Ashton Warden

English Composition II
Mrs. Tamera Davis
Northern Oklahoma College
615 N. Monroe
Stillwater, Oklahoma 74074
26 April 2024

Dear Mrs. Davis

Throughout this assignment I learned a few things about myself. As this school year
unfolded I read more and more different works. I read more works this year than I have in my
last 4 years of highschool combined. This project really helped me reflect on myself and see how
much I have grown since my freshman year of highschool. This portfolio shows a few pieces of
my works from this year. The reason I chose all of my pieces to be from this year was because I
feel as if I have improved greatly even since just last year. I chose 4 of my favorite writings from
this semester to use as my artifacts in my portfolio, because they actively demonstrate how far I
have improved in my writing skill. This collection of writing is special to me because I felt as if
these were some of my best writings that I've done.
My first artifact was “Being a Good Neighbor.” The reason I chose this for my first
artifact was partially because it was my favorite work of the 4 that I chose. The other reason for
choosing it first was because it was one of the first works I did this semester. This artifact
described what I thought it took for someone to be a good neighbor. Throughout the work I kept
referring to helping others how you would want them to help you. I still believe that this is a very
important ideal for people to uphold. My second artifact was a journal entry about “Metal Gear
Solid V.” After my first artifact I did not have much reasoning for ordering the rest of the
artifacts the way I did. The reason I chose this piece for one of my artifacts was more for the
actual story rather than the journal entry. I really enjoyed reading “Playing Metal Gear Solid V.”
The journal entry that I wrote over this piece was the best journal entry I wrote throughout the
year which is another reason why I wanted to choose this work for an artifact. After reading
“Playing Metal Gear Solid V,” I was hooked. I really liked how the author switched perspectives
and settings. He was able to smoothly switch between the main character in real life and the main
character in the video game. It was always clear who was talking and what was going on. The
journal entry itself was about why this piece caught my eye. Throughout the artifact I kept
reiterating that it was because of the setting and the characters that made me want to keep
reading and writing about this piece.
My third artifact was my “Letter to an Authority.” This letter that I wrote was significant
to me and especially relevant now after the recent tornadoes that we had. The letter was sent to
Todd Russ, he is the treasurer of Oklahoma. I sent this letter to him regarding natural disasters
and helping people who were affected by them. I chose this as my third artifact as it was one of
the only letters I have ever written so I wanted to share it with others. There was still no specific
reasoning for choosing it to be third. I believe this letter is now relevant after we had the bad
storms and tornadoes across Oklahoma. For example, the town of Sulphur here in Oklahoma was
decimated by the tornadoes this weekend. Many buildings and houses were completely flattened,
so much was lost in these tornadoes. The letter I wrote to Todd Russ talked about helping those
who are affected by natural disasters just like the people of Sulphur. My fourth artifact is my
journal entry of “The Importance of Being Earnest.” The reason I chose this for one of my
artifacts was because it was the only play that I have read or even heard within the last year. I felt
like I should add this to my artifacts because it is the only one like it that I have done. The play
itself was a little confusing but it was a shorter play. The more I read throughout the play the
more I understood it. Throughout my journal entry I stated that it was only 3 ACTs and that it
was a short play which is one of the reasons I liked it so much. I do not like reading long drawn
out books so this playing being as short as it was made it much more enjoyable. I do not typically
read or watch any plays but this was required for class and I ended up liking it more than I
thought I would so I am glad that it was required for this class.
Throughout this assignment I realized how much I have really changed and improved as a
writer. The more I wrote throughout this semester the more comfortable I felt. I do not typically
like writing but the assignments I took on throughout this semester were not super difficult or
long but they definitely helped me improve my skills. I feel as if smaller writings are much more
effective at helping me with my writing rather than writing just one or two really long works.
That is how I personally feel and some people may rather write just one or two long works and
that would be more beneficial for them. I feel as if the works I chose for my artifacts
demonstrated the growth of my writing. If I put it in one of my old works from say freshman
year, I think you can easily see a difference in the level of writing that I am at now compared to
back then. I think a few of the works that completely changed how I write was my first artifact
“Being a Good Neighbor” and my third artifact “Letter to an Authority”. I feel as if these two
works specifically changed how I write. I felt myself improve throughout these two writings and
I really enjoyed writing them.
I feel as if I have a strange writing process. I do not usually create rough drafts or outlines
for my works. I usually choose to freehand the work and then go and make changes as I go or as
I see fit. I usually like to brainstorm in my head and come up with my ideas in my head but I
don't go as far as writing them down. I write what I feel is necessary to the piece I am writing at
the moment. I have always written like this and it has not changed much over time. I think if
there was one thing that I did differently about my writing it would probably be my writing
process. It is much more efficient to create an outline or a rough draft of your works I feel like. I
do not have a particular reason for not creating them, it is more just a habit to write as I go so I
continue to do that. If I had a writing toolbox it would probably be pretty empty. I don't write
long pieces and most of what I write is straight off the top of my head. There's not much I would
keep in the toolbox except maybe a few snacks just to keep me going.
Throughout my writing I have definitely improved. I have improved on my research
skills a bunch, I also have a much easier time writing mid to long papers. If I was asked to write
a 2000 word essay last school year I probably would have thought you were joking. After
completing this assignment I have realized that it is not hard to write a 2000 word essay once you
have a general idea of what you are doing and you know how to write. A few of my strengths
would be my attention span. I typically do most of my writing in one sitting rather than splitting
it up between multiple sessions. Another strength would be my research skills, I believe that my
research skills are very helpful for my writing. I would much rather write a research type paper
than create your own story writing. I definitely have many weaknesses throughout my writing.
My strongest weakness is definitely going to be my creativity. I am not a naturally creative
person which is another reason why I like research papers so much more. I can find all the
information I need online just by searching through the internet and putting it into the paper.
Another weakness I have is my motivation. I never have motivation to sit down and write.
Personally the most motivation I get to write is because of the due dates that are set. I think if I
worked on my motivation to write then I would enjoy English and literature classes much more.
A few ways that I am going to help myself work on my weaknesses is by trying to work on my
motivation and creativeness throughout college.
The next steps in my writing career are going to be while I am attending college.
Throughout college I intend to greatly improve in my writing. I hope to be able to improve on
my writing in all aspects, my strengths and weaknesses. In the near future I see many types of
writing that I will have to complete. All of my college courses are going to require different
amounts and kinds of writings. Another type of writing I foresee in the near future are essays for
school and college scholarships. I also plan to write a new resume and fully complete that before
I leave for college as that is something I also have not done. In order to write my college
scholarships I am going to need to build on my weakness of creativity as many of the essays that
are required for them will force you to be creative and learn how to write creatively. White I do
not believe I am fully prepared for all of the different writing that is to come. I definitely think
that this assignment and the assignments I completed this year helped me improve so I can be at
least a little more prepared when the time comes.
With all of this being said these artifacts are very important to me and they are things that
I will remember for a very long time. I really enjoyed this final assignment for my Composition
II class and can not wait to see what the future offers me throughout college and life. I assume
my writing will get better with time on its own but I also know that I will need to work on it and
want it to get better for it to make a real difference and really improve. Thank you for your time
reading this assignment and your time and help throughout this semester. I am open to
conversations about this class and this assignment feel free to reach out. Once again thank you.

Sincerely,
Ashton Warden