Welcome to My Writing Portfolio
My Introduction
Main Question: In what ways has my writing improved to communicate a set idea, what techniques are used and how has my writing style evolved with this course?
My writing has historically been very algorithmic with a set framework for every one of my essays. Throughout high school, this proved to be the safest route to write an essay. Referencing the writing hamburger, with the buns serving as an introduction and conclusions, the lettuce symbolizing the claim, the tomato symbolizing the evidence, and last but not least the meat serving as the main plate of an analysis. I have carried this style of writing from early middle school all the way to early college. Overtime this style proves to be very boring to the audience as it seems to be very predictable and algorithmic, almost defeating the purpose of writing. The creative aspect, which proves to be the most important part of writing is constantly missing. I had a very difficult time developing a unique writing style and made all of my work seem like that of the work of an average high school sophomore. I have struggled to find my style of writing, so in starting this course I was able to take risks and try styles I have not been comfortable with before. Throughout this course, it is evident that I try to apply many different styles in my assignments. I attempted to steer clear of the hamburger setup for every essay and decided to mix it up a bit.
Starting with my Rhetorical Analysis, I do still exhibit some entails of the “hamburger method.” I start off with the top bun, a typical introduction with providing contextualization by introducing the topic and provide some sort of historical background, “Capitalism, a free market system with laissez faire attributes, has been part of human society since the 19th century. Famous economist and mathematician, John Maynard Keynes, was a prominent figure in the application and the fundamental aspects of capitalism” (Soukaki, Sept 18th). In this analysis, I provide the historical background of Keynes and introduce the idea of capitalism. In the first paragraph I start to reference the claim, “He allows the reader to feel as if the capitalistic society we live in today has allowed all people to lose their sense of moral fullness” (Soukaki, Sept 18th). I would follow this up with a quote, serving as my evidence “‘spiritual damage.’ (Graeber, 1)” (Soukaki, Sept 18th). This would be finally topped off with a short analysis connecting my claim and my evidence, “Graeber proclaims that with the social atmosphere that exists with capitalism, we all feel as if we need to be working or else our lives are pointless and we are wasting time.” (Soukaki, Sept 18th). This cyclical style would repeat itself two more times for each one of my claims. This certainly does get the job done of providing insight in the rhetoric of the writer, however, it lacks personal style. It seems almost as if a robot wrote it due to the iterations of the same setup using slightly different claims and different evidence, creating a lack of creativity and personal uniqueness.
Thankfully, my technique would evolve into a more unique and less algorithmic style. Evident through my Museum of Fine Arts artifact analysis, I do a better job or intertwining my claims and evidences where it doesn’t seem as 3 steps to portray my ideas. “Many are crouched down due to the hard work and the lack of resources that were provided and given to them. The 6 workers seem to sit uncomfortably in their chained up chairs during their break, insinuating very trying and physical work.” (Soukaki, Sept. 29th) I use the claim of the hard work the laborers go through and then follow it up with the visual evidence of the six workers and their physical appearance. Evidently, there is a synthesis in the two parts of the paragraph, claim and evidence, allowing my writing to seem more cohesive and concise.
A final piece which portrays the improvement in the flow of my writing is the Film Review. With this assignment, I was able to mix up my setup of writing where I provide a synopsis, while including evidence in my synopsis. Again the cohesive nature of the mix of claim and evidence is obvious, “Corruption and scandals riddled the NYPD in the 70’s and 80’s allowing crime to skyrocket and organized crime syndicates to flourish. This gruesome and tragic facet of crime has been equivocally explained by Russell in this film. Portraying Dowd as both a cop and a criminal, allows the audience to understand the double life, these “dirty” cops were living and the lengths they go to in order to fulfill their greedy objectives” (Soukaki, Nov. 2nd). I provide a claim of corruption in the police force, while providing evidence of Dowd and his actions. In doing so I also portray the styles of the film. This allows the reader to feel a smooth transition, from claim to the evidence to back it up. Upon rereading this essay, as a reader I feel the smooth transition, as evidence is provided before the audience has the chance to ask for proof. By this essay, I felt as if I started to develop a unique and personal writing style where smooth transitions were the staple of my techniques. I also portray the success of portraying a smooth transition between my evidence and analysis. “He successfully sheds light on an aspect of life which exists throughout the world. Russell invokes and induces a conversation about the possibility of corruption in the world, this allows the audience to apply the events explained today, creating a conversation of corruption in today’s governmental system here in the United States or governmental systems throughout the world.” (Soukaki, Nov. 2nd) By first explaining my prior evidence then backing it up with the application to the larger picture, eg. the governmental systems, my writing seems to be seamless. A smooth transition from claim to evidence and a cohesive connection from the evidence to the analysis allows for an organized, connected argument and essay. This improvement technique and methods allow my communication to not be separated by sections and is rather conjoined in order to better communicate to the audience. The use of paraphrasing and not overusing quotations allows for these smooth transitions, which is shown through my writing. In the rhetorical analysis, there were seven quotations compared to two in my film review.
Evidently, my writing has improved in order to help easily communicate my ideas in a more efficient manner. My writing has proved to become more transition-able and less algorithmic throughout the semester. I mastered the skill of combining my claims, evidence, and analyses without seeming as if they are separate entities. In doing so, I believe that my writing style has become more unique, as I am able to easily relay from my claim to my evidence to my reasoning. This has allowed me to be a more confident writer while allowing my writing to seem more professional and advanced, where I do not clearly separate each one of these entities. This semester, has allowed me to also increase my confidence in my writing abilities. Especially, as being a STEM oriented student and an engineering major, my confidence in my writing has improved allowing me to better my interdisciplinary studies here at Northeastern University.
My Artifacts!
My portfolio showcases various writing pieces created throughout my schooling at Northeastern. Below are 5 pieces of my work throughout the semester. Enjoy!
Artifact 1: The Rhetorical Analysis
This piece of writing is a Rhetorical Analysis on David Graeber’s Article “Why Capitalism Creates Pointless Jobs.” This piece of writing displays the ability to contextualize a specific topic while integrating outside sources to create an argument. In doing so a background on the topic is provided alongside an analysis of the techniques the writer uses in order to portray his ideas. Throughout the piece, a rhetorical situation is identifies, while including the intended audience, genre and use of rhetorical appeals. In short, this assignment allows for an analysis on the manner Graeber portrays his argument and the techniques used to do so.
Artifact 2: The Op-Ed
This piece of writing is an Op-Ed on the controversial topic of Gun Control. This piece is supposed to model an LA Times Op-Ed piece about the same topic. LA Times Article! This utilizes a variety of strategies as well as techniques in order to front an opinion on a current controversial topic. In doing so, this piece acknowledges the opposite side and strategically provides a rebuttal in order to strengthen the argument provided. An informed opinion is provided while backing it up with details and evidence.
Artifact 3: The Film Review
This piece of writing is a Film Review on the crime documentary “The Seven Five” directed by Tiller Russell. This piece utilizes a variety of strategies in order to connect with the target audience, while providing background on the film, without giving away major spoilers. This allows for a connection with the audience, as a “trailer” like essay is provided. Additionally, there is a utilization of synopsis, context, and evaluation, where a synopsis of the film is given alongside the contextualization of the time, background, etc… of the film. Finally, an evaluation of the film is given in the form of a positive or negative critique in order to evaluate the skills of the director and the producers of the film.
Artifact 4: “Los Agachados” Analysis
This piece of writing is an analysis on a famous piece of art found in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. This piece of writing utilizes the parts of rhetorical analysis and applies them a different form of expression, art. In doing so, the medium, context, and background were prime drivers in allowing for an analysis of the piece. Although short, this piece of writing shows the use of different types of evidences and the application to claim and analysis.
Artifact 5: Cultural Agility Analysis and Implementation
This piece of writing serves as a reflective and implementative piece of writing. The basis of the assignment was to use a software where cultures of different countries were compared and the main purpose was to understand that there is a large difference in the way we act and think due to the nurture of the environment where we live. Throughout the piece, connections were being drawn between cultures additionally with the use of personal experiences as evidences for my claims. This assignment shows the use of complex evidence to support a claim.
Wallid Soukaki Writing Portfolio 