Portfolio

I still felt like a freshman for the first couple weeks of school, but other than that, my first quarter as a sophomore has gone by somewhat smoothly, and it's time for the first portfolio of the school year.
My goals for this school year are to:
- be on task with each assignment.
- pay more attention in class.
- absorb and learn everything being taught in school.
- balance my time with family, school, friends, and football.
- trust myself with the decisions I make.
- keep the stress to a minimum.

I've surprisingly been on task with almost every assignment in school this quarter. I've been able to learn and understand everything each teacher has taught to me so far. Making school a higher priority in my life has helped me defeat procrastination. I struggled in math but after trial-and-error, I now understand each standard in math. Hopefully I learned it soon enough to raise up my grade.
I have learned a lot of new things in MeneMAC so far this year, such as the many forces on earth and how they affect us everyday, how to use sentence fluency to make a more effective essay, and the corruption of the Gilded Age.
The four traits I will be talking about are: Ideas, Organization, Voice, and Word Choice.

Ideas

Ideas are the content of your story. They should be specific and detailed enough to the point where you can picture what the writer is saying in your mind. If your ideas are broad or general, your writing won't be as fun to read or as effective.

My evidence for ideas are my college application and coming of age essay.

Organization

Organization is the way you put your ideas together. Using an introduction, conclusion, transitional words in between paragraphs, and putting your ideas in chronological order keeps your writing "flowing". This makes it easy for the reader to read understand your ideas.

My evidence for organization are my college application and coming of age essay.

Voice

Voice is your opinion and the feeling you put inside your writing. This makes the difference between you talking to readers and just listing and saying things to them. This keeps your ideas from being boring and helps the reader to relate to them.

My evidence for voice are my college application and coming of age essay.

Word Choice

Word choice is using the best words possible to describe your ideas. Instead of just using plain words to describe your ideas, you should try to find synonyms of them. This will give your writing more effect and make it more fun to read.

My evidence for word choice are my college application and coming of age essay.

This past quarter, I am proud that I was able to not procrastinate as much as I did last year. My only challenge this quarter was balancing my time between friends, school, family, and football. I dealt with it by going on the computer and playing video games less to make room for practice and homework. Next quarter, I hope to keep doing what I'm doing now: staying on task, keeping my priorities straight, balancing my time well, and paying attention in class. If I am able to them this quarter, then I should be able to do them the entire year.