Jason Eisner
Freshman Year
This was the very first paper I wrote for my First Year Writing Requirement during my Freshman Year at the University of Michigan. For that reason alone, it is extremely important to me. I felt that including my first piece of writing as a college student was necessary in order to compare it to my later work and see how I have grown as a writer.
This piece is also very important to me for another, admittedly more significant, reason. The February before my first year at Michigan, my younger brother was born. I had always had a brother that was two years older than me, but now I finally had the little brother I always wanted, even if I was sixteen years his senior. I was quickly thrusted into the role of middle child, and this piece explains how I managed to deal with my unique situation. Click either of the two pictures above to take a look at my essay, and I apologize for sticking my ugly mug next to his cute face.
Freshman Year
This piece is an essay about a unique marketing technique known as guerilla marketing. I wrote this essay as my final research paper for English 225: Academic Argumentation. It is very different from the more personalized essay above, as it is filled with research based evidence and rhetorical strategies. The essay explains the meaning of guerilla marketing, and argues that its use is advantageous for both small and large companies.
I also included this piece because it is actually the piece I chose to alter for my Re-purposing Project. For this project, which could be found in the "Junior Year" section of this portfolio, I re-purposed this research paper into a magazine article. I felt that including the original essay would help readers gain a better understanding of the changes I made to fit the new genre.
Sophomore Year
I wrote this cover letter as an assignment for my English 229 class. It was not actually for a real job application, as I already had a summer job, but it was addressed to a real individual at a real law firm. For this assignment I had to do a great deal of research about what is valued in the genre of cover letters. More specifically, my research focused on cover letters for applications to work at law firms, seeing as I eventually hope to apply to Law School. I followed descriptions and samples found in my research to formulate a well-developed cover letter.
I chose to include this piece in my Eportfolio because it is a piece of professional writing, which is unlike any other piece on my page. I think it is important to include a variety of writing styles, as opposed to just one, so that readers can see my range as a writer.
Sophomore Year
This essay about the deforestation of the Amazon was written for my Biology 109 class Sophomore year. For this assignment, we had to follow a strict set of instructions and format our papers in a very specific way, following certain scientific guidelines.
Before this assignment, I had never written a paper like this, nor have I had to follow such strict guidelines. I chose to include it in my portfolio to show that when tasked with something strict and brand new, I am able to adapt and write a successful paper. I believe it shows my strength and range as a writer.
Photo Courtesy of www.CreativeGuerillaMarketing.com