Hi, my name is Hannah Gallup I am about to finish my first year of college at BCC. I recently changed my major from General Studies Major to Early Childhood Education Major in order to become a preschool teacher. Throughout my early years in school I never felt confident in my writing abilities. My weaknesses mostly involved the placement of punctuation and paragraph development. When I got into high school, I started to pay attention more to grammar and proofreading. One of my strengths when it comes to a writing assignment is that if the topic is something I can relate to, I can go into  great detail so the reader can actually feel like they were there with me. When I registered for this class I was a little bit worried about the amount of writing that it would involve and not knowing what was required in the portfolio, also made me nervous. In choosing a theme to write about for the various assignments due this semester, it seems that sports somehow have always been an important part of my life and one of the way that my family connects. So, the three assignments in the portfolio all involve sports.

The first essay that I have placed in my portfolio is the memoir assignment. My memoir was a chance to write about special memories from a family vacation that included my brother playing in a baseball tournament in Cooperstown, New York. I chose this essay because when my family goes on vacation we usually end up going somewhere sports related. Another reason I wrote this paper is because my brother means the world to me and it was a nice chance to share some special memories. This essay shows that I am a good story teller and can go into detail on stories that mean something to me. With this essay I accomplished my goal of entertaining people with good descriptive details such as explaining how everyone felt at the opening day ceremonies.

The second essay that I have included in my portfolio is the ethnography assignment. The reason for this assignment was to examine a subculture of people who share behaviors, and write down observations and details. The group I chose to write about was a group of baseball players, including my brother, who attended several sessions of  a batting clinic. This essay illustrated my ability to focus on a topic and to provide details of the behaviors that I observed.  Since I had never heard of an ethnography before, it was a challenge to organize and revise this essay and I was pleases with the result.

The third and final essay in my portfolio is the text wrestling assignment. The basis for this assignment was to be able to connect and respond to the writing of others. This involved providing a summary of another author’s main points and considering if I could relate to those points or if I would disagree in my response to the article.  The topic of this essay was a discussion of what lengths athletes should go to in order to make their dreams come true. While writing a summary of the article, I determined that I was in agreement with the main points of the author that some modifications are acceptable for athletes such as laser surgery to improve vision, but having blood transfusions or taking performance enhancing drugs do not qualify as an acceptable way to improve their skills. As part of my response I was able to include an article about an athlete who will be competing in the Paralympics in Rio this summer. The courage of this individual to do everything he can to be able to compete should be an inspiration for anyone who wants to rely on the talent that they were born with and to try their best. This essay  shows that I have good research skills and can evaluate source material and use MLA guidelines.

In conclusion, I am confident that the three writing samples which I have included in the portfolio assignment demonstrate that I have achieved the course objectives. Throughout the three assignments there is clear evidence of focusing on a topic, developing the details of a story, and of course making the necessary revisions. The feedback from the instructor and the opportunities that I had for my peers to review my writing have helped me to improve my abilities as a writer.