Best of Miami Portfolios 2001 - Units.muohio.edu

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Your gurgling stomach now seems less urgent as you notice the Jimi-Hendrix-dreadlocks dream on your right wink at an hourglass figure woman wearing electric leather boots clip, clippity, clapping by. And you appreciate my silent endeavor to capture images and instill in yourself and others an awareness of life. For this is the reason I write. Sincerely, A New Miami Student 10
Reflective Letter—Theresa Donofrio Dear Miami University Writing Professors, “Why can’t I think of anything to write?” she thought. She shifted her gaze yet again from the artificial light of her desk lamp to the window. Often, she would amaze herself at how much time she had spent staring out that window, not particularly looking at anything or thinking about anything, but giving her thoughts the freedom to wander, desperately hoping they would land upon “a good idea.” She sighed and returned her attention to the desk in front of her. Shrouded in darkness outside of the area lit by the desk lamp, she focused on the blank white paper before her and tapped her blue pen on her desk. For her, writing is an internal struggle. Who is this girl awake late at night, fighting with the words? I am that very girl. I often sit at my desk, well after my parents have gone to bed, and attempt to write. In my mind, writing a beautiful piece is a true challenge. To be able to write eloquently and with such passion that the work leaves the reader in awe is what I envision as the ultimate goal. Lately, I have found myself questioning my ability to write powerfully, or even to write well at all. I struggle with the words, pitting one against another, looking for the exact array to capture emotion on paper. I wonder if my writing conveys anything to the reader. Uncertain if my work “measures up” to the psychological standard I have set, I find myself questioning: Is my work “good enough”? Can I write with the power needed to make a reader stop and reflect upon our society? “Hope” is a short story written with a specific purpose. Strongly influenced by the lives of my two closest friends (who lived much like the character Hope), the story is meant to be an allegorical look at society, its ideals, and the pressures of conformity. For what looks like a light-hearted story about high school life, “Hope” ends with grim realizations regarding both perception and the consequences of attempting to live the “perfect” life. Can I write to persuade? While gene patenting may be an issue not yet made familiar to the public, in upcoming years this hot topic will have a profound effect on biotechnology. Forced to research this issue in order to compete in a science and social issues symposium, the information I discovered destroyed my predisposition against gene patenting. I can only hope that with my third piece, “The carrot at the end of the biotechnological stick,” I can convince others of the benefits that gene patenting has to offer the scientific community, the economy, and society. Am I capable of analyzing the author’s use of point of view? My fourth piece, “Through the eyes of vermin: Kafka’s use of point of view,” was written to explore Franz Kafka’s purpose in using third person omniscient in The Metamorphosis. Through the exploration of perceptual differences between Gregor Samsa’s view of his sister and reality, my fourth piece states that Kafka’s choice of point of view serves to underscore Gregor’s delusion as well as to provide for the ironic tone of the conclusion. I hope such an essay offers an interesting theory for any reader familiar with The Metamorphosis. How do I answer these questions? Sometimes, I never do. Sometimes there is that lingering doubt over whether I have truly written well, or if my writing is little more than a sequence of letters and spaces strategically spaced on a page. When I am able to overcome that doubt, when I am confident in my work, it is because that piece comes from the soul. I am finally realizing that good writing cannot be sterilely manufactured to impress some distant audience. To write well, I think, 11
Page 1: Miami University Best of Portfolios
Page 4 and 5: Acknowledgements In 1990, Miami Uni
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Page 14 and 15: And as the result of many enjoyably
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Page 20 and 21: honors for past dances, but I figur
Page 22 and 23: in this Mac (I pointed to the Power
Page 24 and 25: There was only one person in the wo
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Page 28 and 29: An Explanatory, Exploratory, or Per
Page 30 and 31: decrease will not allow the schools
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Page 40 and 41: Response to a Text—Jessica Keel R
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Page 46 and 47: status. The Ranevskaya family is on
Page 48 and 49: A Response to a Text—Stephanie Wo
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Complete Portfolio—Camilla Hilema
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Camilla Hileman—A Narrative or Sh
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Camilla Hileman—An Explanatory, E
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Complete Portfolio—Pamela Spellma
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Pamela Spellman—A Narrative or Sh
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Pamela Spellman—An Explanatory, E
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Pamela Spellman—Response to a Tex
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2001 Scoring Guide for Portfolios A
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Guidelines for Using Non-Sexist Lan
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Advice from Portfolio Scorers Each
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5. Be creative: Don’t be afraid t
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What’s the difference between a
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2002 Portfolio Information 88
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Essential Instructions Papers writt
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Supervising Teachers 2001 Kristen C
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Julie R. Hagerty Mount Notre Dame H
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Craig E. Potter Perry Meridian High
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