I have to admit that initially coming into English 1110 I didn’t know what to expect. I was nervous and I wasn’t sure if I was prepared for English on the college level. I had taken honors English in high school but I still was unsure how my writing skills would transfer to the college environment. Honestly, this applied to all of my classes not only English. I was just nervous, as I’m sure many incoming freshmen are, of what college would really be like. Luckily for me, most of those worries soon washed away as I began to attend college classes for the first time. It turns out that this class has been one of my favorite classes that I have taken this semester! I have always enjoyed writing but I always felt that I wasn’t being tested enough in my high school classes. One of the greatest things that I have enjoyed about this class is that it has really tested me as a writer. For the first time in a long while, I feel as though I have really learned some great techniques to incorporate in my writing style. The format of this class has especially made it easier to keep up my motivation to write. I enjoyed that this class was very personal in nature. Since all of the students in the class were members of the same Jarvis Leadership Hall community as me, it made it much easier to connect with my fellow classmates. This connection became even stronger as I responded to my peers’ work throughout the semester. Some of the most formative aspects in my learning this semester can be attributed to the many projects we completed in class. This class has really helped to realize the true importance of research in writing a good essay. Through categorizing our posts throughout the course of the semester, this class has allowed me to develop my organizational skills as well. All in all, there have been many positive benefits that have arisen as a result of taking this course.
There were four major projects that were to complete this semester as a requirement of this course. They all were given for a specific purpose and they all benefited me in their own unique ways. The first project that we completed was a community-based research essay. This was by far the hardest of the projects this semester and it took a lot of had work, time, and effort. I am very pleased that Ms. West-Puckett assigned this to us at the beginning of the semester because I know if it had to be completed now, at the end of the semester, it would have been quite hectic. This project helped me to really understand the process of conducting research. Before I began this class I thought I had a good idea on how to conduct research but I wasn’t exactly sure. This class has shown me that it isn’t that difficult to conduct research and that research is critical to writing a good argumentative paper. For my essay, I chose to champion the cause against drunk driving. I chose to apply this cause however, drunk driving here at East Carolina University specifically. I was surprised that there wasn’t too much information on this topic readily available. I had to really delve into some deep research in order to find the right connections and gain the information I was looking for. This trail of research led me to some very interesting and informative interviews with some major figures on campus including Dr. Olszewska of the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, and Peter Romary, a highly-accredited lawyer who advises students here at ECU for Student Legal Services. This class has really shown me that research isn’t necessarily always easy but with some perseverance you can really gather some effective sources to utilize in drafting your essay. This project really helped me in developing my style of writing by asking me questions that I hadn’t even thought of before. I certainly did not have as much knowledge about specific factors of drunk driving such as alcohol expectancies. I also learned to incorporate elements from both my research, my own personal experiences, and the experiences of others, in my writing. If you would like to view this essay you can find it here assessing this link.
This class also introduced me to a new form of writing analysis that’s known as an annotated bibliography. Since I included so many resources in my final essay, it really took a lot of effort to sit down and write an annotated bibliography for each and every source that I included in my paper. I am so glad that I completed them though because they helped me out immensely when writing my final essay. Specifically, they helped me to analyze and asses the main components of each piece and determine which parts would be be beneficial to strengthening my essay. It was a way of summarizing each source and reflecting on the crucial parts of each one. If you would like to check out my annotated bibliographies you can find them under the Community-Based Research tab on this WordPress blog.
Another task that we were to undergo during this semester was peer responding. I have gained a great deal of experience as a peer responder as a result of taking this class. Before this class I had never really peer responded that much. If I had, it was simply proofreading a classmates paper before they were going to turn it in for grading. It was definitely a new experience to undertake responding to others and to get responded to by others. By getting peer responding to, I was able to learn some valuable lessons from my peers such as grammatical and punctuational issues. My classmates have really helped to motivate me in times that I needed some inspiration. This class not only helped me learn more about peer responding, but also allowed me the breathing room to discover my own unique response style. The main way that I came cross this unique style was through another one of my projects this semester, a Peer Response Essay. This task asked me to go back and color code my previous responses for certain codes that defined my response style and then reflect on my findings. Through this reflection, I discovered that I am a personal peer responder that tends to encourage others by offering them insight on what I enjoy in their work. Another thing that influenced me as a peer responder was responding to my Junius H. Rose high school writing partner. Although it didn’t turn out as greatly as I planned due to a lack of communication on the other end, I still gained a lot from the experience. It was strange at first writing to a high school senior when you just got out of high school yourself. It just comes to show me how much I have progressed in my short stay here as a college student! It was definately a unique experience to undergo. You can find my Peer Response Essay and all of my peer responses under the Peer Response Archive tab on this blog.
Recently, I also completed a This I Believe multimodal presentation. This was something that I was completely unaware of before undergoing it in this course. I had made power points for classes before but I had never really made anything on this level. It was a great learning experience for me because I had to learn how to use many new forms of technology that I was previously unaccustomed to. I learned how to successfully create a video in iMovie, which I later incorporated both photographs and a voiceover of my essay into. We were asked to consider a belief that we held dear to us. I think this project also helped me to realize just how powerful of a lesson I had learned over the past year through the completion of my eagle project. This project helped me come to the realization of just how much self-satisfaction can result from serving others. Feel free to check out my This I believe multimodal presentation here.
Finally, I would like to invite all of you to explore my blog. I have put a lot of hard work and dedication in each and every post found on this domain. There is a wide variety of topics that I discuss and hopefully you will to be able gain some knowledge from each and every one . I hope that your enjoy my blog and feel free to comment and describe anything that you enjoy, don’t enjoy, or are compelled by. I am amazed at just how much I have learned over the course of this semester in this class. I feel like I have really processed as a writer over the past few months as a result of this class. There is no doubt in my mind that I will carry the skills that I have gained here for the rest of my life. I hope that you will take the time and view my blog and learn more about my experiences and the journey that I have undergone in this course. Thanks and Enjoy!
blaynejohnson 
Thank you, Blayne, for such a thorough reflection on your experiences this semester and the writing in your e-portfolio. I am very pleased to learn that you felt a mixture of comfort and discomfort about your writing during this class as that is a signal that you were challenged to make a learning stretch. I see this most clearly in your research essay as the path to gaining the sources you needed to make your argument was not always clear, but your persistence, motivation, and willingness to ask others (both myself and classmates) for help guided you through. These attitudes can, in part, be traced to your work as an Eagle Scout, and I appreciate your sharing that with us in your multimodal essay. I like that you write here that the storying of that experience helped you to reflect on it, and I really do think you should share that with your troop, especially the Tenderfoots who might really enjoy the opportunity to see and hear about your journey. Each time I have reviewed your blog this semester, I’ve been impressed with a thoughtful reflection, a significant revision, an exciting new idea or insight, or just the careful ways you’ve attended to detail and deadlines. It has been a pleasure to work and learn from you, and I wish you the best in English 1200 and your future writing, learning, and living experiences. Don’t be a stranger, and feel free to shoot me an email if you need a reference or recommendation. I won’t have to think twice about what to say.
Best,
Stephanie