Dear Professor Campbell,

Since the completion of my E-Portfolio, I have been able to reflect on my progression in literacy
throughout your class. The goal of the UWRT 1101 class is not to teach but improve upon the literacy of
students entering college. Literacy is about more than just reading or writing, literacy is having a deep
understanding of what it is you are reading or writing. I personally came into the course with very little
appreciation for literacy because I had never been taught the importance of it. High school English was
nothing more than a compilation of meaningless papers which after completion are completely forgotten
about. The E-Portfolio includes all styles of writing I complete throughout the class. Informal writings
such as day book entries and blog posts are included to show what my literacy is like not under the
pressure of a deadline but recording what I truly feel. The genre analysis, literacy narrative, and miniethnography are embedded into my website. These major papers are all unique topics that show a broad
range of how literacy is applied. All of the activities in this class have helped me to become a better
writer, reader, and learner.
The very first assignment was a letter to you. This was a very informal way to help you get to
know me a little bit as more than just students. The letter got me to write down my thoughts freely and
show you what my writing is like in the rawest form. This letter is a base for what my literacy was
entering the course and can be compared to the last assignments written to see my progression. I also
informally wrote almost every class period. In my daybook, I have entries about various topics provided
by you. My daybook is the place where I am able to show the intuitive thinker I am. The prompts improve
my writing because they make me think. The prompts make me ask questions that I didnt even know I
had. To ask these questions of myself, I have to think deeper than just the topic. In my daybook I am
inquisitive and I seek to understand what it is I am writing not just the words I put on the page. Keeping a
daybook throughout the semester has made me more appreciative of my writing. Looking though my
entries, I can see my feelings before and after completion of an assignment. My perspective always
changes and I see points in my literacy that can be improved upon for future papers.

These three major papers which I reflect upon in my daybook have also developed me into a
better writer and student. The first of the three major assignments was a genre analysis. For this
assignment, I was able to select my own genre which made the assignment much more personal. Because
the topic was both something I was familiar with and I enjoyed, I did not find this assignment
challenging. I wrote my paper on the genre of one of my favorite albums of all time. The album Illmatic
had aspects which place it into the genre of hip-hop and rap but my goal was to identify elements that
differentiate the album into a distinct genre. This assignment was a lot of fun for me to research about the
genre and finds more albums with similar characteristics. The essay was written easily for me because I
simply wrote down the observations I had gained over years of listening to the music and research I
conducted. The second major paper was the most difficult for me to write of the three. The assignment
was to reflect upon a time in your life which your literacy was affected. As the courses main focus is on
literacy, the assignment is was very important in understanding how your literacy has developed. I did not
have a particularly meaningful time in my life when I learned to read or write so I chose the memories I
have of enjoying reading. Although I could recall the memories, I had a difficult time working them into a
paper. I specifically remember entirely reading and enjoying in fifth grade. This was the first time that I
had read a book on my own because I wanted to since reading childrens books. This was an extremely
important part of developing my literacy as a student and individual. I think that literacy is very hard to be
taught, it must be self-learned. You can teach a child how to read and write but if they dont enjoy it or
utilize it, then it is useless. Literacy is not a skill like mathematics that is learned by watching a
chalkboard; you have to physically practice and perfect your writing. Literacy is exploring yourself to
see how well you truly describe what you are feeling through write or understand the meaning behind
words on a page. I believe that literacy is learned through a collection of all the events in ones life so I
found it very challenging to find a specific event in my life were my literacy was learned. This paper also
challenged me when I had to include dialogue that I may not have remembered word for word. It was
difficult for me to work in the dialogue seamlessly with the paper. My first draft contained only a few
pieces of dialogue so I was instructed by a peer to add more. Adding dialogue to the paper does make the

events seem more realistic and tells a better story of what actually took place. This paper challenged me
to write in a style that was different than most ways I have written before which I believe is beneficial to
my literacy development. I became a better writing and developer of a paper through the completion of
this project.
The final major assignment completed in UWRT 1101 was a mini-ethnography. This assignment
was both the most interesting and enjoyable paper I completed. Once again I was able to choose a topic
that interested me for the assignment so I chose something that was very close to my heart. For my miniethnography, I chose to study the UNCC Mens Club Lacrosse team. I have been a member of this team
since the first couple weeks of the school year and I have loved it. I began playing lacrosse in high school
and absolutely fell in love with the sport. For the assignment I was to observe the team on two separate
occasions and study the social interaction of the team. This allowed me to do something new with the
team. I took a step back, out of the drills and off the field to simply watch. What I observed was a whole
new game that I was completely unfamiliar with. I could now observe all of the small details that would
go completely unnoticed if you were not looking for them. This assignment was my favorite because I
gained a new appreciation for what I loved. With that also being said, I believe this assignment was the
most important work completed in the class. The paper for the mini-ethnography contained elements of
research, observations, dialogue, reaction, and opinions. These are almost all the elements that you can
include in a paper so it challenged me personally in a good way. Being the last assignment completed, my
literacy had already come a long way through the semester at the beginning of the mini-ethnography. I
utilized all the skills I had improved upon to write what I believe to be my best paper.
My literacy improves with every paper that I complete. Looking through the materials in my eportfolio, I can see my work get more and more complex. My writing has become clearer and more
concise for the reader to understand. When I read my own writing, I can recognize exactly what I was
saying and how I was feeling so I hope that the reader is able to do the same. I still struggle with
introductions to my papers; I think that this is the weakest part of my literacy. I do not know how much

detail I should go into at the beginning of my paper to make it clear what my paper is about but not reveal
everything. I believe my introductions have improved during this course because the introduction for my
mini-ethnography gives an overview of the papers subject without providing specific details. My
strongest aspect of writing is concluding. Once I have written the entire paper, I have no problem with
tying everything together. A great example of my conclusion is at the end of the literacy narrative. I
repeat the phase used in my introduction to bring the paper full circle.
I have a new found respect for writing after completing the assignments for this semester. Writing
used to just be a boring task that I labored through to just finish the paper. I have actually begun to enjoy
writing and seeing an assignment to its completion. After spending weeks on a paper and putting in hours
of hard work, I have a final product that I can be proud to turn in and confident in a good grade. I have
become more analytical in every way. When I read a passage, I read beneath the words on the page and
seek to find a deeper understanding into what the author is trying to say. I analyze my own writing also to
make sure that I am clearly getting my point across. My writing is more interesting, informational, and
enjoyable to read. The work I have completed this semester has improved my literacy as much as all of
the events in my life.