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Joe Pittman
Connie Douglas
Eng 112-78
6 December 2016
Letter in Response to E-Portfolio
Dear Ms. Douglas,
The past semester in English, has taught me how to truly write on and evaluate a topic.
We accomplished this by, first creating a line of inquiry; which we used as the basis for all our
major assignments. The line of inquiry I chose was: because of global warming, should we stop
the use of fossil fuels and replace them with carbon free alternative energy? I decided on this line
of inquiry, because I am very passionate about this issue. I believe we must take immediate
action to stop global warming from getting worse, and work towards ending our dependence on
fossil fuels. The papers we wrote for this class made me look at all sides of the argument. To
complete this, I was forced to research and generate ideas that were contrary to my beliefs. At
first, this was a little troublesome for me; but after getting started, I began to see how this was
enhancing my writing and making it more complete. Included in my e-portfolio, I have put
several of my works that I believe show the growth in writing and research I have made. The
works I included were my: rhetorical analysis essay, round table essay, slam poem, and a few
works from my daybook.
The first piece I included was, my rhetorical analysis essay. This was the first paper we
did in the class, and when I came into this semester I was not confident in my writing skills. I
included this piece because, it was the beginning of transformation for my confidence in my
writing skills. My rhetorical analysis, was based on two people with very differing opinions, one

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of which I did not agree with. It was most troubling to find a way to write in a nonbiased manner,
and strictly reflect on the quality of the piece. Once I could do this, I began to see the arguments
in a different way, analyze them for what they are rather than my opinion of them. I could see
how the writers would attempt to connect with the reader through, common grounds in pathos,
logos, and ethos. For example, I noticed how Pettit, who is for green energy, tried to relate to his
reader through pathos; he did this by showing examples of how the world is being destroyed by
global warming and the use of fossil fuels. Analyzing writing in this way showed me how to
recognize mistakes in writing, as well as prevent myself from including the same mistakes in my
writing. When I turned this assignment in, even with extensive research and multiple clarification
questions asked, I was nervous to receive my grade and feedback on my writing. After receiving
everything back, I was extremely pleased with the results. I was very pleased with myself, and
for the first time one of my English teachers cited my paper as a good example for others to see.
The second piece in my e-portfolio is, the round table essay. When I began writing this
piece, my confidence in writing had grown to levels it had not previously reached. I significantly
improved in: grammar, punctuation, and fluidity of the paper. The round table essay, was one of
my favorite pieces to write but, presented a problem in figuring out all the voices my topic was
speaking in. The first couple voices were obvious, as they are the loudest, but the remaining ones
took more extensive research to produce results. The round table essay taught me how to fully
present an argument to the reader. I learned when you give the reader all the information, and not
just one specific viewpoint, they can comprehend all aspects of the argument and are more likely
to generate interest in the topic. After completing this paper, I was much more confident turning
in this piece. I was even able to do something that has always terrified me, I was open to letting
peers read my paper to gain ideas for theirs. Until now, I was always so closed off with my

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writing. I see writing as an insight into a person, and I believed that, when reading my writing,
people would judge me for mistakes and ridicule claims that I made. This paper taught me how
good my writing was, and showed me how my writing is received by others mostly positively
rather than negative.
The last piece of formal writing I included in my e-portfolio was, my slam poem. The
slam poem was, my absolute favorite piece to write this semester. The poem, allowed me to open
my emotions on a topic that I had been having to repress them on. I took the concepts I had
learned throughout the semester, and presented them within my slam poem. The piece took a
similar path of the round table essay, in that it presented multiple voices on the issue. For all the
voices presented in this piece, I showed: their main point of view on the issue, a rebuttal for each
viewpoint, and questions as to what should be done. I found this method to be effective. My
writing showed the reader all the points on the issue and their faults; this allowed me to appeal to
the logos of the reader through questioning and convince them of the harm of fossil fuels. I feel
that my slam poem, is a good example of my creative writing skills. It made me think outside the
box, and create a work out of passion that is backed by fact. I am pleased with my work
presented in my slam poem, and believe it encompasses the skills that I have gained throughout
this semester.
The last section of my e-portfolio is reserved for, pieces of work from my daybook. The
pieces I selected from my daybook are, the ones that struck a chord with me, generated the most
thought and emotion for me to react from. Each piece includes examples of: my critical thinking,
analyzation, and comprehension skills. When first writing the pieces, I was so excited to get all
my ideas down that, I wrote them extremely slopping and riddled with errors. It was not until I
reread the entries, that I could see how bad they were. Before uploading the entries, I went back

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and corrected all the grammar, spelling, and punctuation problems that I could see. When
rereading the entries, most of the pieces reengaged my interest and began to get me thinking
again. For several of the pieces, I went back and changed some of the information and/or added
new thoughts. The new thoughts were derived from my knowledge and confidence that I have
gained throughout this semester. Reading journal entries, from the beginning of the year to now,
showed me how much I have progressed this semester; as well as proving to me that English can
be one of my strong subjects if I put in hard work and believe in my skills.
I believe that my e-portfolio, is a good representation of all my best work throughout the
semester. I know that I have made an enormous amount of progress this year, and am proud of
the writer I am growing into. Writing has always made me very nervous, and this year taught me
I have nothing to be nervous about. The lessons I have learned this year have been life changing,
they have helped me not only grow as student but as a person as well. I just wanted to take a
moment and thank you for all of your help this semester. You have truly transformed someone
from a self-conscious and nervous writer, into one who can be confident and proud of everything
they write.

Sincerely,
Joe Pittman