You walk past the bright posters and through the heavy glass doors to the smell of popcorn, butter, and the garlicky scent of frozen pizza crust. The aromas are ones of warmth and familiarity, like a hug from a long-lost friend or a kind yearbook note from your favorite teacher. Pulling your wallet from your back pocket, you prepare to spend fourteen dollars on a Diet Coke and some Sour Patch Kids. The cost does not dissuade you, though, for when have you ever left thinking the candy and beverage did not enhance the experience?

Before approaching the counter, you stop and take a long look around, basking in the neon glow of each sign and inhaling the air thick with excitement. How grateful you are to be here, in this magical place where you find yourself at the utmost level of leisure and excitement. This place, of course, is the movie theater.

Well, this isn’t. This is just Bella Cunio’s English 131 portfolio.

Nevertheless, I hope that this collection of documents—revised and original alike—provide you with the feelings of comfort and happiness you may encounter upon entering a bustling movie theater, smelling that first breeze of buttery calories, or fishing for a ticket stub in the depths of a pocket. If not that same enjoyment, then I hope reading through these reflections and assignments offer some semblance of intrigue. Through a night at the movies, I will walk you through my journey in English 131, a class that has allowed me to explore my writing and that of others from a far more critical, analytical, and audience-minded perspective with the use of different learning objectives--dubbed "Outcomes"--as guides that have helped my writing evolve, grow, and change as if it were the star of its own film.

The assignments and projects I have chosen to showcase the evolution of my writing throughout this class are ones I believe to have been some of my best work, but that simultaneously offered the most room for improvement and further tweaking. By representing writing that has been composed with an audience in mind, tailored to accommodate certain situations or information, or rooted firmly in argument, I am hopefully capable of showing my understanding of each of this class’s overarching learning objectives. These Outcomes are four complex categories of components for college-level writing (woah, talk about alliteration!). Although these Outcomes are not intended to be read as strict rules for writing, they are useful guidelines for creating works that show a well-justified argument, proper use of evidence and information, and catering to various audiences.

I have decided to include the Genre-ous Friend assignment, as this paper showcases an understanding of audience that is crucial to Outcome 3. Similarly, the Argumentative Essay is the best indicator of my progress in developing arguments and accessing sufficient evidence—as in Outcome 2—and the Genre Translation highlights Outcome 1. Additionally, the progress made in these papers after editing  should illustrate an understanding of Outcome 4 and the revision process. Don't worry--more exhaustive definitions of these Outcomes are on the way.

Overall, though, all these papers come together to show growth, progress, and understanding acquired through English 131 and the Outcomes of the curriculum; a growth and development comparable to the complex journey of a protagonist in a film, much like the one for which you have a ticket.

I hope you enjoy your night at the movies and find some pleasure in perusing a couple of papers. With that, make sure you get to the concessions line before the family of five beats you to it.