Writing Prompt 1

I have never done a portfolio, so an E-portfolio is new to me. What really drew my attention is
that its not a place to keep all of your documents but in the future you can go back and reflect on
those documents and learn from them. You can find out your strengths and weaknesses, what you
like and dont like and share it to the public and get feedback from it. You get all of this work
done and learn where your writing skills are at and how youve progressed throughout your
work. I expect lots of feedback from my peers so I can get different perspectives on my writing
and how to improve. I believe I will excel on giving people feedback on their work and also
revising my own work when its been looked at. Its hard to decide what type of portfolio I want
to do at this but Im leaning towards the presentation portfolio because I want collect everything
I have learned in one topic and make it the best it can possibly be. For example, if Im doing
research on something, I get all my research done, I get feedback, go through all those drafts, and
out of all that information I want to create something big. The part Im not so sure about is the
form of the portfolio. If I want paper portfolio, electronic portfolio, or both. I know I will be
using both but I would rather do it on paper. There are so many things you can do electronically
than you cant do on paper but paper is just easier for me to jot my thoughts down. Also, if you
do it all electronically theres a better chance your documents wont get lost. On paper, they
could get misplaced or even damaged. There are also some things you cant do electronically and
can only do on paper which is why you need to use both. Either way, I know this is a great way
to improve your writing skills and learn and know I will only progress in my writing.

Writing Prompt 2
The two most significant features I want my portfolio to show are my progress and improvement
in writing and the quality of my work. The way I will present that is by starting with my first
document and letting people review so I could get more ideas and see what I need to improve on
or leave out of my writing. After that first draft I will look back on it and view the feedback and
use it to my advantage. I will also include things I like about writing and things I want to learn
and improve on, as well as, using my strengths and weaknesses in writing. I want to be able to
stick with a project as long as I can in order to improve it over time until I am satisfied with it. I
will stick with these projects by making multiple drafts and researching. If I learn something that
interests me I will be curious and keep researching about it, which will keep me close to the
project. I dont want to show my abilities as a designer of Web-based materials because I am not
computer savvy and will frustrate me. I will however try to include some kind of excitement to
my e-portfolio using basic materials. An e-portfolio is not about your designing skills but you do
need some a shine to it. I dont want to write in different styles or voices because I want to be
myself and write in my own style and voice to show people who I am and not someone I am not.
I do believe writing in different styles or voices does enhance your writing skills. For example,
over the years I never liked poetry but as I got older my teachers have told me that I do write
poems very well and ever since I try to tie in some of those skills in with writing a research paper
or an essay. I want to show creativity because if your audience sees it they will have more
interest in it. Reviewing your own work can help you significantly because not only if you read it
once or twice you will see different errors but if you wait and read it a week, a month, or even a
year later you will see more about your writing because over time your thought process my have
changed you will see different things. I want to keep up with my portfolio because if I do fall

behind it is very difficult for me to get back on track or even look at it ever again. I want to
excite my audience most of all and be grateful for the work I a have done and try my best to
make that happen.

Writing Prompt 3

I have many learning experiences in my life but the one that keeps coming back to me and really
gave me a different perspective about life was when I went on a mission trip to Mexico. I was
forced to go and I really did not want to go. I though it was going to be boring, I didnt even
know anyone that I went with, and the whole way there I was sulking and didnt talk to anyone.
When we first pulled in there were so many kids surrounding the car and when I got out they felt
like theyve known me there whole life because when I sat down they kept touching my hair (I
had an afro) and talking to me but I couldnt say anything because I didnt know much Spanish
and only a handful of the adults spoke English. Just after that first day, I was glad I came, and
was a learning experience from then on. These kids had a bathroom that you could smell from
outside a little ways from it, there house had paint on it that was peeling off completely, and we
couldnt even drink there tap water or we would get sick, but day in and day out all these kids
had smiling faces and made us laugh so what we did was make them laugh, help them out with
anything they needed, and played games with them and took them to the fair. For the first time in
my teenage life I didnt come in contact with any entertainment electronics for a whole week,
and I never thought I could have so much fun. One day they got two new kids and they were
both very shy, which was understandable because they didnt know anyone. On that same very
day these kids were laughing and looked like they were having the greatest time of their lives. At
that time I just thought this was a special family, this was a strong knit family that is very
welcoming, and just has the time of their lives everyday no matter what. These kids who had a
smile on there faces everyday showed me a great time when I thought I was there to help them
out and show them a great time. At the beginning of the trip I never thought I would say, I want
to back to Mexico, but now I cant wait to go back and go back numerous times after that. They
truly make everything they have around them into something you could never imagine and will

have everyone laughing. They are the most welcoming people I have ever met in my life and
have no doubt made a significant impact on my life. What I learned was that, some things you
may not get in life but whatever you do have make the most of it, dont go crying about it,
nobody has time for that not even you, just go have fun.

Writing Prompt 4

I really like the peer response sessions mainly because it gets another set of eyes on your work. A
professor goes through hundreds of papers grading them and may get overwhelmed and miss
some mistakes. Having a fresh set of eyes can help get a different perspective of your work and
tell you how differently they see your work as anyone else would. Im not saying the professor
does a terrible job; I would definitely rather want a professor grading my work; Im saying that
somebody looking at your work could give you different feedback on your work from the way
they view it and could give you new ideas. In one of my peer response sessions; which went well
since everyone in our group participated; there were four people total in our group and we wrote
about a one-page paper about the way we see life. Each member in the group responded to each
and every ones paper. When I was first writing this paper I didnt know where to begin, I was
stuck. After I got feedback from it I could write all day about it because of all the new ideas I got
from my group. This is a topic you dont do research on; its just your own opinion. Which to me
is harder to write because your sitting their with your own ideas but when you get feedback you
get ideas from other people and from that your brain just starts popping in new ideas just from
thinking about those ideas. The feedback helps a lot, it gets you flowing with your writing and
gets your writing much more detailed and organized. Theres only one thing I dont like about
feedback. I feel that I am terrible at giving feedback to people because I dont give them much to
look on. I dont like reading at all so when I start reading I just kind of skim read and all I really
do is look for grammatical errors not even knowing what they are writing about. Other than that I
love people reviewing my work supplying me with fresh ideas. We also had a research project
with the same group members that didnt go to well. The only rule was to get the work that
everyone had done. Everyone in our group (besides one) thought this was going to be an easy
project until the last week the project was due one of our group members decided to stop

communicating with us and not show up for presentation day and because of that on our project
grade we ended up not doing as well as we wanted because one piece of our research was
missing. Throughout the whole time we had to do this project everyone said they were doing
good on the research, had no problems, and were ready to present the next week we had the
project due. Not only that but after the peer response session I thought I had a good group that
would do their share and nobody would have to worry about anyone. After that project, I have
never seen or heard from that group member again. Make sure everyone on the group does their
part and even if they say theyre getting the research done make them prove it, which could mean
just simply showing us what information that got from their researching.

Writing Prompt 5

As we are getting closer to the halfway point of the semester, it is time to start organizing and
making connections to the work Ive done in my portfolio. So far, there have been many
revisions on my work throughout the semester which will help show many of my strengths,
weaknesses, and how I have grown and what Ive learned as a writer. Here are some of the works
that are in my portfolio:

Daily Writings (1-10)

Writing Prompts (1-4)

Reflections on a question, or quote

Progression through our E-Portfolios

Even though I have worked on two artifacts I have done several of them. As you can see I have
done four writing prompts and ten daily writings and there are still more to come. I have also
worked on many documents in class that have been peer reviewed and even though those wont
be in my portfolio they have helped my progress in my works. Not only that but the instructors
revisions in these writing prompts have helped a lot as well. These two pieces of work have a
connection in which the type of writing they bring. Theyre not essays, poems, or research papers
but they are just short documents that help me compare my writing with two different writing
topics. I can look at both works and find my strengths and weaknesses and organize it to see
what I left out in one of the pieces that enhanced my writing and find a way to fix it in the other
writing to make it better. The more repetition and practice you get the better your writing will be
and the more you look back on your old or revised work to find your strengths and weaknesses
the better you get at keeping those strengths, improving those weaknesses, and leaving out
anything you dont need.

Writing Prompt 6

I will make many revisions in this E-Portfolio. There so many widgets and
little things you can do to organize your work and make it look better.
Although I havent started now I will make many at the end because I dont
want to get too caught up into it or Ill focus on that more than the actual
work itself. I have been looking at some things though like I dont want my
portfolio to be all just one color so Ill play with that and see what I like most
and hopefully the audience wont be bored from it. I want to arrange my
work in way that people will be able to get through it easily and without a
problem. I will have people look at my profile first and then they can look at
my work which ever way they please. I also need to make sure all of the links
work and everyone can see the documents I put up. The most important
thing for me is for everyone viewing it to not be bored and really see who I
am and see what I have learned and how my writing has improved. Revision
are important because you can always make something better, nothing is
perfect and getting feedback from people is the best way to make revisions.
Getting different perspectives from people can give you a variety of
information to hook off of and you can use whatever information you get in
your work. Choose what you want your audience to see.

Writing Prompt 7

I have used rhetorical knowledge in the semester long project in many ways. The first thing I did
when researching our topic (Carolinas Aviation Museum) is google it to find some kind of
website that I can start out with to give me facts about the museum since I had no information on
the topic beside it being an aviation museum in North Carolina. I found the main website and lots
of information on the topic. Since our group split up different categories to do our research on I
looked up the information I needed and wrote down all the facts that were important. Also before
starting our presentation with no idea what we are going to be doing everyone had ideas on how
we should set it up and what absolutely needs to be in our presentation. Also we generated
questions to ask to the person we are going to be interviewing and we want to make sure that the
person we interview can answer our questions. Whenever I talk to my group they always tell me
interesting facts about what they are researching which makes me want to find out more about it
even though its not one of the categories Im researching about. It also helped me make
connections to the information I found. The fact that I had no information on the topic to begin
with and I had to pick a topic this made me want to find all the facts I could about it. I dont like
researching something a learning just some things about it. When I talk about a topic I like to
know more about it than the people who I am talking about it with so they can learn more facts.
The only source that really challenged my critical thinking the most was The New York Times
newspaper source because the other sources didnt have as much information on Tom Ferebee;
who dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima; not even the main website. This is very
significant to research because he is talked about in the museum, obviously was very important

and happened in a significant time (World War II). I was surprised when I found all this
information on him because I didnt know if nobody knew a lot about him, but I dont know why
the museum didnt have more information on him or if they just couldnt find any.

Writing Prompt 8

Tom Ferebee Bombardier

Fig. 1: Tom Ferebee with the Norden
Bombsight
Source: carolinasaviation.org Ted H. Lambert
Thomas Ferebee; who is from North Carolina;
was a bombardier for a secret group during
World War II. Although he wasnt the one who
dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, he was one of
the last people to see the atomic bomb. After
being one of the very few picked in handling
the bomb he didnt know that he was training
to drop the bomb on Hiroshima until the day
the bomb was dropped. The Enola Gay is the
aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb on
Hiroshima and still exists today as an exhibit in
the Washington Dulles International Airport.

Carolinas Aviation Museum

Library

Fig. 2: Restoring a model plane

donated to the museum
Source: carolinasaviation.org
Dolph Overton Aviation Library
The Carolinas Aviation Museum
Library is a huge part of the
museum. It was named after
Dolph Overton; who was a pilot
and native of South Carolina; who
donated many artifacts to the
museums library. The reason I
picked this picture and not one
with a whole bunch of books is
because the library has more than
just books. It holds airplane models, clothing dating all the way back to WWI., vintage
instruments from aircrafts, military artifacts, drawings of airplane frames, rare prints, and films
of military training.

Writing Prompt 9

I held the conversation in my dorm room with my roommates and it helped

with my project. Not only did I learn a lot but they didnt know much about
the museum and they all live in North Carolina. Many questions were asked
and after thinking about them I fed off of them and gave me some new
things to research about. It started off kind of slow because none of them
really knew about the museum and it was at the point where one of the first
questions that was asked was, whats aviation? but other than the slow
start it went well. They assumed aviation were just airplanes but its also
helicopters and anything that is flown in the air. One of the more important
questions that got me thinking was, why was it built there instead of
somewhere else? and this was one question that I researched more about
and found that it was built there because of the hangar that was there when
it first started but it will be moved somewhere else with much more room
soon. They have a clue of what the future model will look like with
restaurants, room for more aircrafts, and a full library. What surprised me
about the conversation was despite how little they knew about aviation and
the museum I must have done a good job explaining my presentation
because many good questions were asked and this helps me know that they
learned something and that my presentation is understandable and not just
something thats too much to think about. So, from doing this I learned a lot
and helped me with my presentation and help me with research and learn
new things about the Carolinas Aviation Museum.

Writing Prompt 10
Looking back on the project proposal, there have been many twists and turns
from what I initially researched to where I am now. I never thought the
smallest of details could take me to so many different places in my research.
I was researching about the importance and impact of the Carolinas Aviation
Museum on the area, the evolution of it, and the educational aspect but as
the researching went I on I learned many new interesting facts that I wanted
to learn more about like, how when they were bringing the Miracle on the
Hudson flight over to Charlotte they had to remove street signs, stop signs,
and lamp posts on small roads to get to plane through and what they plan on
doing to the museum in the future. The interview that was held went very
well and learned even more about the museum from that. They went from
bringing in 5,000 visitors per year to 50, 000 when the Miracle on the Hudson
flight arrived, so bringing in that plane was huge for the museum and is a
great attraction for everyone. What I also found interesting is why they keep
the hangar (where many of the exhibits are) so dark. Many people believe
that its to make it look cool but its actually for preservation because if the
lights were on over the years the colors on the planes would to start to fade
away. Through critical reflection Ive had to think about what direction I want
to go in researching because many people dont want a boring presentation
but you also have to state the important facts so I did a mix of both. I made

sure I researched about important facts and facts that I thought was
interesting so not only the audience wont be bored but I wont be bored in
researching it. The composing process was the easiest to accomplish but I
believe had to put the most work in because of the overall project and
everything that had to be in it. For example, the research you did pictures,
and the interview, you gather all this information and then have to organize
into your presentation to make it work.