantage. I am still in
the learning process of things and have not put much attention into rhetorical awareness. This is
something that I think is useful in writing but not completely necessary. I may as well be doing it
but I cannot say for sure.
What grade do I deserve?

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I think I should obtain an A. Not an A+ because I feel as though I could of done better on some
things. I feel as though this class is the first time I can say I've put one hundred percent into
improving my writings for me. I usually do something to satisfy someone else but I did
everything because I wanted to further myself. The grade is just a bonus for doing something that
I thought was, more or less, fun.