About Me   

 

The Writing Trial is an ePortfolio documenting my time spent in Writing 220, the Gateway Course to the Minor in Writing. The title of the ePortfolio, The Writing Trial, is a play on words. On one hand, I have modeled this ePortfolio like a criminal court case. I've included the courtroom itself, an opening statement, evidence, direct and cross examinations, and a closing argument.  Each part of the trial, or tab on this ePortfolio, correlates with an aspect of my experience in the minor in writing. The courtroom of a trial is where everything starts, where the entire trial takes place. It's the homepage of my ePortfolio and represents my minor in writing classroom; just as a trial cannot happen without a courtroom, none of my writing feats this year— from creating a blog to making my first movie— would be possible without my minor in writing home base. 

 

The opening statement in a trial introduces the jury and other viewers to the case— it provides background information that sets up arguments to come. On the opening statement page of this ePortfolio, the page you're reading right now, I talk a little bit about myself to make sure you know what you're getting into before you continue on this journey with me.  Reading through the long, maybe unnecessarily so, descriptions on this page will make it easier to understand why I organized The Writing Trial the way I did.

 

Following their opening statements, prosecutors and defense attorneys present evidence that serves as the backbone of a trial. The evidence I present on the next page provides the same backbone for my ePortfolio. It is a collection of my writing from high school to college that shows both where I started and how I’ve progressed. While the evidence does not necessarily prove why I write— the end goal of this trial— it does show patterns in my writing that may allude to the answer.  

 

In a court case, direct and cross examinations allow lawyers to question witnesses. Direct examinations happen first— when a lawyer questions his or her own witness, followed by cross examinations— when opposing council has the opportunity to examine the other side’s witness. In The Writing Trial, the examinations represent how I feel about my completed work in the minor in writing. I’ve had to analyze past works in order to transform them into completely different pieces, just as a lawyer must examine a witness in order to transform information from compelling evidence to a corroborated story. My peers have had to poke holes in my work, but unlike in a court case, they do so to improve it, not tear it down. I have repurposed a paper and then remediated that project, both of which have endured direct examinations and cross examinations to make my case more complete.

 

Every trial ends with a closing argument. Closing arguments are the last words a jury hears; they concisely argue what people should believe and why they should believe it. Contrary to common sense, my closing argument is actually an assignment I completed early in the semester. Because I wrote it first, I initially thought it would serve as my opening statement. But after writing it in to my opening statment page, I realized it would more effectively serve it's purpose closing this portfolio instead of opening it. The closing statement needs to make an impact, it needs to be the final piece I leave you all with: Why I Write. My paper, "Grandpa Knows Best," sums up my semester and really, my entire trial with writing. It has helped me come to terms with why I write.

 

Finally, a word about navigating through this ePortfolio: if you roll over a word with your mouse and it turns red or if a word is already red, click on it! It will take you somewhere new— to another page or to a piece of writing. Also, every picture is "clickable," so enjoy!