LawrenceJ.

Kaskon
English1101074
Ingram
November5,2014

EPortfolio:TheFinalFrontier

Imnotgoingtolie,Ihavealwaysenjoyedwritingforthemostpart.Ihavehad
goodyearsandbadyearsasfarasmyproductivitygoes.Ivelackedinspirationand
ideasinthepast.However,nottokissass,butlookingbackonmycreationsandmy
personalaccomplishments,IfeelasifIhavereachedanewlevelofwritinginthisclass.
Withtheprojectsthatwereassigned,ItrulylookbackatthemandrealizejusthowfarI
wasabletopushmyceiling.IfeellikeIrosetooccasion,withthisbeingmyfirst
opportunitytoleaveanimpactincollege,andIwasabletocreatesomeofmybest
workeverinthisclass.IfeelasifIhavesurpassedmyselfineveryfieldandIplanon
onlyimprovingfromhereonout.Butfornow,allowmetoreflectonmywork.
Thedecorationofmyeportfoliocanbedescribedasfunandentertaining,at
leastthatiswhatIwasattemptingtoachieve.Iwantedtoviewertoimmediatelybe
capturedbythevisuals.Asfarasmygeneralorganizationgoes,asIwasgeneratingmy
eportfolio,Icreatedalistofindividualtabsthatconsistofspecifictitlesofwhatyouwill
discoverwhenyouclickonthem.Iwantedtomakeitassimpleaspossibleforthe
viewertograspthelayoutandunderstandwhereeverythingis,inaratherelementary

manner.IevenutilizeddifferentmodesofcommunicationsoIcouldappealtoalltypes
ofviewers.Iincludeddifferentpicturesineachofmytabs,tokeepafresh,neverdull,
feeltomyeportfolio.Onthehomepage,abovemyFinalPortfolioEssay,(thispuppy
righthere)IinsertedsomecaptionsportrayingtotheURLofmysite.Ievenincludedan
interactivebutton,tokeepthingsinteresting.Thisbuttontakesyoutoavideothat,
again,regardstomyURL.Idecidedtoincludethisduetooriginality.Iwantedtohave
somethingspecialshowcasedinmyeportfoliothatwouldstandout.Iampleasedwith
thefinalresultofmydecision.
Inotonlyfeelthatmywritinghassteadilyimprovedsincethisclasshasstarted,
butIcanseeitinstarttofinishaseachindividualdraftprogresses.Datingbacktoour
firstessay,whenIwouldn'tfocusveryhardonsensorydetails.Asthesemester
progressed,Ibegantospendmoretimefocusingonpaintingavisualpicturesothe
readercouldbetterunderstandmystory.Ibegantowanttotakethereaderonthe
journeywithme,asopposedtopreviouslyonlywantingtotellthemthestory.Aprime
exampleofthisisinmyliteracynarrative,asIfirststeppedfootintotheESPNUoffice.
WhenIstatedthatIwaslikeakidinacandystore.MyeyeslitupandIwas
speechless.Ididntexplainwhymyeyeswerelightingup,Ijustassumedthereader
wouldunderstand.ThisiswhereImightilyimproved.Afterworkingwithsensorydetails,
IwentbacktothatdayandenvisionedthephysicalattributesIremembered.Myrevised
versionstatedAssoonaswewalkedin,Icouldhearthesoundoffingersearlyhitting
thekeysofthecomputers,asemployeeswereworkingdiligentlyandthedifferent
conversationslingeringintheair.Myeyeswerestolenbythefifteen40inchtelevisions

Ihadpaintedadeepermoredetailedpictureforthereader.Ifollowedupbysaying
Fourhadcollegefootball,twohadtennis,threehadgolf,fourhadnascar,andtwohad
mypersonalfavorite,basketball.Myfavoriteteam,theMiamiHeat,wereplayinginthe
TDGarden,locatedinBostonMassachusetts.Ihadfurtherlearnedfrommymistakes
andfromthispointon,Ihadadditionallyincludedfarmoresensorydetailinallofmy
followingessays.
Ialsohaveseenimprovementinusingspokendialogue,toagain,makethe
readerfeelliketheywerelivingmyexperience.Inmyliteracynarrative,Ihaddeclared
thatTomLuginbillinformedmethatonceIamofage,hewillpersonallygetmeaspot
asaninternsoIcancontinuetoenhancemyliteracyandlearnfromtheactualanalysts
andcommentators.Isawthisasaperfectopportunitytoincludespokendialogueto
furtherenhancetheexperienceforthereader.Aftertheediting,Ifinishedwith(Tom)
lookedatmeandsaidLJ,onceyoureoldenough,Iwillpersonallydoallthatisinmy
powertogetyouaspotasaninternonthisteam.
Asformyengagementwithkeyconcepts,IrealizedthatIwasresponsibleformy
ownlearning.Itookituponmyselftostudyandtakeextratimetoimprove.Iwantedto
bethebestthatIcouldbe.IcanonlydothisifIamfullyengagedandhavethedesireto
learnandgetbetter.Iwouldstayuptodatewiththecoursescheduleandreadevery
articlethatwasposted.Everythingwasturnedinontimeandcompletedtothebestof
myability.Ialsowasextremelyengagedwiththeentirewritingprocessandrevision
making.EachandeveryessayIhavewritteninthisclasscontainsfourseparate
updates.IwouldusethefeedbackIhadreceivedoneachdrafttorevisemyprevious

creationuntilIhadarrivedattheperfectessay.Eachdraftwouldbecomebetterwiththe
timeIhadputforth.IhadunderstoodthatifitwasntfortheincrediblefeedbackIhad
received,Iwouldn'thavebeenabletoadaptandrevisemypaperstothelevelIhave.
Withthisbeingsaid,itmademewanttogivethatleveloffeedbackback.Mypartner
alwaysgavemethemostusefulfeedback,liketellingmebreakupparagraphstomake
iteasierforthereadertounderstand.andfocusmoreonspokendialogue.Thesetips
wouldhelpmeremembertonotonlyimprovethesepointsinmycurrentessay,but
remembertoincludetheminfutureessaysaswell.SoIwouldreturnthefavortomake
theirpaperasgoodasitcouldpossiblybe.Iwoulddothisbycarefullyreadingover
theirdraftsandgivingthebestadvicetohelpimprovethemasawriter.
Forme,Ihavebenefittedmorefrommyfirstcollegewritingclassthananyofmy
previoushighschoolclasses.Ilearnednewwritinghabitssuchas,planningandlisting
outsensorydetails.Withthisbeingsaid,IfeellikewhatIhavegotoutofthisclassisa
directexampleastojusthowmuchIputin.Youonlyreceiveasmuchasyouputinand
IamwillingtosayIcreatedsomeofmyfinestworkinthisclass.Noassignmentwas
evertardyandIputforthmyfulleffortintoeverythingIplacedmynameon.Thisisan
extremelybiasedview,ofcourse.Nevertheless,Iamextremelyproudofmyworkinthis
classandIdobelievethequalityreflectsthat.IfIwouldhavetoputagradenexttomy
nameinthisclass,itwouldbeanA(90100).Ineverunderachievedandalwaysshot
forthestars.


RequiredArtifacts

FPEfinaldraft
Myfinalportfolioessaygavemeanopportunitytogobackandreflectonallof
mycreationsinthisclass.Ilearnedalotaboutmyselfandbeingabletolookbackatall
oftheassignmentsasawhole,IseethatthishasbeenmymostproductiveEnglish
classinquitesometime.Asfarasmyfinaloutputandqualityofworkgoes.Ihave
neverbeenaspleasedwithmyfinaldraftsasIhavebeeninthisclass.
Blog
Keepingupwithablogthissemesterwassomethingthatwasbrandnewtome.I
wasveryfamiliarwithblogs,butIhadneveractuallycreatedone.OneofmyquestionsI
askedinmyfirstpostwasIsthestandardfiveparagraphformatacceptable.Iquickly
learnedIcouldbemorecreativewithmyformatting.Thisopenedmanynewdoorsfor
measawriter.Blogsaremoreopinionated.Withthisbeingthecase,Itookadvantage
ofthat.Comingfromhighschool,everythingisfactuallyrelatedforthemostpart.Here,I
gottoshowcasemywritingwhenitcametoopinions.Ilovedthisnewfoundadmiration
forblogsandIlookforwardtocontinuingsomeinthefuture.
Midterm
MymidtermallowedmetotakeastepbackandlookatwhereIstood.Iwasable
toevaluatemypreviousblogpostsandmademetakeastepoutsidemycomfortzone
inmywriting.Thisturnedouttoactuallybecomeoneofmystrengths.Ilookedatmy

revisionsofdraftsandsawthemonumentalleapsthatcamefromdraftonetotwo.I
learnedhowhelpfulrevisionsareandjusthowusefultheycanbewhenitcomestoyour
finaldraft.
PortraitofaWriterfinaldraft
Withthisassignment,Iwasgiventhechancetoevaluatemyselfasawriter.
SomethingIhadn'tdonebefore,butwaseagertoexperiencethebenefitsthiscould
bring.Iwasabletodivefurtherintomystrengthsandweaknessesasawriter.Ialso
learnedmoreaboutmyself.Withthisessay,Icontinuedtoseemygrowthwhenitcame
towritingandIwasnotdisappointedwiththefinalproduct.
LiteracyNarrativefinaldraft
Myliteracynarrative,thefirstbigessayofmycollegiatecareer.ThisiswhereI
believeItookmybiggeststepasimprovingasawriter.Iwasabletobreakthebinding
highschoolchainsthatwouldlockdownmycreativity,andspreadmynewlyfoundwings
andsoar.ThefreedomIpossessedinthisassignmentgavemetheopportunitytoshow
whattalentsIhadasawriter.Itrackedmyliteracyandrememberedwhereitallstarted.
Inotonlylearnedhowtobecomeabetterwriter,butIwasremindedofthetaskathand,
howIwanttobecomeasportsbroadcaster.Thisessaygavememoremotivationto
chasemydream.

WritersChoiceArtifacts
ProcessWorkArtifacts

 Iincludedmybiggestleapofimprovementbetweendraftstoportrayjusthow
muchmorevitalmaterialIhadaddedtomyLiteracyNarrative.Thiswasmyfirst
timerevisingdraftoneandIwasabletoincludeuptothreeextrapagesof
materialintheseconddraft.
MysensorydetailslistshowsallofthespecificvisualsIrememberedfrommy
experienceattheESPNUoffices.Iselectivelyfitalltheappropriatedetailsinmy
seconddraft.ThisisoneofthereasonsIwasabletoaddsomuchextradetailin
myimprovementfromdraftonetotwo.
Myfirstdraftoftheportraitofawriteressaydoesnotnearlytakeasbigofajump
totheseconddraftasmyliteracynarrativedid,butIincludeditbecauseitstill
camealongway.HavingtoreaditoverasmanytimesasIdidwhenIwas
revisingit,Ibegantolikeitmoreandmore.Ilearnedsomuchaboutmyselfasa
writerandithassolidifieditselfasmyfavoriteessayfromthissemester.
MyMindMappinglistshowsapointinwhereIstatedandtheawfullyweird
processIusedtogettomyendingpoint.AlthoughIdidnotusemanyofthe
pointsonthemap,Iwasabletocreateawholeotherparagraphwiththematerial
Ididendupusingfromthis.Becauseofthismap,Icreatedmyfavorite
paragraphfrommyfavoriteessay.Nottoobadforaconfusingsketchymind
map.
FeedbackArtifacts
Thefeedbackthatmypartner,Normand,gavebacktomefrommyportraitofa
writeressaywasincludedbecausedetailwasbroughttomyattention.When

nothingelseiswrong,peoplelookatdetails.Withmyessaybeingfundamentally
sound,forthemostpart,Iwasabletofocusinonspecificdetails.Thismadefor
entertainingpointsandreferences.Iwasabletohavemorefunbyadding
interestingdetails.Flowcouldbeworkedalittlebetter.AfterIhadincluded
innerdetail,Ioverlookedmakingthewholestoryflow.Iwasabletogobackand
improvethisaspect,makingtheentireessayflowandjustfeelright.
Clearly,IincludedthefeedbackthatMs.Ingramgavebacktomeonmyliteracy
narrative.Ithinkthatmoreinnerdialogueandspokendialoguewilladd
interest..Theteacherobviouslyknowswhatsheistalkingabout,soItookheed
ofthepointersIwasgivenandsplashedinadoseofdialogue.Iincludedmore
spicesothereadercouldgetabettersenseofhowIfelt.Ialsowouldcombine
paragraphstogether.Workonbreakingbigparagraphsdownforyourreader.
Again,Itookadvantageofthiseditingopportunitytolearnfrommymistakesand
choppeddownmyparagraphsintosmallermorecleartopics.Imorphedwhat
wasonceweakpointsofmyessayintostrongflowingpointsofinterest.
WritersNotebookArtifacts
EventhoughIhadawiderangeofitemstochoosefrom,Iendedupchoosingmy
firstreaderresponseletter.Iwasstillgettingthehangofwhattheassignment
wasaskingfor,butIfeltlikeIwaslearningalongthewayanddoinganefficient
jobofit.Ibegantounderstandwhatquestionstoaskandtoanswer.Overall,i
enjoyedtheprocessandtheoutcome,whichiswhyIendedupincludingit.

 WithmeincludingmyfirsteverreaderresponseletterasoneofmyWriters
NotebookArtifacts,itwouldonlymakesenseformetoincludemylatestreader
responselettertoo.No,butthatisn'tthemainreasonIincludedthis.Idecidedto
usereaderresponseletterfivebecauseweweregiventhefreedomtochoose
anychapterwewanted.Freedomgoesalongwaywithme,andItookfull
advantagewiththisopportunity.IselectedachapterabouttheWritingCenter,in
whichIwasabletolearnalotmoreaboutit.Thisbenefittedmepersonally,
beyondtheactualassignment.
WildCards
Thisiswherethingscangetinteresting.Formyfirstwildcard,Iselectedan
essayIjustrecentlywroteformyLBSTLanguageclass.Itconsistsofa
LinguisticAutobiographyofme.IwantedtousethisasawildcardtoshowIhad
usedwhatIhadlearnedinthisclassandusedittocreatethisautobiographyin
anotherclass.Showingthatmyimprovementshavegonefurtherthanjustone
class.
Formyfinalwildcard,IchosetoincludemyreviewofTheRenaissanceFestival
formyAnthropologyclass.Thisassignmentallowedmetoreallypavemyown
pathwiththefreedomIhadbeengiven.IcouldchooseanythingIwantedand
writeareviewoftheculturesthatwerethereandmyexperience.Ilovedbeing
abletomakethesedecisions.Andagain,IdemonstratedthetechniquesIhad
obtainedinthisclasstocreatemyfinalproduct.