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Alex Violette
Ms. Ingram
UWRT 1101
September 29, 2014

A) I have found an answer to most of the questions from my first blog post. However, some of
them will take a little bit more time in the class to discover. The first question I asked was about
our e-portfolio and what it will contain. I have a very general idea of what our e-portfolio will
consist of, which compared to the beginning of the year is a huge leap, but I know that there are
more things involved in making them then I currently know. Another one of my top questions
that I have already found an answer to was my second question about how the topics will be
chosen. So far, it seems that we will be given a very broad topic and given the ability to take it in
almost any direction that we want. On a side note, even though we have only written one paper,
it has been the most fun paper to write out of all my years in school. One thing that also ties into
one of my other questions is getting out of my comfort zone. I didnt think that I would
accomplish this by the first paper, but since I have never written a narrative before it was all a
very new concept of writing for me which was very fun. I did not expect to have almost all of my
questions answered within the first month or two of this class but I have somehow done it.

B) Out of the nine key concepts, I have done the best with getting out of my comfort zone, the
writing process and revision, critical thinking, and curiosity. While writing the second and third
draft of my literacy narrative I focused more on making a narrative than defining literacy. This
was way out of my comfort zone and I had fun in the process. Other than the writing itself, it was
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fun to revisit that night when I was presenting and to remember all of the good and bad things
that happened. The writing process is something that I am somewhat familiar with from high
school but the revision is a whole new process for me. I didnt do much revision while writing
papers in previous classes and definitely nothing similar to the revisions we do in this class. I like
how we revise in small groups rather than one on one with someone. I have used critical thinking
while trying to make these papers come out how I would like them too. I want the reader to be
able to understand what I am trying to say without having to make it extremely obvious so I try
to think about that while I am writing. One thing that I know I can and will work on is providing
feedback on other classmates essays. When I read them, I cant help but to focus on grammar
and punctuation errors rather than content flaws or improvements that they could add.

C) In the first draft of my Literacy Narrative, I wrote about my definition of literacy and how it
could be applied to other fields other than writing. I liked this draft because it was very
informative and also included relatable examples but it was more of an essay than a narrative.
With this in mind while I was writing my second draft, I tried to focus more on telling a story
about a presentation and discreetly adding details of literacy in there without the reader knowing.
I did this in my second paragraph by talking about my previous classes I took in architecture and
I also talked about my teachers. I liked this draft more than my first one because it was an actual
story. I added certain dialogue from my teacher on the night of my presentation and also added
visual details throughout the paper. I decided to use my second draft to revise and improve for
my third draft. In my third draft I added a few small details randomly throughout the paper but
the biggest addition was an extra two paragraphs at the end. There were a few ideas that I started
in my paper and then did not finish so I added another paragraph to tie up what I said in the last
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paragraph of my second draft to clarify and conclude on those details. In my final paragraph I
described what the sticky note with my grade on it looked like. ..and grabbed a small pink
sticky note that was stuck to the side, alongside five others I flipped it over and it had a big
one hundred written in the middle with about ten exclamation points next to it. At the very
bottom it said in all capitals, not only because of excitement but also because all writing in
architecture is in all capitals, GREAT JOB!! GOOD LUCK AT CHARLOTTE NEXT
YEAR!!

D) I chose to rhetorically analyze the e-Portfolio of Andrea (http://abme-portfolio.weebly.com/).
The author of this, Andrea, is a previous student in UWRT 1101. Her e-Portfolio is intended for
her fellow classmates in the first year writing course or future students taking the same course.
Even though it is intended for students, this could be read by anyone who just happens to
stumble across her page and the purpose would still hold true. The purpose is to show the reader
her writing growth over the course of one semester in the first year writing class. The title of this
page, Journey to Success, also relates to her purpose of showing growth. By showing her early
papers and drafts you can see her writing as soon as she entered the class and then as the year
went on, her writing got better and all add up to her final portfolio essay, or, her success in the
class. She shows different pictures and drafts which display her drafts and feedback given by
other classmates. For example, on the home page there is a picture of a wooden walkway going
through woods, which I see as a symbol of her journey to success. I believe that the genre to
this e-Portfolio is growth. Growth exists in everybody. You can never stop learning so there is
always an opportunity for growth. This makes this genre very relatable to everybody from
anywhere in the world (the English speaking world). This page is very easily navigable and is
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successful in showing her personal growth. Whether you are a student in first year writing or a
senior in high school or whatever your level of education, the success rate of her page is the
same. No matter what educational background, you will be able to notice her writing growth.

E) As of midterm, I believe that I have earned an A. I believe this because I have done all of the
assignments so far and all of the papers, blog posts, and reader response letters I have written to
my best ability. I actually took my time while writing them rather than rushing to do them the
night before it is due. Including my previous answers to this midterm, I have given one hundred
percent on all of the assignments. I have already grown somewhat in my writing after only three
drafts of the Literacy Narrative. When I wrote the first draft all that I was thinking about was
getting it done and having three to five pages that I could improve on. However, when I wrote
my second and third draft I focused more on content and wrote until I ran out of things to say,
and after that I went back and added sensory details and actually ended up writing a story I was
proud of. I think that I am setting myself up to have an exemplary e-Portfolio because I will
continuously try to improve on each paper that I write while in this course. I am prepared to do
all that I can to receive an exemplary grade in this class.