Cumulative Portfolio and Self-Assessment

Cumulative Portfolio and Self-Assessment
Name
Institution

Cumulative Portfolio and Self-Assessment
Abstract
The course has allowed me to improve my reading analysis, research essay, oral presentation, and grammar skills. Firstly, my reading skills have allowed me to have a better appreciation for reading and comprehension, although I still have some way to go before developing acceptable literacy skills. Secondly, my research skills have allowed me to make better use of library resources. Thirdly, I have developed a better appreciation of oral presentation and the position it plays in improving learning and communication. Finally, my grammar skills have improved allowing me to coherently and cogently present ideas. In this case, the course has been a learning experience. Still, it is evident that the acquired skills are only middling in nature, with additional skills required to facilitate the acquisition of more skills to facilitate the education experience and prepare me for the competitive and increasingly globalized job market. I anticipate that the continued attendance of the course will improve my skills thereby meeting my education needs.
Part A: Cumulative Portfolio
Reading analysis
My reading skills have improved significantly over the duration of the course. In this case, I have developed faster reading skills to include assessing passages to determine key points. For that matter, I feel that I can now tackle more challenging units that would require good reading skills, In addition, I feel that I do not require tuition on reading skills since the course has been more than adequate in that regard.

In fact, it has allowed me to master the basics of reading and comprehension, making it easy for me to understand written passages beyond the functional level characterizing lower academic levels. Still, I must confess that I had difficulties in keeping with the volume and pace of material presented for the course, particularly the transition to note taking and attending classes in lecture halls. This transition was marked by a sharp increase in the reading difficulty and load even as reading took on a central role in my learning since I was expected to learn effectively even as I read independently. Overall, I believe that I will continue developing strong literacy skills over the duration of the course and before graduation. This will enable me to become a highly competitive graduate within the progressively more globalized market. In this respect, the course has helped me to enhance and develop my reading comprehension abilities.
Research essay
My research skills have improved even as I attended the college. The improvement began with my continued use of the college portal to conduct class registrations, and sign up for residence. Attending the course facilitated the improvement, making it possible for me to acquire basic information competencies that are reasonable for college students to possess. In addition, I have learned how to make effective use of the university library resources, find information, and use bibliographic management tools. On the other hand, I must confess that I am not fully aware and cognizant of all resources and services offered by the college library. Besides that, I have noted that I do not make the best use of library resources. In fact, I do not use the library as my first source of information, but rather I consult with my tutors to get the information. Also, I must confess that attending the college has allowed me to develop a unique approach for information searches and library research. The model includes six steps: searching among the indices for the subject; perusing reviewed articles; perusing ancestors; perusing descendants; identifying principal documents of interest; and matching the publications to current awareness on the subject. As such, my research skills have improved to include the use of different information sources and information synthesis from tertiary, secondary, and primary sources.
Oral presentation
Although going before the class to speak or make a presentation is a nerve-wrecking experience, I believe that I have been losing some of that anxiety and even see the benefits of making presentations. In fact, I have noticed that the oral presentations have improved my class performance since evaluated are conducted on them and the marks contribute to course assessment. In addition, the course has allowed me to appreciate a diversity of voices when different students were asked to come before the class and contributed to an ongoing discourse. Also, the oral presentation has allowed me to appreciate students’ role in teaching and strengthened my oral communication skills. Besides that, it has allowed me to appreciate the art of persuasive and effective speaking to include the use of rhetoric in convincing others to accept my views. Still, I must confess that I have some way to go before I can be conformable with my oral presentation skills. This is based on the fact that I have difficulties in setting clear expectations and explicitly modeling good presentation skills. As such, the oral presentations have enabled me to gain confidence in verbally expressing myself, and improve my higher order thinking skills. In this respect, the experience of making oral presentations offered me the twofold benefit of strengthening my mastery of course material while simultaneously improving my oral communication skills.
Part B: Self-Assessment
Over the progression of the course, my grammar skills have radically improved. In fact, I acquired better writing habits and tactics all through the course. This was in addition to being familiar with how best to construct coherent, organized, and formal compositions. In essence, I now have an enhanced appreciation for language use, particularly how to write and correctly use grammar and punctuations, as well as generating superior sentence transitions. On the other hand, I must point out that I am yet to understand some grammar concepts. For one, I am still not capable of unfailingly finding my voice as a writer and putting my ideas into paper. Secondly, I am not skilled at cogently continuing with the central idea of a composition and showing a clear progression of ideas from an introduction to a logical conclusion. I can generate ideas for my composition but will get jammed inside the first few sections and muddle up the conclusion. This results in my compositions being a mess of ramblings that have no clear direction. In this respect, I am still not capable of effectively communicating with others since they are likely to misinterpret what I am communicating or even get all the ideas that I sought to put on paper. I anticipate that continuing to attend college will allow me to gain a better understanding of writing skills and grammar use. By extension, the conclusion of the course will see me finding my voice as a writer, capable of consistently continuing with a central idea within a composition and making correct use of grammar. This will allow me to proceed with writing without getting jammed, and my communications have a clear direction and minus errors.