Crystal Davidson

Professor Ingram
12/2/2014

Final Portfolio Essay

I remember when I got my acceptance letter from the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte in the mailboy was I elated; until, a few of my pessimistic college
friends said: You wont be excited for long. Just wait until you have a bazillion papers
to type a week! From that point forward, I really didnt know what to think about
college. I never would have imagined myself not thinking of college in a positive light. I
had been so eager to go to college and live life on my ownbut a bazillion papers a
week? My mind was all over the placealthough I was extremely excited to start a new
phase in my life.
I also doubted how well I would perform in college; or if I would even be able to
keep up in a fast pace learning environment. Though I attended Greensboro College
Middle College my junior and senior year, and had experience with being in college, I
was still a little nervous about getting a full on college education. There would be no
parents nagging me constantly to do my homework, or no teachers reminding me
everyday to type my paper. I couldnt imagine having to do it all by myself (that sounds
horrible, but its true). When my first week of college drew closer, I put all of my
negative thoughts to rest and decided that I was ready to tackle my college career. The
wisest woman I know, my mother, told me that if I go into school with a positive attitude,
that will create positive outcomesand that has been my motto ever since setting foot on
UNC-Charlottes campus.

Throughout the rest of the essay I will go into detail about all of my experiences
during the course. I will go through my E-Portfolio as it looks online, and will formally
explain my transformation from the beginning of the course to the final week; from
papers, blogs, to reader response letters. I believe that I have improved a ton since the day
I first walked into Cameron, and hopefully my e-portfolio will showcase that in an
organized manner.
Walking into my University Writing class, I was excited yet a little skeptical. I
have always enjoyed writing, so I figured this class would be the perfect time for me to
enhance my skills and learn more about different styles of writing. I was a bit nervous
going into the course because I have always struggled with constructive criticism and not
taking everything an expert or peer says, the wrong way. I knew this class would focus a
lot on peer work shopping (so Ive heard from other former UWRT students) so that had
me on edge. But like I stated earlier, I had to think more about the positives and I did just
that. From the time I began the class, the only types of writing I had done were
persuasive, argumentative, position papers, and some narratives. I really wanted to
explore the world of writing, which made it easier to begin this course.
From getting feedback to getting out of my comfort zone, I have definitely
utilized those key concepts to grow as a writer. Being someone who is afraid of
constructive criticism and worrying about what others think, receiving feedback is the
one key concept that has changed me as not only a writer, but a person all in all. Learning
how to handle criticism and use it in a positive manner has definitely helped shape me as
student. From the peer review and work shopping, I am absolutely comfortable with
sitting down with a group of peers, or just one, and simply talking about my writing. I

have also come to the realization that peer review is not only to help correct mistakes, but
also to encourage and praise the writer for everything that they have done well. Knowing
that I can give and receive praise has turned me into a more confident peer reviewer. In
my LBST class, we were assigned to bring in a rough draft and have it reviewed by
another student, and let me tell you, I was very well prepared. From the skills I have
learned in UWRT, I knew what to look for and I also knew how to read and review a long
essay in a timely manner.
Doing peer review has also got me out of my comfort zone, which is another key
concept. Not only am I more likely to be in favor of peer review, but I actually enjoy
doing it. I love getting other ideas from other students in my class, because you can learn
so much about a person just by their writing style. For example, I noticed that Shaed is
very soulful, because he always incorporates his family, history and music in a lot of his
writing. Here is a peek into his Literacy Narrative:
There is no other place I wouldve rather spent weekday mornings than at
Nanas house on that quaint and quiet North Carolina street. This
particular morning, I raced straight through the freshly dewed grass to
her front door instead of taking the ordinary driveway route. Boy, you
better be careful! she yelled from the screened porch. At a tender three
years of age, I had no doubt in my mind that I wasnt Superman and
hearing her voice gave me super speed! I rushed through the screen door
and into my grandmothers arms. She scooped me up into her strong black
bosom with her ageless and manicure kept hands and blew her breath
against the blubber of my neck.
On the other hand, Bryce is ridiculously humorous in his writing, and from that, I could
instantly tell that he was just a funny, easy-going individual.
During breaks, you could hear ice-water juggling around in the water
bottles. To make things more interesting, we tied the bottles around our
waists with shoestrings; ghetto but functional. Just in case people passed
out, people always had water with them. I remember one morning twelve
people at least sat down in the grass (pansies).

While those young men clearly have a knack in writing, for some reason I have extremely
low self-esteem when it comes to my writing. Reading essays out loud to perfect
strangers was a bit of a challenge for me at first; but after stepping out of my bubble, I
was able to recognize that nobody is a perfect writer and that we are all in the class to
learn something about writingso that took a load off my back. I also learned from these
fellas that it is okay to humorous in writing, if anything it could turn an authors whole
essay around. Also, soulful writing can be the best writing! It gets the readers engaged,
and want to be invested in your life. You cant say after reading Shaeds excerpt above,
you didnt want to know more about his grandmother!
While I was having trouble with giving and receiving feedback, I was also
struggling with becoming a mature student (and there is a difference from being a mature
student than being a mature person). Like I stated earlier, I am so used to being told when
to turn in an assignment and being nagged about it for days until I get it done. I had the
worst problem with that before beginning this course, but let me tell you, now, I have the
most self-motivation I wouldve ever thought. Ms. Ingram made sure that almost every
time the class met there would be something due. At first, I couldnt stand the idea of
having to have that many assignments to do every week for the whole semester, (but
thank you Ms. Ingram, I dont think you know what you did for me) but now, I am
forever thankful. If it werent for all of the essays and blog posts, etc., that I had to turn in
frequently, I probably wouldnt be as motivated to do school work as I am today.
Knowing that there is always something due and that I have to make specific deadlines
has helped me grow as a student. I no longer procrastinate (Im lying), and I actually get
most all of my assignments done at an appropriate time. Before coming to college,

turning in late work was no biggie for me, I guess you could say I didnt care; but now, if
I ever turned in anything late, Id probably have an anxiety attack.

E-Portfolio
When I was first designing my e-portfolio, I was honestly not sure what I wanted
it to look like. It took me about an hour to get my home page exactly how I wanted it. I
wasnt sure how personal I wanted it to be, but after long deliberation, I figured out that
my viewers would most likely get my writing style if they were able to see who I was as
a person. I believe that it is much easier to read a persons writing, if you know all about
there personality. That way, if the writing is playful and informal, it is easy to realize that
that is just simply the type of person the author is.
I made sure to add many visuals, and short to the point statements that didnt have
to take much thought. For example, on my home page I have included two slideshows of
the most important aspects of my life: family, friends, makeup and sports. I made sure to
include the highlights of my life and leaving a clean cut comment underneath the
slideshows that could be easily understood. At the bottom of the page, I included a
picture of UNCC and gave a brief description of my graduation year, my major and
minor. I think that it is important to include that as well, because that could make an
impact on my style of writing. Lastly, at the top, I put a picture of myself walking away
from a mural I found in Miami with some of the most phenomenal basketball players of
all time. I decided to include that and put under it I long to be legendary because the
picture almost looks as if I am in the mural and I want to someday make an impact on
others the way those men do today. On my home page on the very top, right hand side, I

have included a Menu drop down box that will make the navigation process throughout
my portfolio easy to go through.
My final e-portfolio is the only tab underneath the menu drop down box because
of the way I have organized it. Once you click on the portfolio button, you will notice
that I have created a visual time-line that will chronologically showcase my progress and
each assignment that I have had in the class. Each assignment will have a specific button
in which will navigate you to a page where my artifacts are placed. The first button is
where my blogs are, then comes my Reader Response Letters, then my Midterm, Literacy
Narrative and lastly my Portrait of a Writer essay. Beside each title, there is a span of
time such as Blogs: 8/25/2014-11/12/2014. This will include my very first blog to my
final one. I really enjoy this layout because it makes it easier for the viewer to find certain
topics. For instance if you were to read something in my paper about my literacy
narrative, youd be able to easily access each and every artifact that has to do with my
literacy narrative.

Midterm
When I was first assigned the midterm, I was a little skeptical about how I wanted
to handle it. I honestly thought it would be a huge challenge for me until I got into the
groove of things. Because there was a lot going on, I wasnt sure how to organize it all
and how to handle giving myself criticism but I was able to figure it out. My favorite part
of the whole midterm was part A:
A. My favorite revisions that I made to my Literacy Narrative, were using
quotes and more sensory details, and also working on run-on, long
winded sentences. These were my favorite changes because since I
have always struggled with these things, I can finally see myself
making a lot of improvements. I am able to shorten my sentences and
still get the point across and I am also able to add imagery to really

get my readers interested. From my Makeup Journey I used a lot of

detail, imagery and quotes to truly show how epic that one moment in
time was for me. For example: She then threw the lid off, and there
they werethe many vibrant colors and different boxes that each one
was neatly tucked away in. Oh, and the brusheshow beautiful they
were. I immediately began picking the things up and playing with them
until my mom popped my hand and said This stuff is expensive, now
what if you break something? You know it isnt polite to pick up other
peoples items without asking! I quickly put her makeup back in the
box and sat back in my seat. Lastly, I have another quote that supports
my usage of imagery: As soon as the brush touched my skin I sank
into a whole new world, a world of royalty. The bristles were so soft, it
felt as if she was using a feather that was gently sliding back and forth
all over my face.
I enjoyed this part of my midterm because the Literacy Narrative was my favorite
paper I had written all semester. I loved being able to talk about my past experiences and
my love for makeup and dance (you will read more about the literacy narrative in the
following section).
Literacy Narrative
I have to say; the Literacy Narrative was my absolute favorite writing piece I have
written in a while. There is just something about the nostalgia of the piece and how
caught up I was in the reminiscing process while planning and writing the narrative. First
off, I wrote about makeup and dancethe two most important hobbies/sports in my life.
The way I can remember how the first makeup brush felt on my face or the bedazzled
jewelry I wore with my dance costume. From the pre-performance jitters, to the calm
stretching I endured before all of the chaos. Everything was laid out pictured perfectly in
my mind. One of my favorite paragraphs from that writing piece was this one:
Three hours prior to my performance I entered a world I never had any
access towell, until then. When my mother and I arrived at the hotel
housed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, it looked like complete luxury.
The extravagant printed carpets, lavish chandeliers that seemed to be as
big as the sun, and the service was incredible. It all looked so fabulous

until we noticed little girls and their mothers running left and right and
going up and down the elevators. Some dancers half clothed frantically
attempting to get ready for their performance. Some girls calmly
stretching and practicing difficult dance moves that had probably given
them trouble since they had learned the routine. I then looked at my mom
and I could tell wed both been thinking the same thingwe love the
dance life.
I sincerely enjoyed writing this essay because it is one of my all time favorite
memories I enjoy reflecting on. If I could go back in time to that day, I would do it in a
heartbeat. Sometimes I wonder how I remembered everything exactly the way it
happened that competition day, but then I remembered the genius activity Ms. Ingram
facilitated the day our first drafts were due. We were to close our eyes while she asked us
sensory questions, such as: What were you wearing? Who was with you? What scents
do you recognize? and many other questions like those to appeal to our five senses.
From then on, I now stop myself before writing about something that has happened in the
past, and I take time to reflect like Ms. Ingram had us do in class. The sense I used the
most was sight, because I was able to clearly see exactly how my day went while writing
my paper:
we began putting my Aint No Other Man costume on. It was a white
button up with bedazzled buttons with the collar popped, along with
black shorts that had silver stripes. I put on my tan tights, tucked in my
shirt, scrambled around for my jazz shoes and was finally ready to
perform
I do not think I have ever added as much detail as I have in this paper, and I have Ms.
Ingram to thank for teaching my class the wonderful art of reflection and what it can do
for a persons writing.

Portrait of a Writer Essay

I enjoyed the literacy narrative because of the immense detail I was able to put
into my writing, but my portrait of a writer essay was also another one of my favorites
because I stepped outside of my comfort zone (key concept) and wrote in a way I would
have never thought I would beforelets take a look at a snippet of my essay:

Ingredients:
1 pen or pencil (mixing spoon and knife)
about 2 sheets of paper (cutting board)
a laptop or desktop with Microsoft Word installed (bowl)
music (preferably Hip-Hop or R&B)
2 table spoons of patience
2 cups creativity/imagination
1 cup of motivation
a comfortable setting (kitchen)
3 cups knowledge in the topic/subject
assignment directions/notes
(see the Portrait of a Writer essay on my E-Portfolio to see the
whole assignment)

Not only was I undeniably satisfied with my finish product, but I also had such a
blast while writing this piece! I dont believe I have ever been as exited to write as I was
for creating this recipe. I have always thought of myself as being creative, but throughout
the semester I have learned that no matter how you format your essays, writing is writing,
and to just let go and have fun with it. Learning to think of an assignment as an activity
rather than torture (some would say), has made it easier for me to enjoy writing even
more than I have in the past.
During peer review, Ms. Ingram encouraged us to re-write each others
introductions and conclusions. When I was instructed to do so, I honestly was not thrilled
about having to write someone elses introduction and conclusion, because I have always
struggled with the two. My partner Kelsey, encouraged me to do so, as well as I. When

we returned each others papers, I read the introduction she had written for me and I
absolutely loved it. It read:
Most recipes are for cooking, of course, but could a recipe be used for
writing? I think yes! In the recipe listed below, I will break the annoying
status quo to help you, the reader, with writing an essay. A lot of
ingredients will include a little self-reflection on your part, but other than
that, it will be very straightforward. Without further ado, take a read and
let me know what you think in the comments section.
Thank you, Crystal Davidson
While my first introduction read:
This fabulous recipe was created to thoroughly explain and describe my
writing rituals and process. This is a very versatile recipe and can be used
in many different types of writing. The preparation time is about fifteen
minutes and the cooking time can vary form and hour to even three hours
depending on the speed in which the author writes. Cooking can be super
fun if you make it! I enjoy recipes that allow me to show who I am as the
author and show off my personality. I also like recipes that are filled with
yummy fragrances that can fill up an entire house. Enjoy this recipe!

I really enjoyed her suggestion better because it was not wordy and it was straight
to the point. Sometimes I can ramble and add in way too much unnecessary information,
and after reading and going over hers, I realized that it is okay to leave your introduction
short and sweet because the rest of the meat is in the body paragraphs.

Writers Choice
For my wild cards I decided to choose two writing pieces from two different
classes. Though they are both Liberal Studies courses, they are phenomenally different.
My first wild card came from my Global Connections Course Africana Studies. My
assignment was to write about the history and current situation of Ebola and what it is
doing to America. I decided to choose this piece because throughout this whole semester,
I hadnt written many research papers, and writing that paper was actually a challenge for

me. I was so used to writing about myself and my experiences, that I totally forgot how to
write in a more formal straightforward manner. Since coming to college, I hadnt focused
on writing research papers and I guess you can say I lost my mojo. Luckily, I was able
to take this class because it kept me in the groove of things. Now, when I have to conduct
research and write about my findings in UWRT 1102, it will not be as difficult for me as
it could be.
So what is Ebola and what does it do you a persons body, you may ask?
Lets find out. A person who has Ebola may seem like they have typical flu
symptoms like sore throat, headache, muscle pain, and fatigue. From
there, a person can have symptoms of weakened kidney and liver function,
vomiting, diarrhea, rashes, and sometimes both internal and external
bleeding (like blood in stool). Low white blood cell and platelet counts
and elevated liver enzymes can be found in laboratories. The incubation
period for Ebola is the time interval from infection with the virus to the
start of symptoms and that lasts between two to twenty-one days. Ways
that a specialist can make a diagnosis are by virus isolation by cell
culture, electron microscopy, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain
reaction assay, serum neutralization test, antigen-capture detection tests,
and antibody-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. There are
many ways to test for Ebola because it is so challenging to distinguish
from other infectious diseases like meningitis and malaria.
As you can see, that style of writing is extremely different than the styles of
writing I have been doing all throughout my time in UWRT 1101I guess you could say
it is a true wild card. My second wild card is not so much a wild card as compared to my
Global Connections writing assignment, but it is still a bit different than what I am used
to. In my other LBST, LanguageWhere Can it Take Us?, we focused a lot on the
transition from high school to college and our prospect for success. We wrote a lot about
ourselves which I was familiar with because of the style of writing I had done in UWRT
1101. I chose to use my Cultural Awareness paper because I took a giant leap by talking
about extremely personal situations that Ive had in my life; here is a glimpse:

People have asked me so many ignorant and annoying questions about

dating a white man and the top two are: 1. How did his family react to
you when you met them? 2. Whats sex with a white guy like? If I
could get a dollar for how many times Ive been asked those questions, Id
be able to pay my tuition here at UNC-Charlotte for all four years. Dating
interracially has been a challenge, to be completely honest. Especially
when I have family members who disagree with my relationship. We have
gotten death stares during date nights and have gotten attitudes from
waiters/waitresses. But I have learned that love is literally blind, and that
color should not ever be a factor when a person is trying to find love. After
Austin and I started dating, I began supporting interracial love and
intermarriage like nothing before. I even wrote my senior research paper
on Interracial Dating and Intermarriage (that was probably the best paper
I have ever written).
To be honest, I was pretty scared to write about my relationship because that just was not
something I had ever done. It almost felt like I was copying text fresh out of my diary.
After finishing the essay, it felt refreshing to know that I took a risk and was able to share
my experiences with other people who may be going through what I go through daily.
Both of those classes, along with my UWRT course, have made me a much better
writer than I was before coming to college. All in all I can say that I am a huge risk taker
now and I am not afraid to get creative with my writing. I am also a bit more humorous
and engaging because I enjoy when I can get my readers on the edge of their seats. Not
only has my writing bettered, but I have also grown as a person. I am definitely more
mature in a sense that I stay am more organized and I put school first. Since I have taken
a lot from this course, I believe that I deserve a B+ because I sincerely have grown as a
writer and I have learned an abundance. I have completed most all of my assignments on
time and I am very engaged in the classroom. I say a B and not an A, because like I stated
in my midterm I feel as if I could have put in a lot more effort into my work:
I tend to get lazy and I dont ever put in as much as I should. I usually do
my work at the last minute, which causes me to have to think fast and not
thoroughly. I dont think that I am setting myself up for composing an

exemplary e-Portfolio, but as of right now, I believe that I am in the

satisfactory range. I hope to become more motivated so that I can put in
more thoughts and creativity into my work.

I say a B+ now because I have definitely stopped doing a lot of things last minute and I
have also put in a lot of effort in my past assignments leading up to this one. I am proud
of the changes I have made, because I have become such a studious individual. I hope to
continue to grow as a writer and a student, and I look forward to seeing what next
semester, and the rest of my semesters here at UNC-Charlotte can do for me.