Lexi Oliver

Doctor Fine

EN 103

28 April 2019

Portfolio Project Reflection Letter

For my Visual Analysis Essay, I was inspired to turn it into a piece that goes hand in

hand with my major and what I want to do after college. Since I am on the creative

specialization/ portfolio track, I decided to do something that involved graphic design. I wanted

it to be different and creative so when reading back over the essay I kept going over and over the

paragraph that discusses what it’s made of, which eventually lead me to my idea of making a

cookbook style approach. I grabbed one of my mom’s Southern Living Magazines and flipped to

a page about Chocolate pie and opened my InDesign application and started following the

general 3 column format. I decided to pick my own complementary fonts and colors rather than

following their style exactly, but I drew a lot of inspiration for that page. Once I had converted

the parts of the painting into ingredients and directions, I thought I was done. But then I looked

at the next page in the Southern Living magazine where they had reader’s testimonials and

experiences from trying the recipe and was inspired to keep going. I thought that would be a

great way to incorporate my analysis of the painting as well. Once again, I followed their general

page layout to create my own cohesive and creative spread. I thought it was a really original and

unique idea to take these two completely different things and combine them into this graphic and

I am really proud of how it turned out.

For my Photo Essay, I was more inspired by my original analysis of the poem than the

final draft so I decided to take a risk and follow that path more. I picked a few photos and put
them all in the same filter to create a consistent vibe across them so that they were seen more like

a series than a representation of each new idea. I then split up my analysis into four parts and put

the words on top of the images that corresponded the most with the message I was trying to

portray. Then, in order to add another dimension to my work, I took original quotes from my

final draft and spaced them between the photos. I wanted to tell a story more and allow the poem

to aid in this story rather than my photos supporting the explanation of the poem. It gives off a

very philosophical vibe and I really love that about it. I sought to allude to a problem instead of

just stating it as I did in my final draft to allow for personal reflection more than anything.

For my Research Essay, I decided to write a letter to Congress to propose that they stop

allowing free access to digitalized artistic content on the internet. I used all of my arguments

from the essay along with a few new ones to explain the negative effect that this ability has had

on our society. I thought of the idea while watching Footloose last night. I originally started by

trying to make a petition but soon realized that there are few to none words on a petition and I

needed to be able to state my claims, so I settled on a letter to Congress. Once it was written up, I

played a lot with font and spacing. I choose a font that resembled a type of writer because of the

prominence and knowledge that it portrays. I also decided not to put a formal letter header on it

with the date and such information in order for my argument and facts to be what stood out when

you see it.

My favorite essay itself was my research essay because I found myself to be so

passionate about the topic once I really got started on it. It reads so much more academic and

driven than my other essays while still maintaining my own voice. Although I am proud of my

other essays, I am just blown away at how much growth I have seen in my writing throughout

this semester when comparing my Visual Analysis to my Research Essay. I believe what really
distinguishes them is my use of the so what sentences. As a writer, I forget that my audience is

not always in possession of the same information or knowledge that I am. Because of this, I have

strived to explain things more simplistically or even in a variety of ways throughout my essays.

But with that, I have to be careful because I have noticed that I am very repetitive. I commonly

start sentences with the same words or phrases and it goes completely unnoticed to my ear or eye

when revising. I have had to start using the find feature on Word to highlight cases so I can

visually see where my repetition falls in the paper and if it supports or detracts from my

argument.

Throughout my portfolio, there is a strong grayscale. I am very visually attracted to

grayscale when it comes to any type of creative. As an artist, I work a majority on a grayscale

because it allows for a different dimension of interpretation. To one person it represents one

thing while to someone else another and I find that to be really special. Personally, the grayscale

in my portfolio was to symbolize professionalism and uniformity. My portfolio as a whole

illustrates my creative abilities as I have turned three academic papers into a variety of works

that express an idea that was originally stated in a paper. Turning a painting into a cookbook, a

research essay into a legal letter, and a photo essay into a philosophical story, all very unique and

creative interpretations of academic papers. Overall, this project has shown me how much

growth I have had as a writer in the past couple of months and I am beyond impressed with

myself.