brian dawkins project portfolio synthesis and final reflection
TRANSCRIPT
Paul Fratarcangeli
Comp 1 – Dr. Sherry
My project on Brian Dawkins this semester has helped me achieve all of the goals that
were presented for this course. I am choosing to focus on my packaging and synthesis for the
audience and purpose goal, my rookie diary entry for language and conventions appropriate to
genre goal, my Hall of Fame survey for the critical use of evidence to formulate and support
arguments goal, my magazine cover for media print and non-print goal, and my timeline for the
writing process goal.
A. Students will be able to compose for particular audiences and purposes.
For the audiences and purposes goal I am focusing on my packaging and synthesis. This project
has been constructed especially for fans of Brian Dawkins, but can be for all football or sports
fans. I think Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos fans will really appreciate this work. I did
not just want to show the football side of him because I already knew that, but I wanted to show
his personal side to get better insight on who Brian Dawkins really is. To link everything
together I am making a fan page that will have all the genres on it and additional information as
well.
B. Students will be able to compose using language and conventions appropriate to genre.
For this goal I chose to focus on my rookie diary entry genre. The entry was used to show the
struggles he had early in his career and that he overcame them. This is a more laid back and
personal type of writing, so I used a less formal style to portray a real diary entry to make it as
accurate as possible. I want people reading it to feel as if Brian Dawkins himself write the diary
entry to make it authentic and emotional.
C. Students will be able to read, select, and use evidence critically to formulate and support
arguments.
For this goal I thought the most appropriate genre would be a Hall of Fame survey. The survey
would determine whether the people I asked thought Brian Dawkins should be in the Hall of
Fame or not. I wanted to go out and do my own research to see if people viewed him the same
sense that I did. I walked around my whole dorm building looking for people to participate in my
survey. I also gave the participants the choice of not knowing who he is because I thought this
was the best way to get accurate results. I researched the information, selected what I would use,
and showed the results in writing as well as using a pie chart for a visual.
D. Students will be able to interpret and compose in a variety of media and print/non-print
genres.For the media print and non-print goal I decided to focus on my magazine cover. I took a picture
of Brian Dawkins and used it as the background of the cover. I used heading/headlines instead of
traditional sentence structure you might see on an article inside of the magazine. These short
phrases or questions make the reader wonder what is inside of the magazine.
E. Students will be able to discuss and apply appropriate writing processes both
individually and in collaborative contexts.
I knew that once I started my timeline genre it was going to be tricky. I really wanted one
because it would show Brian Dawkins’ life as a whole. The tough part was being able to
transform it into my own work. I could not just throw facts on a page and call it a genre. I had to
put my own taste or spin on it. I was having trouble coming up with ideas, but thanks to the help
of Dr. Sherry and a few other of my colleagues I was able to figure out exactly how I would
transform it.
Reflection:
As soon as I learned that I would have to do a semester long project on a topic of my choice I
already knew what I was going to pick. Brian Dawkins. He is my favorite football player of all
time, and he played a majority of his career on my favorite football team, the Philadelphia
Eagles. I went into the project knowing much about his football career, but not much of his
personal life. Since he is my favorite player I was easily motivated to find out information I did
not already know. I learned how much of a role model and how much of a leader he is. I learned
that he had struggles like many other “ordinary people”, but he did not let that be the reason for
him to not succeed.
This project has taught me that writing is not only about essays or traditional types of writing.
Writing can consist of many other pieces that people may not think of when they hear writing.
The multigenre project gave me more of a well-rounded writing experience than any other
English or composition course has ever given me. I got to make genres such as; a timeline, diary
entry, survey, speech, magazine cover, and a letter. By mixing up the writing varieties it helped
keep me more focused and interested in this project. Tying all the genres together and making a
website (fan page) out of them was also pretty exciting. It gave me a clear goal to look forward
to as I was approaching the end of the project, and I cannot wait to see what it looks like as a
finished product.
I felt like letting the students pick which topic they wanted will make each project unique and
interesting. Students will want to put hard work in when it is a topic they truly want to write
about instead of being forced to write about something that may not interest them. It definitely
motivated me to get this project finished on time.