The creation my web folio was deserving of a lot of attention to say the least. It was a process where I could show cause my creativity while still being able to focus on making a professional portfolio  and being able to customize a web page to my liking felt fulfilling. For the thematic visuals I used pictures that related to my major, English, as reading and writing were the essential skills that I had been working on for the entirety of ENGL 301. During this assignment, I focused on rebuffing all of my previous work in order to showcase the pinnacle of my writing ability. It was satisfying going back and correcting all the inefficiencies of expression, which allowed me to see how much I had grown within the short period of four months.

First, I worked on editing my best works, which included the definitions assignment, formal report proposal, complaint letter and a peer review of my writing partner’s formal report proposal. Using my previous peer reviews as guidelines for improvement, I was able to pinpoint exact weaknesses in my writing. A noticeable trend in constructive comments included being too informal, the need for brevity, and cutting down on excessive wordiness. These suggestions were implemented in my assignments, hopefully improving the level of clarity in my writing. After polishing my best works, I moved on to fixing my previous blog posts and reflections, where I found many instance of awkward phrasing. These were removed to further improve reader understanding.

Creating my home page was especially fun; knowing that this was a web folio that anyone could find on the internet, I made it so that it catered to the understanding of any arbitrary internet user. A guide was provided to help users navigate the website, and I felt the purpose of each page was expressed succinctly enough that the web user would be able to benefit from reading through my work. Seeing the complete product of my web folio gave me a sense of accomplishment. All the hard work I had put in over the course of four months is now proudly displayed in my own built-from-scratch webpage, which can also be shown to any future employers.

Creating my web folio has allowed me to reflect on my past work, and what I had learned. I am pleased to say all the hard work was well worth it.

Over the course of ENGL 301 I have learned a significant amount regarding my writing style and learning style. Performing peer reviews was especially helpful for developing this awareness, and comparing my own work to my writing partners’ was eye-opening. After having completed all of these reviews, I believe I have developed a more critical eye for weakness in written expression and clarity. I believe that this is a great skill that I can take with me into the future, be it for writing in a professional work setting or when drafting a paper for a course. These exercises have also confirmed my learning philosophy, which is that through collaboration there is growth. Having a new pair of eyes to offer helpful feedback is an invaluable resource for improvement.

Areas of strength that I developed included my ability to compose thoughtful content and control of tone. Being able to generate writing that helps readers understand something new or with a different perspective is important and applicable in many contexts. Reflection blogs were especially helpful for building this strength, as they forced me to communicate my thought-process and helped me convey my awareness of what I was learning throughout each unit. My control of tone was developed through the process of peer review; whilst before I thought of a peer review as a function for pure criticism, now I understand that it is meant to objectively evaluate another’s work, on positive as well as negative fronts. Being able to convey criticism in a tactful manner is what makes it constructive; learning how to do this by controlling tone, avoiding imperatives, and having empathy is a finesse that I have developed well.

Weaknesses I noticed in my assignments included issues with brevity and word clutter, and problems with conciseness. This issue mostly stems from being unable to decide on a specific point that I wish to make, and it results in the dressing up of my sentences that are filled with unnecessary words. Now that I have an understanding of this weakness, I hope to combat it by being more concise in my articulation of my points.

Moving forward, my ability to analyze text in a critical manner and to write for a target audience will help me in the long run. I will market these skill to Arts Co-op employers, and if successfully hired I hope to apply the skills I have learned from ENGL 301 such as creating email memos, reports, and peer reviews to a professional work setting. Learning to spot weaknesses in my writing will also be helpful in my future coursework, especially in a major like English. I am grateful that I took this course, and the writing skills that I have developed here are sure to benefit me for the rest of my academic and professional endeavours.

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