This is the 101 portfolio of the student mentor for our ENG 101 class!

2. “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.

3. WRITING PROMPTS
Overview: Daily creative
exercises
Includes: 15 Writing
Prompts

11. WRITING PROMPTS
Take-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.

12. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Overview: Research for the inquiry paper
Includes:
• 1 Annotated Bibliography with 7 sources

18. 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.

19. NON-FICTION WRITING
Overview: Exploring our personal experience through
writing
Includes:
• Interview
• States of Mind Personal Essay
• Proposal
• Inquiry

20. 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.

29. 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.

35. 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”.

37. 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).

53. 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.

54. 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.

55. 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.

56. T H E C O U R A G E TO W R I T E
H OW W R I T E R S T R A N S C E N D F E A R
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.

58. T H E C O U R A G E TO W R I T E
H OW W R I T E R S T R A N S C E N D F E A R
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.

59. 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.

60. 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!

61. 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.