This portfolio was created in Professor McGuire’s Composition 101 class, at Moraine Valley Community College. These five assignments have focused on the central theme to Turn to Face the Strange/r. Each assignment tried to answer to this theme in a different way, and finally answer the theme directly by the end of portfolio. In Worth about five words, I focused on the part of myself that I actively try to hide, and tried to explain in detail why I do this. In Envision, I had to find the unknown in someone else through an interview, I did this with Ken Maher. This essay is similar to assignment one, in that it focuses on the unknown of someone else, and challenged me as a writer to find this answer. In Seeing is not enough, I focused on finding the strange in my house. Which is a very demanding task for anyone to talk about the place they reside as unfamiliar. For As a threat, I really tried to focus on the character I created, my research resulted in historical information on skinheads and the Aryan brotherhood, and the psychology of former members and their stories. In my final piece titled A counselor's Perspective, I worked in a group with Danny Angulo and Guillermo Regalado to help others bridge the gap between depression and suicide. Many people do not receive treatment, a crucial part to be able to decrease depression. In the project, my group created a video interview with Sara Levi, a counselor at Moraine Valley Community College. We edited the interview and added crucial information to try to connect with others and create change surrounding depression. In the future I hope to volunteer with Sara Levi with my group members on campus for suicide awareness week next September.
Throughout this portfolio, I used mixed media to add to each and every essay. In my first piece, my main focus was to create two different photos of myself, one a selfie and the other a self portrait. The selfie represented by outward mask to the world while the self-portrait shows my internal feelings. In my second piece, I recorded the interview before I started writing this piece and talked with people very close with Ken to peel back his layers so I could better understand him. Like my first essay, my third essay has photos inside and around my house to add to the essay. Without it, my audience would have no visual aid when thinking about the place I chose. To add to As a threat, I created an annotated overlay to explain the actions of my character and his affiliated hate group. In my final project, my group created a video interview with Sara Levi, a counselor at Moraine Valley Community College that specializes in teen depression. We edited the interview and added crucial information to try to connect with others and create change surrounding depression.
Three specific strengths in my writing is my attention to detail, creativity, and grammar. In each essay, I incorporate the source material in all my work without feeling forced to the reader. Without this, my essay’s would feel flat, and have no ground to work with. This course has changed my writing skills dramatically, my creative detail on how to form an essay will give the reader a new aspect of writing. I have reread all of my essay to look for errors in grammar to have the reader have a clear experience.