Rebecca+Olah


 * Final Portfolio **

**Reflection ** The first essay that I wrote was an expressive/reflective essay. I picked the watermark mentor text to follow for this because I feel like the moment my mom passed away was the most influential moment in my life. Although, it was difficult for me to share, I decided that writing about something so personal would fit this genre the best. I did struggle with getting enough emotion into this piece. I believe that my memoir would have been much more compelling if I could have found it in myself to bring more emotion to this piece especially since it is written about the most tragic point of my life. I believe the watermark essay is a great place to start a student writing because they can write about whatever they want as long as it made an impact on their life and giving a student this freedom will hopefully compel the students to write.  The second essay that I wrote was the explain/inform essay. This essay I chose to write about my job. The more personal the essay is to me the easier it seems to write. The topic of serving in my how-to is not only something I understand but something I do on a day to day basis. This essay was a lot easier for me to write because it did not need as much emotion as memoir did. I did struggle with making sure that the essay was actually informative since it is on a topic that is not really educational. I liked this assignment for students because; again you can use it with enough leeway for them to write about what they want or you can make it more formal for example if you want them to write about saving the environment or something along those lines also. Either way, I see how I can use this prompt, among others, to engage students in their writing.  The topic I chose for my unfamiliar genre project was to write a book review. I chose this topic because I found it interesting and have never experienced this type of writing before. It interested me because I read a massive amount of novels and I often read book reviews before I pick up a new novel. My goals for this essay were to successfully create a review and avoid writing a book report. For me, telling the difference was complicated but throughout this process, I believe that the drafts slowly turned more and more into a review instead of the report. This project also showed me a great ways for me to teach students a new type of genre and also how to research and learn a new genre myself. This project was very beneficial to me as a writer and a soon to be teacher of a writer. This project is something that I look forward to using in my own classroom to introduce the fact that there will always be a genre that my students and I will not know anything about but it is possible to learn and understand these genres.  My process for writing, no matter what type of writing it is typically the same. In the beginning I just write my thoughts and see where my mind takes me. This usually gets the basics of my paper, almost like writing an outline except there is a little more than just a bullet point. After I have completed this, I go back and expand on each section little by little, adding and deleting things where needed. I also often delete the whole thing and start over because often my mind works quicker than my hands and the whole thing will end up not making any sense. This is the flaw in writing in this unorganized fashion. I usually do not even start my research if my paper requires it until after I have all of the basics that I want to include written down. I tend to combine the whole writing process that most people include (outlines, drafts, revisions, spell-checking, and so on) in one draft. My whole process is a constant revision, I go back and alter and change sentence, paragraphs and word, throughout writing the first draft. This often leads to the best first draft that I feel that I can write. This writing technique sometimes makes it hard for me to feel like I need to do any revisions.  My strategy of composing essays may be seen as scattered and unorganized but it usually turns out successful for me. I would not necessarily recommend this strategy to my students but I do find that I write relatively well. I have learned how to improve on making my writing more structured and complete in this class. Learning the new genre helped me slow down and think about my writing and writing process instead of just blurting everything out on the paper. It made me think about the mechanics of each genre and the things that makes them unique and the key elements to each one specifically. I also, learned that I need to focus on these elements in genres that I do already know. This class has taught me so many different things on how to approach and teach students. It will be very beneficial because it taught me how to teach students to take risks, learn through their writing, revise their drafts, peer edit, learning a new genre, organizing their writing and most importantly how to get and keep a student interested in writing. **Expressive/Reflective Draft **

I remember the day like it was yesterday. It was one of those afternoon half-days that all of the students loved because we did not have to wake up at the crack of dawn. I remember I took the middle school bus in like I did on most days to play cards with my then boyfriend now fiancé and some of our friends just like we did every other morning. The first few hours went how it always did. Tried really hard not to sleep through my Spanish class, met my friends at my locker in between classes and of course had the daily gossip in the women’s restroom. Everything was normal until I heard “Rebecca Olah to the principal office. Rebecca Olah, please report to the principal office.” The typical high school “Oooohhs” following me out of the classroom as I slowly walked down to the office wracking my brain for something that I could have possibly done to get called down to the office. When I finally got down to the office the secretary simply looked at me and told me that my aunt was going to be picking me up after school that day. Although this was peculiar, it was not the fact that my aunt was picking me up that hinted to me that something was wrong, it was the way that the secretary looked at me that tipped me off. She had on this look of pain and sympathy and she opened her mouth numerous times as if she wanted to say more but after a few minutes of awkward silence she told me to go back to class. I walked back to my class even slower than I walked to the office. The only thing running through my head was my father waking me up in the middle of the night telling me that he was going to take my mom to the hospital. I did not even think at the time that it was anything really serious since this had been happening on and off for the last year or so. By the time that I got back to the classroom I was holding back tears. I walked to my desk put my head down and just started bawling uncontrollably. At first, no one noticed, but shortly after my best friend of the time noticed that I was crying and pointed out to the teacher that something was wrong. I was so upset that I forgot to be ashamed to be crying in front of everyone. We went to the bathroom, I calmed down and we went to find another good friend of mine. The three of us walked around the hallways of that high school for the rest of the class period. We went back to my locker and my boyfriend showed up. With one look he knew something was wrong and I remember just throwing myself on him and crying again. The next sixty minutes were a blur. I do not remember anything that we learned in my next class. In fact, I do not even remember what the class was anymore but I do remember it seemed to take an eternity and 5 seconds all in one. But all of my fears were confirmed when my aunt finally arrived to pick me up. Her red and puffy eyes were a dead giveaway that she had been crying. We had to pick my brother up after that. He was so young and innocent that my aunt chose to joke and laugh the whole car ride so that hopefully he would not come to the same conclusions that I had. We showed up at the hospital and my aunt took us to one of those individual waiting rooms. My dad walked in and everyone else walked out. He sat down across from my brother and me and began saying the worst words I have ever heard in my life. He told us that our mother had died. All I remember going through my head is hatred for my father for playing this cruel joke on my brother and me. My brother, my poor 11 year old kid brother was sitting next to me screaming “No!” over and over again and all I could do was sit there with my head in my hands, not even crying, too numb to move, too numb to comfort my brother. Today as I sit here writing this paper, reliving the worst day in my life, watching Alley Mcbeal, one of my mother’s favorite shows, I think of how differently my life could have been but also of the person I have become because of the tragedies that I have had in my life. I had to mature fast and I had to do all of the girly things on my own now for the most of my life. I won’t deny that being a fourteen year old girl in a male dominated household was not easy for me but I will say that I am proud of the person that I have become. My mother has instilled in me numerous things that I will never forget. I have grown so much from her death and I would not change the person I am today. I hope that I would have become the same person if my mother had not passed away but that is something that we will never know.

**Expressive/Reflective- Final Draft **

==I remember the day like it was yesterday. It was one of those afternoon half-days that all of the students loved because we did not have to wake up at the crack of dawn. I remember I took the middle school bus in like I did on most days to play cards with my then boyfriend now fiancé and some of our friends just like we did every other morning. The first few hours went how it always did. Tried really hard not to sleep through my Spanish class, met my friends at my locker in between classes and of course had the daily gossip in the women’s restroom. Everything was normal until I heard “Rebecca Olah to the principal office. Rebecca Olah, please report to the principal office.” The typical high school “Oooohhs” following me out of the classroom as I slowly walked down to the office wracking my brain for something that I could have possibly done to get called down to the office. == ==<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">When I finally got down to the office the secretary simply looked at me and told me that my aunt was going to be picking me up after school that day. Although this was peculiar, it was not the fact that my aunt was picking me up that hinted to me that something was wrong, it was the way that the secretary looked at me that tipped me off. She had on this look of pain and sympathy and she opened her mouth numerous times as if she wanted to say more but after a few minutes of awkward silence she told me to go back to class. I walked back to my class even slower than I walked to the office. The only thing running through my head was my father waking me up in the middle of the night telling me that he was going to take my mom to the hospital. I did not even think at the time that it was anything really serious since this had been happening on and off for the last year or so. == ==<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">By the time that I got back to the classroom I was holding back tears. I walked to my desk put my head down and just started bawling uncontrollably. At first, no one noticed, but shortly after my best friend of the time noticed that I was crying and pointed out to the teacher that something was wrong. I was so upset that I forgot to be ashamed to be crying in front of everyone. We went to the bathroom, I calmed down and we went to find another good friend of mine. The three of us walked around the hallways of that high school for the rest of the class period. We went back to my locker and my boyfriend showed up. With one look he knew something was wrong and I remember just throwing myself on him and crying again. == ==<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">The next sixty minutes were a blur. I do not remember anything that we learned in my next class. In fact, I do not even remember what the class was anymore but I do remember it seemed to take an eternity and 5 seconds all in one. But all of my fears were confirmed when my aunt finally arrived to pick me up. Her red and puffy eyes were a dead giveaway that she had been crying. We had to pick my brother up after that. He was so young and innocent that my aunt chose to joke and laugh the whole car ride so that hopefully he would not come to the same conclusions that I had. == ==<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">We showed up at the hospital and my aunt took us to one of those individual waiting rooms. My dad walked in and everyone else walked out. He sat down across from my brother and me and began saying the worst words I have ever heard in my life. He told us that our mother had died. All I remember going through my head is hatred for my father for playing this cruel joke on my brother and me. My brother, my poor 11 year old kid brother was sitting next to me screaming “No!” over and over again and all I could do was sit there with my head in my hands, not even crying, too numb to move, too numb to comfort my brother. == ==<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Today as I sit here writing this paper, reliving the worst day in my life, watching Alley Mcbeal, one of my mother’s favorite shows, I think of how differently my life could have been but also of the person I have become because of the tragedies that I have had in my life. I had to mature fast and I had to do all of the girly things on my own now for the most of my life. I won’t deny that being a fourteen year old girl in a male dominated household was not easy for me but I will say that I am proud of the person that I have become. My mother has instilled in me numerous things that I will never forget like how to handle myself in difficult situations, how to always keep my head high and the fact that a nice smile could make someone else’s day slightly better. That day changed my life in so many ways and as difficult as it is to this day without my mother. To this day, it is incredibly hard without here. She missed out on so many important days in my life; my prom, my graduation, all of my high school life. She is not going to be here for the wedding that I am trying to plan or to meet her grandchildren when they come along. Even though she is gone, I will always remember how much her smile and laughter lit up a room, it was infectious, and how you could see the love between her and my father. I have grown so much from her death and I would not change the person I am today. I hope that I would have become the same person if my mother had not passed away but that is something that we will never know. == **<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Explain/Inform- Draft ** **<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">How to Survive Working a Double Shift at Applebee’s ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> Working those ten to fifteen hour shifts in a restaurant can be pretty brutal. The rude guests, the bad tips and the fact that you may not get to sit down for what will feel like days is enough to get to anyone, including the best servers. I have had some experience with this and have put together some little pieces of advice that will maybe, hopefully, help you get through your next long shift. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Here are the tips- <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Get to bed super early. You will need to be awake, alert and have that patience to deal with rude customers, screaming children, screeching managers and overwhelmed co-workers. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Eat breakfast. The food always smells so good and you never know when you will get a chance to eat. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Drink that coffee, energy drink, pop or whatever your choice of caffeine is. You will need that energy to get through the day. And just keep drinking it! <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Eat when you have a chance. I don’t care if you ate five minutes ago or five hours ago, you never know when you’re going to get that random crazy rush. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Take a smoke break even if you do not smoke. Sitting outside, especially in nice weather, and getting that breath of fresh air will revive you and not to mention you can sit again! <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Remember to smile! Bigger smile=nicer attitude=bigger tips= a happier you. And all that adds up to it being easier getting through the day. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Sit while you are bussing your table. It looks like you’re doing something and you get to rest your feet. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Joke with your tables. Laughing will help the day go by quicker. Flirting never hurts either. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Plan to get a drink with your co-worker after you work. It will give you something to look forward to and you will probably need one. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Think about all the money you will be making. The time will come during the day where you will either want to curl up in a booth and fall asleep or just walk out the door but chances are if you are working a double, you need the cash. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> And Never, Ever, Ever look at the clock. The more you look at the clock, the longer the day will be. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> Now that you’ve read my tips, I hope your next, or first, double shift will run a little smoother for you. All servers know that these days are dreaded by all but usually the money is pretty good and hopefully it will be well-worth it. Have fun and good luck!!

**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Explain/Inform Final Draft ** **<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">How to Survive Working a Double Shift at Applebee’s ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> Working those ten to fifteen hour shifts in a restaurant can be pretty brutal. The rude guests, the bad tips and the fact that you may not get to sit down for what will feel like days is enough to get to anyone, including the best servers. It does not matter that if you work a double once a month or six times a week; they never seem to get easier. I am one of those people who work doubles once every few weeks at this job but I do have a lot of experience with these dreaded doubles and with this experience with this and have put together some little pieces of advice that will maybe, hopefully, help you get through your next long shift. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Here are the tips-
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">1. Get to bed super early. You will need to be awake, alert and have that patience to deal with rude customers, screaming children, screeching managers and overwhelmed co-workers. If you do not get enough sleep, making it through the day will make it even harder.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">2. Eat breakfast. The food always smells so good and you never know when you will get a chance to eat and not eating, usually means a cranky server and if you are cranky, you will not make as much money as you would if you were happy.


 * 1) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">3. Which leads me, to remember to smile! Bigger smile=nicer attitude=bigger tips= a happier you. And all that adds up to it being easier getting through the day.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">4. So does, joking with your tables. Laughing will help the day go by quicker. Flirting never hurts either, unless their significant other is sitting right next to them... then flirting may be a very, very, very bad idea. In that case, I would just stick with joking.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">10.Plan to get a drink with your co-worker after you work. It will give you something to look forward to. Not only will this give you motivation to finish out the work shift strong but also if you become close friends with your fellow servers, it will be easier for you to get shifts off of work. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">11.When you are nine hours in to the shift, think about all the money you will be making. The time will come during the day where you will either want to curl up in a booth and fall asleep or just walk out the door but chances are if you are working a double, you need the cash. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">12.And Never, Ever, Ever look at the clock. The more you look at the clock, the longer the day will be. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> Now that you’ve read my tips, I hope your next, or first, double shift will run a little smoother for you. All servers know that these days are dreaded by all but usually the money is pretty good and hopefully it will be well-worth it. The more you work them the easier they will be but also the more draining it will be. Regardless, have fun and good luck!!
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">5. When you feel yourself and your brain slowing crashing drink that coffee, energy drink, pop or whatever your choice of caffeine is. You will need that energy to get through the day. And just keep drinking it!
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">6. Eat when you have a chance. I don’t care if you ate five minutes ago or five hours ago, you never know when you’re going to get that random crazy rush.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">7. Take a smoke break even if you do not smoke. Sitting outside, especially in nice weather, and getting that breath of fresh air will revive you and not to mention you can sit again!
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">8. Sit while you are bussing your table. It looks like you’re doing something and you get to rest your feet. Take these chances while you can! Trust me; your feet will thank you! If it’s snowing, I would advise you to skip this tip, instead of feeling revived, you’ll just feel cold.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">9. Always feel free to ask for help. Everyone needs it so do not be embarrassed. It is so much easier to get over your pride and ask when you need it then to be swamped with ten tables and be running around like a chicken with your head cut off.

**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Unfamiliar Genre Project- Draft 1 **

**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">This novel is the first of seven in the series written by J.K. Rowling in 1997. It is an introductory novel which leads its readers into the magical world of Harry Potter. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">The novel starts off introducing us to Harry Potter as the infant who survived a vicious attack from the antagonist of the series, Voldemort. He was put into a home of his aunt and uncle who despise the concept of witchcraft and wizardry. The hated it so much that they kept him locked in the cupboard under the stairs. He lead a deprived life but on his eleventh birthday he finds out that he is actually a wizard, and a famous one at that, and it changed his life. He is sent out into a new world and Rowling leads us and Harry through it at the same time. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">This book introduces us to the characters of Harry Potter, Ron Weasly, Hermoine Granger, Hagrid, Dumbledore and so many more. She shows us Diagon Alley, Howgarts and the forbidden forest. Rowling’s creativeness and details in her novels are dazzling. She introduces us to a world that children will fantasize about for the rest of their lives. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">The language in the novel is also entertaining. Rowling created a whole new language in her books, words such as muggle, that would most likely never have been created. She in essence started a while new culture in one novel. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Although when I first picked up the Harry Potter novel, I thought that it would be a brilliant children’s book. But after reading the novel as a child and as an adult, I have realized that this book can cater to every generation. There are dark themes to the novel that go right over a child’s head but make the books thrilling for the adult reader also. The first book does not have as much depth to it as the rest of them but it is still entertaining. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">The series grows with its readers and with the age of the characters but remains readable for all age groups. Rowling truly is a remarkable author. 11 year olds throughout the world will be waiting for their Hogwarts letters for many, many years to come. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I would recommend this novel from ages 8-99. Children under the age of 8 might not quite get the complexities of some of even the simple themes. The magical world can be a great escape for all ages. It also covers numerous genres so it would interest men, women, boys and girls of all ages.

**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Unfamiliar Genre Project-Final Draft **

**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Attention fantasy readers of all ages, yep that’s right, all ages! If you want to escape to an imaginary world of witches, wizards and magic spells, this is the book for you. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">This novel is the first of seven in the series written by J.K. Rowling in 1997. It is an introductory novel which leads its readers into the magical world of Harry Potter. That is the issue though. It is an introductory novel. The first five or so chapters focus on only introducing the characters so that you know every little tiny detail and I personally found it redundant and boring. Especially since we knew it was going to be a series of novels, she could have let us learn more as we go. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Once you actually get past the introduction though the novel is extremely interesting. The plot is as intriguing as ever as it twists and turns. You hear about this horrible life of a child that lives in a cupboard underneath the stairs and the next thing you find out is that he is a wizard, every child and most adults dream. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">The characters become more and more entertaining as the novel goes. They also get more and more relatable. Every group of friends has the know-it-all Hermoine, the clumsy Neville and that one guy that they never got along with Draco Malfoy. That is part of Rowling’s brilliance. She makes everyone want to read it by making it relatable to every <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Although when I first picked up the Harry Potter novel, I thought that it would be a brilliant children’s book. But after reading the novel as a child and as an adult, I have realized that this book can cater to every generation. There are dark themes such as murder and death to the novel that go right over a child’s head but make the books thrilling for the adult reader also. The first book does not have as much depth to it as the rest of them but it is still entertaining. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">The series grows with its readers and with the age of the characters but remains readable for all age groups. Rowling truly is a remarkable author. 11 year olds throughout the world will be waiting for their Hogwarts letters for many, many years to come. **<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I would recommend this novel from ages 8-99. Children under the age of 8 might not quite get the complexities of some of even the simple themes. The magical world can be a great escape for all ages. It also covers numerous genres so it would interest men, women, boys and girls of all ages. **