KilePortfolioDraft

Foundations of College Writing Dr. Sherry Portfolio Synthesis Letter Kendra Kile

In my foundations of college writing this semester, I have worked toward five goals for my writing. Below, I have listed each goal with examples from the projects I have done throughout this course. In my first project, I researched and collected data in regards to the advantages to dorming at a university compared to commuting. In my second project, I took the results from my research and used them to make three different genres for three different audiences. Lastly, I used peer review to help improve my work.

In my research project, I investigated the advantages to dorming at university compared to commuting. I wrote an informative letter with the audience being high school students looking into going to college. My purpose was to provide facts from my previous research to help persuade students to look at all the different advantages to living on campus. I did this by adding in my facts from other researchers and also by interviewing a student who commutes to Bloomsburg University and a student who lives on campus.
 * Goal A. Students will be able to compose for particular audiences and purposes.**



I used this approach because I felt as though this specific type of letter would be more directed to a high school student. Due to the fact that this decision comes down to the high school student, I thought that it only made sense to make it directed to a student verses any other type of audience.

In my second project I decided to make a letter to parents regarding information about living on campus here at Bloomsburg University. Unlike the first letter, this letter if very formative and would be taken more professionally.



Instead of including background and method like the previous letter, I added statistics and important facts that a parent would want to know about at Bloomsburg University if their child decided to live on campus. For example, I added "Here at Bloomsburg University we have a 21:1 student-faculty ratio, 9,201 students, a library with numerous recourses, as well as frequent on-campus activities."

For my research project, I chose to make a persuasive research paper. In this, I first stated the problem and then gave some background information from articles I have previoiusly looked into and read. To follow up the background information, I explained my method along with some findings I found while interviewing two students. Lastly, I made a conclusion backing it up with good evidence. For example, I wrote:
 * Goal B. Students will be able to compose using language and conventions appropriate to genre.**
 * "Numerous studies have examined differences between students who live on campus and those that commute to college, with some studies suggesting that students who live on campus tend to have advantages over those who commute to campus (Peterson, 1975)."
 * "Based on my ethnographic data, college culture while residing on campus as well as at home are two very different experiences. There seems so be far more advantages to dorming at a University then commuting, simply because of the “college experience” including education."

I included a strong point indicating that there are various differences among residing and commuting to a university, however studies suggest that those who live on campus have more advantages, which clearly states the purpose of my paper and what "side" I am taking. I also included an example from my conclusion because it shows that I can take the information I have gained throughout my research to conclude that students are more beneficial residing on campus.

In my research project, I spent quite awhile researching to find articles that supported my topic. I made sure to articles that had not only a lot of information, but as well as experiments and statistics to help support the idea that living on campus is more beneficial for a student then commuting. I read through these articles to find supporting details to apply to my question "What are the major advantages and disadvantages of commuting or residing at Bloomsburg University and what will help me become successful both during and after college?"
 * Goal C. Students will be able to read, select, and use evidence critically to formulate and support arguments.**



In this research project I also interviewed 2 students; one who commutes Bloomsburg University and the other who lives in a dorm room. By asking them numerous questions in regards to their decision, I was able to conclude that they both agreed living on campus overall is a better decision, even though both routes have many advantages and disadvantages. I decided to interview students because I think it is better to hear opinions and advice from other people to help support an idea. I also decided to use this method because I believe that by doing this along with researching articles, my conclusion will be more accurate and the answer to my question will be more supported by evidence.

I decided to make a flyer for high school seniors interested in Bloomsburg University. To make this specific type of genre professional and organized I used contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity. It is important for a flyer to have these principles because it makes the final product overall recognizable as well as organized. Here are a few examples of how I used these principles:
 * Goal D. Students will be able to interpret and compose in a variety of media and print/non-print genres**

Contrast - I decided to use a large picture of the Bloomsburg University campus on my flyer to help make it stand out and to also let viewers have an idea right away about what it is about. Outside of the picture I decided to use gray because it is a relaxed color, which would help the flyer from not looking too obnoxious. Repetition - By making boxes below the picture with important key facts, is repetition. If a viewer reads on box, they would know that the other boxes following that also contain supportive ideas. Alignment- I decided to align all the text in the center of the poster/boxes. By keeping this consistent throughout the whole thing, it makes it all balance out. Proximity - Everything in this flyer is well spaced out, enough so that everything doesn't clash together. By spacing things out, it makes the overall product look very organized.



By learning these principles in class, it made making different genres easier and I learned techniques that would help make an overall product look professional in an organized and eye-catching way.

Throughout this class, we did peer reviews, which is having other classmates view our drafts to give advice on improving our work. We did this for all of our projects, and by hearing other people's opinions and improvisations, we were each able to make changes to better our work. Below is an example of one of my peer reviews throughout this course
 * Goal E. Students will be able to discuss and apply appropriate writing processes both individually and in collaborative contexts.**



By doing peer reviews, I was not only able to improve my work but also take advice/criticism about my own work in a positive way. I have learned that the criticism is only to help me in this case.