Throughout the length of this course I have had the opportunity to experience different types of writing. And in these experiences I have learned that writing is a very flexible and dynamic process—changes and unexpected things are a regular occurrence when writing at any style or level. I have also come to the conclusion that writing is not something based off of who you are or where you come from, but it is something that anyone can become successful with as long as they have a strong work ethic and a desire to succeed. Writing will reward the writer if they can find the time to work on their writing—well-written documents and texts are the cornerstones to success in this world. And in this class I have come appreciate even more how effective and skillful writing can help my future. No matter the field I choose to pursue after VMI, if I can master successful writing it will carry me there. And I have shown that when I am on top of everything that needs to be completed in a writing assignment, I have made great strides to reach that higher echelon of writing skills.

When reflecting on my childhood education and the years prior to coming to VMI I was never a terrible writer nor did I despise having to sit down and write a paper for a certain course or project in school. This, however, does not suggest that I did not struggle with writing either. Regardless of this, toward the end of my high school years I developed a more sophisticated and intellectual approach to writing—my first portfolio, Portrait of A Writer, gives a sneak peak of this—and because of this came out with a different view to the art of writing. I personally saw it as a huge growing moment in the development of becoming a successful writer. I wasn’t writing great essays or papers all the time, but I was experiencing a multitude of improvement and my teachers in high school took notice. Fortunately, I’ve been able to do my best to carry that momentum into this course and as time has progressed have been more successful—particularly referring to my scores on the three portfolios.

With the conclusion of portfolio number 1, Portrait of A Writer, a very new and different from the first challenge awaited me in the second portfolio, Guide To Writing In A Genre. This allowed me to step back and think about what writing I enjoyed and found interesting not as a writer, but as a reader. This was an interesting beginning because it allowed me to see the relationship between reading and writing that plays a very crucial role in both disciplines. During my time as a reader I have enjoyed everything from newspaper articles and magazines to fictional novels and non-fiction biographies. Therefore the choice was from a large pool as to what to write about, but ultimately I felt that writing about the genre of Southern Literature was what I wanted to do. The reason for which lies fairly simply with the appreciation and respect for what the genre offers to the outside world. Southern Literature, for many years, has provided society with unique, frank, and addicting texts that always seem to come straight from the heart. These pieces always seem to keep readers begging for more and never wanting to stop reading, and I believe we, as readers, owe a great debt to the writers in this genre. In this essay I was successfully able to describe my love and devotion for the genre. I did an admirable job of displaying my feelings for Southern Literature as well as the unique impact it has in the literature world. With good word usage and descriptive skills, this part of the paper was a success. However, I feel that I continued to struggle with sticking to the instructions provided by instead going off on tangents about the genre. It is important, when aiming to write rhetorically, to be disciplined in terms of the assignment provided. I needed to do a better job of describing the given points within the genre that made it so special and, through the use of a few examples, explain specifically the ways these authors used it in their literature.

By the time the third portfolio was assigned to our class, I was eager to bounce back from the previous two results. I had not written poor papers on either one, but I was not making the best effort to move past my mistakes and earn a better grade. The third portfolio, Discourse Community Ethnography, was writing about a discourse community in which I was either a member of or one I researched about. For me, I immediately knew what I wanted to write about, my high school. Because it is a place that has transformed me into the person I am today and will always hold a special place in my heart, I knew this would be a great opportunity for me to attempt to place my passion and love onto a blank page. In this paper, I did my very best to always have the assignment sheet right by my side to ensure I was always following all steps and directions. This made a big difference in the outcome of my paper. In addition, I did a good job of not getting too carried away with my love for St. Christopher’s and speaking to that effect. I did my best to stay on track in focusing on the task of laying out what the discourse community was about, who was in it, and so on. I received a much better grade on this paper than the previous two papers, and more importantly, developed a better sense of making a paper a good one by focusing purely on the miniscule details that become so important in the final result of the paper.

The semester in Writing and Rhetoric has provided me with a few different emotions that I will carry with me throughout my time at VMI. I came into the course with a good deal of confidence that writing is a skill that I was good at. I discovered that writing is something I am relatively successful with, but I do not have a good depth of understanding of it. It is important for me to realize going forward that writing is a very dynamic practice. Not every writing assignment is identical in approach or purpose and it requires a good analysis of what the instructors expectations are in order to discover how to attack the given paper or essay. I have also come to realize that if I continue my interest and enjoyment with writing, I will continue to develop and become a better writer.