De Leon 1

Joseline De Leon
Professor Collins
Engl115
December 8, 2015
Personal Reflection
Dear Portfolio Reader,
I learned a lot this semester on how to write essays and the various rules and steps of
writing.
For Progression 1, the goal was to help us create our own definition of social literacy. My
audience was my fellow scholars and people who wanted to know more about social literacy.
The purpose of this progression was to learn how to effectively create a conversation using two
or more pieces of writing and our own opinion or stance in our essays. The choices I made about
context, tone, and style reflected in my writing. I used the appropriate tone for my essay and used
varied sentence structures and words to keep my writer entertained and engaged while also being
informative. I tried to make it as concise and polished as possible so that my reader would feel I
was knowledgeable in the subject and had done my research, which I had. When I write my
essays, I go through at least one complete rewrite until I feel it is logical, and then I just add,
delete, revise, and reword some of the parts until I feel it is good enough to be turned in. Due to
the nature of writing, you can never be a perfect writer since there will always be something you
can change, add, or delete, so I try my best to get it near perfection. When I am in the final steps
of my paper, after I have scrapped and rewrote it, I like to search for synonyms for some of the
words I use to make it seem more interesting. I hate using the same words over and over again
since I feel it is really boring.
For progression 2, the goal was to help us read the world around us. We did a variety of
exercises to prepare us for our essay such as: constructing a word picture, where we had to create
an image with an underlying meaning; a field report in which we ventured out into a place with
an educational atmosphere and wrote on what we saw and felt; and a visual argument in which
we found a deep meaningful image and wrote a minimal detailed 200 word description of the
image is if we were describing it to some who cannot see the image. For our essay, using what
we learned about images and their meanings, we were given the task to create a multi-modal
essay using different mediums such as images, videos, links and more. I first read the different
prompts we were offered as options and I chose the one I liked the best which was prompt 1. I
learned how to use an ideology to view and interpret my links, texts and primary sources, paying
attention to how they relate to the ism of my choosing. My essay changed, with my revision,
from a clunky essay to a visually appealing essay that flowed. I carefully constructed my essay
and made sure I included key points and explained some of the sources I used in my essay that
were not photos. I always write a huge essay with all my ideas and thoughts as my first draft. I
later refine, organize, add sources, and more to make the essay flow and make sense to the
reader.
For progression 3, we had to write an argumentative essay where we took a stance on a
topic that came from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. I used different sources from my

De Leon 2
research and used them to back up my stance. What I first did was read a variety of sources from
both sides of the argument and some that were neutral. After that I picked my stance and created
my arguments using the sources that best related to and supported my argument. I then checked
that my paper flowed and if all my points were valid and researched. I also proofread my essay
and made my paper more concise.
The purpose of our facilitation was to tie together three different articles and relate them
to each other. We had to relate Fox 8, Harrison Bergeron, and The Socialist Alternative. We did
summaries of each and came up with some discussion questions. We also played a video from
YouTube that tied how capitalism, the environment, and equality all come together. My group
members and I met on a couple of occasions to decide who would do what and how. I learned
how to direct a group discussion especially when theres a lack of participation. I also learned
how to make interesting discussion questions that lead a discussion and how to convey ideas as a
presenter in a classroom setting.
I wish I would have participated a bit more in class discussions. I did participate a couple
of times but I think I would have been able to contribute more. I participated in all the class
activities and I did all the assignments. I feel I gave my full effort when it came to workshops
and peer review because I wanted the person to actually get usable information that would help
them create a well written essay. I think one way I can improve my classroom demeanor is to not
be scared of speaking up, to discuss and stand up for my opinions, and to be more friendly and
social.
I think, overall, I did pretty good in this class. I really tried my hardest to learn the
concepts of English and how to improve my writing. Communication, especially written, is very
important in the professional and academic world. I think I contributed a lot in the class except
for some of the group discussions, but I was a good listener so it kind of works out. A few of my
shortcomings were in relation to grammar rules and sentence or paragraph structures. I could
really improve that so that the reader gets my intended meaning instead of a variation of it due to
my placement of words and commas.
I came out of English 115 a better writer who is more confident in their skills of expressing ideas
through text. As a student, I should communicate and ask more questions from my fellow
classmates. I also need to better myself at time planning because I sometimes use my time
inefficiently. Overall, I think this semester was very productive and I learned a lot of things that
will help me in the future.
Sincerely,
Joseline De Leon