Pacello 1

Nathan Pacello
Ms. Ingram
UWRT 1103
12/8/2015
Throughout the development of the UWRT 1103 course, I have completed
numerous activities that have strengthened the quality of my writing. Process
drafts, feedback, writers notebook activities, and blog posts guided me to discover
strengths and weaknesses in my abilities. I learned that writing is a process through
which reflection and analysis of mistakes can assist the progress to the final draft.
The e-portfolio essay clearly expressed my involvement with the courses key
concepts. Techniques of multi-modal communication effectively interact with the
audience and display my growth in this class. My performance this semester is
worthy of an A. This final portfolio essay will explain the reasoning behind earning a
high grade by justifying artifacts on the e-portfolio, identifying my struggle with the
course objectives, and demonstrating my advancement as a writer.
The start of the semester: the exploratory essay
The exploratory essay was the first task of the semester and the ambiguous
assignment sheet induced a struggle with the making connections concept. The first
draft of the exploratory essay contained many different connections and content
that did not support the main idea of the paper. Peer workshopping criticism
revealed that multiple paragraphs were long and drawn out. For example, the
introduction discussed the benefits that participation in sports has on athletes.
However, this information lacked the personal touch because I did not relate or

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apply these advantages to my own life. The thesis statement needed modification in
order to make the purpose more apparent. All content in the essay is required to be
focused on the topic or argument because the audience loses interest if an author
uses information that has no meaning and objective. The professor pointed out that
the body paragraph containing an anecdote from the Mets- Yankees game after 9/11
seems disjointed even though it illustrated the powerful impact of athletics on the
community. While this historical example proves a point, it is not appropriate in this
context. After clarifying the thesis statement, I realized that this section needed to
be eliminated because it doesnt fulfil the theme of identifying my reasons for loving
sports.
Reasoning a fellow students evaluations of the first draft enabled me to
comprehend that the paper contained separate concepts" with unique impacts
that sports have on society. However, there was a lack of cohesiveness because
some of the paragraphs did not fit together. Discussing disconnected concepts that
are not applicable to each other disrupts the flow and audience interest. The
professor and my peers advised me to incorporate a special memory or example to
better convey the message. The final draft included several personal recollections in
the paragraphs that were most captivating to the audience. One student critic
pointed out while workshopping that the best parts were about how passionate you
are for the Eagles, specifically." Therefore, I decided to integrate a special flashback
to the Eagles Superbowl appearance which echoes my emotions for sporting
activities.
During the first writing workshop of the semester, an undergraduate
identified a need for more personal connections with passion for sports." The rest
of my drafts contained many different links between sports and society, but lacked

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the correlations to my own life. The essay was to intended to demonstrate my
enthusiasm for sports. Nevertheless, I do not have much experience with writing
about unique individual accounts and remembrances. Most of my teachers in high
school required me to develop research, argumentative, or informative essays.
Therefore, it is outside of my comfort zone to comprise personal anecdotes. Critical
reflection and outside criticism led me to realize this.
For a warm-up before class, the professor instructed all of the students to
determine an event that was relevant to the topic of the exploratory essay.
Everyone closed their eyes to envision and record the detailed occurrences from the
experience. We wrote down everything that affected the senses: sight, smell,
hearing, taste, and touch. This exercise inspired me to include "The Death March"
event with sensory detail and dialogue into the final draft. I was also able to
discover a new strategy or composing process to help me get out of my comfort
zone and cultivate meaningful examples in my writing.
Reflection half-way through the year: the midterm
Through an inspection of the midterm first draft, the teacher hinted that my
essay was deficient of other connections and memories to express my passion.
After independent inquiry and curiosity towards my course performance, I
acknowledged this blemish and revised the final midterm paper as well as the
exploratory essay. I recognized flaws in the initial draft during a review of the
midterm after being advised by the professor to correct mistakes. According to the
instructor, the spatial arrangement of information in the original version resulted in
the audience "getting lost and antsy in your one giant paragraph." This relates to
the gestural and spatial modes of multimodal texts. Separating the midterm into

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multiple paragraphs will help the reader to differentiate but understand how each
section relates to the main idea. In addition, critical reflection facilitated me in
acquiring knowledge independently. For instance, I suggested a composing process
that I use later in the semester to produce the first draft of my research paper.
Completing an outline before the first draft would bolster the final product. The
ideas that are sketched out in the outline can easily be integrated into a rough draft
to ease the writers block that I typically endure when trying to formulate the
structure and thesis statement (Midterm).
Building knowledge for the inquiry paper: three column notes
As a result of the midterm, I decided to undertake a method of gathering data
prior to the first draft of the three column notes. The third process work in the eportfolio demonstrates the information collection procedure. A summary of the
material presented by each source is located below the MLA citation. At this stage in
the research process, I did not have enough knowledge or expert analysis to come
to conclusions. However, the practice of summarizing the discussions of other
scholars benefited me in understanding the different perspectives surrounding the
drone debate. This strategy also expedited the process of completing the first draft.
Through a writers notebook warm-up assignment, I was able to produce
questions and concerns that were later addressed during collaboration with peers. I
learned from the deliberation with classmates that the connections column of the
bibliography fulfills the objective of developing and answering the inquiry question.
Three column notes are a way to keep my investigations focused on supporting the
thesis. The first draft allows the audience to visually comprehend the transition and
revisions added to the last rendition of the bibliography. Professor comments that

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the draft could be improved by re-arranging sources was beneficial in learning
about the multi-modality of text. So I positioned the sources on the page by pairing
sections that argued similar topics. Visibly organizing the citations permitted me to
deduce other connections and expand the last column of the notes.
The last half of the year: the inquiry paper
The "Who Says" writers research textbook provided some helpful information.
Making a quote sandwich is an effective way to incorporate facts and news from
outside sources to establish a point. The chapter explaining this strategy in the
textbook expanded my knowledge of conventions regarding direct quotations from a
reference. Generating your own concepts based off research and interweaving that
information with citations from experts will help an author to make connections and
establish a credible ethos. "ICE: introduce the quote, cite the quote, and then
explain in your own words." This is a writing convention to gather your own
opinions based off exploration of varied sources. In addition, quote sandwiches
ensure that the information is thoroughly interpreted to relate back to the tenor of
the assignment. Examples of these quote sandwiches are evident throughout the
inquiry essay.
Blog post number six was constructive to the pre-writing process. Analyzing
the purpose of the essay and examinations of my independent inquiry assisted in
the formation of my thesis. Investigating the target audience revealed the rhetorical
situation. The outline composing process was very important to the development of
the paper. As discussed in the midterm, this is a useful step to organize the
knowledge I gained through my studies.
Multi-modality of the final e-portfolio

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Linguistic Mode: The portfolio has a formal and scholastic diction. The word
choice is appropriate in this situation considering that the audience is comprised of
scholars, professors, and college students. It is clearly explained how certain
activities or feedback have helped me to learn. The information that I discovered is
also associated with the revisions to every assignment.
Visual mode: The portfolio contains pictures of drafts and other artifacts that
were critical to my development as a writer in this class. My engagement with key
concepts are highlighted by the bright green text. The visual designs are very
simple and compelling. The layout keeps the reader focused on the purpose of the
portfolio without presenting distractions or irrelevant information.
Gestural Mode: The audience is supposed to navigate the website by reading
tabs from left to right. Under each tabbed page of the website, the information flows
chronologically from top (early steps in the writing process) to bottom (final drafts).
The website takes the reader through the journey to producing an excellent paper. It
is easy to comprehend improvements throughout the drafting procedures. Buttons
at the very bottom of each webpage are intended to steer the reader through the eportfolio.
Spatial mode: Every item on the website is coherently labelled and explained,
artifacts are organized chronologically according to the writing process which gives
the website additional flow. The artifacts are spatially located relatively close
together. However, it does not seem crammed rather every item seems connected.
How I have grown as a writer
My writing has improved drastically since registering for UWRT 1103. I
determined how to structure a focused and effective research paper. Professor

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feedback in my exploratory essay delineated that the introduction was too long
and drawn out. This comment spurred me to restructure the entire introduction.
The final product was more in-depth and concentrated on my personal reasons for
loving sports.
I have grown outside of my comfort zone by mastering the formulation of
personal stories with dialogue and sensory detail. I did not have training with writing
about my private life for English assignments in high school. A writers notebook
activity revealed a composing process that helped me to generate personal
recollections. The final exploratory essay included two additional memories which
enhanced the entertainment of the paper. By the end of the semester, I began to
utilize various composing processes to advance my writing. Taking notes on the
topics that needed to be contained in the essay helped me to organize my
reasoning. Analysis of my performance in this class during the midterm led me to
realize the advantages of an outline composing process. Because I commonly
experience writers block during the beginning writing steps, an outline is a helpful
strategy of constructing the core support and format.
I learned how to research a subject matter to discover the answer to an
inquiry question. Summarizing the topics that were studied during research of
sources inspired me to develop my own evaluations. Making connections to other
events has aided me in supporting the purpose of my paper. Completing the
portfolio gave me a better understanding of multimodal texts. Independent inquiry
and curiosity towards my course performance and development encouraged me to
improve every essay assignment. Critical reflection through course activities has
empowered me to identify strengths and weaknesses as a writer. Understanding
these flaws prepared me to make changes and improve. In addition, the quote

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sandwich convention is a superior approach to incorporate outside sources into a
paper and establish a credible ethos. Identifying the target audience will give an
author a better understanding of the rhetorical situation. Judgement from teachers
and peers is essential to the evolution and quality of my final drafts.
Blog posts have helped expedite the writing process. The blog page prewriting and brainstorming activities influenced me to consider different aspects of
my writing which ultimately led to revision. Blog posts involve analyzing, reflecting,
and inquiring about feedback, and course concepts, which results in independent
learning. Analyzing my strengths and weaknesses as a writer was something I had
never done before this class. The bog posts identified my literacy territories and
comfort zones. I diagnosed the key concepts that I had success with and the key
concepts that were more challenging.
In conclusion, based on my level of growth throughout this semester, I
deserve an A because my portfolio distinctly displays that my essays have vastly
improved from first draft to final product. I have near perfect attendance and
completed every assignment to the best of my ability. Each artifact clearly exhibits
my education and the website is easy to maneuver. The portfolio encompasses
detailed scrutiny of each draft through the writing process. Quoting from composing
practices highlights my learning and revisions. I earned valuable experience with
reforming a multimedia site and utilizing different modes of communicating to a
desired audience.