Introduction
My ISUcomm ePortfolio is composed of several parts. Under the header at the right side of the website there is a widget that reads “Puerto Rican Music”. Here, I have provided two songs that some Puerto Ricans would dance and sing along to. These are relatively new and are very popular right now in Puerto Rican pop culture. I decided to add this to demonstrate a little of where I’m from. You’re welcome to play it at any point or not play it at all. At the bottom of that, where it says “Pictures”, there are a few facts and pictures of Puerto Rico. Below that there’s a video narrated by Alan Watt that I found last semester and inspired me and I decided to share with you, as well. There is the main menu that is located at the top right of the website under “English 250”. Here the menu is divided into different folders labeled as: About Me, Written Assignments, OVE Assignments, OVE Reflections and the Final Reflection. You can click any of the titles to redirect you there. Some of these are divided into several other pages inside. These could be divided as:
OVE Assignments
OVE Reflections
As I began to go in depth in my English writing skills, I realized how much I was lacking. I had taken already the English 150 class but nevertheless, I saw myself having problems. At the beginning of the course I realized my misunderstanding of the term “summarizing”. A word that simple. I wrote and rewrote my work. I learned the importance of drafting and also paraphrasing. As the assignment due dates approached I began to understand the concept of doing my work ahead of time. I also learned that you can’t assume an audience. It’s best to not include pieces than include pieces I might not know about. In the process of drafting, I also noticed common errors I made such as joining words like “can’t, don’t”.
Having others view your work is also crucial when noticing errors. It is important to take a break from your paper and have someone else read it, as well as read it out loud. Some problems I faced when writing was being able to have coherent sentence structures and an overall flow from one paragraph to another. Reading it out loud has helped by being able to detect weird sentences, as well as incorrect usage of words. These are all things I wouldn’t worry about or do at my hometown.
Being from a place where English was spoken only in English class and now coming to an English based university has been different. I have a lot to learn from English class and a lot to do, but I plan to keep learning to improve. I’m proud of my accomplishments and believe that one step at a time I will fully grasp all of the concepts English writing has to offer.
