Elizabeth Pomerantz                                                                                          1/22/03

Reflections on My Portfolio

            Throughout the past six months as an English student, I felt I have developed as a writer. Although not all topics assigned interested me, the ones that held my interest, allowed me to explore my writing ability. While some tasks have covered a topic I feel passionately about, others have felt more similar to a chore. Because my teacher required a great deal of reading for the class, almost all of the assignments have been based on the literature discussed in class. I did no enjoy reading Lord of the Flies or The Heart is a Lonely Hunter however, I loved Catcher in the Rye. Although the course was a composition one, I feel that I have learned how to interpret novels more than the skill of writing compositions.

            My worst piece of work for this course was my “Mock Trial Portfolio.” The information I needed for the base of this project came from the novel, Lord of the Flies. I had trouble comprehending the novel. I did not enjoy reading the story once I understood it either. Unlike the other writing assignments, I did not have any prior experience with a mock trial so I entered the project with cold feet. Usually, I dislike working with others because I end up completing all the work myself but for this project, I worked with people who shared the work load with me fairly and I also found my classmates accommodating. After dividing all the work, I did not find the assignments difficult, but I was unfamiliar with the format appropriate for the elements of the assignment. In addition to having no experience with the court system, I do not like to be filmed on camera. I usually become very nervous when I know I’m being recorded. With more experience maybe I would become a better public speaker which would allow the audience to understand my ideas clearer.

            My strongest project was the Catcher in the Rye assignment. One of my favorite books that I have ever read includes Catcher in the Rye. I related to the main character, Holden and his environment, New York City. Because I enjoyed reading the novel so much, I put a great deal of effort into the task because the novel held my interest to such a great extent. I also love art and have a moderate level of artistic ability so when I had to draw the items in Holden’s scrapbook, it came naturally to me. This piece was effective in conveying the ideas behind it because I associated my self with Holden and after reading the novel I almost felt as though Holden had been a friend of mine. After this fact, it came easily to me to portray his life and the items that became most important to him. Because I spent the greatest amount of time on this project and enjoyed the novel a great deal, this project was very successful.