Hey Everyone!

 

In my FIQWS 10108, we were given the task to create a portfolio for our CUNY commons website. At first, I had no idea as to what that was nor had I heard of it.  I also would not expect that in my composition class, a website would be created. I was confused, and my worries came because my goal is to get an A on this final assignment. My confusion became less when my teacher gave us a chart that guided us on the final portfolio assignment.  This chart is the Writing Section Learning Outcomes that guided us in the direction to following the correct procedures.

 

Our first assignment was the Literacy Narrative. This assignment addressed learning outcome 1 and 4. This assignment’s goal is to teach me how to analyze genre and rhetorical situations. The genre based on this literacy assignment involved social issues in the US. The rhetorical situations in this assignment that I practiced and recognized were purpose, stance, audience, media/design and genre as shown below from the Norton website:

 

Our Literacy Narrative was based off of two political cartoons: “The Problem We All Live With” (Ruby Bridges) and “Trying to Trash Betsy DeVos” (Betsy DeVos). The main question was if I believed if both political cartoons had the same message and if they could be viewed as the same. Throughout my literacy narrative, I disagreed that the two cartoons could not be viewed as the same. Below is a paragraph from the Literacy Narrative Essay as to why I believe the two political cartoons could not be connected.

My peer review for my draft of my reflection for the literacy narrative was very useful in developing a better conclusion analysis. Brandon, my peer, gave me constructive feedback on how I could improve the last sentence to my literacy narrative reflection. Below, I will show the highlighted sentences that changed after my constructive feedback was given. (Learning Outcome #2)

 

(Before)

 

(After)

 

For every essay given in class, we were all required to have a Citation Page where we would cite all our sources. The required citations needed to be put in MLA format. We had a session in class where Ms. K gave us a useful link on learning how to use MLA format to cite for our Critical Research Paper. The different forms of citing quotations through MLA format are through direct quotes, summary, or paraphrasing. I also used MLA Citations in my bibliography. Most of the citations I used in my Critical Research Paper are direct quotes and a highlighted quote is shown below: (Learning Outcome #3)

 

Through some writing processes, I have been able to develop and engage in the collaborative and social aspects of writing. A lot of these writing processes occurred in Alyssa’s class and Ms. K’s class. Some of these collaborative and social aspects of writings processes occurred in discussion boards. We were often given a text and were told to analyze it and connect it to society. (Learning Outcome #5)

This is an example of engagement and development in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes. In this discussion board, I decided on what the main topic of my exploratory essay would be. I decided to use “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe because I felt as if I could engage in social aspects that were seen in a fictional story. I felt as if the repression spoken of in my essay could be connected to how people act in real life society because there are people who repress and displace their anger just like the main character of “The Black Cat” did.

 

Outcome Learning Objective #6 was completed recently. I was able to create a website on the CUNY Commons Academic website. Through this website I can display different educational information. By doing so, I am now able to address different subjects to the audience by using digital technology such as a website. Below is a picture of my website under construction:

 

One of the most difficult tasks in this semester was looking for credible and scholarly sources. It was the first time that I had been exposed to the idea. When we had our first library visit, I felt so bored and didn’t think it was necessary. I then realized I learned about the CCNY library database that would help me to find information for my Critical Research Paper. Although it was hard, the database allowed me to find information that was needed to support my central theme. Ms. K also gave us a lesson on how to find out if a source is scholarly or credible. This screenshot below illustrates a scholarly source found in the CCNY library database my Critical Research Paper. The second picture also shows a piece of the lesson that was given in us in class in order to find credible sources. (Learning Outcome #7)

 

The goal of learning outcome # 8 is to simply be able to make appropriate comparisons between texts. I accomplished this once the Critical Research Paper was submitted. It was not an easy task to complete that final paper, but I felt a sense of accomplishment. I compared the text “Super-Frog Saves Tokyo” by Haruki Murakami and “The Dissection of the Psychical Person” by Sigmund Freud. Through these texts, I was able to analyze how the author critiques society through his story and using Freudian lens to support my thesis. Below is a sample of my Critical Research Paper.

 

I was able to leave this class with new information, new knowledge, and a renewed individual who is willing to continue expanding in the areas of literature!