2 of 5 Independence Process Blog for Reflective Intro

Once I figured out everything I needed to include with my reflective introduction, I was ready to start writing it.  I wanted to keep a theme going with all three of the writings I chose and when I thought about the three that I picked I realized they were all good writing pieces because I was passionate and could relate in some way to all three.  I then realized this is what makes my writing better, when I’m writing about something that interests me.  When I started to write, I couldn’t stop.  I had so much to say about each writing piece, I had no problem writing my reflective introduction.  I also didn’t have much of a problem editing the three papers.  I changed each of them successfully, making them better than they were before.  I am confident in my portfolio.

First Draft- Reflective Intro

Danielle Silva

Professor M. MacKnight

WRT 104

2 May 2011

Reflective Introduction

            Every individual has a different approach to the way they write their papers and their writing styles.  Some take more time than others and then some cut to the chase.  A lot of people have to think about their topic for a long period of time while others can think of one instantly.  No matter what, each of us has our own way of going about writing.  For me, writing papers is like trying out a new sport.  I get the idea in my head of a fun and interesting sport that I would like to try and then decide when and how I will do it.  Just like my writing, I get the idea in my head of what topic I will choose to write my paper on and then settle on how I will go about writing the paper.  Sometimes I may try out a sport and then realize it doesn’t work for me, just like sometimes I will try out a topic for my writing and then recognize I really don’t enjoy writing on this topic.  I then choose a different sport to try out and a different paper topic to write about.  Finally, when I find the sport that I truly enjoy, it becomes fun and can be easy.  Sometimes I have to work hard at it, but in the end I am very happy of my progress.  This goes the same for my writing, when I finally find a topic I benefit from, writing the paper becomes enjoyable.  Even though it takes hard work at times, my papers always come out how I would most want them to.

            Choosing from all five of my writing pieces that I have been working on all semester was difficult.  Surprisingly, I enjoyed writing all of the projects because I always was able to choose a topic that meant something to me.  However, after some thought process I finally chose what three papers I would include in my final portfolio.  I chose to analyze, reflect, edit, and discuss project one which was the literacy narrative, project two which was analyzing a text, and project five which was the portfolio.  All three of these writings were my favorite pieces and the ones that meant the most to me.

            When thinking about each project I have worked on and which three I would choose, project five was the first one that came to mind.  Project five was a profile.  A profile is a writing piece that “portrays or ‘captures’ someone or something that you find interesting, curious, or unusual”.  Writing a profile focuses more on one aspect, like a “snap shot”.  Right when my writing professor explained the profile and told the class it could be a person or a place, I knew exactly what I wanted to write my paper on.  Immediately, I thought of the beach that is in my town, Narragansett.  That weekend, I decided to take my laptop to the beach and write my profile.  Since I was so passionate about the paper topic, the writing process came easy to me and it was very pleasurable.  After reading my draft and having others read my draft, I felt very proud of my writing piece.  Because I was so fervent of my topic and pleased with the final product, I decided this was a great piece to be added to my portfolio.  I felt as though the descriptions that I used in my profile were very interesting and made the paper enjoyable to read.  This shows how I am as a writer because one can see my writing skills are better when writing about a topic that is relatable, rather than writing a paper on a topic that I have zero interest in.  Although I did believe my profile was a very well written piece, revisions can always be made.  The minor adjustments had been made after the writing workshop and then for my final portfolio I decided I would change the angle of the paper.  At first my angle was that the beach always remains the same no matter what season it is and what activities are going on there.  I decided to change the angle to how the beach can get crazy at times, however when not caught up in the craziness, it always remains tranquil.  I decided to revise it this way because I felt as though it made the paper mean more to me because the beach is a very calm and mind-easing place to me.  This is shown in my favorite passage of project five, my profile: “And still, no matter how much craziness that can be going on at the beach during the summer, serenity still fills the mind and body.”

            Thinking about what project I would next want to add to my portfolio I decided I would chose one that needed the most work because it was able to show where I have flaws in my writing.  The second writing piece I chose to add to my portfolio was project one, the literacy narrative.  This literacy narrative was supposed to be about any experience that involved reading or writing.  After making a list of different topics I could write about for this topic and thinking about which topic I would most enjoy writing a paper on, I finally chose one.  I decided to write about my senior project paper that I was to write in high school in order to graduate.  This writing piece that was written in high school was the most memorable for me and therefore I knew I would be able to convey a decent paper on it.  I chose to add this paper to my portfolio because it was a special moment in my life.  When writing my senior project I had a lot of trouble with it at first and this made me realize I needed to be more cautious with my writing.  Not only did I enjoy reading my piece of writing, I thought it was a good idea to add to my profile because the paper explains how I became the writer that I am today.  I also chose to put project one in my portfolio because it shows some weak points I had in my writing skills at the beginning of the semester.  For this paper to be the best that it could be there are a few revisions that needed to be made.  I tried changing my paper to focus more on how I made the change of becoming a better writer from my senior paper.  I also changed project one to center more on the help I had gotten on my senior paper from my school librarian, Mrs. Good and how this also changed my writing.  When my writing professor gave me back comments on my paper, those were the suggestions that he made.  I agreed with his propositions and truly believed that these remarks could help the strength of my literacy narrative.  Although this paper needed the most work, there are many passages in which make me realize how much this paper meant to me.  A favorite quote from my paper says, “After discussing topics with Mrs. Good, I felt so confident that my paper was going to be awesome and make my senior year a little less stressful than it already was.”

            Choosing the last piece that I would add to my portfolio was the most difficult choice.  At first I wanted to put in a piece that was different and one more like project three or project four where research was involved.  However, I didn’t feel passionate or excited about either of those papers.  I finally then made the final decision of adding project two to my portfolio which was analyzing a text.  For this paper the professor told us to read three articles.  One article was about Martin Luther King, one about evolution, and one about abortion.  After reading these articles, one was to be chosen to analyze and write a paper on.  Even before reading the article and simply hearing what each was about, I knew I would write mine on the one to do with abortion.  Abortion is a topic I feel very strongly about and I was interested in analyzing the text about it.  Besides the fact that I have a strong opinion on abortion, I chose to add this to my portfolio because I was trying to keep going with the theme of papers I had more interest in to keep in my portfolio.  This paper interested me a lot and that is why I did so well on it.  Again, just like my profile, this writing piece shows that when I am passionate about something I can produce a well written paper.  Even though I got a very good grade on this paper, revisions had to be made for my portfolio.  This was very difficult because I did not want to change anything.  Since it was so complicated to change the paper as drastically as the other two, I tried going back in the paper and simply beefing up the vocabulary and sentence structure.  I feel as though my biggest weakness in my writing skills is my vocabulary and wording of sentences.  Since I am always trying to work on this I figured it would be a good idea to take one of my papers and show how I can fix these weaknesses.  Overall, I truly enjoyed writing, reading, and revising this paper and my favorite passage from project two was, “Rachel Richardson Smith is not trying to make the reader change whether they are pro-life or pro-choice; she is simply trying to get each side to understand the ideas she has brought up that don’t always get explained.”

            My experience with this writing class has truly been a helpful one.  When looking through all five papers I have written, I can see the progress I have made from the first paper to the last paper.  The one thing that sticks out most to me about my writing is that if I have a topic that I am passionate about, it is evident that I feel for the topic and I can produce a writing piece that is enjoyable to read.  I can only wish that I would always be able to write about topics that I am fanatical about.

1 of 5 Independence Process Blog for Reflective Intro

Throughout the semester I have learned a lot about my writing and I am actually excited to be able to reflect about it in my reflective introduction.  When introduced to this in class, I was a bit nervous about what it would entail and how I would go about writing it.  I was also confused about how I was going to edit three papers when I already finished these papers and handed them in to be graded.  I knew I had a lot to think about for this final portfolio.  My biggest thought was what three papers I would choose to write about in my reflective introduction.  After some thought I decided I would chose to write and reflect about project one (literacy narrative), project two (analyzing a text), and project five (profile).

5 of 5 Independence Process Blog for Project 5

As I began to look over comments from others about my paper and the comments I made for myself, I was still unsure of what I wanted to add to my final paper.  I knew I needed to add more detail because it was only two and a half pages and it had to be three.  After reading over my paper many times, I began to find places here and there to add sentences to and make the paper even better.  My favorite parts in my paper are the metaphors and similes, so I tried to add more of those.  I really enjoy my paper because it is something I am actually passionate about.  At first I was very unsure about writing a profile.  However, when I knew I could write about the beach I became very excited.  I think my profile turned out very well and I had fun writing it too.

Project 5 Final

Danielle Silva

Professor M. MacKnight

WRT 104

23 April 2011

Project 5: Profile

            There are many different places around the world that change scenery depending on the season.  It can be amazing to see those changes happen right before one’s eyes.  The place itself does not change; simply just the occurrences around it become different.  Settings like this can be made into what the individual desires them to be.  In the winter different kinds of activities occur rather than they would in the summer.  Because the location lies in Rhode Island, one can see and feel the specific season changes and is forced to adjust to those differences.  The beach in Narragansett, Rhode Island is very well known to many people around New England.  Most only bother with it during the summer.  However, there are still a vast amount of people who are able to enjoy its beauty year round, simply in a different way than they would in the summer season.  To the eye, the beach always remains the same, however the season changes allow for transformations in the atmosphere and feeling of it.

            Sitting in a car during the month of April in the Narragansett Town Beach parking lot is an activity residents of the area enjoy.  Even on a day where one can hear the raindrops hit the roof of the car, the tranquility of this location can make any worries rid the mind.  Ignoring the slow movement of the wind shield wipers on the cars window dash, the wave’s crash slowly onto the shore over and over again in a never ending motion.  This same motion occurs in the summer months of June, July, August, and September except most will not be sitting in cars.  People will be out on the hot sand with their feet in the ocean allowing these wave’s crash into them.  However, still the same feeling of having no worries will occur when the beach is one’s location.

            The beach can be used for many different activities and occurrences all year round.  In the winter, a small amount of people will occupy the attraction of the beach.  Its smell of dead fish and salt with a mixture of the cold ocean breeze can keep most people away.  However, there is still those few who can always enjoy the harmony the beach can bring.  They take on the cold weather to enjoy the view of the ocean and the Narragansett Towers to the left.  Even in the winter, the towers are beautiful with small amounts of snow scattered around the rooftop.  On a day the wind picks up and the waves are large, one sits in their car with a friend over hot coffee and observes the brave souls who decide to face the winter weather.  Sometimes the waves can get so large that the sand on the beach seams to disappear.  Those daring one’s who are bold enough to take on these large creatures will go out and surf the outsized water creations.  They get out of their cars; untie their surfboards from the roof of their car, and sprint towards the ocean in their thick, skin tight wetsuits which protect them from the freezing water temperatures.  Then, there are those of us who enjoy parking our cars in the beach parking lot, blasting the heat to keep warm, and watch these bold people face the huge waves and surf them.  Sometimes one cringe’s when an enormous wave comes and we watch what looks like these tiny surfers get crushed by the enormous creations made by the wind.  During the winter months, the beach is a lot quieter, but every time one makes a trip there, the scenery never seems to fail to be a disappointment.

            As spring approaches and the weather starts to distance itself from the winter weather, more and more human interaction can be seen at the beach.  People in Rhode Island always seem to be completely miserable in the winter months.  As soon as a slightly warm day comes around, large amounts of people can be seen doing a vast amount of activities at the beach.  The combination of the fresh warm air smell and knowing summer is right around the corner brings happiness to oneself.  One can usually see a man walking his dog along the calm shores and another woman passing with her child may stop to pet the dog.  Some will slip their sneakers and socks off to walk towards the shore and get their first feel of the ocean of the season.  Most only can bare the bitterness for a second and then imagine how wonderful the ocean will feel in the summer weather.  Knowing bathing suit days are right around the corner, some of us can be seen going for a jog up and down the Narragansett shore.  Everyone is friendlier when at the beach during this time of year.  One can hear people converse about their plans for this summer and always brings a smile to one’s face.  Immediately, reminiscing of last year’s summer comes to mind and the new memories and expectations of the upcoming one will not escape for the rest of the day.  The beach during the spring months is the happiest time for those who enjoy the kinds of activities they can do at this time of year and knowing what season is coming next.

            In Narragansett, when the word “summer” is heard, only the beach can come to mind.  During the summer, the beach has the most interesting sights out of any time of year.  There are so many different behaviors and activities going on, one cannot keep up.  The hot air and the bright sun bring tons and tons of people to the beach.  Narragansett residents don’t enjoy the large amounts of tourists who come to their town; however being in the sun allows them to forget.  Groups of friends gather on the crisp, hot sand and set their beach chairs in social groups.  They get their bathing suits on because the weather is so nice that it would be crazy to sit on the beach with clothes on.  Tons of people can be seen in the water either cooling off, playing in the waves, surfing, and some people can be seen on their boats in the distance.  Like going into a high school lunch room, human chatter is ongoing throughout the whole day and the squeaking of a lifeguards whistle can be heard every so often.  Children can be seen playing together in the sand and building sand castles together with a mother snapping a picture of the precious moments the beach can bring.  And still, no matter how much craziness that can be going on at the beach during the summer, serenity still fills the mind and body.

            Those last few summer beach days at Narragansett beach are cherished because soon the fall months will be rolling right around the corner.  Children will be going back to school to see their friends again and gossip about how fun each of their summers were.  Parents will soon be going back to their jobs and normal schedules of waking up early and making their kids lunch for school instead of packing them for a day at the beach.  Fewer people will be seen enjoying their summer activities at the beach.  More and more clothes will be put on to go walk on the beach or go there to sit and relax while reading a book.  Less and less cars will be seen in the parking lot as the days continue to get colder.  The wet suits on the surfers will become thicker as the water temperatures drop.  Those who ran on the beach in shorts will now put their pants and sweatshirts on to be protected by the oceans breeze.  Green leaves on the trees across from the ocean will soon turn to their fall colors.

I can always be seen sitting in my car or on a warm day walking along the shore, no matter what the weather may be.  Even though the summer season is a favorite of mine, the harmony and peacefulness even during the winter draws me there.  Looking out onto the beach with its tan sand and different sized rocks mixed with seaweed keeps me sane.  No matter the how often the season changes, the beach itself does not transform.  It will always give me the same feeling no matter what it looks like, what it smells like, or how it feels.  Just like the waves that crash over and over again in their ongoing motion, the seasons alterations occur at the beach and the same scenery can be seen year after year after year.

4 of 5 Independence Process Blog for Project 5

                Today in class we had a writing workshop for project number five.  I was nervous to have others read my paper because I was unsure if I met the criteria of what a profile really needed to be.  However, once I read the first persons paper in my group I felt a lot better because there’s was formatted like mine.  Then, I read my paper and as I was reading I realized how much I really enjoyed my paper.  After I was done reading it, the other two members in my writing workshop group told me they really like it also.  They said it had good descriptions and was a well-written profile.  They also said they could really tell I enjoyed the beach and knew it had to be a favorite place of mine.  There were still a few things that needed to be worked on though.  Sometimes in my paper I kept switching from the past tense to the present tense and I need to work on keeping the whole paper in the same tense.  I also need to add another paragraph or so to make it three pages.

3 of 5 Independence Process Blog for Project 5

It was time for me to sit down and start writing project five.  Since I was home for the weekend in Narragansett, I decided I would charge up my laptop and go write my paper at the beach.  I figured this would definitely help me a lot.  Unfortunately, the day I went to go write my paper it was raining and so I had to stay inside my car while I wrote it.  I was hoping it would be a nice spring day and I would be able to take my beach chair out and sit right on the beach and write it.  Either way, I feel as though I did a good job on my first draft.  I do feel like I need some assistance with it so I am thankful for the writing workshop that will be coming up in class.