Amanda Twomey

UWRT 1103: Portfolio Reflection

Rothwell
Portfolio Reflection
In the course description of this UWRT 1103 course, it states outcomes that we were
supposed to gain out of this semester. These include: rhetorical knowledge, critical reading,
composing process, knowledge of conventions, and critical reflection. I believe that I have
improved in each one of these skills through the projects assigned, and other assignments done in
class. Specifically, critical reading and critical reflection were used when we were given readings
such as Deborah Brandts Sponsors of Literacy and Audra Lordes The Transformation of Silence
into Language and Action that forced us to analyze, interpret, and evaluate these texts through
writing. Rhetorical knowledge, knowledge of conventions, and a composing process were used
in each project that was assigned such as our narrative project and problem based project. We
used the skills of understanding audience, topic, rules, and purpose along with using strategic
steps to successfully complete our project.
Pushed Outside the Box: This course has also helped me to better understand myself as
a writer in numerous ways. It has forced me to go outside of my comfort zone to do and write
about things in a certain way. An example of when I was pushed outside of my norm would be
the 60 minute writing assignment in my writers notebook. I had never written for that long
without stopping, so it was a challenge to do but in the end I believe it helped me to be able to
better develop my writing. An example of when I was forced to write about something in a
certain way would be the narrative assignment. We were supposed to write it from a first person

point of view, and tell a story of a time we learned in our own lives using dialogue and visual
description. This was a challenge to me because I had never done an assignment quite like it. I
found it helpful to write something from my point of view because it was easier to incorporate
detail and focus on showing and not just telling a story. Throughout this course, there were some
assignments that I thoroughly enjoyed, but there were also assignments that I did not enjoy as
much.
Examples: We were assigned The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action
article by Lorde, but after reading it I realized that it was an article I would have chosen to read
on my own because it interested me. I think when we get assigned things like that; it provides us
with a broader knowledge of literature that we previously never would have come across. Many
times, teachers will assign readings to students and we will read them and then instantly forget
them. I think that reflecting on them in a journal that is easily able to be referenced is a great idea
in order to retain what the reading or assignment was about. I came across the conclusion that I
want to keep doing things that we did in class such as writing in a journal. In the future I think it
is a good idea to keep a journal to reflect on things that I see and read throughout my life. I
would like my writing to become more personal and reflect my personality. I think that while in
school, all I am writing is research papers and reflections on things that I do not necessarily care
about. In my down time, I love to read and find things online, so I think that starting a journal
that is similar to the minding collages would be a neat idea to document those things. I challenge
myself to keep up with this new journal and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to write
some of what I wanted to in my journal from the semester. For example, the minding charts we
made gave me the opportunity to reflect on a piece of writing that I came across myself. Not only
were we reflecting on articles in the journal, but we also revised them. For example, for the

Sweet lessons of humanity short story that we read, we played around with it and took out
details to rewrite it. By doing that, it allowed us to truly see the importance of good detail while
writing which helped to improve my writing skills.
Goals of this Course: I feel as if we have accomplished the goals, or pillars, of this
course: narrative, nuance, nonsense, and pivot. Narrative was accomplished through our learning
narrative project. We had to describe different parts of the story from a narrative point of view
and provide detail, plot, setting, and motivation. Nuance was achieved through all of our
commentaries and analyses of our projects when we reflected on what values we took away from
the assignment. Nonsense was accomplished through all of our drafts. By creating multiple
drafts and revisions for each project, it allowed us to fix our errors and discover what did not
make sense. Pivot was also achieved through having multiple drafts because it allowed the time
to change your direction to a different path or goal over time. The peer revision process that was
used in the Brandt essay and the problem based project was especially helpful in achieving pivot
because it allowed you to see different directions your peers were going in.
Writing Process: My writing process is to break down the assignment by looking at
what is expected, and what should be included. From that, I begin to make an outline on each
topic and question to be presented in my paper. Then, I start to fill in the outline using bulleted
points of specific ideas that I should talk about. If research is needed, I write down which sources
are helpful for each point along with a quick description on what is presented in the source. After
the outline is finished, I turn the bulleted fragments into complete thoughts and sentences. I then
can add transitions and description to make my paper flow. After this is done, I have my zero
draft. Through this course, I have learned the process of revisions. With that being said, from
now on I will give my paper to one of my peers and have them edit it, along with doing edits

myself. Once I add more detail and a works cited page if needed, I will have my final draft to
submit.
How I See Writing as a Part of What I Do: My major is communications with a focus
in international public relations, and a minor in Spanish and journalism. Writing will be a huge
part of my career, and I think that is why I enjoyed this class as much as I did. Some people
dread writing papers and journals, but I enjoy it. For my job, I will most likely have to write and
analyze articles, write press releases, and write other various things. I think that not only did
writing in this class help, but the reading we were assigned forced me to analyze deeply. For
example, Sponsors of Literacy was not a light read, and I had a great amount of trouble
understanding it. Although I had trouble at the time, it prepared me to not get so overwhelmed if
I have to analyze a complicated piece of writing in the future. With a minor in journalism and a
major in PR, I know that I will have to take numerous classes in my next few years here that will
require a grave amount of reading and writing. I think that taking this course my freshman year
has prepared me for what is to come in my future. I am equipped with the proper techniques of
writing papers and doing research. Through the problem based project, I learned how to use the
UNC Charlotte library database and find scholarly sources to use. I think that this will be a great
tool to me in the future, along with doing an annotated bibliography. At first, I thought that the
annotated bibliography was tedious and unnecessary, but I later discovered how much it helped
me when writing my final paper. Overall, I will be reading, writing, and analyzing throughout the
rest of my time here at UNCC, but also in my career. I am thankful to be able to take away all of
these techniques I have learned throughout this semester.
Strengths, Weaknesses, Projection: I believe my strengths as a writer are coming up
with creative ways to get my thoughts across. Overall, I enjoy writing and thought that the

projects in this course were interesting to do. My weaknesses and areas that I want to continue
developing are on research papers. For the problem based project, a lot of research was required
and I felt like I could improve in that process. My projection for the future is for me to be able to
write more creatively and incorporate our revision process in the future. Before this course, I
often only made one and final draft of the assignment I was given. Through this course, I learned
the importance of a revision process. It could be repetitive at times, but it was extremely helpful
to be able to see areas where I could improve.