Katie Crabtree

Tammy Davis
April 30, 2024
Composition 2
Cover Letter
Dear Mrs. Davis,
Enclosed in this portfolio are four pieces of writing that I feel depict the growth of me as a writer.
I find that all these pieces are well written and stand as an example of my writing capabilities.
They span over the two semesters of my freshman year and showcase me as a person and the
things I find important. These four pieces of writing mean the world to me as they are a true
representation of my most vulnerable opinions and thoughts. I also included the process in which
I wrote these papers and the way that I grew from them. My thoughts in this portfolio are divided
into my process, strengths, weaknesses, goals, and growth as a writer.
The first submission is called “The Heart Grow Fonder.” I chose to include this piece
because it showcases the relationship between my family, and the joy I receive from arriving into
their arms. This essay was written for my Composition 1 class over a broad topic of people of the
world. I wrote this essay as a testament to the need of fellowship that we as humans desperately
need. This essay is truly about the human nature that draws us together. As for the actual
compilation of the essay, it is ordered well to read. Included in this essay was a rating of the
experience we were elaborating on, and this technique of writing was incredibly creative for me.
The next piece of writing is called “Unit 1 Paper: A City on a Hill.” This is a paper I wrote for
my Early American History class. It breaks down a piece of writing written by John Winthrop.
This is a sermon that confronted the people of the early American colonies with the challenge to
be like Christ. I chose this artifact because of my passion to live a life that reflects the grace of
God. I find that when a topic is one that directly relates to you, then the piece will automatically
be better. You can truly hear the passion in my writing as I dissect the thought process of this
man as well as the history itself of this time.
The third artifact that I am including is called “To Be a Neighbor.” This essay is a
confrontation between society and love. The structure of this essay is what is admired about it.
The inspiration was a man named Dr. Tim Tellis and his theory of the five pillars of being a good
neighbor. Following the theory of five pillars made an incredibly easy and easy to understand
essay. The points are broken down clearly and passionately, so the reader knows exactly where
they are in this piece. Lastly, the fourth piece I chose is called “Debate Paper.” This was assigned
in my government class as a challenge to our own beliefs. This essay is a great practice of
contradicting a topic that you passionately believe in. We were assigned to go about a touchy
subject at the opposite viewpoint. This helped me grow as a writer because it made me get out of
my head and think of things through a bigger picture.
I can confidently say that the more you read the better writer you will be. Growing up, I
absolutely hated reading, but I loved writing. You would always find me falling behind on AR
reading but getting the highest grades on essays. When I got to high school reading was not as
much of a requirement as writing was. My literature teacher was a huge proponent to my growth
as a writer. She challenged me to not simply write about the topic assigned, but to find a way to
relay it back to myself. This was the best piece of advice I could have been given, because as
someone who comes from a complicated situation, it becomes easier to vent in a way through my
writing. When I challenged myself at the start of my college career to read one book a month it
was solely to grow my mind. What was unexpected was the growth in my writing. I noticed that
my general literacy and knowledge base was growing and in turn was benefiting multiple areas
of my life. I wasn’t googling synonyms to words or asking how to order a paragraph anymore, it
had almost become a natural part of my writing style. Specifically, I am a fan of poetry, so
arranging words to format the most emotional context is something I quite enjoy. My
development as a writer can most all be contributed to my growth as a reader. As well as a
challenge to dive deeper into myself and not stay on the surface.
My writing process can only be described as a tiring one. When I go into writing I cannot
break it up into multiple days. As someone who is neurodivergent, my brain cannot catch back
up if there is a break in the process. I feel that there is lack of grace given to those not able to
write in the typical fashion that a stereotypical mind can comprehend. My process begins with
settling into a quiet and comfortable space. I remove all distractions such as my phone, other
people, music, or a tv. I first get a scratch piece of paper and create a quick outline of my paper. I
secondly meditate on the topic and find a way that I can relate to it somehow. Thirdly I’ll write
out absolutely every thought and idea that I have for the main idea of the paper. Once I narrow
down a discission, I further break down the main idea into subtopics. During the actual writing
process, I make sure to refer to the prompt and my original statement to always align it all
together. It is incredibly easy for me to get off track and go on side tangents. Reminding myself
after every paragraph to make sure it all flows is how my essays always sound very structured.
My writing toolbox would be based on a chunk of time. A set aside day dedicated to writing said
paper. I also would include silence and a clear mind. This looks like a warmly lit room and
snacks for energy. I would lastly include many scratch sheets of paper to throw any and all ideas
onto. I will acknowledge that my writing process is different than most. It sounds lovely to be
able to write a paragraph a day. To do an outline on day then the final the next. But, for someone
that doesn’t function like that, this is what works for me.
I would like to say that I am a relatively strong writer. I attribute most of my successful
pieces to my ability to bring emotion into them. I as a person am very emotional, so writing is
the way I exude much of those feelings. I am not afraid to talk about the experiences that made
me the person that I am and writing them down is when I create some of my best works. I am a
strong writer because I want to be and because I truly dive deep into every topic that I’m given. I
would say that my openness and vulnerability are my greatest strengths. My weaknesses would
most definitely be attributed to my lack of time management and tendency to overwhelm myself.
As I mentioned, I do not function as the average person, so it takes a lot to modify assignments
and papers for me. I cannot say that I have discovered the best way to do this yet, so in turn I
have much trouble staying focused and on task. I would also say that I tend to ramble in my
essays. I find that I have so much to say that it all turns in to gibberish at some points. I am
grateful that this is the case and not that I don’t have anything to say. It simply takes refining my
words to create something readable.
In the foreseeable future I don’t see much assigned writing as I am a finance major, but I
have only just begun writing poetry in my spare time. I know that I have much growing and
learning to do seeing as I haven’t written much poetry in my life. I struggle with the structure and
different types of poetry, but I am willing and excited to learn. I feel that I am prepared to create
beautiful and heartfelt works of poetry because I am simply determined to. I have words to say
and time to say them. My goal would be to compile them into a book and eventually get it
published. I would eventually love to write a manifesto of my life and experiences, but I know
that I have so much more to experience before that can begin. I adore storytelling and bringing
forth deep emotions through the power of words.
 Thank you for taking the time to read over my pieces of writing and my thoughts on
them. My writing has much to improve on, but currently I take great pride in it. The future holds
much more for me in this space, and I plan of fulfilling it.