Final Portfolio Self Assessment
English 1201 This is a reflection on
just one semester, so it does not refer to an entire year’s worth of work and
progress. However it is, otherwise, a good model for you to follow.
When I am
writing an essay, I am talking to the reader; I want to reach the
reader. I used to ask myself, why would I have to use what someone else
is saying to show that my point is right? What I am saying should be
enough. This was my attitude about writing ever since I have begun
writing essays. I would always hate using quotes because I thought that
it was my paper, and my paper should have only one author. This was my
constant attitude towards citing sources. Half of it had to do with
selfishness and the other half in laziness. When I say selfish I mean
that I wanted the reader all to myself. I wanted the reader to recognize
how good a writer I am, and not how good a writer someone else was. I
always knew that this was going to become a problem for me in college,
but I didn't know it was going to become as important as it did. Warshaw explains that "the gangster speaks for us, expressing that part of the American psyche which rejects the qualities and demands of modern life or 'Americanism itself'" (344). The gangster expresses what we can not express in our everyday lives because we would be considered somewhat crazy by American society. I was just beginning to
learn how to incorporate another person's quote into my essay. This
quote was one that I would have been completely against before because
it is one of those I would have felt stole the reader from me. This
quote seemed to fit in perfectly with what I was trying to say in my
essay. In the end I realized that the gangster topic was one that
required a lot of quotations because there are so many perspectives and
opinions that my paper would not be complete without them. I also
realized that topics that have more perspectives and opinions make the
best essays because they arouse conflict. This essay was on the whole concept of branding and the effects that it has on society today. This quote was about The Economist newspaper and their opinion on consumers being hard to reach with advertising. The Economist also argues "Consumers are also harder to reach. They are busier; more distracted and have more media to choose from". One can see the truth in this statement considering all the ads, billboards, commercials and even internet Pop-Ups. But the fact is that our space is almost always being taken over by the same images, and they are usually the wealthiest companies who can afford this space. I disagreed with the
economist in a respectful way and carefully stated how I didn't
necessarily disagree, but mentioned factors that play a big part in
proving what he said not so accurate. This shows that I have a fair
minded ethos. Showing that I have a fair minded ethos will actually
allow the reader to realize that I am a fair minded writer, and that
will actually gain me a type of respect from the reader that will allow
him/her to feel that they aren't reading a bias essay.
I also learned how I can agree with my opinion without having to put
someone else's opinion down. I have realized that by disagreeing with
someone else's opinion you can actually make yourself a better writer,
and the readers will notice it. I realized that when I use quotes, I am
not lending the paper to another author, I am just showing another
persons perspective and what I think about it. By then adding on and
saying what I think about the other person's perspective, I am keeping
the focus of the essay on my opinion. I take the reader back from the
author whose work I cited, and the paper remains "mine". I found that
not only learning to use quotes, but using quotes that are relevant to
the topic can be a deciding factor between an A paper and a C paper. I
feel that this has been a very important step in English for me because
now it seems to me as if I can not write a paper without using any
quotes; it has completely changed my writing style. The irony of the
story is that now I have found myself addicted to bringing in other
peoples opinions to give my paper some other perspectives, when in the
beginning all I wanted was to keep the focus on myself and my own
opinions. |
Introduction sets the reader up for a story of discovery (not the only way to begin).
Notice the reflection on the problem of using sources
Here he provides evidence for his claim.
Here the writer discusses the meaning of the evidence that he has presented.
Notice that the conclusion is an elaboration on the material in the introduction. There’s a clear focus on a thesis. Self-assessment would have stronger if he’d dealt with all the questions in the Holistic Scoring Rubric. |