Dear Malcolm,

Thank you, from the bottom of my written heart. I cannot even begin to say how much I
loved this class. As a science major, most of my writing includes lab reports that have no
creative thought whatsoever. But in your class, I was able to channel my inner writer who was
bursting at the seams to get out. Throughout this class, I was able to not only grow as a writer,
but to see where writing could take me. There are so many different forms of writing, formal
and informal, and you exposed me to those. And I will forever be grateful for that. You taught
me to take writing by its reigns and to use it for my own benefit so that I may expand what I have
to say. This E-portfolio shows this process, but with a little tweak to it. I brought my science
side into it by making it into a lab report, with the pain of writing a lab report included. I hope
you enjoy seeing my process of completing this experiment that included not only the project,
but your class as well.
When I began creating this portfolio, I wanted something that would go along with my
inquiry project. The project was one of the biggest focuses this semester, and I knew this final
portfolio was going to be a culmination of our work. Since science is so important to me and one
of the biggest writing portions of science involves lab reports, I figured I would base my
portfolio on a lab report. For each page, I included a small little synopsis on what was important
about each part of the lab report and how it correlated with an assignment from this course. This
made the process of completing the portfolio a bit more exciting because I was making it creative
with something that I loved. I enjoyed compiling it all together because I could make it my own.
Instead of having to follow a strict set of guidelines, you gave us free reign on how creative we
could be to cater the portfolio to our project and ourselves as writers.

One of the first assignments we completed was the literacy narrative. I had focused mine
on music, since this had been a huge part of my life for the past seven years. Music was a
language that I had become proficient in, and I knew that by writing an essay on it, it would give
you a little bit more insight on who I was. Looking back, Ive realized that it showed a lot of my
high school writing. I had not yet taken a writing course here, so I was still in that phase of very
rigid writing that is the essence of high school AP English writing. There was always a specific
format we had to follow, but with this assignment, I could do it however I pleased. There were
obviously a few requirements, but it did not need to follow that five paragraph format I had
always been used to. It was a nice change of pace, and it also began to show some
improvements in my writing. I was able to include scenes and thoughts where my own voice
began to show, and it was through this that my writing style began to come out of its shell.
Aside from the literacy narrative, we began the semester with informal writings that
continued as we progressed throughout the course. When we would write in the daybook, we
would reflect on our assignments or answer questions. I began to realize how easy it was to just
write. Through the little reflections at the beginning of class, it would give me perspective on
where I was on assignments, or even why I was doing them. There were a few daybook entries
where we would have to talk about the importance of our topic, and this helped me on the actual
assignment because I knew I was writing about that topic because I chose to, not because I had
to. The blog was one of my favorite things to keep up just because I could write whatever I felt
or was thinking about that particular article or video. I could just let the thoughts flow, and this
is what Ive learned that I like most about writing-that it can take me anywhere with my
thoughts, just as long as I begin typing. This was probably the most eye-opening experiences as

a writer because I was able to do as I pleased. I even included a few extra blog posts because I
enjoyed how easy it was just to write. Before doing such assignments as these, I would dread
writing assignments because they were tedious, but now, I can view writing as a fun activity
where my own thoughts can flow out through my fingers.
Despite how much I enjoyed the informal writings, my most important work would be
the Extended Inquiry Project. Through this, I was truly able to see how I could grow as a writer
and researcher. The process of finding a topic by asking questions and having to explore a topic
honed my research and writing abilities. The writing process also dramatically helped. By
having to submit a first draft that included peer review was extremely helpful. Not only was
receiving peer review from other students beneficial because I got some advice for my paper, but
through helping them, I could pinpoint some of those common errors in my essays as well. All
of the feedback I received from you was always positive and constructive. I would see areas
where you made a comment on something to include, and later on in the paper I would see an
area similar to it and I would know how to improve on it. All of the feedback helped shape my
final copy into a more well-rounded essay that included my voice with the research included.
There was so much to learn through the inquiry project, and each part was essential. I
began with one question, and ended the project with a topic that was more specific and never
truly answered the question. I had realized that the questions I had originally proposed cannot
yet truly be answered yet because there is more research to be done, but this just bolsters my
craving to learn and understand the current research that is being done and to hopefully one day
contribute my own. Because I started off with a broader topic, as I continued with my research, I
realized that there was so much more to it than I had originally intended. This led to a longer

process of narrowing down the searchers into a cohesive group of sources that all contributed to
the question, but it was so rewarding when I was finally able to start getting some answers into
how immunology was being studied. I even see correlations with asking questions and not fully
receiving an answer everywhere. Life is full of questions, and obviously we wont always get
the answer we desire, and it may not be right away. I knew that by choosing a harder topic of
inquiry I would have to put more effort into it, and that because it is so new in the field of cancer
treatment, I wouldnt really get an answer. But this helped me understand that there is always so
much more to learn about your writing, research, and your own self. I wont always know
everything right away, but that is the fun part of research, and even writing too. It can take you
anywhere. With research, it can lead you to different questions and answers that you would have
never expected. With writing, it helps you find your own voice and help express thoughts and
opinions. It is for this reason that the inquiry project was my favorite assignment. It helped me
understand that I have so much more to grow and learn as a writer, researcher, and constant
learner.
My least favorite assignment of the project was having to complete the annotated
bibliography, because unlike some of the other assignments given so far, it was a more rigid and
structured assignment. However, without it, I wouldnt have enjoyed writing the inquiry project
as much. By having the annotated bibliography, I was forced to actually start my research early
instead of procrastinating on it. It also forced me to analyze the sources I found in order to
determine if it would be beneficial to my inquiry project. This helped define my analytical skills
as a researcher so that I could determine what made a source beneficial or not, especially with a
topic that was scientific and relied on sound research. It was through this that I ended up finding

multiple sources that led to me becoming more excited to learn about immunology. I will admit
a lot of the information was a lot to take in and at times I became disheartened at how little I
really knew about a field that I was passionate about, but I got over my hesitation and took it as a
learning experience as both a writer and researcher so that I could learn more about my topic for
both myself and this project.
Before this class, I had seen myself as a decent writer. I had taken two AP English
courses in high school and did extremely well in them. But then I entered college where writing
is so much different. In this class, however, you helped show me where I could improve in a
positive way. I knew a lot of my previous writing had been more rigid and didnt include much
of a voice, so this became one of my biggest challenges to overcome. I started overcoming it
through the literacy narrative, but it was through the blog posts and informal writing that I could
say whatever I wanted, which helped form my own voice. In the inquiry project, I began to see
my voice more as I wrote the first and final draft because I was writing so that my readers could
understand something I was passionate about. I used it as a chance to write as if I was speaking
to them, instead of just completing an assignment.
At the culmination of this assignment and course, Ive started to realize that I truly have
grown as a writer. I hadnt realized it at the time, but everything we have done has improved my
writing and thinking skills. I came in thinking I was a decent writer, but I now understand that
we are all writers with our own specific strengths and weakness that can constantly be built on.
You helped me articulate my thoughts and combine them into a comprehensive work that shows
my own voice instead of sounding like a robot regurgitating information. I couldnt be more
thankful for the experiences Ive had in this course as I matured as a writer and thinker. Who

would have known that a man named Malcolm Campbell would have made such an impact on
me as a writer and student? You showed me where writing could take me and all the benefits
that it can provide both inside and outside of the classroom. I hoped you enjoyed having me in
your class as much as I loved having you as my professor. Youve definitely become one of my
favorites. As a student who never truly enjoyed writing before and was never creative, you
helped me come out of my shell to pursue writing in a new form where I could take my passions
while exploring the written word in all its glory. Again, I cannot thank you enough. Id say this
experiment provided the most positive of results, and I hope future trials with students receive
the same conclusions.
Au Revoir!
Theresa Miorin