Hanna Vance

Engl1010

Canavan

Eportfolio Reflection

Writing is used every day and can be appreciated in so many different forms. Taking

English 1010 this Spring Semester has shown me that writing well can not only get you good

grades but can be used to create a change in the world. If you were to publish an article online

about something you are passionate about, you may be able to influence those who read. Or

stand up for something you personally believe in. I see people write novels on facebook all the

time! For me, I know that in the future I will have experiences where I may have to respond to

problems or real-life situations through writing and I have learned that the way you write can

also impact the message you are trying to convey.

When you are writing a paper you always want to consider who your audience. Once you

determine who that may be, it sets the tone and information of your essay and will determine the

rhetoric you use in your writing. For example, we had a career interview project where we had to

go and interview someone in an occupation of interest. When I was writing my career interview I

knew that my audience was college freshmen or younger adults interested in the field I was

writing about. That helped me determine what kind of questions to ask the person I interviewed

and also helped me with details I wanted to include in my paper and targeting my specific
audience. I would ask more questions about the education requirements rather than retirement

benefits because of who my audience was for my essay.

When I had to go back in my paper and fix my organization or content, I would check my

transitions. If my transitions did not flow well I knew that I needed to organize my thoughts in an

orderly way. After comparing the first rough draft and the second new draft of all of my projects,

I found that the new revised version had better transitions and was easier to read with. For my

audience in the career interview, my paper became easier to read because it flowed well. This

will also help your reader stay focused and not jump from one thing to another, and keep them

interested throughout the entire paper.

We had a restaurant review project where we had to go and critic a restaurant and when I

went to revise my first paper I found so many spelling and grammatical errors. After going

through and fixing all the errors my paper looked more clean and credible. Making sure that my

citations were proper and in order was something I also went in and had to fix in my essay.

Simple things like fixing spelling errors in my restaurant review also made my paper look more

professional to my audience by showing them that I was educated on how to spell correctly.

I can apply what I’ve learned this semester into my own work or education. We had an

email project where we had to create three emails to different people for different situations. In a

work situation, I may need to email my boss regarding time off or requesting a raise. I know

exactly how to structure my emails so that I sound as professional as possible now. This can also

be done for other classes and teachers, not just my English 1010 class. For example, I knew I
was going to miss my Geology 1010 class so I sent an email informing my professor that I would

be unable to attend. He really appreciated my effort to let him know.

By applying what I’ve learned throughout this course, I have been able to develop my

skills as a writer. In my career interview, I was the strongest at creating a good tone for my

audience. My word choices impact how the essay will sound. I don't try to make my papers

something I wouldn't think about. I try not to use words that I don't understand or that my

audience would have to skip over or look up to understand my paper.

In my first draft, I had to go back and redo my citations. That could’ve easily been one of

my biggest weaknesses as a writer. Except now that I know how to cite, I have really improved

on citing the sources I use in my papers correctly. I am confident in my in-text citing skills

whereas before the career interview project I really didn't understand fully how to do them the

right way. Which also reflected in my previous assignments.

If I were to revise my paper more, after finding an audience and having correct citations,

I would want to work on hooking my readers from the beginning. I always struggle with creating

a good introduction. I find myself starting my paper with a not so interesting beginning which

makes more of the good content towards the end. With more practice and experience I will be

able to write my introductions better. Overall I have improved my self as a writer and will

continue to progress as I practice and have more experience.