Jaylon M.

Smallwood
July 27, 2015
UWRT 1101

Allow Me to Sketch You an Image

Im lost I going to be late for class. This isnt the best way to start off the first
day. When I finally found my way into my UWRT class, I thought I wasnt going to
know anything for a moment. Well I guess I proved myself wrong because through the
course of the class Ive come out knowing a lot more than I did going in. I found out; I
agree with Joe Antinarella on his Dont Tell Me What to Write essay when he said,
its crucial that transactional and mechanical writing not dominate the way in which the
students write I also agreed with Donald A. McAndrew point of view of teaching
students based more on form than the traditional content of writing because as he stated
in his That Isnt What We Did in High School essay, you have a great chance to
improve your writing ability, but as I stated in my literature response to Mr.
McAndrew, I believe there should be a balance. However these two pieces of writing
helped me gain a better understanding of college curriculum in UWRT and my other
courses. I have also found Im not the only person who still uses the oxford comma in
the world. In a discussion over grammar, I found Ms. Ingram also uses the oxford
comma. Its a rule which has no real write or wrong, she said. I was happy about this
because I use it all the time. I now feel more comfortable using oxford comma. And in
Sh**** First Drafts by Anne Lamott, I also learned how the first draft to a paper doesnt
have to made of gold, but can a little terrible and laughable in the beginning. Because it

is just the beginning. As Ms. Lamott put it from her article, Very few writers really
know what they are doing until theyve done it
When you begin sketching the first thing you have to do is to put down a line.
This line is the foundation of your sketch. It has no true direction or style yet until its
joined by other lines. My growth in writing could be seen in the same way. As I wrote my
introduction statement, I am strong with concepts, ideas, and sentence structure. My
writing is weak mostly in punctuation and some grammar. Like the first line of the
sketch I see my concepts, idea and sentence structure as being strong because nothing
has really come to challenge it. And, like most people I see my main concerns as being
punctuation and grammar because those are the only flaws I saw in my writing. But
when it came to writing my first Literacy Narrative draft, the first line I sketched was
already being challenged by another. I had never truly written a personal paper before. I
had always found a way to work around it, but in my literacy essay I couldnt. For
example, . I was being pushed by my classes and myself to advance my literature, but I
was causing myself to become a loner in the process. In this ending sentence in my
fourth paragraph, I try to carry the same structure I learned in high school into my
personal paper. Its a personal paper! Summarization isnt truly important, youre not
trying to generalize the events in your life, but instead make them stand out in your
work. Even though I notice this in my first draft when I get to third draft of my literacy
narrative the tone and mood of my writing is no longer me. It is lost in the detail and the
strong endings and beginnings I try to add to it. To show an example, The birds
singing along with the branches, my glasses which probably felt bent, but I was sure was
o.k, and the noise of the people around me which I became accustomed to. Everything

was where it was supposed to be. In this listing it sounds as if I know everything of my
surrounding to the point of when I look back on it I didnt even see me in the writing. I
kept adding detail because I felt, it was what the reader wanted. But, what I needed to
remember is just because the reader suggest something doesnt truly mean it will work
for my writing. In my portrait of a writer essay, I was able to see my voice in the writing.
To give an example, I was studious and punctual with getting my work done and
completed in class while also ensuring it was something which would catch the teachers
attention. In this sentence I didnt exaggerate the event. There was no grandeur, nor
emphasis to it; I was simply telling my story, the real story. And as I write this essay I
hope Im able to keep my voice in it.
After all the lines have been fully sketch and everything is where it should be; you
now have to clean up the image to ensure they align correctly with one another. In
writing you could call knowing key concepts as cleaning the lines in a sketch. When it
comes to the key concepts there were 3 important concept which helped my writing as a
whole and in the development of it.
First, multi-modality of print & digital texts
To be honest, I had never really used any strong form of multimodality or digital text in my writing. I normally followed the five
paragraph format in most my papers, so when I started
experimenting with multi-modality it was strange. I experimented
the most with multi-modality and digital text in my portrait of a
writer essay. In The beginning I bolded and colored different

words to catch the readers attention, but I found this was

distracting for the reader instead of helping for the reader. So, I
experimented:
First, Making paragraphs different colors.
Second, Underlining, bolding, and coloring key word and
ideas.
Third, Making List.
In experimenting, I found these three different styles worked well
for me in my portrait essay. It cached the readers attention, and
held it through throughout the paper. Through the writing of the
paper Id become more comfortable with the concept of multimodality and digital text.
Next, Getting out of my comfort zone
Before coming to UNC Charlotte I was use to writing more research
formal papers and articles. So, when I came to class, and we focused
more on personal writing; I was somewhat out of my element. In
the beginning, it was a little difficult for me to go through the
process of writing a personal paper, but know Ive figured out how
to use the methods I learned for forming a research paper for my
personal essays. First Ill create a flow order in my head which tells

me which sub topics transition best together. Then in my

paragraphs, Id create supporting and topic sentences throughout
the paragraph to explain new information. After everything is done,
Ill do an information check on what I wrote. So, Ill have to reflect
on the event on my paper to make sure none of the information was
forced, exaggerated, or lacking in an area. This allows me to move
out of what I was condition to, and explore different styles.
Last, Providing & receiving feedback
Feedback was new to me this semester, at least feedback which
wasnt focused on grammar and punctuation. I had to learn how to
review peoples paper with advice and recommendations instead of
saying, This should be changed to In the workshops with my
peers; Ive been working on giving good and strong
recommendations as well as compliments on the work theyve done.
When it comes to receiving feedback I try to alter my work to what
people advise of me as much possible. But if the recommendation
or advice asks for too much or sacrifices a key part of my writing I
will have to ignore it. So, when I give feedback I want to make sure
it is something which will either help the writer or make them think
on their writing. As I receive feedback on my writing I listen
carefully to what is being advised to me and I try to make strong
and smart decisions based on them.

These three key concept have helped me to define and renew my writing style during the
course of the class. It has also helped me improve on my key concept skills.
Before you can enjoy a sketch you have to decide will it be left in black in white or
remastered in color. And, I think a little color would do some good. From beginning of
the first line to the cleaning; It has all comes together to form one image. And so be it,
my e-portfolio would just happen to be that image. I designed my portfolio with bright
calming colors: Blue, Purple, and White. My e-portfolio is filled with many of my
different sketches I have done through the years. This helps for me to show my
creativity, and style to the reader. I have created well defined and easily seeable
captions, so reader will always be able to find their way around the site. The e-portfolio
is divided into three sections:

Portfolio
The Portfolio contains my three essay papers: The
Literacy Narrative, The Portrait of a Writer, and The
Final Portfolio Essay. It also contains OIP or Other
Important Papers. The summaries I did in English
magazine class, one of the class warm-ups, and my
reader response letter for chapter 14 and 15 from
Writing: Essays by Teachers and students is in OIP.
These papers are together because some were the
main focus of my work during the course while others
helped me develop my writing style.

Blog
My blog, well is my blog. It holds all the blog post I
did throughout the course while also containing my
Midterm post.

H.A.C.
H.A.C. stands for Home, About Me, and Contact.
These are the extra pages on my portfolio. My home
page is the central navigation screen for my portfolio.
It having a quote from Leonard Bernstein, and
express links to my FPE, Midterm, and portfolio on it.
About me is just a short paragraph on myself, and
contact is just a need to get in touch page. I kept these
pages on my Portfolio to give difference from what
was done before and being done in the class.
In these different sections, I have provide large amounts of explanation for each of my
artifacts as well as places of reflection for the reader. Overall, I want the reader to be
able to get to know me, and the effort I put into all my work.

In my e-portfolio have included artifacts which have contributed to my growth as

a writer. Even though this is a UWRT course I have included work from my English
course. I included these summaries because of how I had to summarize information, I
received from the people. Then I had to formulate the information in a way which was
respectful to the person who was interviewed. In my portfolio I also included 2
feedbacks and one self-revise sheet of my Portrait essay because I spent the most time
working on this essay than my others, so the feedback I received and the look over I did
was very important to me. I also have the outlines of my FPE and literacy narrative in
my portfolio because in those essays I was more concerned with how paragraphs would
flow so I made outlines to guide me through the process. Also, I included my RRL on
chapters 14 and 15 because I liked the ideas the writers presented for affective ways to
write and get through college.
How do you go about asking for a grade? Well Im not really asking, but more as
persuading why I deserve a certain grade. To begin, my e-portfolio has all required
material and is easily navigable and organized properly. In This essay I have displayed
my growth as a writer through the course of the class, and I have discussed how three of
the key concepts have affected me through the course of the class. I have shown my
engagement is my essays by giving thoughtful quotes from different writer work to show
my understanding of the material. To conclude, I believe my e-portfolio leaves the
reader well informed and left without questions. Hence, looking over the quality of my
work, and what I have done; I believe my paper deserves an A. I determined this by
the requirements my e-portfolio has met and the creativity and difference of the
portfolio I present.