English 1 Portfolio - Sophia G

I have developed many strengths as a writer in this academic year. I have learned that I am able to describe situations very well. For example, in my narrative essay, I felt like I described the events happening in a very clear way. I think that I took the reader to where I was physically and mentally. Although I might have some flaws in this like not enough vivid details, I think that this category is an excellent example of my highlights in writing. Usually, most of my paragraph consists of explanations of what is going on instead of why it is happening, which I might need to work on in the future. Another category of writing that I think I have a good handle on is organization. When I write essays or stories, I tend to make a planner first so things don't get out of order or confusing. For example, for every one of my essays this year, I planned an outline. This outline wasn't just a regular outline, but it was so developed and clear that I didn't have to write much or f...

I have learned a lot about myself as a writer this year including what I like to write about, how I like to describe it, and where I will write about it. This year we explored many different types of writing and one in particular stuck out to me. This was the narrative style of an essay. I thought that this writing activity made a unique portrait of myself and my experiences. It was easy for me to write because I could express my thoughts and my travels. This brings me to how I learned what topics I favor. I have learned that I write the best when I am describing my own experiences. I have also learned that I like to describe these personal events in the form of a narrative essay. Next, I have learned that I not only like to write about these things but I like to write about them in either a blog post or formal essay. These sources might seem very different from each other, but both of these places to write have come to favorites for me. Improvements in my writing seem very clear to ...

I have a few goals in mind for my next academic year of writing. My first goal would be to practice my poems and get a clear focus on a type of poem. This year, I didn't feel especially good at writing poems because I felt like I didn't know what I was doing. I always thought that there was a very harsh guideline for poems and when I found out there wasn't, I didn't exactly know how to write a well-polished poem. My next goal would be to develop a very well written research paper about a topic that I find interest in. My research paper this year was very difficult for me to write because I didn't know my topic very well. I was familiar with it, but I didn't have all of the information in my head to process my thesis and back it up. So, next year I would like to develop a research paper that accurately shows how I can research a topic that is important to me and back it up with significant information relevant to the topic. My last goal would be to practice wri...

As a writer this year I think I have grown tremendously. However, this is not true in all categories of writing. I think that I really need to work on my word choice. For example, in the previous sentence, I used "really," and that is clearly not a vivid or interesting word to use in my writing. I think that adding a certain word to a sentence can make a big difference. So, I have decided to start looking up synonyms for boring words and replacing them with the new and exciting words. This gives my writing some personality and the extra step it needs to be the best. Another area that I need to step up is my sentence length and fluency. I regularly make sentence errors, and it usually starts with the length. I tend to either make the sentence way too short or a little too long. This results in an awkward place in my paragraph. However, this year I have learned a lot in how to make a perfect sentence by rearranging and often using commas. This is especially important because...

As I visited the writing center during the second semester, I found it especially helpful towards my writing success. Every single time that I have gone to the writing center this year it has been beneficial to my work. This time, I went because I needed help on my research paper and I remember having trouble on citations. I have never been great at citations, but going to this appointment took my knowledge further of how to cite. Also, I went because I needed help embedding the quotes into my paragraphs. I had originally done the unthinkable and put a quotation out in the open without an introduction or conclusion. This was quickly changed as I went to my appointment at the writing center. For example, when my writing fellow and I saw a quotation standing alone and not properly positioned, we would find more information about it and slowly work it in with the quote. My work seemed to flow better now because all of my information clicked. The information accurately added an extra e...

A portrait of myself as a writer would be a more abstract type of artwork. Usually, I don't exactly plan what or how I am going to write unless an outline is required. This allows for me to pull from every place in my mind and to draw different points and ideas in the moment. I am a writer who uses many colors on her pallet. I don't stick to writing about one or two different subjects. I write about anything and everything that passes through my day. I am a writer who uses varying medias. I like to write in poems, essays, blog posts, and many more styles of writing. I am a writer who gets off track. I like to travel on my thoughts as I am scribbling on a piece of paper or typing on my Macbook, running to more ideas. Unfortunately, this is not always a good thing as I often have to reread what I previously wrote. A portrait of myself as a writer would have a very clear focus on the canvas. It would show a girl who also has a focus and a determination in her eyes. The art woul...