Midterm

Introduction:

In “Portfolio Keeping: A Guide for Students”, a portfolio is defined as a meaningful collection of selected artifacts or documents, collected over time and across interests. In particular, my goal is to create a process portfolio that can be transformed into a presentation portfolio by the end of the semester. My portfolio is a process indeed. Aside from being self-declared technologically impaired, the portfolio making process has been less than a breeze. There have been challenges and setbacks, both in the process portfolio keeping as well as in the writing assignments to go along with. However, overall I feel that, although I am struggling, I will triumph and reach my goal by the end of the semester.

Beginning with the challenges, I came in thinking I was a rather competent writer and this class would be a breeze. I soon found that to be completely inaccurate of an assumption.  I found myself struggling almost immediately and this is due to the type of writer I was accustomed to being. I have always been a science-based learner, and therefore the majority of my writing was just that: Black and white, Right or wrong, Fact or fiction. It was always clear the structure in which to write and exactly how to go about that. Just about every scientific paper is the same, introduction followed by a ton of factual findings and evidence to back up said factual evidence and a conclusion pulling it all together.

Rhetorical writing is so much harder. Never have I had to develop a personal letter that portrayed a certain storyline or reached certain goals; you can’t write a personal letter following the same structure as an academic essay. However, in allowing myself to be vulnerable and inexperienced I learned the right and wrong ways to write rhetorically, as well as the strategies and choices to make that would positively affect my academic performance. In doing so I became a better writer, rhetorically, and opened my horizons to the different types of writing persona’s I can adapt to.

Here you can see my uncertainty about entering the class as well as where I began the semester and with the mindset I explained above: Dear Instructor Letter

Here you can see my struggles within the class that I was experiencing as a result of allowing myself to forget what I knew about writing academically so as to learn to write rhetorically: Challenges Portfolio Post

One aspect of the class that really helped me in successfully grasping rhetorical writing was analytical reading. Reading with a critical lens on allowed me to better understand the subject I was reading and focus on what was important in writing responses to said readings. One example of rhetorically reading was in class examinations of pieces by Herbert, Thomas and King. (Scan in class notes here along with King’s critical notes).  

One of the biggest obstacles I faced in rhetorical writing was learning how to cite works properly so as to not plagiarize. The in-class handout that described to us what was considered plagiarism and what was not, as well as how to properly avoid it was extremely helpful. Here are my in class notes on how to properly cite different sources as well as the link to OWL at Perdue website where there are further instructions on how to cite:OWL Perdue MLA Citing. 

 These two sources combined with the plagiarism handout we went over in class allowed me to understand fully what plagiarism was and how to avoid it through proper citing and paraphrasing.

All of these aspects helped me grow and learn as a rhetorical reader and writer in this class, however I was still experiencing some difficulties. Perhaps the best way in which I learned just how to write appropriately for rhetorical purposes was through editing and revision. We had multiple in class peer review sessions for out major writing assignments. While this was helpful, I felt I needed something more critical to push me to question the decisions and choices I was making in my writing, When I went to the writing center for revision of my analytical review I got just that.

It was strange at first, I assumed she was going to read through my paper and tell me what to fix and I would be on my way. However, that was not the case. Instead, she would read and look at me and ask, “What is the purpose of this paragraph/section/sentence/word?” and after I responded to her she would then reply with, “Do you think this accomplishes what your purpose for it is?”. In doing so she was forcing me to make the decisions about the importance of words and phrases. She was forcing me to grade my choices and make new ones according to whether or not my first, second, or even third attempts were practical: 

These two revisions sessions helped me rethink my processes to writing and decision making strategies for rhetorical writing in the future. I personally revised this writing assignment here, putting into effect the strategies and decision making skills I have acquired throughout the course. (Insert revised piece).

As much as I have learned thus far in the art of rhetorical writing, I still have a long ways to go. I would like to practice my rhetorical writing skills so as to be able to write and accomplish the task at hand without any setbacks or major revisions necessary. I would like to become so good at rhetorical writing and strategies that I will one day be able to advise someone as lost as myself in the art of rhetoric.

Rubric:

1.     Well Developed

2.     Well Developed

3.     Well Developed

4.     Well Developed

5.     Developed/Needs Improvement

6.     Developed/Well Developed

Dear Instructor Letter

Mariah Scott

Professor Justin Lotspeich

Rhet 110-11

Due Friday 8/22/14

Dear Instructor,

After thorough examination of your syllabus and in class explanation I am feeling very confident in my performance within this class.  Whilst you were explaining the syllabus in detail, as well as looking over it myself, I realized how similar this class will be to my AP Lit class I took this past year in high school. Strangely enough, as far as I know from our hour-or-so long class, you and my AP teacher have a lot in common in regards to personality, professional mannerisms and course requirements. Due to the immense amount of similarities between this class and my previous, I feel that I am in a well-off position coming into this semester long course. I believe that yes, I am a relatively strong writer, since writing is a lesser-known passion of mine, but also because throughout my schooling I have had rigorous training in the art of proper writing styles and portfolio keeping (did I mention my final project for my AP class was to create a summative portfolio?).

            Although I said before that I do consider myself an all right writer, no one is ever perfect and conditioning and training for the professional world will do me good. I am more than excited to take this course and re-address my writing capabilities and further the skills I already posses. In regards to your syllabus, there are only a few things that I may find as a hurdle within this class of yours. The “mostly online” part of the course might drive me a little crazy. I have always been the type to require hard paper copies to edit, and love seeing that red ink marking the corrections of which I can change and better learn from. However, I am also aware that I am living, and growing up, in a time where paper is literally becoming a thing of the past and I must embrace the digital world (however reluctantly I may do so). Another problem I seem to face, and have always faced since I can remember, is that unfortunately I am not a very concise writer, (I don’t know if you have picked up on that, but you will eventually). I love to write and therefore fear the idea of word or page limits thinking I may leave pertinent information out of the paper. Hopefully I can address my ongoing lack of to-the-point argumentation and embrace the new digital world that surrounds me, and that your class will help me overcome these obstacles and shape me into the professional writer I know I am capable of becoming.

Sincerely,
Mariah Scott
Upstate New Yorker

With a Passion for Learning and Writing

9/29/14

I am facing many challenged when writing this analytical review. One challenge in particular is choices. In Understanding Rhetoric the emphasis was stressed on the fact that writing is all about making choices. It is hard for me to decide which aspects to choose to talk about and which aspects I should leave out when forming the argument. I have so many options to write about that I need to make choices and dictate which are crucial to the argument and which are supportive so as to fit within the word maximum. I am experiencing this challenge as a result of myself not being a very concise writer. In order to fix this problem, I am thoroughly reviewing my argument and highlighting all of the evidence and examples I use and arranging them in order form most important to least important in regards to my argument. Hopefully by accomplishing this, I will filter out what is necessary and form a more concise argument that fits within the restrictions placed in the prompt.

Plagiarism

Having read the handout, I conclude that yes I have plagiarized. Most of the time unknowingly, I have plagiarized myself as well as the works of other scholars. Much of this is due to the inconsistency in teaching to children what constitutes plagiarism. Until just recently in my education, I was completely unaware of what actually constituted plagiarism and how to rectify certain situations in which plagiarizing was an issue. There are so many different ways to cite and different expectations for citing with each instructor. Some are very lenient with the subject of plagiarism, while easier on the student this provides a problem for learning accurate citing criteria and learning how NOT to plagiarize. I have cited material incorrectly multiple times, and sometimes I still do to this day.

I would have done things differently if I had known it was happening. Although why dwell on the past if you can’t change it. I can only resolve to do better in the future and not plagiarize work be it someone else’s or my own now that I have a clear and thorough understanding of the very grey lines deciding what is plagiarizing and what is not.

People read differently depending upon what exactly they are reading. This means that people will not read a comic book the same way they read a biology textbook. There are different types of reading, such as visual reading versus analytical reading, that intertwine with each other and often are subject to what the reader is reading and for what purpose the reader is reading. For example with our textbook, I read very visually. Meaning I pause often and pay close attention to reading and understanding the pictures in addition to the writing on the pages. The understanding of the pictures helps me remember and understand the points being brought across the text. However, for my history class, I read very analytically. I pay close attention to the very wordy historical facts that are being expressed to me. I pick out the most important information form the text and I retain the information most elaborated upon and repeated. I read differently depending upon what I am reading and why I am reading. If I am reading for enjoyment I might pay less attention to the details and read faster or less thoroughly than if I am reading for informative purposes.

            There are always ways to improve as a reader. I hopefully will improve as a reader simply by having the textbook that we do. By being forced to undergo visual literacy, I am broadening my reading capabilities and allowing myself to read in different ways than I normally would have as a science major. In the sciences it is all dry, factual information being thrown at you that you must read very closely so as to remember as much as possible. With this more laid-back visual approach to reading, I am focusing less on detail and more on combining reading techniques, such as reading pictures and text. This technique is helping me learn to read in a way where I am grasping the overall concepts more thoroughly than sort-of-grasping a ton of minute details. I would like to improve my ability to apply the technique of overall reading and combination strategies to more thoroughly understand what I am reading, why I am reading it, and what I should be taking away from it.