Liu 1

Purui Liu

Professor Justiss Burry

ENC1101

Reflections

This e-portfolio is a culmination of my work throughout the ENC 1101 Fall semester. In

ENC 1101, I acquired different threshold concepts and advanced writing skills such as

composing well-structured literature pieces and writing in a more explicit style.

I used to write quite loosely, which drives me off-topic at times. I was unable to express a

strong claim with the evidence to back it up. I did not realize how confusing my writing was to a

reader who doesnt know anything about me. So, word by word, I looked at my own writing, and

found out numerous illogical errors and missing definitions. In order to improve upon this

problem, rereading my own work has certainly helped me in a good way.

As for my writing habits, I usually write after midnight. I struggle to seek inspiration for

writing in the daytime, however, brainstorms strike out at night. Because it is quiet and dark, I

find myself concentrate on the work better. At the same time, I play the playlist called Piano in

the Background on my laptop while. Frankly, I do get disrupted when somebody texts me, thus

a lost train of thought is made. That is part of the reason I struggle with: writing within a

consistent theme. Recognizing this problem, I follow the provided structure outline for Task 2

and Task 3. The outcome is significantly better comparing to the ones without the outline. I

manage to follow a major thesis throughout more of my writing.

 Liu 2

In Task 3 I was able to support my writing goals throughout the paper by applying

concepts in Writing about Writing. Doing this allowed me to better consider, analyze, and learn

more about specific examples in my writing.

Figure 1

As shown in Figure 1, I explained the threshold concept of rhetorical appeals using Doug

Downs article with three distinct traits: pathos, ethos and logos. They did not make any sense to

me at the very start, however, by reading more on professional articles of studying about writing,

I finally acquired a grasp of the meaning of the concept and started to appreciate intelligent usage

of them. I incorporated the three elements in Task 3 in order to prove that Obamas response was

not only reasonable but also powerful.

 Liu 3

Figure 2

In Figure 2, concepts of rhetorical appeals were applied into Obamas rhetoric one by

one. Pathos, ethos and logos were built around texts I found within Obamas words. I considered

and analyzed each one of them, and realized the importance and competence of the concepts

being applied within the text. In this way, my goal of claiming supporting Obamas response

became clear and rational, thus reading and using scholarly texts supports my writing goals.

Based on feedbacks from professor Burry and classmates, I learned that I need to make

more explicit moves with relevant information to make a claim. In Task 1, I use the term

fragmented reading in the following text: Yet I do admit there is a huge problem with

fragmented reading especially with the popularization of mobile devices. Some hundred pieces

of information pop up even though I do not check on everything. Several advices are on how I

should explain the term fragmented reading first. Then I realize how important it is to use

explicit language in writing in this class. I would define fragmented reading as fast-paced

reading on the internet with very much unrelated information, usually on a mobile phone.
 Liu 4

As in Task 1, I employed style and tone appropriate to the demands of at least one

particular genre and situation in order to adapt to different writing contexts I need to address.

Figure 3

The goal of Task 1 was to personally reflect my literacies and what they mean for my

own writing. The pronoun I is being used many times in my writing, because this task was

based on my own experiences. In most academic writings, using the word I makes the writing

informal. However, this writing task is specifically about me, and using first person makes this

writing more credible. The threshold concept of using appropriate tones for different tasks was

difficult to understand at first, but after practicing writing with different styles helps me have a

better grasp. I also wrote in a more explicit tone through the writing process, which fits the

context of which I wrote about.