The Instructions

Robert Mahony
Professor Ingram
UWRT 1102
April 18th 2015

The Basics
Before your eyes is an essay created to explain the portfolio to follow. The
portfolio illustrates the writing processes I went through this semester, while the essay
breaks down the details of each artifact within the portfolio. This essay is the map to
understanding how everything connects in my portfolio. Each artifact in the portfolio
benefitted me and my writing process in different ways from making connections within
my inquiry to expanding my critical thoughts in making a good argument. The portfolio is
laid out with five headings, three of the headings being major assignments ( Final
Portfolio Essay, Midterm Paper, and Multi Genre Project), which are the end result of

goals given to me by Professor Ingram. The remaining two headings, ( Writing Artifacts,
and Blog Entries), are the steps I took in creating the major assignments, the Multi

Genre Project. Writing Artifacts and Blog Entries are both done in chronological order,
Writing Artifacts from the first pieces of work to the last pieces of work, while Blog
Entries is done with the most current post to the latest post. As you progress forward in
this essay you will understand every article and how it affected each step I took in my
writing this semester.

The Pieces
This semester I have had many genres shape me as a writer, whether it was an
assignment sheet or a document I read on-line. Each genre has played a role in
expanding my literacy and has helped me create my own genre. I have clarified the ten
best genres I have encountered this semester and posted them in my Writing Artifacts
tab in my Portfolio. What you are about to read next are the significances of each
artifact posted in my e-portfolio, and why they helped me expand my horizon as a writer.
Blog Post 3 is the starting point for my Artifacts list. Before Blog Post 3 there
were genres I encountered like Blog Post 1 and Blog Post 2 that didnt affect my writing
process of creating my own genre. The Genres before were drafts and ideas and once I
selected my inquiry question I no longer need drafts of ideas I wasnt going to use. Now
starting with Blog Post 3 which was the first step. In this genre I defined my inquiry
question in being a general direction of the dangers of cell phones. This was the first
step in creating my own genre.
The next Artifact on my list is the Research Report Hand In which was
originally an assignment. I was to preform research on my question and see what kind
of source I came up with, and give a brief description on what I discovered. I found this
genre to be a check point in my quest to create my own genre. I used this as a
Feedback Artifact because at this point I got a green light from Professor Ingram to
move forward and continue my research. Once I received the confirmation I had a wave
of confidence in creating a genre focused on the danger of cell phones. The

importance of this check point was to reassure myself that I was heading in the right
direction.
This wave of confidence I got after passing check point one lead to me
creating a set of questions and conducting interviews to discover what are these
dangers caused by cell phones. Artifact number 3, Questions to Ask Interviewees
is a list of crafted questions specifically designed to understand what people were
thinking of when they were asked about a stressful situation. I used my questions to see
what daily use of cell phones really caused. As soon as I completed my questions I
emailed them to Professor Ingram for review and possible feedback. I then received
artifact number 4, Confirmation email from Professor Ingram, which is check point
number two. It was another OK sign for me to continue forward in my inquiry quest and
to discover what else was out there. I moved forward from there with two check marks
and I began the interviewing process. As I interviewed multiple clients, I found there to
be very little danger but rather a distraction caused by cell phones. Multiple interviewees
seem to be more focused on their phones in public situations then the actual situation
happing right in front of them. I concluded this by monitoring patterns of their responses
to stressful situations. I realized I needed to re-direct my question to a topic full of more
questions than answers. In re directing my question, I deemed the past artifacts
obsolete because they were geared towards danger and not distraction. I did not throw
them out because there importance was to help me narrow down my inquiry and guide
me in a direction I wanted to head. With that in mind.mission accomplished.
Ill move on to my next artifact in my portfolio, Day Book Entry: Letter to my
readers. This artifact is a very important considering how it accrued in the timeline of

my year. This was the turning point in my inquiry in which I switched gears and drafted a
thesis statement based off the tiny amounts of research I had and I addressed my
audience for the first time. Since I lost my original research due to the change in
direction, I had to draft a thesis statement on something I was in the peak of
discovering, and figure out who I was even talking to. I felt it was a weak letter to my
audience but was a start and it lead me to a strong midterm report. The day book entry
was valuable because it was the first step I took in the direction of my new and refined
inquiry question.
The next genre was my midterm in which I was given the final check mark I
needed. In Midterm Report I confirmed the direction I was going and how I was going
to do it. I wrote to Professor Ingram about how my progress was going and how I was
making connections throughout my work. When receiving the feedback I received I
knew I cut myself short in not fully reading and understanding the instructions. The
Midterm Report was a good learning experience in which I have corrected and resubmitted. I also took into account to not to forget to quote my own work while in the
final portfolio essay. Since my midterm mishap I have felt a lot more careful and more
focused in what I am attempting to accomplish.
At this point you will see an Artifact titled Three Column Notes, this Artifact
belongs in this category but will be discussed later on in my Reflection. For now we will
skip over it and move to the next source.
Draft of Thesis Statement is the next source up for discussion. This source is
the official thesis statement. This is where I define my object, where I define my

audience, this is where I form my argument. This little day book entry is what drafted the
first steps of my multi genre project.
The next genre had a unique importance to my multi genre project, titled
Rhetorical Analysis Worksheet, this genre served as a self-evaluation. This handout
helped me as a writer look at my work and evaluate its properties to see if I am covering
all the details I should be. The handout contains questions that me and my group
discussed and went over. Then we each evaluated our own pieces followed by a group
discussion based on the things we found in each others pieces. This exercise help me
layout my progress and see how the big picture looked. It put everything into
perspective and how I need to organize my argument.
Next in the writing artifacts tab is my Multi Genre Project Draft, and this
artifact will also be skipped and talked about in my next section titled The Build.
The last piece to my Writing Artifacts tab is The Drawing Board which is
responsible for organizing my thoughts. I took a picture of this brain storm in particular
because it was designed to be the layout of my portfolio. I wrote out the layout three
times took the picture and submitted it but still changed my layout again. For me the
board is big because I can see my thoughts on it and how it looks before I complete the
task.
All these pieces are put together in my portfolio to illustrate my writing process,
and with all the descriptions of each artifact I am now going to proceed to explain how I
assembled my Multi Genre Project.

The Build
In this part of my reflection you will understand how I constructed my Multi-Genre
project and the steps I went through in order to create my own genre. Lets start with the
first piece, Blog Post 3, which was the first step. In blog post three I created my first
guidelines for my argument which were question posted on Mrs. Ingrams blog. She
asked us to answer 5 question for a research proposal and these questions acted as my
initial guide lines to my multi genre project. I used these guide lines to question myself
and to form some type of research proposal. While creating my research proposal I
moved forward and did some research that would support an argument. With me not
having a defined direction, I started at 30 minute intervals in which I just got ideas and
some facts but turned thoughts I wanted to explore. I went on that mission to explore
and discover as much as possible and to critically think of ways I could approach my
research proposal. I went a step farther with this and created questions that I directly
wanted answered which I could use to define my actually focus of my research. If you
look at Questions to Ask Interviewees you will see that I designed questions, to ask
a potential audience, of different situations and how they would handle these situations.
I tried to avoid directly asking them the question rather beat around the bush. For
example the second part where I ask questions about stressful situations, I want my
interviewee to not know what I am asking. In order to hide my main idea, I asked
multiple questions that are close to my topic and when I asked the focused question it
was answered like all the others. I felt that my critical thinking was really embellished
when creating these questions because I formed question that I wanted answers for.

The second step in my multi genre project is when I started to create my 3

Column Notes. Creating my 3 column notes was the foundation of my genre and was
the greatest organization method for my research. The three column notes made me
gather all the information I wanted to use and cite everything in an organized way
before I even thought about choosing a genre. When creating the 3 column notes at first
I felt a little unsure because I didnt understand the verbal explanation but when the
assignment sheet that Professor Ingram put together was used in class the next day I
felt a lot more comfortable in dealing with the topic. The example was great at showing
me how it should be laid out and the correct places for comments and cites. Having the
three column notes made creating my genre so easy down the road and was a definite
advantage in my writing process. Towards the end of creating my 3 column notes I did
find one thing that was more valuable than just facts and statistics. I found myself
making connections with the genres I was reading and the genre I was trying to
create. For example I felt that when filtering through the different sources I noticed that
the genres that had some type of image or graph was more interesting and easier to
grasp versus the PDF file I was reading through that was boring. I made this connection
after Blog Post Number 5 and related it to myself and how I wanted to present my
case to myself. Making this connection lead me to picking two genres in which I could
efficiently present my case and effectively made my argument.
In the middle of my quest to create a genre I completed a midterm report to
Professor Ingram that illustrated the progress I have made so far and were I stood in my
research. My report titled Midterm Report was created to do just that. I submitted my
report and got back a strong piece of feedback. As Professor Ingram wrote in her letter

back to me I had not quoted at all in my midterm. This was my fault and only my fault
because I failed to follow the assignment instructions and complete the assignment to
the fullest. I chose to go back into the midterm and incorporate quotes from my own
work and examples in which you will understand what I am quoting. I re-posted the
Midterm report with my corrections and what I have taken away from it was I need to
cite my own work when claiming key concepts from the course outlined. I corrected
everything inside my midterm highlighted the additions and re-submitted it into my
portfolio.
Redirecting back to my Multi-Genre project, the next step I took in the writing
process was actually determined in Blog Post Number 5. When I first completed and
submitted Blog Post 5 I feel I didnt fully understand what a genre really was. I think I
missed the meaning of it and after I completed the blog post I was sure I was going to
write a traditional paper versus having to create a Multi Genre project. Well after I got a
comment on my blog from Professor Ingram that asked me to look back through her
post and figure out what a genre really was. I looked back through her post of different
genres and figure out what a genre was and how it related to my blog post response.
As I worked through it I discovered my own definition of genres. Genres to me are
various styles of literacy that are presented to you in create ways, for a reason. I then
re-answered Professor Ingrams blog post question and actually struck something of my
own. I was struck with this knowledge of genres, which turned into a thought and
relationship of too own research. At this point I decided that the multi genre best fit me
and my research because it had to do with modern technology, and the traditional paper
would not present my case in the best in a strong matter.

Now I came to the point in the year where I had formed a research proposal,
began gathering research, decided how I was going to present my argument and all I
needed to do now was begin writing. At this point in time I began the build of my multi
genre project. I was given the multi genre assignment sheet created by Professor
Ingram, and I used this genre in two ways. First as guide lines I was responsible for
following, and second as a list of different types of genres and examples I could use. I
used this assignment sheet to closely pick my genre and to complete my assignment. I
choose to use the Power Point presentation and a pamphlet because using these to
was a professional and effective way to make my argument. I wanted to choose a genre
that would best explain my argument and I felt at this point in my research, a paper was
not the best choice. I then proceeded to use the assignment sheet as a guide to making
an effective genre by carefully completing each step. I assembled my genres slowly but
made progress every day. My Multi Genre Project Draft was important to me
because it was where I drafted slides and brainstormed ideas. I feel that this semester
in UWRT 1102 was a lot easier because I drafted a lot of ideas before attempting to
write any form of a final draft. In the past I always just wrote a paper then corrected it
over and over again before I handed it in, but this semester I seemed to brainstorm a lot
and create ideas before even starting a draft of any type. I felt that this was a great
example of where I was responsible for my own learning. I wasnt told how my drafts
were supposed to be created, and there wasnt a point where I need to have something
a certain way. I was given the power to choose my own genre, design my own portfolio
and create my own final reflection, all with minor guidelines which I was responsible for
addressing within my report.

The Final Product

The completed genres I created are located in the last tab of my portfolio, and
they represent the end result of everything I have encounter this semester. I chose to
create a Power Point and pamphlet to showcase the research I have completed this
semester. I made these genres based off the independent inquiry and curiosity I had
for my research proposal. I felt extremely confident with making the genres because I
had enough research to back up the claims I made and the argument I wrote. Before I
write my closing statement, I want to state the grade I feel I have earned within this
portfolio. I feel I completed both genres thoroughly and paid great attention to what the
assignment requirements were. I feel each point within my portfolio is defined with detail
and nothing is forgotten. Each critical point I have encounter this year is explained and
each artifact has a description of its importance to my writing process this semester. I
feel with the work I put forth in this portfolio I have earned a low A. I think that my
work, and effort, is illustrated inside the entire portfolio. I want to close my portfolio with
an analogy.
I compare building my portfolio to building a table you got from IKEA. You read
the first page and its the basics on what you need to do in order to build the table. You
read about the pieces (or artifacts) and you learn how each piece comes together for
you to build the table. You read that pieces have a purpose, as you read the
Instruction on how to build a table (portfolio) you understand each pieces purpose. You
read next on how to build or assemble the table (in my case how I built my portfolio),
and you go step by step to you create your own. And at the end you reflect on your
finished product and say how great of a table you built.

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