Adolfo Levano ENGL 2010

Adolfo Levano
Collin Hull
English 2010
May 6th, 2015

E-Portfolio Reflection Essay

During English 2010, I found that the assignments I completed helped
me to accomplish some of the English 2010 course goals, such as learning
to write in multiple genres. We started the semester with the issue
exploration essay which helped me learn how to do research and
investigative writing. Then I wrote the position proposal, where I had to take
a side in the debate which was a new angle and fun to write. This semester
was also the first time I have written a blog or a memoir. I have had very
little experience writing biographical types of pieces, so that stretched me
too.
Another course goal that I felt I achieved was learning to conceive,
draft, and revise many kinds of documents, and manage these processes
independently. This semester I used a different protocol for writing papers
than I have in the past. The protocol for writing papers this semester started
with an idea for a paper and then a peer from my class would read it and
provide feedback. Then I usually waited a couple of days and revised the
essay and made it better with a new perspective based on the peer feedback
and a couple of days away from the paper. This is a better process for
drafting and revising papers and produced a better final product.

Adolfo Levano ENGL 2010

A third class goal that I feel like I have achieved, is learning to
approach reading and research critically, analytically, and rhetorically,
choosing appropriate research strategies for a particular writing task. My
favorite part of this English class was researching different perspectives for
the writing assignments. I had to think critically and analytically to present
three different perspectives. It was hard for me to be objective with all three
perspectives and I had to do research into other perspectives and mentally
focus on presenting strong arguments for perspectives that I didnt
necessarily believe in.
My greatest strength as a writer is researching in preparation for a
paper. I like to read about different perspectives and gain new insights. I like
studying what experts have to say about interesting topics. On the other
hand, I need to work more on having patience while writing a paper. My
papers are always better when I do a second or third draft.
Each paper I wrote in this class was peer reviewed by my classmates. I
always appreciated the constructive criticism of my peers. They gave me
some helpful tips on the images in one of my papers, encouraging me to
make the images more readable and better positioned. The topic that I
picked for my papers this semester was not familiar to many of my peers, so
it was helpful for me to get peer feedback to see if I had adequately
explained concepts. If my peers were not able to understand, I knew that I
needed to do a better job explaining things. I learned to write more clearly
thanks to feedback from my peers.

Adolfo Levano ENGL 2010

When reviewing papers for my peers, I also tried to be helpful and
assist them in improving their writing. For one of my peers, I suggested
adding some analysis and commentary to the quotes and facts that she
included in her paper to give it more depth. The paper was very quote and
fact heavy, but her voice didnt come through at all. For a couple of other
classmates, I gave them some grammatical suggestions on their papers to
help them refine the paper and some ideas to help it flow better. As a peer
reviewer, I felt that one of my greatest strengths is my experience in the
workforce and the perspective that gives me. In my company, it is important
to make sure all writing and communication is very clear and precise, so I
tried to look for and encourage clarity and good organization in the papers I
reviewed. It helped me a lot to review my classmates papers, because often
the weaknesses I found in their papers were the same weaknesses in mine
own. I then returned to my papers with new eyes and was able to fix some of
the weaknesses.
As I compiled and reviewed all of my assignments for this class to
include in my E-Portfolio, I took into consideration the feedback from my last
peer review. On one paper, I deleted parts that were unrelated to the thesis
statement, to make the paper better organized and more concise. On
another paper, I strengthened and added to the conclusion to better sum up
the points made in the paper. As I reread each of my writing pieces, I noticed
that my writing improved over the course of the semester, which has also

Adolfo Levano ENGL 2010

helped me in other classes and at my office, where I am frequently writing
emails and training materials.
I appreciate the opportunity to improve my writing this semester in
English 2010. I have benefitted from the feedback and encouragement of my
professor and peers and I will continue to use these skills in my schooling
and career.