FEAR OF WRITING

Minglu Guo

Fall 2013

ENG 101 PORTFOLIO

FEAR“Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional

danger”

- (Paranoia, n.d.)

This portfolio includes 15 writing prompts, an interview

report, a non-fiction writing assignment with drafts, an

annotated bibliography, and also an inquiry essay with

drafts. Those assignments are all about fear, how others

think about fear, what their greatest fears are, and how to

overcome it.

WRITING PROMPTS

Overview: Daily

creative exercises

Includes: 15

Writing Prompts

WRITING PROMPTSTake-aways:

• In the beginning, I had no idea what a writing prompt was.

• When comparing my first and last assignments, my writing skills have significantly improved and progressed with more cohesiveness overall.

• Now, I am able to quickly and concisely pinpoint my thoughts and write them on paper.

• Through these exercises, I’ve learned that writing prompts can help give my essay purpose and direction.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Overview: Research for the inquiry paper

Includes:• 1 Annotated Bibliography with 7

sources

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Take-away:• I found it hard to find useful sources that related

to my research paper topic.• But there is always a way to find the sources that I

want. (Library, Google academic, New York Times etc.)

• I learned the importance of having reliable sources.

• It helped provide structure for my inquiry paper.• I learned how to cite in APA format.

NON-FICTION WRITING

Overview: Exploring our personal

experience through writing

Includes:• Interview• States of Mind Personal Essay• Proposal• Inquiry

INTERVIEW

Overall: • I interviewed three individuals for my

research paper: my aunt, my friend Vicky, and an expert psychologist.

• I composed five different questions for each of them.

• I interviewed them face to face individually and obtained my answers.

STATES OF MIND

Overall:• I chose to use my family and my childhood

issues as the topic to express my fears.• After I read the sample essay from Anne-

Laure, it gave me inspiration and I suddenly had courage to write about myself.

• It is hard to write at the beginning.• I changed my drafts 3 times and went for a

tutor’s help at writing center.

PROPOSAL

Overall: • The initial proposal I created was not

creative or interesting enough, so I changed it a few times.

• My final proposal became: “Possible or not: Fear of failing brings positive effects in both school and life”.

INQUIRY PAPER

Overall:• I did the research first (see the

bibliography part) for my inquiry paper and I found many good sources.

• I chose 7 of them at the end for my paper.

• I wrote total of 8 pages for my paper (include cover page, abstract and references).

COMPARISON I edited and fixed each part of my research

paper at least 3 times before I handed in.

I did my best and put as much thought and

insight as I could into each draft.

By comparing my final draft with the previous

ones, I have noticed the improvement of my

writing and the development within each version.

NON-FICTION WRITING

Take-aways:• In the beginning, I was afraid of non-fiction

writing.• I was worried about doing the interview

because the interviewee was a complete stranger to me.

• I was embarrassed to share my fear with others and expose my childhood and family issues in front of everyone. It was the HARDEST assignment for me!

• I was frustrated when I started writing the inquiry paper because I had some trouble with the beginning and conclusion.

NON-FICTION WRITING

• As I kept writing, I felt my writing skills gradually improving and now it is no longer difficult for me to come up with ideas.

• Now, I am confident in my writing and am comfortable sharing my personal experiences with others.

• Through the interview process, I learned the importance of phrasing and how to best elicit responses from interviewees.

• Through writing the inquiry paper, I learned how to search for and determine the best resources online and in print.

THE COURAGE TO WRITEHOW WRITERS TRANSCEND

FEAR

Overview:• The book “ The Courage to Write”

wrote by Ralph Keys talks about how writers do when they facing fears.

• This book treats fear as a normal, inevitable part of the writing process.

THE COURAGE TO WRITEHOW WRITERS TRANSCEND

FEAR

Overall:• ”Anxiety is not just an inevitable part

of the writing process, but a necessary part” (p. 13).

• Even famous writers are afraid of writing some times, so it is totally normal for us to feel anxiety and stressful when we are writing.

THE END

This semester is coming to an end. I

learned valuable knowledge, overcame

fears, and gained confidence in writing.

Just like my inquiry paper said, fear has

double sides, it all depends on how you

treat it. For me, I think I will use it as a

motive that pushes me forward.

THE END

I want to thank Professor Sara Whitestone for

having such an easygoing classroom

environment and leading us on the right track

every step of the way. You made us more

confident in ourselves by always encouraging us

to do better. I am glad I met you this semester!

You are a GREAT teacher!

REFERENCES

Keys, R (1995). The courage to write: How

writers transcend fear. New York: Henry Holt

and Company, Inc.

Paranoia (n.d.). Fear. Phycology today.

Retrieved December 5, 2013, from

http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/fear.