Introduction

Dear Mackenzie,

            I came into the class and I honestly thought it would be an easy “A”. I have a strong writing background from my education at home and didn’t think that I would learn much. Sure, many of the things that were discussed throughout the semester were things that have been engrained into me since as long as I can remember. But this class has helped me to see the other ways of writing, instead of just the ways that I was used to.

          

  At the beginning of the semester, I was really frustrated. You were essentially telling me to break what I have known for so long. And honestly, it drove me crazy. The processes that I had gone through for so long were what I was used to, and to be told that they were wrong drove me crazy. Even worse, you were telling me different ways to go about my process. This drove me insane because I hated the fact that my schooling previous to this had only shown me one way to go about a writing process. And the fact that there were other ways that I didn’t know about was a hard thought to grasp. I had never done a free write like we did to start each class. And the thought that this ten minute free write could be used to start an essay was not something I could wrap my mine around.

            The biggest thing that I learned this semester was breaking the process that I knew so well. I learned that free writes actually helped when starting an essay. I learned how important it is to just let you mind go and sometimes something amazing can come out of those thoughts. I enjoyed getting to learn different points of view from my classmates and yourself about how writing works. It was fun to see the different writing backgrounds people came from and being able to learn from them.

            One thing that I wish we had worked on more was citations. I know we touched on it a little bit, but it would have been nice to have a little more in depth because I feel that that is something that I am still struggling with.

            I feel that this portfolio is a reflection of how I have grown as a writer. Work from early in the semester is shown and there is the opportunity to see how it has changed to the end of the semester. I have ideas throughout all my papers that have changed and those ideas have developed throughout the semester as I have grown as a writer. Each different essay shows how I have progressed as a writer. My life place essay shows how I was challenging the process that I have been taught for so long in my life. My Op-Ed essay shows how I began to learn how to cite a paper, but also how I learned to edit papers so much to fit into a certain word criteria. My final essay, my personal academic argument, shows how I continued to strengthen my citations, but also how I could develop on a topic that I cared so much about and relate that to an audience.

            One day in class about a third of the way through the semester, you asked us if we considered ourselves writers. My answer was absolutely not. But as this semester comes to a close, my idea of this has changed. I believe that I may not be the next J.K. Rowling, but if asked to write something, I can do that. I can give specific ideas and can draft on my own and create a final project that I will be proud of. Now, I can say, yes, I am a writer. So thank you, Mackenzie, for changing my point of view and for the things you have taught me throughout the semester to help me grow as a student and as a writer.

Sincerely,

Annaleigh Newall