Reflective Letter Outline "The final reflective essay is also a reflective letter for your overall portfolio.

You will use entries from your eportfolio and blog (paying attention to activities, notes, reflections, even doodles) to write a 3-5 page statement to answer the following questions:" 1. What metaphor you would give yourself as a writer? -A flowering vine: I prepare the soil, take care to water and tend it, then allow the vine to grow steadily and finally flower! (word better) 2. What have learned about yourself as a writer in this course?

-I have learned that I have a very hard successfully writing 'shitty first drafts.' I edit as I go, because I simply can't stand to leave 'bad' material on the age for longer than I have to. I'm a perfectionist, and mistakes/failures are my biggest fears in life. This definitely manifests itself in my writing, or at least my feelings about my own writing. 3. What have learned about writing within your chosen discipline?

-I have the ability to write professionally, but I still tend to put too much 'flair' or journalist-style writing in my papers. -Sociology is a language I speak, though, and one I understand very well. I'm also very good at making connections to other disciplines and topics. 4. Assess your greatest strengths and challenges as a writer. strengths- I am able to express my ideas very accurately, and oftentimes in an aesthetic way. The thesaurus is still my best friend, and I think that a strong and varied vocabulary is one of the greatest weapons a writer can keep in her arsenal. weaknesses- Formatting! I never truly learned the proper way to format different types of writing, and it is totally biting me in rear now. I followed guideline for a few papers, but I never memorized or understood how to do it on my own. It's like a foreign language to me. 5. How do you envision writing collaboratively in the future? - I'm going to be required to, but I expect it to be difficult. I'm either going to have to be the overall editor or learn how to loosen the reins a little (which I'm terrible at). I have a very hard time trusting others to do things right, especially with my own work.

6. How have various technologies influenced your composing processes? -Word processing has honestly been one of the greatest things for me, because I can edit so easily. It also allows me to easily makes outlines, much like this one, that I can work from. I often take these outlines and superimpose them directly onto my document, then work from there. Word processing is one of the greatest inventions ever made known to man. 7. How do the pieces in your portfolio reflect your writing self(ves)? -They are all fairly lengthy (i'm rather long-winded), and full of complex, descriptive sentences, sometimes even when they're not appropriate or necessary. It's part of my style. 8. How have individual assignments addressed course goals?

Course Goals: 1)Thinking creatively and critically -Writer's Autobio (Analyzing myself correctly and presenting it in a way that still displayed my style as a writer) -Research proposal (combining the disciplines) 2)Communicating effectively -Collaborative Research Proposal (with one another) -Hypertext Essay (using other resources to communicate my ideas more effectively) -Film (with one another, and communicating message to an audience through new media) 3)Understanding responsibilities of community membership -Collaborative Proposal (Being able to contribute to the sociological community in a positive, insightful, and original way) -Film (Doing one's fair share)