A Reflective Introduction & Readers Guide

English Portfolio
Owen Wells

Writing Sample 1 - Literacy Autobiography Reflection

I wrote the Literacy Autobiography during the final stages of English (UWRT) 1101,
as a review of my literary career up to that point. In writing the paper I reviewed the
influences, classes and authors that had influenced my personal writing style. The
autobiography was written while working with an excellent professor in the English
department who guided me to express myself with words. The guidance I received
in that class was paramount and I felt very comfortable communicating my ideas on
paper in a way that satisfied the writer who I wanted to be.
I felt that my writing up until that point felt automated, and I wrote in such a way as
to mimic my favorite authors (mostly from the world of Print). Although after writing
this paper, I realized that in order to communicate the feelings and experiences I
wanted, I needed to write in my own style, not the style that I felt someone else
would write. I was a great feeling to look back at a piece of work and realize that for
the first time I had communicated a feeling, instead of just communicating
information.
The autobiography caused me to really grasp the influence that the world of
literature (print, specifically) had on my life. The hectic student life has caused me
to drift away from that world over the last few years, and I think Id like to go back.
Its a really neat feeling to dig up a classic Hot Rod magazine from years gone by,
and immerse yourself in the culture of that time period.
In comparison with the Whole Life paper that I had written during an earlier period
at UNC Charlotte, the change in writing style is very evident. The Whole Life paper
seems choppy and lackluster, while I really enjoyed re-reading the Literacy
Autobiography. Although they covered similar topics, the autobiography is a more
invigorating read, and I am satisfied with how my writing style has progressed into
something of my own rather than a mimic of someone else. Looking back, I think I
would like to sit back and write more often, I miss how satisfying it can be to
express your ideas with words in a bright and captivating manor.

Writing Sample 2 Sealing the Cylinder Research Paper

I wrote this research paper during my second semester at UNC Charlotte, and was
one of the first technical oriented research papers written during my academic

career. The assignment required a research paper on a general topic of our choice,
and I chose to focus on the intricacies of sealing combustion pressures inside an
internal combustion engine. As a mechanical engineering student, I enjoyed writing
about a technical topic and learning to communicate complex topics through
writing. I realized that you must intimately understand your topic in order to
properly communicate the information to your reading audience. As a result, Ive
used writing as a tool for testing my own knowledge on a subject and catching any
areas that I may not fully comprehend.
In retrospect, the paper was very heavy on technical content, and lacked any
figures or graphs to aid the reader whom may not be familiar with the particular
topic. After writing many reports (such as the Tensile report included), I realize the
importance of including figures, graphs and pictures to aid the comprehension of
readers who may not be intimately familiar with the topic. When I wrote this
particular paper, I made my best effort to communicate all the technical content
with only words and I think that I fell short in a few areas.

Writing Sample 3 - Tensile Report Research Paper

The Tensile Report was written during a senior year semester at UNC Charlotte,
and serves as an example of a technical/research report written to University level
standards for a Lab class. The report organizes and presents the findings from a
tensile test performed on a variety of materials during a Materials Laboratory class.
The technical report is a result of 3 years work writing various technical reports on
various topics, and refining the writing style can content presentation over that
period of time. In earlier years, writing technical reports was very time consuming
and the written content was very choppy and did not flow well from beginning to
end. Technical reports are typically written to a set of pre-determined specifications
for figures, drawings, and include data. Initially, these specifications can seem a
daunting task, and revisions are most often necessary after the initial submission.
It is required that technical reports are written in the third person, omitting the use
of I, and myself for example. This is personally a difficult writing style; I feel much
more comfortable writing as if I was to verbally communicate the content. The
Tensile report included in this portfolio has undergone multiple personal revisions,
while also being revised by an English grader. Once reviewed by the English grader,
corrections could be made before the final submission.
When compared to technical reports that I had written during the earlier stages of
my engineering career, such as the included Sealing the Cylinder report, I can
easily see how my technical writing skills improved. Through the use of tables,

graphs and figures I can communicate tough concepts and display test results much
easier and with increased accuracy. I have progressed from writing technical papers
that mimicked magazine articles, to producing papers to a high engineering
standard.

Writing Sample 4 - Whole Life Paper

The Whole Life Paper was one of the very first papers written as a freshman
attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It was written for a class
titled Introduction to Engineering, and was assigned as a way for freshman
students to create a solid motivation and reason for both their academic and
professional careers.
The paper was written over the course of the semester which allowed for multiple
revisions for content, clarity and grammatical errors. Writing a formal was a
relatively foreign concept and after attending a technical college for 2 years prior to
UNC Charlotte, an acclimation had been made towards reading and writing short
technical papers and drawings. Thus, the ability to make multiple revisions to the
paper was especially beneficial as an easy introduction into a university level of
writing and critique.
The first-person nature of the paper made it relatively easy to convey ideas
directly to paper. However, this would be a bad habit that would arise later on in my
writing career at UNC Charlotte. In later years, technical papers required writing in
the third person, and it would be a struggle to convey thoughts and ideas in this
way. It felt unnatural to communicate on paper in a manner that was not akin to
verbal communication. Over the next two years, a few papers would have to be reworked to account for this fact.
Reflecting on this paper, its clear that I was struggling to communicate my true
feelings at the time, rather than just communicate blocks of information. In
comparison with the autobiography that I wrote later on, this paper lacks any
emotion in the writing style. Although I was writing about a bright and exciting
future as a freshman at UNC Charlotte, I get a very bland feeling after reading.
Fortunately, as can be seen in the later stages of my writing career at UNC
Charlotte, I was able to eventually communicate my feelings along with the
information. I began a transition from painting dull portraits, to bright and lush
landscapes, something which captivates the reader.