Dr.

Kevin Brooks North Dakota State University English Department Fargo, ND 58102 December 15, 2011 Dear Dr. Brooks, This letter serves as a reflective tool concerning my learning experiences and works completed in the Advanced Writing Workshop course. After having completed the following assignments (Literacy Narrative, Audio Essay, Building A Mystery Project, and the Personal Fact Sheet), I have compiled these works into an Electronic Portfolio, which is available at http;//teresablackcloud.wordpress.com. This portfolio helped me connect my work to the goals of the course and address the improvements I have made throughout. Also, as an English Education major, this course has shown me new ways to look at composition education. The activities incorporated into the course have successfully led to my understanding of various methods that exist in the composition process, including the many peer workshop opportunities that assisted in the drafting steps of composing the Literacy Narrative assignment. These workshops provided productive feedback from readers, for example: grammatical or spelling errors, ambiguous or awkward diction, narrative strategy, and topic focus. After developing different drafts of my piece, I found that the writing process benefits from frequent review. Also, the drafting process allowed me to recognize my inner critic, which often hinders my writing. I have learned to disregard my inner critic, and give myself the opportunity to free-write to ensure I maintain reasonable time management and produce a solid place to start for the revision process. One of the difficulties I had with this project especially involved time management and I hope to use time more wisely by planning ahead for my writing process. The revision of my Literacy Narrative is a great improvement compared to my penultimate draft. My first version lacked direction, and I felt that the piece did not display my voice as a writer. However, after completing the Audio Essay, an audio version of the Literacy Narrative, it was easier to find the voice I wanted to use in my written version. The vocal emotion and inflection helped me identify a theme that connected all of my literacy experiences and sponsors: magic. The changes I have made to my Literacy Narrative involve the incorporation of my magic theme and the addition of a more conclusive ending. My narrative covers my concern over the loss of my creative risk-taking, but after identifying my voice in my story, I feel that I have regained this strength in my writing. The recollection of my literacy story has revealed to me how composition skills and understanding are shaped throughout our lives. This new insight has helped me look at how to address student writing and relate writing to students lives. Another effective assignment I completed was the Building a Mystery Project; I

successfully demonstrated the steps of the composition and research process. I chose to my topic, the Internet meme community, based on my interests and the relevancy of the issues. An important part of the research process that served as a learning opportunity was the idea that useful research exists beyond the academic disciplines; research come from many different resources, including video, blogs, images, and other internet-based sources. I have become a more skillful researcher and have a better understanding of how to utilize research in a more persuasive way to support my argument. This research opportunity has also affected my view of how research is approached in English Education. I plan to utilize various methods of gathering information and places that they can find useful information. Kleins hunter/gatherer model was especially helpful in deciphering the differences in the research process. One aspect of my researching that could use improvement is an over-reliance on my sources to carry my argument. I hope to work on this issue by devoting time to further reflection after completing the research process. After completing the research for my project, I effectively determined which medium I was going to use to inform my audience and what conventions would be most successful for this medium. I chose to create an informational video essay format to explain my topic. These decisions reflect on my understanding of genre and audience in the composition of my video. The revisions that I have completed amount to the addition of a works cited page and a brief introductory portion to the video. These changes provide pertinent information to the audiences, like the resources that I consulted and introduce the topic of my research. Another small revision to my project consisted of another frame that discusses how new technology has introduced a new level of interactivity to the fan community. This information came from another source that I read after completing my project. The research process is a continuous process, and Im sure the ideas I present in the video will soon develop more thoroughly as I find more information concerning my topic. My Electronic Portfolio displays all of my work and the improvements that I have made involving my understanding and application of the writing process. I have incorporated both works referenced in this letter and others that pertain to my advancement in my composition skills. The pages contain more reflective material, which best illustrates the growth I have exhibited as a writer and future educator. The portfolio effectively captures my strengths and learning experiences into one convenient place. I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I have. Thank you for your time and patience. Sincerely, Teresa BlackCloud