Portfolio: Reflective Letter

---My writing philosophy is to always write about my own beliefs and opinions. Everyone has to make their own choices and be their own person so why shouldn't your writing be your own thoughts as well. I listen and read about what other people think or say about a specific topic but write about how it makes me feel. When I get the chance to write about how I feel about a topic it makes it a lot easier and more enjoyable to write. I believe a lot of people can find themselves in writing; it gives you a better understanding of who you are. I have learned more about writing in one quarter then I have all my years at high school. I have learned that it is much better to have good content then length. I have also learned how important it is to have quotes to support your facts, and to include both “I say” and “they say” in any writing assignment. Looking back from the beginning of the quarter to now I can point out the things I struggled with and how to fix them. I can also find my strengths in writing; both things that can help me become a better writer.
---Writing my first essay as a college student I was still very comfortable with the five-paragraph technique. When I started writing this first essay I was using my original writing process. As I got more detailed with my paper, I found myself all wrapped up in quotes and templates, I lost site of how I felt about the topic. In doing this it ended me up with a paper that wasn’t truly how I felt. Learning this different writing technique was a difficult process, but I know it was worth it and I can use this technique on future writing assignments.
---If I could go back and fix a mistake I made in this writing process, I would definitely take more time on choosing my thesis. I felt so rushed to choose a topic I ended up with a thesis that held back a lot of information I found interesting. When I started writing I never realized I could have changed my thesis, looking back on it now I think if I would have known I would have done just that. I understand now that my thesis was more of an opinion than an actually statement.
---What I learned from this writing process is that when you’re writing about history you need a lot of resources. Many different historians have different perspectives on historical events and it is important to be open-minded and take in all of the different point of views. Then, it is just as important to be able to put down your own words on paper with your own opinion and views of the topic or event. A good way to do this is to state a quote and then explain how you feel about it. I did this is my first essay after stating a quote from Bacon’s wife I stated, “In this letter Bacon's wife demonstrates how the Indians were misbehaving and their government didn't take control of the situation and give the Indians any consequences”. I feel like this was a really good way of incorporating the “I say” and the “they say” into my paper.
---For the second essay I wasn’t quit as nervous and I felt more confident. The only thing that got to my nerves was the time limit on this paper. The first essay we had a little over three weeks and this time we only had about week. I think I could have made a better outline for this essay because when I started writing my rough draft I had a big unorganized mess. Unlike my first essay where I had a very detailed outline that I barely had to add anything to make my rough draft. This being my second essay I would have really liked to go forward with my writing skills rather then backward.
---I did do a lot of things better this time around though, I went to the library the day we got the assignment so I could prepare myself better. I found a lot more research for this essay then the first one, and the more informed I am about a topic the easier it is to write about. I also added a little twist of my own in my paper by writing it like a diary entry. When I started my paper I expressed, “When I was a little girl my parents use to tell me how lucky I was to live here in Boston and still have British protection. As the years go on my eyes have been opened and the truth has been unfolded”. I feel like my last essay didn't meet many of Ben's requirements, so I tried really hard to have good historical facts this time and still incorporate Craig's requirements too. I regret scheduling my meeting with Craig on Thursday; I think it would have been more beneficial for me if I would have made it a day or two earlier so I could have had more time to work on his specific comments. Meeting with Ben on top of meeting with Craig was a good idea on my part, his comments were very helpful too.
---All of these things illustrate my strengths and my weaknesses as a writer. My first essay I struggled with choosing a thesis that would best express how I felt about Bacon’s Rebellion. Without a solid thesis there isn’t a way to have a high-quality paper. When I rewrote this paper I tried focusing more on the economic issues rather then my opinion of who was a better person between Bacon and Berkeley. Doing this really made my paper flow one hundred times better. For my second essay I struggled with my outline. I will never forget this mistake, because it made it so much harder for me to start my first draft. After that essay I will always work really hard on having a detailed outline. With everything I learned I know I can become a better writer if I just practice these skills. This has been a very intense quarter and I don’t regret one second of it. Everything I did will help me get that much closer to the writer I want to become.