When I enrolled in this section of ENGL 3090 (Exposition: History, Theory, & Practice – Writing About Material Culture), I wasn’t really sure what material culture was. It sounded interesting, so I decided to take the course. I assumed the course material would explore writing about modern culture. While this is definitely included in the study of material culture, I learned a lot more than that. Each one of these artifacts is from this course, and it displays the range of exposition and modes used, learned, and examined during the semester.

The study of material culture helped me to understand the rhetorical modes. I also enrolled in ENGL 3050 (Intro to Rhetoric & Composition) while enrolled in this course. I would learn about a concept in the introductory class, and then I would apply that same concept in this class. Sometimes, the concept application was practical: the blogging project, for instance, allowed me to use expository writing in a way that I was both familiar and able to imagine using again, possibly quite often. Other times, the rhetorical modes were applied in ways that expanded my writing skills, like the object analysis and the Twitter essays.

The blogging project best displays my understanding of the proper audience and style of writing required in order to properly deliver the message I am trying to convey. Here, I honed my craft by developing my voice as a writer further. My use of invention in these posts also portray the fact that I can be creative using multimodality, even if I am most comfortable with only written (or typed) text. My progress throughout the course is evident in the posts as well as the comments.

The Twitter essays illustrate my ability to use social media in a professional context while maintaining the appropriate style choice for this format. Again, my invention is apparent in these essays, and my flexibility as a writer is apparent. However, I am willing to admit that I still need work in this particular area, which shows that I am willing to try new things.

The object analysis is the most professional artifact in my portfolio. It displays my writing skills wonderfully, and it shows that I can use analysis, research, deduction, and some speculation in a proper setting. The audience is open-ended, and my writing reflects this. The exposition used here is also multimodal, engaging different types of media in order to inform a variety of individuals.

Overall, this portfolio demonstrates my ability to work hard and be creative. Each of the artifacts chosen have required much time, energy, thought, and creativity. My voice as a writer is prominently on display, which implies that I am true to myself while simultaneously writing for others. This could be through a prompt, an assignment, or a response. The final point that should be gathered from my work is that I am open to new ways of communicating, and that includes constructive criticism, different modes of communication, and clarification when a point may have been misinterpreted.

To begin the exploration of my portfolio, click here.