My portfolio for the class includes writing samples, reflections, annotations, and self-assessments, as well as a reflection on my reading and writing habits during the semester. I chose these components to showcase my growth as a reader, writer, and researcher and to reflect on my goals and accomplishments in the English composition class. The writing samples in my portfolio provide evidence of my progress and development as a writer during the past semester. They demonstrate my ability to effectively communicate my ideas and to follow the conventions of academic writing, such as using proper citations and formatting.

The reflections and annotations in my portfolio allow me to reflect on my writing process and to consider how I can continue to improve and develop my skills as a writer. They also provide insight into my thought process as I worked on my writing assignments, and allow me to identify my strengths and areas for improvement. The self-assessment component of my portfolio allows me to evaluate my own progress and identify areas where I need to continue to work on my skills. It also gives me the opportunity to reflect on my goals and accomplishments in the English composition class, and to consider how I can continue to improve and grow as a student.

The reflection on my reading and writing habits during the semester is an important part of my portfolio because it allows me to consider how my reading and writing habits have changed over the course of the semester. It also gives me the opportunity to reflect on my strengths and areas for improvement as a reader and writer, and to consider how I can continue to develop my skills in these areas. This my portfolio showcases my growth and development as a reader, writer, and researcher during the past semester. It also allows me to reflect on my goals and accomplishments, and to consider how I can continue to improve and grow as a student in the future.

Throughout this semester, I have had the opportunity to engage with a range of writing assignments that have allowed me to grow as a reader, writer, and researcher. One of the most impactful writing assignments I completed this semester was the analysis of three sample essays. Reading these essays allowed me to see the different ways that writers can approach a subject and convey their perspectives. I was particularly struck by the way that the writer of the essay “Q” used a suspenseful opening scene to draw the reader in and the way that the writer of the essay on “lesbianism” used their own life experiences to illustrate their beliefs. These essays reminded me of the importance of using creative and engaging structures in my own writing.

I also had the opportunity to reflect on my own reading, writing, and research habits in the “Yourself as Reader, Writer, and Researcher” assignment. This assignment allowed me to think about my strengths and weaknesses as a reader and writer and how I can continue to grow in these areas. One thing I realized is that while I enjoy reading fantasy books, nonfiction books can be more challenging for me to get through. I also recognized that I have a strong foundation in writing, but there is always room for improvement. I am excited to continue working on my writing skills in future classes.

As a writer, I have always enjoyed the process of crafting a story or essay, but I have also struggled with confidence in my writing ability. I have found that the more I practice and seek feedback from others, the more confident I become in my writing. I have also learned the importance of revising and editing my work to ensure it is clear and effective.

In terms of researching, I have learned that it is crucial to be diligent and thorough in finding reliable sources and evaluating their credibility. I have also learned the value of taking notes and organizing my research in a way that makes it easy to access and use in my writing. The pandemic has presented challenges in terms of research, but it has also taught me the importance of being adaptable and finding alternative ways to access information.

This semester has given me a deeper understanding of rhetorical techniques and how they can be used effectively in writing. I have also learned about the importance of considering the audience and purpose when crafting a persuasive argument. While I still have questions about fear and humor appeals, I am excited to continue learning and improving my skills as a reader, writer, and researcher.

This semester has been a valuable learning experience for me as a reader, writer, and researcher. I have gained a deeper understanding of the different ways that writers can approach a subject and have had the opportunity to reflect on my own reading and writing habits. I am looking forward to continuing to develop my skills in these areas in my future classes

Writing this reflection on my new draft about the complex and diverse effects of music on listeners has been a valuable and illuminating experience. In the process of composing this paper, I learned about the power of personal experiences and the ways in which they can shape our beliefs and understanding of the world. I also gained insight into the multifaceted and often misunderstood nature of music as an art form.

One of the key things that I learned while writing this essay is the importance of questioning and critically evaluating my own beliefs and biases. Growing up, I was strongly influenced by my father’s belief that music was inherently evil and should be avoided at all costs. This caused me to develop a negative perspective on music and limit my exposure to it. However, through my interactions with others and my own experiences, I began to realize that my belief was overly simplistic and flawed.

In terms of my writing process, I found it helpful to brainstorm and outline my ideas for the third time and a semester later before beginning to write. This allowed me to organize my thoughts and ensure that my essay had a clear and cohesive structure. I also tried to incorporate personal anecdotes and experiences to add depth and credibility to my arguments.

Looking back, I think that one thing I could have done better in my essay was to provide more examples of the positive effects of music on listeners. While I did discuss some of the ways in which music can serve as a source of self-expression and bring people together, I could have provided more specific examples to further illustrate these points. Additionally, I could have done more research to support my arguments and to provide a more comprehensive analysis of the topic.

I believe that this essay showcases my learning about the complex and diverse effects of music on listeners. It demonstrates my ability to reflect on my own beliefs and biases and to critically evaluate their validity. It also shows my willingness to explore new ideas and challenge my preconceptions.

Music has long been perceived as a tool of the devil, influencing people to engage in immoral behavior and promoting evil. However, this belief is flawed and overly simplistic. Music is a complex and diverse art form that can have a range of emotional and psychological effects on listeners. In my own life, I used to believe that all music was inherently evil, largely due to the influence of my father who raised me to see it that way but also due to major artists such as A$AP Rocky, Beyoncé, and many other artists who have always made public displays of them putting up the Illuminati hand symbol. I believed that all singers and musicians were also associated with evil and had their souls tied in a contract with the devil which is the reason why they were so big and successful. However, a series of events and experiences ultimately led me to reconsider my beliefs and embrace the positive aspects of music.

Growing up, I was not allowed to listen to music and was taught that music was indeed evil, bad, associated with the Illuminati and the devil, and was something to be avoided at all costs. As a result, my exposure to music was limited to television and movies, where I was often told to mute or skip over any musical segments. Despite my curiosity about music, I followed my father’s strict guidelines and avoided it as much as possible as it would pull me down the neverending rabbit hole that music is which included a lot of negativity.

However, my attitude towards music began to shift around the time when I was eleven where I started watching anime. I usually skipped over the intro songs that played at the start of each episode until they eventually caught my attention and I found myself enjoying them. This was the first time I had really appreciated music and it sparked my interest in exploring different genres and artists. This is what led to me being more or less okay with the idea of music not being entirely bad and that started my journey on my major belief change and my ending up as a big-time music listener. 

Another turning point came when I discovered the social media app Musically which was the Tiktok of 2014. This platform was filled with people posting videos of themselves doing the most random of things, dancing, and performing skits set to different songs playing in the background. I spent hours scrolling through the app, enjoying the music that accompanied the videos. My father caught me on musically one day and got very angry with me and made sure I didn’t go on it again by making me delete the app and going on one of his long lectures as to why it’s evil and associated with the devil. After that, I uninstalled Musically and went back to skipping or muting the television whenever a song was on and went back to living a totally music-free life. 

Despite my father’s influence, my curiosity about music continued to grow. I brought that mindset with me to school and started spreading that word whenever someone asked me why I disliked music so much. People would then try to always play songs around me knowing how strongly I disliked the notion of it. I always ended up having big debates as to why I believed music was bad and gave no benefits. I won a lot of the debates until this one kid who was really heavy into music always debated back and forth with me. That kid would be one of the major turning points as to why my belief would start to change. The kid who used to always debate with me one day decided to take things to the next level and pushed me so after he made the first move we got into a big fight which ended up with both of us in the office getting detention. It was during this detention that I met Mrs. Shannon, a music teacher who would change my perspective on music forever.

I walked into the room where six other students were already seated and the detention supervisor, Mrs. Shannon handed me a sheet of paper and told me to sit two seats away from anyone else. We were then instructed to write a few sentences as to why we ended up in detention. I immediately got to writing about my whole situation and since I was still a bit heated from what had happened, I ended up writing a super long paragraph. After thirty minutes everyone was required to hand their papers in and one by one we did. Once she had gotten everybody’s papers with around twenty-five minutes left of detention she read all of them. 

At the end of detention, I was getting ready to leave because I really wanted to get out of there but she held me back because she was curious about why I fought and got in trouble over music. I gave her a little rundown on my beliefs which she then responded in “How can music be evil if it lifts the spirits of a lot of people and is actually linked to the improvement of lots of health issues” those words still strike me to this very day and that was the start of a beautiful friendship. Whenever I saw Mrs. Shannon my curiosity about music came to me and I always asked her questions and she would be more than obliged to answer them. Mrs. Shannon introduced me to a range of different types of music and showed me how it could be used as a form of self-expression and therapy. She challenged my belief that all music was evil and helped me see its positive aspects of it. Through her guidance, I began to understand that music is a complex and nuanced art form that can evoke a wide range of emotions and experiences in listeners.

What really changed my beliefs is when I had to write a little research essay about anything of our choosing. I chose music and it was during that research that really led to me wanting to start exploring all different types of music. After I finished writing I got some headphones and downloaded SoundCloud for the first time ever and started going down the rabbit hole of music. For weeks I listened to all different kinds of music, from upbeat to sad to rock to classics, and felt all the different emotions and power that come from music. I learned that music just couldn’t be evil if it helps with anxiety, reduces blood pressure, and pain as well as improves the quality of sleep, can better your mood and helps with memory.

My belief that music is inherently evil had been challenged and ultimately dismantled through a series of personal experiences and encounters with people who helped broaden my understanding of the art form. Music is not solely associated with the devil, but rather a diverse and multifaceted medium that can bring joy, healing, and self-expression to those who engage with it.

Writing this essay on overpopulation as a matter of survival was a challenging but rewarding experience. To begin with, I had to research and gather information from both academic and non-academic sources to provide a comprehensive understanding of the topic. This process helped me to develop a deeper appreciation for the complexity of the issue and the various perspectives that exist on it.

Through this process, I learned about the various causes and consequences of population growth, as well as potential solutions to mitigate its negative impacts. One of the main causes of overpopulation is the high fertility rate, which is driven by a number of factors such as poverty, lack of access to education and family planning, and cultural and religious beliefs. The consequences of overpopulation are wide-ranging and include resource depletion, environmental degradation, climate change, and social and economic issues such as poverty and inequality.

To address the issue of overpopulation, there are a number of potential solutions that can be implemented. These include increasing access to education and family planning, promoting sustainable development and resource management, and implementing policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, it is important to consider the potential challenges and trade-offs associated with these solutions, such as cultural and social resistance, economic costs, and the possibility of unintended consequences.

This essay helped me to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of addressing the issue of overpopulation as a matter of survival for both humanity and the planet. It also allowed me to reflect on the complexity of the issue and the need to consider multiple perspectives and potential solutions. In terms of what I could have done better, I think I could have delved more into the specific actions that can be taken at the individual and collective levels to address overpopulation. Additionally, I could have included more examples and case studies to illustrate the impacts of overpopulation and the effectiveness of different solutions.

In conclusion, this essay showcases my learning by demonstrating my ability to research and analyze a complex issue, as well as consider multiple perspectives and potential solutions. It also reflects my commitment to addressing important global challenges and finding ways to improve the sustainability and well-being of humanity and the planet.

Writing this essay was a learning experience for me because it allowed me to delve deeper into the history and rhetoric of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. Before starting this essay, I had only a basic understanding of the party and its goals. However, as I conducted research and began to write, I gained a greater appreciation for the impact that the BPP had on American society and the ways in which they used rhetoric to further their cause.

One aspect of the writing process that I found particularly challenging was organizing my ideas and ensuring that my essay flowed smoothly. I struggled with finding a clear structure for my essay and had to revise it multiple times to ensure that each section was coherent and connected to the overall theme.

Despite these challenges, I am proud of the final product because I feel that it effectively showcases my learning about the BPP and its use of rhetoric. I was able to use examples from the Ten Point Program and the Black Community Survival Conference to demonstrate how the BPP used rhetorical devices to appeal to its audience and further its cause. Additionally, I was able to discuss how Burke’s ideas about identification were implemented in the BPP’s rhetoric, which gave me a deeper understanding of the party’s motivations and goals.

In hindsight, I think that I could have done a better job of incorporating more analysis into my essay. While I was able to provide examples of the BPP’s use of rhetoric, I could have done more to analyze the effectiveness of these examples and how they contributed to the party’s overall message. Additionally, I could have done more to contextualize the BPP’s rhetoric within the larger historical and social context of the time period.

Overall, this essay was a valuable learning experience for me as it allowed me to explore the history and rhetoric of the Black Panther Party in greater depth. It also challenged me to think critically about the ways in which social movements use language to further their causes and how rhetorical devices can be used to appeal to different audiences. I believe that this essay showcases my learning on these topics and I am proud of the final product.

This portfolio showcases the work I have completed in my English composition class during the past semester. It includes writing samples, reflections, annotations, and self-assessment, as well as a reflection on my reading and writing habits during the semester. Through this portfolio, I aim to demonstrate my growth as a reader, writer, and researcher and to reflect on my goals and accomplishments in the English composition class.

Writing Samples:

Reflection post about the sample essay

• The first thing I noticed after reading the three essays, was how each and every essay spoke on something that they initially seem to have believed in or saw in a certain light and how their perspective of it changed. Each essay had a different structure like how the writer who wrote “Q” started off with a suspenseful scene that captivated me and then went on to explain what they believed in and how their perception changed. The writer who wrote about “lesbianism” used a structure that was based on her own life and how hearing the word “lesbian” altered moments in her life. The structure of this article is more like approaching her beliefs and directly asking, “Are you… lesbian?” and when she confesses she is, it’s as if she’s revealing how she came to be which I happened to find very heartwarming and creative. The part of the story that gave me a major emotional reaction would be in the beginning of the essay “Q” where she explained a situation in which she had collided head on with another car. The more detail the author went into, the more nervous I became, because such information can only be obtained by almost dying and trying to take everything in before you die. Everything felt like it was occurring in slow motion, with such acceptance of “yes, this is how I’m going to die” that it was terrifying.

This reflection post discusses three sample essays that I read for class and how my perspective on the topics changed as a result. I also share my emotional reactions to certain parts of the essays and my thoughts on their structures.

“Yourself as Reader, Writer, and Researcher”

I’m Izhak, and I’m an avid reader. I love to read all kinds of stuff, from books to comics to online articles. Fantasy books are something I especially like reading. I enjoy being absorbed in some other world and following the adventures of compelling characters. On the other side, there are some books that I despise reading. Nonfiction books, for example, are difficult for me to read since they are dense and technical. I find them difficult to follow and quickly lose interest. I really like reading something more intriguing and understandable.

One really good memory I have about reading is when I discovered the Harry Potter series. I was in middle school at the time and had never been much of a reader before, but something about those books just captured my imagination. I remember staying up late into the night, completely absorbed in the story. It was a really special experience for me and really sparked my love of reading. As for writing, I have always enjoyed it, although I would not consider myself a natural. In the last few years, I did quite a bit of writing for school and for various extracurricular activities. I wrote research papers, essays, and even a few short stories. I found that I enjoyed the process of writing and liked being able to express my ideas through the written word.

I have also done quite a bit of research in the past, both for school and for personal projects. Some of the research I have done includes finding sources for papers, looking up information on a particular topic, and even conducting interviews. I find that the most difficult and confusing part of the research process is sifting through all of the information and figuring out what is relevant and reliable. It can be overwhelming at times, but I find it rewarding when I am able to find the information I am looking for.

My past English classes were a mixed bag. Some of them were really engaging and I enjoyed them a lot, while others were more dull and felt more like a chore. Overall, I think I have learned a lot from my English classes and have become a stronger writer as a result. As for starting this class, I am feeling a bit nervous but also excited. I would like to learn more about writing and improve my skills. I am also looking forward to reading some new and interesting texts. 

The pandemic has definitely changed my reading and writing habits. With more time at home and less access to outside activities, I have found myself reading more than ever before. I have also been doing more writing, both for school and for personal projects. The pandemic has also made research more challenging, as many libraries and other resources are closed or have limited access. Despite these challenges, I have found that the pandemic has given me more time to focus on my reading and writing, which has been a blessing in some ways.

“Yourself as Reader, Writer, and Researcher”: This is a personal essay in which I discuss my identity as a reader, writer, and researcher, as well as my goals and expectations for the English composition class. I also reflect on my past English classes and the impact of the pandemic on my reading and writing habits.

Reflections:

1. Reflection post about the sample essay: In this reflection, I discuss the insights I gained from reading the three sample essays and how they changed my perspective on the topics. I also share my thoughts on the structures and emotional impact of the essays.
2. “Yourself as Reader, Writer, and Researcher”: In this reflection, I discuss my process of writing the personal essay and the skills I used, such as self-reflection and self-assessment. I also reflect on my goals for the English composition class and how I hope to improve as a reader, writer, and researcher.

Annotations:

1. Reflection post about the sample essay: In this annotation, I provide a brief summary of the three sample essays and explain their main themes and purposes. I also highlight the key points and techniques used in each essay.
2. “Yourself as Reader, Writer, and Researcher”: In this annotation, I summarize the main points of my personal essay and explain its purpose and structure. I also discuss the skills and techniques I used, such as self-reflection and self-assessment, and how they contributed to the overall effectiveness of the piece.

Goals and Accomplishments:

In my introduction, I discussed my goals for the English composition class, which included improving my skills as a reader, writer, and researcher and learning more about writing. Throughout the semester, I have worked towards achieving

As I reflect on my journey and my beliefs about music, I realize that my perspective has changed significantly over the years and I still have much to learn. I used to believe that all music was evil and associated with the devil, but now I understand that this is not the case. I have come to realize that music is a diverse and multifaceted art form that can be used for a wide range of purposes, both positive and negative. While some musicians and songs may be associated with negative themes or messages, this does not mean that all music is inherently evil.

One of the key events that led to my belief change was my detention with Mrs. Shannon. She introduced me to a new way of thinking about music and helped me to understand that it can be a powerful force for good. She showed me that music can be used to express emotion, tell stories, and connect with others in meaningful ways. This helped me to see that music can be a powerful tool for self-expression and connection and that it is not necessarily tied to negative or evil themes.

Another event that contributed to my belief change was my encounter with the kid who always debated with me about music. Our altercation ended up leading me to detention, where I met Mrs. Shannon and had the opportunity to learn more about music. This incident also taught me that it is important to consider different perspectives and viewpoints and to be open to the possibility that my beliefs may not be the only valid ones. It helped me to see that there is often more than one side to a story and that it is important to listen to and consider others’ viewpoints, even if we disagree with them.

I believe that writing this essay has helped me to better understand the power of personal experiences and how they can shape our beliefs and perspectives. Prior to writing this essay, I had a very narrow and negative view of music and its role in society. However, through the process of reflecting on my own experiences and the events that have shaped my beliefs, I have come to realize that music is a multifaceted and complex art form that can have a profound impact on individuals and communities.

In addition to helping me to better understand the role of music in society, writing this essay has also helped me to develop my writing skills and to become a more effective communicator. Throughout the process of writing this essay, I have learned to better articulate my thoughts and ideas, and to structure my writing in a way that is clear and concise. I have also learned the importance of conducting thorough research and of using evidence to support my arguments.

Overall, I believe that this essay has been a valuable learning experience for me, and I am grateful for the opportunity to reflect on my beliefs and develop my writing skills. I hope to continue to grow and learn as a writer in the future and to continue to use my writing to explore and understand the world around me.

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