Our final for English 101 was to create a website that we could use as a portfolio of our writing. It needed to include our essays that we wrote and our podcast we created this semester displayed in a neat and creative design. I was nervous for our first assignment, the rhetorical analysis essay because finding evidence and drawing conclusions did not sound easy. Mrs. Nisbett gave us a very clear rubric, so I was able to get practice and focus on creating my own writing process. I learned that I needed to read the content, a lot. I read, “My Dad Tried to Kill me with an Alligator” probably five times with lots of highlighting. I love pier editing because it gives me a different perspective when I go back to revise my own essay. Our next project was the personal narrative and I could take what I learned from the first assignment to make writing a breeze. From my personal narrative I learned where it is easiest for me to write, for example, Gorgas library is the best spot because I am not tempted to take a nap or watch Netflix like in my dorm room. Our last assignment was the podcast and the entire process was just fun because I knew what I was doing. After rereading my original introduction letter, I feel like I have mastered my own writing process and I can not wait to get the next assignment when I am in English 102.
My Original Into Letter
My name is Sarah Paul. All of my friends call me by my first and last name so it is less confusing. Growing up there were always at least three other Sarah’s in my class. I grew up in Lake Jackson, Texas with six other siblings and when I was fourteen, my family moved to Madison, Alabama and now I live in Tuscaloosa! I love my cat, his name is Baby and I love playing my flute. I am majoring in music education and cannot wait to conduct a band of my own. A habit of mind that I want to focus on in this class is optimism. I am a very pessimistic person and tend to focus on the negative. Growing up in Texas our education system was not as good so I thought that I was super smart. Then I moved and attended James Clemens High School which is one the best schools in the state for test scores. I realized that my intelligence was only relative to the students I was around. I became mediocre in Alabama academically. I stopped trying as hard with my school work because I thought I would never be able to catch up with my classmates. This semester I need to practice on changing my thoughts to be more positive so that I can continue to be productive in my classes. Another one of my goals is to be more tech savvy. When I was younger, I never took any code, or computer, or typing classes but I wish I had. When I got to high school it made the transition very difficult because many of my assignments and lectures were done online. Right now I am as bad as my mom at using the computer but it is an important skill for everyday life. This class is supposed to be technology based so I will get plenty of practice. Another goal I have is to be more realistic. Many times when I am given projects I get too ambitious. I like the ideas that I came up with but it normally does not end up the way I envision it in my head. I have to make sacrifices with time or money. So, I will try to be creative but still stay in the realm of possibility. My last goal for this semester is not to be a procrastinator. I had all morning to do this assignment but I made the choice to watch hulu instead. The movie had Blake Livley in it and she is one of my favorite actresses, my self control went out the window. I thought I could write this really fast after band practice but I way underestimated how long it would take me to write five hundred words. It is a lot more words than I thought. My parents have never been the ones to make sure I did my homework or studied. I always did it myself and I have been passing classes with decent grades but I know I could make it better.