English 102 Course Portfolio & Reflection
by Megan Doss
About this Page:
Welcome to my portfolio, which showcases a collection of assignments and reflections from my English 102 class. This compilation highlights my learning journey, emphasizing both the challenges I faced as well as my accomplishments. Throughout this course, we engaged in analyzing research within our respective disciplines and exploring the intricacies of the rhetorical situation. I hope this portfolio provides insight into my growth as a writer over these past couple of weeks.
Looking back at the start of this semester, it feels both like a lifetime ago and just last week. This was my first semester at the University of Arizona and my first as a completely online student. These past 7.5 weeks have been the most stressful yet also the most rewarding of my college career. At times, I had to push myself outside my comfort zone and truly work towards my goals, not only in this class but across all my classes.
Entering my English 102 class, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had taken English 1 at my local community college about a year ago, where we tackled various projects and essays on different topics. This class marked my first experience breaking down an essay into multiple parts and diving deeply into the writing process. Through this approach, I learned more about myself as a writer, identifying both my strengths and the areas where I struggled. In the end, I’m proud of my improvement. The final result, which you’ll see in this portfolio, isn’t perfect—I could probably spend another 7 weeks revising it. However, what truly matters is the knowledge I gained along the way.
In Module 1, we kicked off our first project, exploring topics related to our disciplines. Initially, this felt daunting, especially since my experience in my major is extremely limited. While I have a foundational understanding and a genuine interest in the field, researching complex technical topics to defend in a persuasive essay took time. As a Cyber Ops major, I considered hot topics like AI usage, the rise in cyber-attacks, and cyber threats related to COVID-19. After learning about primary and secondary research and how to let my findings shape my topic, I chose to analyze the dangers of smart home systems. Completing my annotated bibliography was a significant step. One of the most rewarding experiences in this class was the peer review activity for the bibliography. It was fascinating to find a classmate studying something completely different and quickly learn about their topic, then provide a relevant source for them.
Moving on to Module 2, we focused on writing the Persuasive Essay. This was where we learned to synthesize research, utilizing our sources in effective ways. I also discovered the importance of tone, style, and conciseness in academic writing. I struggled with writing in the third person while avoiding a recitation of my sources. However, participating in our peer review writing circle taught me so much. Reading my classmates’ essays and crafting my reviews helped me critically evaluate my own work and identify areas for improvement.
From entering this class with uncertainty to where I am now has been an incredible journey. This class challenged me in the best possible ways, and I genuinely enjoyed every minute of it. As you explore this portfolio, I hope to showcase how my writing process has evolved and reflect on my learning experience over these past 7.5 weeks.
“The writer is an explorer. Every step is an advance into a new land.”
Module 1: Exploring Possible Topics
Throughout this class I used a digital note taking system when working on assignments. This allowed me to jot down important takeaways from the readings and to help guide me while working on assignments. Early on when we started looking for sources in our field of study, I realized that I had quite the challenge ahead of me. As mentioned in my introduction, I don’t have a whole lot of experience with my area of study just yet, and reading through scholarly journals made my brain hurt. I almost immediately started questioning how much I actually wanted to study cybersecurity while doing my primary research.
However, by spending time reviewing sources, and evaluating them, it allowed me to explore different areas within my discipline, and I learned SO much! In my notes I listed a couple of possible topics and had even thought about my topic proposal (seen in the top right corner). However, learning that it is better to let your research drive your topic instead of the other way around changed my entire approach to my writing process. In the past I have always chosen my topic & then found research to support it but doing it opposite allowed my research to be much better thought out. Especially for writing in the persuasive genre, since the entire purpose is to be able to convince your audience that your perspective on the topic is more logical than the counter point. In the end I didn’t write about any of the topics listed in my notes below.
This approach to writing is something I will definitely continue to use in the future. Be it for other writing classes or if I have to write technical documents. I can already see how I could adapt this to writing for my current job. Taking the information I find, and then writing around that would allow me to be more thorough with my work.
After conducting our primary research, we moved onto working on our Annotated Bibliography. However, before we turned in our final bibliography we conducted a peer review via discussion board posts.
In almost all of my college classes we have done some kind of peer review. In my writing classes it has been similar to how we conducted them in this class. In my art class we would present the art pieces we had worked on the past couple weeks & receive constructive criticism from our peers. Whatever the format was, I think most people can agree that peer reviews can be a little daunting. You want to give valuable feedback, but also don’t want to come across as rude or mean. When you are communicating solely online this can feel really difficult to do. At least it did to me. Coming into this class one of my personal goals was to become comfortable with peer review again, as it has been some time since I last completed one.
That being said, this peer review was by far my favorite of all the ones I have done. In this class we had so many different topics being discussed. Some of them I had little prior knowledge of, others I at times had no clue what my classmates were talking about. So, to choose a peer who was writing about something totally different from my own topic and provide them with a source that contributed to their writing was a challenge. Also seeing what sources they choose helped me when I went back and looked at what sources I picked. It gave me the idea of finding some news sources talking about recent real world examples that related to my topic to help my audience understand why my topic mattered and how it applied to them.
I think in the future this will benefit me in a couple of different ways. One, it gave me practice with providing constructive feedback to my peers which at times I already have to do in my job. Doing it in this class has allowed me to become more comfortable doing so, which was one of my goals this semester. It also allows me to practice communicating with peers not in my area of study.
By the end of Module 1 we began working on our first major project, the Annotated Bibliography. This project posed its own unique set of challenges, as in past English courses I have only completed annotated bibliographies that didn’t include an introduction/conclusion. I also continued to struggle with allowing my sources to guide me topic, while making sure to have sources to fully explain my stance to my audience.
Throughout this project however, I realized that completing an annotated bibliography helped with my preparation for writing the persuasive essay. Having most of my sources compiled helped me outline my arguments and determine what information was needed for persuading my audience of my stance.
Overall, I found the annotated bibliography to be a valuable experience. After turning it in I felt the research I gathered was well-rounded and allowed me a strong basis for my writing. I do wish I had allowed more time to dive into some of the other facets of my topic, particularly my counterarguments. Also, I realized when I began drafting my essay, I had to revisit some sources to remind myself why I chose them, indicating that I could have provided more detailed annotations. That or adding more information on the source’s relevance to my topic within the annotations I wrote.
In the future, I want to spend more time making sure to explore all sides of my topic, especially the counterclaims, to really get a complete understanding. I also want to work on taking better notes on my source so I can remember why I chose them when I start writing. I have no doubt I will continue using this approach throughout my studies.
Completing this annotated bibliography taught me the importance of thorough research and planning. This helped prepare me for Module 2 where I continued to plan my essay & began to write.
Module 2: The Persuasive Essay
Module 2 focused on writing the Persuasive Research Essay, but before we started writing, we first needed to synthesize our research & plan. One of the assignments we did for this was DD11HW1, where we chose between mind mapping, freewriting, or creating a word cloud. I chose to complete a mind map, using my digital notes to lay out my entire plan for my essay.
By creating a mind map I was able to see how my sources connected to each another and it allowed me to visualize my research as a whole. This also revealed some gaps in my research, such as the need for news sources discussing real world security breaches. Adding these further allowed me to convey the purpose of my essay to my audience.
In the end, I found the mind mapping process to be really helpful with my writing process. It made the planning stage much easier and allowed me to feel less concerned about how I was going to lay the foundation of my essay. It allowed me to identify where I needed to dig deeper in my research, and to find any gaps. I also realized that considering my audience and the context of how my topic influenced them drove how I was going to present my arguments.
In future writing, I plan to continue using mind maps to help with synthesizing my research, as it really helped me think things all the way through & see where I need more information. I’ll also want to plan more ahead on how the audience and context affect my writing choices.
Throughout Modules 1 and 2, we worked towards Project 2, which involved writing a persuasive essay. Our topic needed to be a debatable “hot topic” within our discipline of study. My chosen topic examined smart home systems and the risks they pose towards personal data security. Looking at my final draft, I feel both proud of what I produced while also slightly conflicted.
On the one hand, I am proud of the extensive research I did, since before this class, my understanding of smart home devices was quite limited. Learning how to analyze and evaluate my sources effectively helped my ability to gather information and present my argument. I also feel that I did a good job of cultivating my topic in relation to the rhetorical situation. I made sure to consider my audience and their potential concerns about data privacy, which helped me think more about how I presented my arguments.
However, I also recognize that there are several areas for improvement within my paper. One of them being I wish I had spent more time addressing the counterclaim, as I feel like it didn’t stand out enough and wasn’t easily identifiable as my counterclaim. Additionally, I wished I paid closer attention to the APA formatting. I feel I allowed myself to stress over certain aspects of the content, which led to me overlooking some areas that needed improvement.
In the future something I want to work on is better time management in making sure my academic papers are formatting corrected. I also want to spend more time revising my essay. I mentioned in the introduction to this course portfolio that I feel like I could have spent another 7 weeks working on this essay, and I truly believe that to be true. However, I am still proud of what I managed to accomplish with this paper, and I don’t feel like I could have written this as well as I did at the beginning of this semester.
In the future I plan on making sure to check my formatting. I also plan on continuing to use the research methods I learned over these past couple weeks on future writing assignments. I feel like this paper has taught the importance of balancing research, writing, and revising a paper. All in all, it was an extremely valuable learning experience, and I will definitely use what I have learned in my future academic writing.
This semester has been a roller coaster of emotions, but I feel like I have gained a massive amount of knowledge. I have learned more about researching & synthesizing evidence. Also, I have learned more about the rhetorical situation, and to let your research drive your topic. I hope those these “artifact” (assignment) you are able to see my growth and learning moments. As I move through my college career, I look forward to how I can use what I have learned in this class to further my goals, both personal and academic.
Thank you for taking the time to read!
“That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you’ve understood all your life, but in a new way.” — Doris Lessing
Funny Course Anecdote:
I also wanted to add this here as a funny side note that happened within this class, but I didn’t want to include this as an “official” portfolio assignment. However I felt it was a funny anecdote to help wrap it up my course reflection.
I mentioned a couple of time in my portfolio that before doing my research for this paper, I didn’t have a huge amount of knowledge within my area of study. Luckily, my older brother Zachary does. One of the concepts I had to explain in my paper that I needed a better understanding of was Ddos attacks (or Distributed denial of service attacks). Below on the left you will find my brothers drawing of him explaining how they worked. However for my notes I needed something a little more readable, so I translated his explanation into the picture on the right for future reference. While writing my final paper, every time I mentioned Ddos attacks, I remembered this drawing in my notes.
Hello everyone!!
My name is Megan, although my friends know me as Meg. I am a first-year student at the University of Arizona & am currently pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Cyber Operations with a focus in Defense & Forensics. I hope to someday work in the digital forensic field, assisting different investigations in the more technological aspects.
As a native to Bentonville, AR, home to the Walmart Home Office, I have spent the last 5 years conducting fraud investigations. Through my career the last 5 years in the e-commerce fraud world, I found a love for deep dive investigations, and catching the “bad guys”.
Outside of work, I spend most of my time reading, drawing, or taking photos. My main focuses are digital art and aviation photography. Thank you for reading!😊