lacey mollie english 111 portfolio
TRANSCRIPT
L a c e y 1
Mollie Lacey
English 111
Monday, April 29
L a c e y 2
Table of Contents
Cover Sheet
Table of Contents
Self- assessment (2 pgs.)
Revised Essay
Original Essay
Best & Weakest writing critiques
L a c e y 3
Mollie Lacey
Stacy Jones
English Comp. I
Monday, April 29, 2013
Self- Assessment
Over the past twelve weeks that I have been affiliated with English Composition I, I have
learned a variety of different skills and techniques essential to understanding and comprehending
the English language. Some of the things I have learned from our class discussions are the
different aspects that form a Literacy Narrative, a focused structure to proclaim an Informative
Report, the vital evidence writers need to interpret a clear Textual Analysis, eventful
significances that make a Memoir appealing, and trustworthy statistics that make reading an
argument believable. Out of all of the readings, I always enjoyed a certain story from each
objective topic that was discussed. In February when our class was studying Literacy Narratives
my favorite story from that section was “Literacy Behind Bars” by Malcolm X. I enjoyed that
novel because it showed first hand that hard work and dedication can help a person overcome
anything. Malcolm X only attended school through the 8th grade. His life changed whenever he
saw a fellow prisoner read, and he wanted to do the same. He began to read from the dictionary,
which changed his life and made him feel “free.” I liked the novel best because it described
Malcolm’s desire to read almost like a necessity to eat. Next our class learned about Informative
Reports, and my favorite novel reading from that was “Throwing Like a Girl” by James Fallows.
I was really intrigued by that article because it discussed all the misconceptions and assumptions
in the world that lead people to believe that all females must “throw like a girl.” The article
mentioned the proper steps to making a throw, and touched on the offensiveness it can bring
upon people. I also liked it because of the use of visual photos, along with great details and
L a c e y 4
descriptions. Towards the end of February our class learned about Textual Analysis’s. I liked “A
Spirit Reborn” by William Safire best. It compared how similar the Gettysburg Address was
after the Battle of Gettysburg just like the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. “A national
spirit rose from the ashes of destruction.” That quote by Safire compares both events and made a
powerful impact on myself while I was reading it. The recurring theme made this novel
excellent. In March our class studied Memoir’s. The most interesting memoir I read was, “Our
Mother’s Face” by Valerie Steiker. This piece describes her mother’s delirious actions at the
time close to her death. After her mother died the author saw her mother’s face in her sister.
Ironically the sister saw their mothers face in the authors face as well. This piece is emotionally
appealing, and the reader can feel a sense of closeness upon the family. The last thing our class
has discussed is arguments. The argument that caught my attention was “What If It’s all Been a
Big Fat Lie” by Gary Taubes. This argument is about obesity, the rates, and type 2 diabetes in
children. The author shifts focus into describing the controversy between low-fat foods and
carbohydrates. The author doesn’t give the reader a definite conclusion; however the article in
itself is great due to the solid statistics supported. I have stated above previous readings and the
examples I have learned from each work of literacy. Each week I looked forward to reading
several new pieces, pulling out information, and deciding which ones were my favorites. I have
learned more than just our class discussions and excerpts we read. I have learned to expand my
point of view, and be open to what other people think about my papers, like the peer review for
example. The peer reviews have helped me see things through a different perspective. Things I
might not have noticed without the help of another pair of eyes. My instructor Ms. Jones has
taught me not to be so self-referential in my papers. She has also helped me better understand the
use of comma splices. Sometimes in my papers I get carried away and begin to ramble. Ms.
L a c e y 5
Jones also gave me advice on how to read back over paragraphs and omit any irrelevant or
awkwardly structured sentences. I feel like my reading and writing abilities have greatly
expanded due to learning more fluently about English, in this English Composition I class.
L a c e y 6
Revised
Mollie Lacey
Stacy Jones
English 111
Monday, April 29th, 2013
A Childhood Not Forgotten
Of all of the memories my Mammie and I have made, the ones I value most are learning
the importance of reading, writing, and comprehending at an early age. My mammie lived one
house down from mine growing up. I certainly spent almost all of my childhood with her,
Monday through Friday from 8 until 5 while my mother worked in Savannah. My mom would
drop me off in the mornings and pick me up in the afternoons. That left Mammie and I spending
much time together. It wasn’t until I grew older that I realized just how privileged I was to have a
grandmother so involved, and so concentrated on me learning the fundamentals of our Standard
English language.
573 Hillside Drive might be a random address to many people, but to me it was the
address where I was given attention, shown love, and most importantly taught to read and write.
I had a toy room at my mammies’ house. I can distinctly remember everything about that room,
for that room was where my imagination let loose. I could be my favorite princess (Cinderella),
or I could play “Teacher Mollie” and teach my stuffed animals. On the days Mammie kept me
we always had fun! Before I started kindergarten Mammie would play school with me. We
would cut up and have fun, but actually she was somewhat preparing me for kindergarten. We
would take breaks and go outside to swing, or bake brownies, but whatever we did she always
made sure there was a lesson to be taught. In all reality, she was just expanding my knowledge.
L a c e y 7
It is quite amusing because I can still picture my beautiful Mammie and myself in my two
little white wicker rocking chairs, followed by a white wicker desk. My feet would always
dangle; they wouldn’t even touch the floor. While my mammies knees were too tall to perfectly
fit under the desk. I can still picture the room and see the off white sheetrock walls with scribble
and crayon marks left over from me being a daring little child. I can even still picture the old
wooden chalkboard that was handed down to me used by my mother. It had the ABC’S outlined
around the rims. Also, I remember having teacher manuals and old teaching books in a bucket in
the corner. Mammie and I would go check out books at the public library and occasionally
purchase them. It was so much more fun playing teacher when you had a real teacher book! It
was quiet evident that Mammie and I both had a profound love for playing and listening to
“Teacher Mollie.”
My biological father was a school teacher; however, he died when I was three. My
Mammie and my mother strived to make sure I was one of the smartest in the kindergarten class.
Both my Mammie and Mom would encourage me to read on my own. I can recall sitting in the
toy room every single day while Mammie read story rhymes such as “Little Bo Peep, Mary Mary
Quiet Contrary, Humpty Dumpty, Hey Diddle Diddle ”, and many more while I anxiously
listened. I got good at memorizing what she would read. I got to where I could repeat them off
the top of my head. Mom would read me bed time stories, while I followed along with my little
index finger rubbing against the crisp pages of a good fairy tale book. It wasn’t long until I was
reading out loud small children books such as Barney, and the monthly imagination library ones.
I know Mom and Mammie felt a huge sense of accomplishment since they put so much time into
helping me comprehend vowels, constants, and of course words.
L a c e y 8
Once I learned to read, it was time to practice making my letters better. I could write, but
as any kid starting out it was very sloppy and spaced out. Day after day, I practiced tracing letters
on my tablet of gray lined paper. Somehow or another I always smudged it, and the pencil lead
would get all on the paper and my fingers. I loved my dry erase and chalk boards in the toy
room. I wrote everything on it. The only problem was I was the only person who could read it!
Yes, I was a very sloppy writer. Mom and Mammie learned that it would take time and a lot of
patience. I mastered my ABC’s, colors, phone number, address, and my grandparents’ phone
number before kindergarten. Everyone in my family thought this was “neat”, and were eager to
brag.
Then it was time to make the first big plunge. I started kindergarten at Adamsville
Elementary School in the fall of 2000. I was in Mrs. Sherri Carroll’s class, and I was one of
fourteen total students. Having a small kindergarten class gave me lots of one on one time with
Mrs. Sherri, proving to be a good thing. By the end of kindergarten some of my friends were
reading chapter books 15 to 20 pages long by themselves. I could read, but certainly not that fast.
I would go to the after school program in the afternoons from 3 to 4:30. In that time I would
work on whatever subject that was struggling me, and that was always math. Looking back now
it seems foolish that I had trouble with adding and subtracting, but kindergarten was a huge
adjustment for me to leave my Mom and Mammie every day.
At 4:30 p.m. almost every day I couldn’t wait to hear the beep over the intercom telling
the teacher I was checking out. I hurriedly put my backpack on and ran down the hall, turning the
corner to find my Mammie waiting on me. She would take me to her house where she would fix
me a snack, and then she would say let’s do any homework you have now so you and your
Mamma can play later. I would eagerly pull out my subjects I had trouble in and we would sit at
L a c e y 9
the kitchen table. Many times she would call out spelling words, or even go over study guides. If
we got done in time she might even get me in the tub, so I could be squeaky clean and ready to
see my Mamma.
Every afternoon from kindergarten until the 6th grade my mammie would pick me up.
When we got to her house she would routinely fix me a snack, and then focus on homework. As
I look back now I can remember countless of times when she would put her cooking, washing, or
ironing up until I left therefore she could focus on my education needs. I know she could have
chosen to do other things, but she put her granddaughter before herself. I will forever be grateful
for all those summer reading programs, scholastic book fairs, reading of books, writing of words,
and playing along that she did for me. Just so I would be prepared for the next grade level. Now
I am a senior, and I truly realize what love is for one’s granddaughter.
L a c e y 10
Mollie Lacey
Stacy Jones
English 111
11 February 2013
A Childhood Not Forgotten
Of all of the memories my Mammie and I have made, the ones I value most are learning
the importance of reading, writing, and comprehending at an early age. Growing up living one
house between us I certainly spent almost all of my childhood with her. Monday through Friday
from 8 until 5 my mother worked in Savannah, therefore she would drop me off in the mornings
and pick me up in the afternoons. That left Mammie and I spending much time together. It
wasn’t until I grew older that I realized just how privileged I was to have a grandmother so
involved, and so concentrated on me learning the fundamentals of our Standard English
language.
573 Hillside Drive might be a random address to many people, but to me it was the
address where I was given attention, shown love, and most importantly taught to read and write.
I had a toy room at my mammies’ house. I can distinctly remember everything about that room,
for that room was where my imagination let loose. I could be my favorite princess (Cinderella),
or I could play ”Teacher Mollie” and teach my stuffed animals, or where I could laugh until I
cried, and lastly where I would sit in time out when I acted out of line. On the days Mammie kept
me we always had fun. Before I started kindergarten Mammie would play school with me. We
would cut up and have fun, but actually she was somewhat preparing me for kindergarten. We
would take breaks and go outside to swing, or bake brownies, but whatever we did she always
made sure there was a lesson to be taught. In all reality she was just expanding my knowledge.
L a c e y 11
It is quite amusing because I can still picture my beautiful Mammie and myself in my two
little white wicker rocking chairs, followed by a white wicker desk. My feet dangling not even
touching the floor, and her knees being too tall to perfectly fit under the desk. When I picture that
room I still see those off white sheetrock walls with some scribbles and crayon marks left over
from me being a daring little child. I still see the old wooden chalkboard that was handed down
to me used by my mother, which had the ABC’S outlined around the rims. Also I remember
having teacher manuals and old teaching books in a bucket in the corner. Mammie and I would
go check out books at the public library and occasionally purchase them. It was so much more
fun playing teacher when you had a real teacher book! It was quiet evident that Mammie and I
both had a profound love for playing and listening to “Teacher Mollie.”
My biological father was a school teacher; however he died when I was three. My
Mammie and my Mother strived to make sure I was one of the smartest kids in the kindergarten
class. Both my Mammie and Mom would encourage me to read on my own. I can recall sitting in
the toy room every single day while Mammie read story rhymes such as Little Bo Peep, Mary
Mary Quiet Contrary, Humpty Dumpty, Hey Diddle Diddle, and many more while I anxiously
listened. I got good at memorizing what she would read. I got to where I could repeat them off
the top of my head. Mom would read me bed time stories, while I followed along with my little
index finger rubbing against the crisp pages of a good fairy tale book. It wasn’t long until I was
reading out loud small children books such as Barney, and the monthly imagination library ones.
I know Mom and Mammie felt a huge sense of accomplishment since they put so much time into
helping me comprehend vowels, constants, and of course words.
L a c e y 12
Once I learned to read, it was time to practice making my letters better. I could write, but
as any kid starting out it was very sloppy and spaced out. Day after day, I practiced tracing letters
on my tablet that was made on gray lined paper. Somehow or another I always smudged it and
the pencil lead would get all on the paper and my fingers. I loved my dry erase and chalk boards
in the toy room. I wrote everything on it. The only problem was I was the only person who
could read it! Yes, I was a very sloppy writer. Mom and Mammie learned that it would take time
and a lot of patience. I mastered my ABC’s, colors, phone number, address, and my
grandparents’ phone number before kindergarten. Everyone in my family thought this was neat,
and were eager to brag.
Then it was time to make the first big plunge. I started kindergarten at Adamsville
Elementary School in the fall of 2000. I was in Mrs. Sherri Carroll’s class, and I was one of
fourteen total students. Having a small kindergarten class gave me lots of one on one time with
Mrs. Sherri proving to be a good thing. By the end of kindergarten some of my friends were
reading chapter books 15 to 20 pages long by themselves. I could read, but certainly not that fast.
I would go to the after school program in the afternoons from 3 to 4:30. In that time I would
work on whatever subject I was struggling in, which was always math. Looking back now it
seems foolish that I had trouble with adding and subtracting, but kindergarten was a huge
adjustment for me to leave my Mom and Mammie every day.
At 4:30 p.m. almost every day I couldn’t wait to hear the beep over the intercom telling
the teacher I was checking out. I hurriedly put my backpack on and ran down the hall, turning the
corner to find my Mammie waiting on me. She would take me to her house where she would fix
me a snack, and then she would say let’s do any homework you have now so you and your
Mamma can play later. I would eagerly pull out my subjects I had trouble in and we would sit at
L a c e y 13
the kitchen table. Many times she would call out spelling words, or even go over study guides. If
we got done in time she might even get me in the tub, so I could be squeaky clean and ready to
see my Mamma.
Not just in kindergarten did she pick me up but every afternoon at 4:30 p.m. until the 6th
grade. She would routinely fix me a snack, and then focus on homework. Looking back now I
can remember countless of times when she would put her cooking, washing, or ironing up until I
left therefore she could focus on my education needs. I know she could have chosen to do other
things, but she put her granddaughter before herself. I will forever be grateful for all those
summer reading programs, scholastic book fairs, reading of books, writing of words, and playing
along that she did for me. Just so I would be prepared for the next grade level. Now I am a
senior, and I truly realize what love is for one’s granddaughter.
L a c e y 14
Writing Critique
Best: I feel like my best piece of writing I have wrote this semester was the Literacy Narrative,
which was my first paper. I was excited to write my own story and add in several significant
details. I feel like “A Childhood Not Forgotten” was my best work because it was easy for me to
describe the setting and details because I lived it. Since the subject was how one came to read
and write, I couldn’t think of anyone more appropriately to write about than my mammie. I
believe my essay has several valid, intriguing points. I hope it made the reader eager to read on,
and feel a sense of appreciation of my grandmother.
Weakest: I feel like my worst piece of writing was my Informative Report. My title was
“Breaking News: Doctor finds first cure of HIV in a child.” An informative report is a well-
researched topic, and I had trouble finding one. I didn’t want to inform the reader about a
controversial issue that is always in the news. For instance: gun control, abortion, medical
marijuana, etc. I think I had some trouble between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. I felt
like I was repeating myself by continuing to talk about HIV. I discussed what HIV was, how you
can get it, and what the treatment options are. Hopefully my next informative report I can find a
better topic that takes up more paper space. This time I rambled on and on about HIV.
Ideas for improvement: For any future papers I need to make sure if I pick a topic then I will
have plenty of information to take up four pages worth of typing space. Also I need to learn not
to ramble. Another big problem I have is over using commas. Lastly I need to reread everything I
write to make sure I don’t have any awkwardly structured sentences.
L a c e y 15