Journal Posts

Prompt: 

1. In lieu of what is discussed in chapters one and two of Portfolio Keeping, what changes do you foresee yourself needing to make to complete the portfolio requirements of this course?
2. What are your writing areas that need strengthening? How do you see me as your instructor and this class helping you sharpen those skills?

Journal Entries:

"From my understanding of the first two chapters of Portfolio Keeping, the ability to skillfully organize one's work is crucial. The writer needs to group the work together in such a way that it properly exhibits their growth in a gradual process. Bearing this in mind, I believe that I need to work on my content than the design of the portfolio. I need to work on actually showing improvement in my work, by making the effort to not fall for the same mistakes of the past. My grammar, word choice,  and my overall writing style needs to show change and improvement as I continue writing for this class and beyond. I believe once I accomplish this and make it my goal to show improvement with everything I do, my portfolio can display my growth as a writer and as a critical thinker. 

My recommendation for the teacher to help me and others with improving our work would be to give us examples of how essays can be presented to be both artistic and informative, to help get the audiences attention with the content as well as with it's style."

Teacher response: 

Okay. What are some things you have read where you find the style interesting? This doesn't have to be content; the content may have been poor, but the way the writer wrote stuck with you.

How often do you go back and review your work? do you keep old papers to see what growth you have made? As a budding writer, why (not)?

My response:

Currently I am reading the books 48 Laws of Power and Art of Seduction by Robert Greene. While I may not agree with some of the subject matter, I can respect how the author was able to tie in events from history and the inner workings of society to support his points. His words are not exaggerated and superfluous, but they still give a strong presence of meaning behind them when accompanied with the historical context.

I keep my old papers, but I do not tend to go back and review old work as much as I should. Mainly due to embarrassment of past mistakes.

Questions from Teacher:

1. As we have just passed the midterm mark, how do you foresee yourself finishing this course?
2. What grade are you aiming for, and what grade do you believe you will earn? 
3. What steps will you be taking with the remaining five weeks to ensure you achieve your goal?

I see myself finishing the course on a good note. I have been able to finish the majority of my assignments with 80 percent or higher. With only a few more assignments left, I believe that there will be a good chance of me acing this class with an "A". All that will be required on my part will be my focus on the rest of my assignments, better communication with my peers, and a strong work ethic to finish this semester on a high note.

Questions from Teacher:

According to Nedra Reynolds and Elizabeth Davis, how would you revise your Essay?

My response:

Nedra Reynolds and Elizabeth Davis describe the Revision process as writing projects from a different angle than what was previously written. For the last essay I am revising, I hope to write it from an angle pertaining to how I could use Critical Writing for my projected career instead of just in my current major. In the current version of my essay, I write on how Critical Writing applies to fields included in the umbrella of my Major which is Communications. However for this revision, i want to focus the essay more so on Screen writing and Book writing, two things which I as a writer is trying to be involved in.