My Portfolio: Victor Bui

Victor Bui
Dr. Fletcher
ENGL 1102
19 April 2020
Reflection Essay: Course Outcomes
During my time in ENGL 1102, I have covered every outcome. Outcome one is genre

and rhetorical knowledge. For one of my first assignment, I had to write a rhetorical reading

response. In doing so, I had to read a given text and analyze it. After reading it, I had to write a

short analysis on it, identifying the author’s thesis, purpose, and supporting details. The first

rhetorical reading response I did was “The Most Dangerous Job” by Eric Schlosser. Before

beginning my writing, I read the text twice. The first reading is to understand the text. The

second reading, I went more in depth and focused on the details. After gathering all my

information, I wrote a short response identifying the author’s text.

The second outcome is evaluating arguments and rhetorical situations. One of my most

recent assignment was to read an argumentative essay and comment on it. The argumentative

essay I read was “The Second Fall of the Confederacy” by Trevor Todd. After reading it, I had to

complete an assignment asking me questions about the essay. I had to pull out the author’s claim

and counter claims. I also had to find facts that the author used to support his argument. Not only

did I analyze the author’s text, I also outlined my own argumentative essay. I brainstormed on

how I would write my essay by stating my topic, claim, and counterclaim. I followed that with

how my research process would go. In doing this, I learned the aspects of writing a quality

argumentative essay.

The third outcome is writing arguments. Similar to the previous outcome, I had to outline

my argumentative essay. First, I chose a topic that I feel strongly about. The topic I chose was
whether capital punishment is justified. After coming up with a topic, I stated my thesis or claim,

giving my side on the argument. Then, I provided my subtopics, which my essay would cover. I

pulled my subtopics from my thesis, which are point each body paragraph would cover. Finally, I

had to describe my research process, providing the types of sources I would use, and how I

would incorporate them to support my claim. This process is similar to a brainstorm and it

helped me identify the key concepts of an argumentative essay.

The fourth outcome is writing with sources. One essay I did that required many different

sources was the cultural criticism essay. I chose a topic that was approved by my professor, but

she said I had to be more specific. The topic I did was about how Matt Ryan helped his

community. First, I had to do research on Matt Ryan and who he is. I used different online

sources to research on Matt Ryan. When researching him, I had to dive deeper and research on

football games that impacted the city of Atlanta. This led me to use more online sources. Once I

finished that, I transitioned into another topic that strays away from football. I moved on to what

Ryan does for his community besides football. I used journals and interviews to help develop my

paragraph for this topic. I went out of my comfort zone and used other sources besides online. In

doing this, I was able to learn how to incorporate different sources into my writings.

The fifth outcome is citation and format of researched writing. Almost all, if not all, of

my essays required research and citation. Whether it is a rhetorical reading response,

argumentative essay, or literary analysis, I had to cite my work. For example, in writing my

rhetorical response, I had to pull direct quotes from the author’s essay. I used those quotes to

support and convey my idea. When writing my cultural criticism essay, I had to use many

citations as evidence and facts to support my topic. Not only did I just cited them, I credited the
person I got it from. Every essay I have done, I did it in MLA style, and cited my work in MLA

style. My essay needed to be in a Times New Roman font with a size 12, and double spaced.

The sixth outcome is research technologies. When it comes to research, I used many

online sources to assist me. But there is more than just typing into Google. During one of my

class, we were in the library. We had a speaker to talk to us about different ways of researching.

One data base I have learned is Gelileo. Another one I used is Google Scholar. I use this to find

my scholarly sources such as journals. I incorporate this with my other sources. Learning to use

these different data base helps improve the credibility of my essay.

The last and seventh outcome is discourse conventions and effective style. Throughout

this course, I have done many types of essays. I have done rhetorical reading responses, literary

analysis, argumentative essay, cultural criticism essay, and reflection essays. Each essays

required a different way to approach it. However, all of the essay required citation and research.

Writing different types of essay helped me improved my writing skills drastically. It allowed me

to expand my writing and understand different types of text. I can use my skills to exceed in my

field. When given a prompt, I am able to identify what type of essay I need to write to convey the

right ideas.
Victor Bui
Dr. Fletcher
ENGL 1102
20 April 2020
Reflection Essay

A month has passed since schools and universities have closed. Students are adapting to

their new environment as classes have transferred to online classes. For some students, this is

still a challenge. This was the same for me the first few days in this new environment, but as

time passed, I began to adapt to my new environment. The more I think about it, the more I

realize that online classes are not so different from regular classes. At the end of the day, my

work has to be submitted online anyways. I am currently taking four classes this semester, and

two of them requires me to use Microsoft Teams. We use Microsoft Teams to communicate and

do class virtually. Although I rather be in a real classroom, I do not mind virtual class anymore. I

am still able to take notes an learn.

There are many upsides to virtual classes. Stopping the spread of the coronavirus is one.

If students were to continue to go to class on campus, they will risk being exposed to the

coronavirus. Students may not even know they have it, and they will carry out their day as if it

was normal, coming into contact with their friends, professors, and parents. There friends,

professor and parents would than come into contact with others, quickly spreading the disease.

Carrying out classes virtually will help slow, and hopefully, prevent the spread of the

coronavirus. Another upside is it allows students more time to complete any assignments. Some

states have issued lockdown, while others encouraged everyone to stay home unless it’s urgent.

With nothing but time at home, students will be able to have more time to focus on their

assignments and get it done. They will not have distractions because they have to stay home.
 Although virtual classes has its upsides, it also has its downsides. Some students,

including me at first, find this transition difficult. Being used to be in class, switch to an online

class can be challenging. In class, students can easily ask questions if they need help, while

online, they have to email their professors if they have a question. This is very time consuming

as students will not receive and email right away. Some professors take longer to return and

email which provide some students a disadvantage. Another downside is that not all students

have access to the internet. If their power were to go out, they would not have access to the

internet and work on their assignments. This provides those students with disadvantages. Some

students may not even have internet at home at all. They may used their school’s internet and

with it closed, they have nothing to work with.

Although my environment has changed, my goals remain the same. I want to exceed in

each of my classes, leaving it know I have learned something new. My plan for the future is to

still enroll for dual enrollment. There was a new bill that was passed in Georgia that limits how

much classes students can take. This has altered my educational plan. I planned to do dual

enrollment until I graduate, but the new bill restricts my classes, so I have to return to my high

school in Spring of 2021. I was also taking a summer classes, but I had to drop it to do full time

dual enrollment for Fall 2020. This is really inconvenient for me because I wanted to finish off

my high school year at Clayton State University. There is only a few more weeks until I am done

with my Spring classes, and I really enjoyed this year despite what is going on in our world. I

hope to take what I learn in my classes and apply it to my future classes.

Victor Bui

Dr. Fletcher

ENGL 1102

17 February 2020

Reading Artifact: “The Welcome Table” Literary Analysis

“The Welcome Table”, by Alice Walker, is a short story centered around racial injustice.

The story begins with an introduction of the main character. She’s an old African American lady

who’s prepared to go to church on a Sunday. However, the church she chose to attend is an al

white church. The time period is around the civil rights era, where racism was still at large. The

old lady was not welcomed by the people who attended the church because of her skin color. She

was carried out by some of the men at the church. Standing on the other end of the church’s

door, she stood there and begins to sing. Out in the distance, she saw Jesus. She followed him

and ended up dead on the highway. This short story uses many literary devices to develop the

story.

In the first paragraph of the story, Walker uses imagery to describe the point of view of

the old woman. “The old woman stood with eyes uplifted in her Sunday-go-to meeting clothes:

high shoes polished about the tops and toes, a long rusty dress adorned with an old corsage, long

withered, and the remnants of an elegant silk scarf as head rag stained with grease from many

oily pigtails underneath” (220). Walker allows us to visualize what the old lady look like by

providing vivid descriptions that appeals to out sense of sight. The old lady was “angular and

lean and the color of poor gray Georgia earth, beaten by king cotton and extreme weather” (220).

The old lady may have been a former slave as she may have worked on the field. More imageries

are used in the second paragraph to describe the old lady. “On her face centuries were folded into
the circles around one eye, while the other, etched and mapped as if for print, ages more threaten

again to live” (220). Using the vivid description, I can infer that the old lady had lived a long life

and endured pain.

The story begins to shift from the main character to what she’s doing. Walker uses more

imagery to develop the setting of the story. “Perspiration, cold and clammy, stood on her brow

and long the creases by her thin wasted nose” (220). The old woman is preparing to attend

church in the cold atmosphere. Walker goes on to emphasize the condition of the weather,

“except for a slight quivering of her throat and tremors that shook her cotton-stockinged legs”

(221). The condition is so cold, but the woman is determined to attend church. She is strong and

motivated. The lady finally arrives at the first door of the church.

As she arrived at the church, “the reverend of the church stopped her pleasantly as she

stepped into the vestibule” (221). She entered the church and sat in the back, “gazing with

concentration at the stained-glass window over her head” (221). She sits there and ignore all the

looks that people gave her while entering the church. Finally, the ladies decided to get their

husbands to throw the old lady out of the church. “Under the old woman’s arms, they raised their

fists, flexed their muscular shoulders, and out she flew through the door, back under the cold

blue sky” (221). The audience can visualize what is taking place as the author provided them

with specific details.

Outside the church, the old lady begins to sing in her head. As she was sing, she “looked

down the long gray highway and saw something interesting and delightful coming” (222). “She

started to grin, toothlessly, with short giggles of joy, jumping about and slapping her hands on

her knees” (222). The old lady is filled with joy as she thinks she sees Jesus. With the use of

imagery, Jesus can be seen wearing “an immaculate white, long dress trimmed in gold around
the neck and hem, and a red, a bright red, cape. His eyes, brown, had wrinkles around them as if

he smiled or looked at the sun a lot” (222). Walker uses imagery in this paragraph to introduce a

new character, which happens to be Jesus. The lady followed Jesus. She started talking to him,

but stopped, thinking she might annoy him. They continue to walk further down the highway.

They walked, and walked, and walked. At the end of the story, it is revealed that the old lady was

dying, and wanted to attend church before she dies.

Throughout the short story, Alice Walker uses imagery to develop her story. The story

begins with an introduction of the protagonist, an old African American lady. Walker uses vivid

descriptions to appeal to the audiences’ senses. Imagery is also used to describe actions in this

story. When the old lady was getting kicked out of the church, Walker used specific details to

make the audience visualize the scene. The introduction of Jesus also contain imagery. Walker

uses imagery to describe who the old lady saw. This story is about an old lady who is dying, and

she must overcome discrimination to finally be at peace.

 Works Cited

Walker, Alice. “The Welcome Table” from In Love & Trouble: Stories of Black Women.

Copyright 1973 by Alice Walker

Victor Bui

Dr. Fletcher

ENGL 1102

30 March 2020

Matt Ryan Uses His Success to Help His Community

Today, many people watch sports for entertainment purposes. Sports such as football,

basketball, soccer, and baseball are gaining more attractions as they appeal to many. Each team

consist dedicated players who put in their time and effort into the game. On the field or court,

they give it their all to win the game for their team, their fans, and their city. However, players

do more than just win games. Off the field, they help improve their communities. Matt Ryan is

one of those players who uses his success to help his community. Matt Ryan is a quarterback and

team captain who plays for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. Before being

drafted by the Falcons, Ryan played college football for Boston College. Using his fame and

money he gets playing football, Ryan uses it to help his city, Atlanta.

Matt Ryan is an elite quarterback. Once a former MVP, Ryan puts up stats that is similar

to his MVP season each season. He helped led the Falcons to Super Bowl 51, the game they blew

a 28-3 lead. However, many have overlooked how great he played leading up to his Super Bowl

loss. Not only did he gave the city of Atlanta hope, he helped impacted their economy. Matt

Ryan made the Falcons a better team statistically, increasing their fan base, which means more

people will spend their money to go watch the team. According to Laura Depta, a Bleacher

Report Journalist, “Sports represent a billion-dollar business—that’s no secret. But what you

might not realize is the immensely positive impact sports have on local economies, mainly
through tourism dollars.” With a quarterback like Matt Ryan, fans attend games knowing their

team have a chance at winning. The more fans, the more money.

In 2017, the Atlanta Falcons made it to the Super Bowl for the second time ever in their

franchise. The team was led by quarterback Matt Ryan. In the NFC Championship, the game was

played in the Georgia Dome, the last game ever played there. The stadium was filled with red

jerseys, as their fans begin to chant “MVP” as the Falcons near the end. “With the home team

comfortably ahead, the raucous crowd of more than 71,000 partied through the second half,

bouncing along to rap music that turned the stadium with the big top-like roof into the world's

largest dance club” (CTV News). The game also aired live on TV for millions to watch. There

are commercials appearing during breaks which generate revenues. According to Jacob Eckstein,

“national revenue consists of TV deals along with merchandising and licensing deals, which are

negotiated at the national level by the NFL itself. This money is then divided evenly between the

32 teams regardless of individual performance.” According to the Green Bay Packers’ 2018

annual report, “the NFL earned over $8.1 billion in national revenue last year, meaning each

team received about $255 million in national revenue from the league.” With a team capable to

win games, Ryan and the Falcons bring success to the city of Atlanta.

Not only is does Matt Ryan bring fans together on game day, he also help provide for his

city. Recently, the world has experience a pandemic, the coronavirus. According to D. Orlando

Ledbetter, “Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is donating $100,000 to Atlanta-based organization

to help with relief during the coronavirus outbreak.” In the midst of this outbreak, Ryan provide

support to his city. In an interview, Ryan stated "These places aren't getting their typical income,

so hopefully this helps [the workers] get through a little bit of a difficult time," Ryan told

McClure. "We're not sure how long this is going be or how slow it's going to be during this time.
Hopefully, we can help people get through the next week or two to help cover their bases.'' Matt

Ryan not only display professionalism on field, he also provides it off field. His donation of

$100,000 is going to the Giving Kitchen and Atlanta Food Bank. Matt Ryan told ESPN that he

felt like “Giving Kitchen is a unique and cool organization that has helped different restaurants,

people in that industry. We thought it would create awareness for one of the industries that’s

going to struggle during this time.”  Ryan is reaching out to his community in order to provide

hope and contain the chaos.

In 2016, Ryan was nominated as the Walter Payton Man of the Year for the Falcons. The

Walter Payton Man of the Year award is an award that showcases a player’s excellence on and

off the field. Ryan grew closer to the city of Atlanta, as he begin to visit their hospitals.

However, he wanted to do more. According to the Atlanta Falcons, “Ryan began the "Matt Ryan

Celebrity-Am Golf Tournament" and the Matt Ryan "Dinner for Two with #2" to raise funds for

CHOA. Over the past six years, these two events alone have generated close to $1 million

dollars.” CHOA stands for Children Healthcare of Atlanta. Their mission is “to make kids better

today and healthier tomorrow through the philanthropic support of individual donors, charitable

foundations and corporations” (CHOA). Ryan also contributes to schools such as North Clayton

and Henry Grady high schools. He also teamed up with Make a Wish to make other wishes come

true. Matt Ryan goes out his way to support his city and provide for them.

There are more to athletes than what we see on the field. On the field, they help their

team win the game, and off the field, they give back to their city and fans. One of those athletes

is Matt Ryan, quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. Not only did he bring the team success by

leading them to the Superbowl, he provides for his city off the field. His donation during the time
of this pandemic, his fundraisers, and his partnership with the Make a Wish foundation are all

examples of what makes Matt Ryan beloved figure in the city of Atlanta.
 Work Cited

“Foundation.” Children's Healthcare of Atlanta,

www.choa.org/donors-and-volunteers/about-the-foundation.

Organization, and ImageObject. “Matt Ryan Named Falcons NFL Man of the Year.”

Falcons Home, 27 May 2018, www.atlantafalcons.com/news/matt-ryan-named-falcons-nfl-man-

of-the-year-18219999.

Depta, Laura. “12 Ways Sports Make a Positive Impact.” Bleacher Report, Bleacher Report, 3

Oct. 2017, bleacherreport.com/articles/2347988-12-ways-sports-make-a-positiveimpact.

Ledbetter, D. Orlando. “Matt Ryan Makes $100,000 Donation to Local Charities.” Ajc,

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 18 Mar. 2020, www.ajc.com/sports/football/matt-ryan-makes-

100-000-donation-local-charities/OCUraM9ZQEUv85S2aUEKtK/.

McClure, Vaughn. “Matt Ryan to Donate $100,000 to Atlanta in Wake of Coronavirus

Outbreak.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 17 Mar. 2020,

www.espn.com/blog/atlanta-falcons/post/_/id/35090/matt-ryan-to-donate-100000-to-atlanta-in-

wake-of-coronaviru

“Atlanta Beats Green Bay for NFC Championship and Spot in Super Bowl.” CTVNews,

CTV News, 23 Jan. 2017, www.ctvnews.ca/sports/atlanta-beats-green-bay-for-nfc-

championship-and-spot-in-super-bowl-1.3252382?cache=yes.