Hi my name is Ashley Ramos, in my portfolio you will see a growth in my writing over the semester on science based topics. I found this class to be very difficult as I am not the strongest writer. I struggled a lot with writing any thesis which set back the rest of my writing. My goal at the beginning of the semester was to have an understanding on how to write science based papers. But throughout the semester I learned that I needed a better understanding on how to write a thesis and be more specific with the information I give.I will be sharing how I felt about each assignment throughout the semester.

Introduction Letter:

When writing this introduction letter, I did not struggle at all with this. Since it was our first paper about ourselves it was still very simple. I can go on and on about myself so this was not an issue. There was not much learning happening on this paper since it was just an introduction. I enjoyed writing this to my professor to give her a simple understanding about myself.

Response Paper:

This response paper happened to be my favorite that I chose throughout the semester. This topic was about infective heredity that has been passed down to new generations due to mutations. What I found difficult was trying to create my thoughts while listening to the podcast. I would have to constantly pause the podcast write down a small note and keep going. I at least listened to the same podcast about three times to eventually write my response paper. I learned about these genes being mutated and passed down to the new generations are actually harming the new generations. This mutations hurting us allowing us to react different ways to certain medications.

Writing the paper definitely has helped me grow an understanding of mutations and how they can change our future for humans. Instead of happening at a slow rate these mutations are happening faster than we thought allowing us to become immune to certain antibiotics which would not be helpful for our survival in the future. Nothing remained the same I gained knowledge which I can share with others to inform them about these mutations.

Informative Paper:

This had to be the most difficult paper I did all semester. At first I wrote about three pages I believe about a topic that I THOUGHT was a science based informative topic. I was very wrong. You told me that this was not a good topic as it was not science related some how. I went home and cried because I had to start all over from scratch. I did learn how to chose topics and do more research on them rather than just searching for ideas on google.

Some things that stayed the same were my views on my topic. I did believe my first topic I chose was science based related although told otherwise. I grew by learning how to inform the reader more than just giving them facts. It is more like giving facts and explaining what everything means and why you want to inform them about the topic.

Position Paper:

The position paper was not as difficult as the others due to the fact that we were using the same topic as out informative. I still did struggle with my thesis because I never can tell if I am writing it right. I spent very late hours on this paper because it was hard to take position without repeating I all the time. What was simple about this paper was writing it after I got the hang of it.

I learned from the paper that I do not have to say I to take position. I can state clearly what I believe in without being repetitive. There is a certain way of wording yourself that helps us take position which was very useful in the long run. In this paper I also did not remain the same. I actually learned from this which I will use later on in any other writing class.

Final Proposal:

The group final proposal was not a difficult assignment. All the writing we had was done on the day assigned and my group members worked great together. We could communicate with each other making the assignment a breeze. Although presenting was difficult because of how nervous I get , I was happy to be assigned them as my group members.

I grew with the proposal by gaining more happiness when working in groups. Usually I was a student who liked to work alone but because I had a great group that feeling completely diminished. I enjoyed this project very much. What remained the same was the fear of going up and presenting in front of people. Although I get up there the nerve kills me. My stomach always turns as I am making my way up there and that may be a feeling that never leaves.

Research Paper:

This paper was a bit confusing to me at first. Most of us did not have any clue on how to write it which made it really difficult to do. I wrote this similarly to an informative which was half incorrect making it hard to come back from my first draft. I learned that this research paper was both like an informative and a controversial paper because I had to include both an argument while informing my reader about my paper.

What was simple about this paper was finding the topic I wanted to use. Since our proposal was based in the same general area I felt that it was easier to use the same topic and expand on it. I grew by learning how to write this research paper although I had a difficult time as I do on most papers.I remained the same by having the same format of writing as I had in all my papers.

Vlog:

This was the funniest assignment so far. The only thing difficult about this assignment was finding a quiet place to record. Every single time I hit record my dogs started to bark at random noises which was annoying to have to start over a couple of times. I also felt that I was forgetting everything I wanted to say the second I started recording. There was not anything that helped me grow but I did enjoy recording the video. I am just afraid someone will find the video since it is on youtube which I want to avoid.

What was difficult, what was simple, what was learned, how did you grow, how have you remained the same. Be sure to write at least two paragraphs about each assignment.