ColemanPortfolioFinal

Foundations of Writing Dr. Sherry Portfolio Synthesis Letter Emily Coleman

This semester, in Foundations of College Writing, we completed three projects. The first project entailed researching a specific topic chosen. My project being the affect of ones college experience whether being an in-state or out-of-state student. For the second project we took our findings and transformed it into three different visual genres, each genre based for a specific audience. For the last project we took three important experiences and times in our life, one being from the past, one from the present and one from the future. We related these experiences to the overall question of what it means to be educated. Throughout this semester I have worked towards five goals for my writing.

Being able to approach a specific audience for certain things is an immense part of composing for particular audiences and purposes. We learned how to direct pieces of work towards a specific genre of writing. We also learned why this is important. This is important because in order for the reader to truly be drawn or connect with the purpose you are trying to create, you must understand who the audience is and direct toward that specific group. For my second project I created three different genres directed towards three different groups of people.
 * Goal A. Students will be able to compose for particular audiences and purposes. **



For the first genre I created a flyer directed towards students. A flyer is a presentable way to catch student’s attention. Students notice flyers based on the color and boldness. My flyer showed students all the great things Bloomsburg University has to offer with pictures and little sayings. The second genre was directed towards parents. I created a professional letter because it is a very informative way to get the information across. I also chose this because a letter is to the point with specific information and that is the best way to capture the parent’s attentions. The last genre was directed towards an outsider of my chosen literacy community. I created a brochure because it is the best way to show all types of information to anyone such as pictures, quotes and facts. I learned how to chose which type of genre was best for each audience. I was then able to create and connect each piece of work to the specific point being made.

Goal B is all about knowing what style to use based on the form of writing and the proper words that work with the assignment. I learned to use specific formats to help keep my papers and projects organized. I learned step-by-step processes in order organize all my thoughts and information. By doing this I was able to incorporate explicit language that fit the theme of my projects. I used Goal B in my first project by incorporating the five steps we were taught.
 * Goal B. Students will be able to compose using language and conventions appropriate to genre. **



For the first project I had five steps I needed to follow in order to compose appropriate language and conventions to my genre and topics. I had to create five steps including a problem, the background, a method, my findings and the final conclusions I drew. These steps helped keep my paper detailed and structured. An example of this would be for my method I talked about the specific ways to develop my findings. I said, “Previous research relied on interviews, so I believed this would be the best way to get the information first hand.” For my method my goal was to have the reader understand how I was going to use previous peoples findings to create my own. I wanted it clear to the audience how I was going to do this and what I was going to do. I used specific language to make my point and purpose clear.

By using others work such as background research and data bases it becomes easier to create and then support ones own arguments. This goal focuses on using others work to support ones own. For my first project I came up with the question of, “Is ones college experience affected by whether they are an in-state or out-of-state student?” In order to create my own findings of the question I created, I first had to do background research on my topic. I used other people’s previous findings to support and further my own. For example, I took three articles with information already found, that could further my own research for my topic. By using these articles and doing background research I was able to further my own project. Below is a quote from my first research project. I took this information to prove my argument. “When it comes time for students to start narrowing down their list of colleges to apply to, one issue always presents itself: whether to leave home for new-found independence and go to school out-of-state, or stay closer to home and reap the benefits of having family close by” (Unigo, 2011, p.1).
 * Goal C. Students will be able to read, select, and use evidence critically to formulate and support arguments. **



I interviewed students of Bloomsburg University to find out what they thought about the question I proposed. By selecting, reading and researching this information I was able to construct an argument. One question I asked was, “How often do you go home?” The answers to this question varied based on the student. In-state students were more likely to go home then out-of-state students.

Goal D taught me how to create specific genres. In class we learned ways to make our work look more composed and professional. I learned the C.R.A.P principles, which stand for contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity. Contrast focuses on the color, shape and size of the genre of choice, repetition is more about the repeat of colors, shapes, fonts etc., alignment is when everything has a visual connection on the page and lastly proximity is when items are grouped closely together. These principles were used throughout the projects I created. I used the C.R.A.P principles throughout all three of my projects. For my second project I completed three different types of genres, a flyer, professional letter, and brochure.
 * Goal D. Students will be able to interpret and compose in a variety of media and print/non-print genres. **



Throughout these three genres in my second project, I used the C.R.A.P principles. For example in my professional letter I used contrast by bolding the important information. In my brochure I used repetition by creating five quotes from each in-state and out-of-state students. I used alignment in my professional letter because my writing was lined up with no indentations on the left hand side. Lastly, proximity was used in my brochure by incorporating each fact closely to the title they support.

This goal focuses on the discussion of ones work with others. I learned how to make proper revisions to not only my work but to my peers work as well, throughout this course. My instructor also made his own revisions and comments on all of our work. For each assignment I had to fill out a peer review sheet. Each peer review sheet was the same but the comments made were different.
 * Goal E. Students will be able to discuss and apply appropriate writing processes both individually and in collaborative contexts. **



On this peer review sheet I wrote down the corrections my peers and Professor gave me. I also helped my peers with corrections on their work as well. Normally we were put in groups of three, this helped because you were given more then one persons opinion on your work. We also got to comment on how that specific peer review helped us. This experience helped us learn from our mistakes. For example in my second project for my brochure, it was brought to my attention that I could have better use of alignment, I then made sure everything lined up and instead of centering things, I had them more directed to the left hand side. I used my peers corrections to better my own work.