Introduction
My name is Fay Lee, a Shanghai girl. Now I’m a sophomore from Law School of Fudan University.

Fudan is famous throughout the country for cultivating talented people . So when I was in senior school, to become its student was one of my dreams. Fortunately, through my hard work, it became truth!

As regards to my major----law, I had only a vague idea about it at the very beginning. In my mind, occupations concerned with law such as lawyer are often lofty, because judges or lawyers are working to bring the evil to justice. Justice is the sublime ideal I'm always pursuing. So I chose law as my major at last.

Now with over a year of study in Law School, I find that to be a good prosecutor is my ambition. Because prosecutor can not only punish criminals but also prevent those innocent from erroneous judgment in the process of inspect and ratify arrest.

Cover Letter
December 24, 2006

Dear Portfolio Reader:

Thank you for sparing the time to read my writing portfolio. With a semester of study in the academic writing class, I learned the process of completing a good essay and some useful writing skills to help a writer to better support his points. My teacher, Ron Corio, helped me to focus on the point to support my thesis, which I used to neglect. I also develop to form an idea that essay is written for readers, so each sentence must be clear and specific. This can be seen from “A Realistic Mayor”.

In this portfolio I choose pieces of writing to show what I’ve learned in the academic writing class this semester, mainly including three essay drafts, one reading log and one timed-writing.

The three drafts of “A Realistic Mayor” in my portfolio witness the improvements of my writing skills in different stages in order. Before starting to write draft one, I came across a big problem----for quite a period of time, I couldn’t get a satisfying thesis statement. Thanks to peer help, I knew what elements a good thesis statement is required of and finally worked it out. Peer help is one of the most efficient approaches Mr. Corio taught us. It really helps me in revising and editing my essay. After finishing each draft, I received comments from my peers which are great aids to the improvement of my essay. The final paper is the best one in demonstrating such writing skills as quotation and bracket I learnt in class.

Reading Log deals with my impressions on the story “A Woman Like Me”. I think full content or strong thesis plays an important role in making up a good article. We read six stories this semester. This story echoes with me most, so this reading log is the best in content.

Time-writing 1 represents how well I can organize an article and complete it with the writing skills learnt in the academic class in a given time.

It’s my sincere hope that you will enjoy reading my portfolio and find it helpful.

Essay Draft 1
The story “The Street-Sweeping Show” took place in the Cultural Revolution, for the duration of which people had to behave with great caution. From the mayor’s disparate attitudes toward colleagues, civilians and family members, it can be seen clearly that the mayor knows quite well how to communicate and socialize with different people to survive in contemporary society. In other words, “The Mayor Is a Realistic Man”.

First, the mayor was the head of those officials with lower levels. So he was required to show a sense of authority and power in order to consolidate the position------The tone he took with to remind Secretary Zhao of the Women’s Federation he missed was imperative and allowed no disobedience. e.g. “Add two names from the Women’s Federation, and make sure you get people…” The manner in which he handed the incomplete list back to the secretary is like an elementary teacher returning a poor homework paper to his student, which was full of sobriety and seriousness. Only in this way could the mayor maintain the authority a leader was expected to have and prevent subordinates to surpass him.

What’s more, the mayor was the representative of the government which took the responsibility to create a positive environment among civilians. Especially during the Cultural Revolution, the top Communist leadership was advocating proletarianism which is closely related absolute equality while making efforts to get rid of bourgeois elements. Therefore, the mayor had to take part in the National Cleanup Week personally to make it clear to the city that all the people had every reason to do the same since the top administrator of the city was earnestly practicing cleaning,. By doing so, the mayor was telling the city he was fulfilling the duty as a senior official, which helped him win the recognition of both the uppers and lowers.

However, when it comes to the family, the mayor totally changed the way of doing things.
Because he knew quite well that what he did outside home was a show to ensure his position as a mayor, it was unworthy of any attention at all! In addition, as a granddad, he wanted the grandson to be a genuine and deal with concrete matters. Hence, “It’s not worth watching. Let’s go have dinner.” It’s the mayor’s choice to live an ordinary life. The realistic character lies in that he understood the difference between work and home.

From the three points mentioned above, a conclusion that the mayor was a realistic man can be naturally drawn. Only a realistic man can deal with the relationship of duty life and daily life with ease.

Essay Draft 2
The story “The Street-Sweeping Show” by Feng Jicai took place in the Cultural Revolution, for the duration of which people had to behave with great caution. The mayor pretended to take an active part in the national street cleanup. But when he came back home, he told the grandson the news about the cleanup unworthy watching. From the mayor’s disparate attitudes toward colleagues, civilians and family members, it can be seen clearly that the mayor knows quite well how to communicate and socialize with different people to survive in contemporary society. In other words, the mayor is a realistic man.

First, the imperatorial attitude toward his subordinates manifests the realistic character of the mayor. The mayor was the head of those officials with lower levels. So he was required to show a sense of authority and power in order to consolidate the position------The tone he took with to remind Secretary Zhao of the Women’s Federation he missed: “Add two names from the Women’s Federation, and make sure you get people…” (164) was imperative and allowed no disobedience. The manner in which he handed the incomplete list back to the secretary is “like an elementary teacher returning a poor homework paper to his student” (164), which were full of sobriety and seriousness. Only by establishing a clear rank toward his underlings could the mayor maintain the authority a leader was expected to have and prevent subordinates to surpass him.

What’s more, the mayor was quite clear about how to show the achievement in his post to his head. Mayor was the representative of the government which took the responsibility to create a positive environment among civilians. To sweep streets himself, the mayor could encourage the civilians to put even greater efforts to the national cleanup. Since the top administrator of the city was earnestly practicing cleaning, all the other people had every reason to do the same. The mayor was telling the city he was fulfilling the duty as an senior official, which helped him win the recognition of both the uppers and lowers.

The mayor had a keen insight in surviving himself during the special period of the Cultural Revolution, which is another strong proof of his realism. During the Cultural Revolution, the top Communist leadership of China was advocating proletarianism which was closely related absolute equality while making efforts to get rid of bourgeois elements. Therefore, the mayor had to take part in the National Cleanup Week personally to emphasize that I am an ordinary person just like all of you. Sweeping is a typical routine of proletarian. What I’m doing today is the same with any proletarian. The mayor made it clear to the city that he was by the side of proletarians. In other words, there’s no relationship between him and bourgeois. By declaring an opposite stance to bourgeois, the mayor can prevent getting involved in the political conflicts and survive himself.

However, when it comes to the family, the mayor totally changed the way of doing things---- in front of readers is a genuine person opposite to the actor in the street-sweeping show. Because he knew quite well that what he did outside home was a show to ensure his position as a mayor, it was unworthy of any attention at all! Besides, as a granddad, he wanted the grandson to be a genuine and deal with concrete matters. Hence, “It’s not worth watching. Let’s go have dinner.” It’s the mayor’s choice to live an ordinary life. The realistic character lies in that he understood the difference between work and home.

From the three points mentioned above, a conclusion that the mayor was a realistic man can be naturally drawn. As a realistic man accepts the fact that there’s always dark side in life and with one’s feeble efforts, such reality can hardly be changed. So the best way to live an easy life is to deal with the dark side and bright side in different attitudes. So the mayor “turned away and gave his grandson a casual pat on the shoulder.” (166)

Essay Draft 3

A Realistic Mayor

The story “The Street-Sweeping Show” by Feng Jicai took place in the Cultural Revolution of China, for the duration of which people had to behave with great caution. The mayor pretended to take an active part in the national street cleanup. But when he came back home, he told the grandson the news about the cleanup unworthy watching. From the mayor’s disparate attitudes toward colleagues, civilians and family members, it can be seen clearly that the mayor knows quite well how to communicate and socialize with different people to survive in contemporary society. In other words, the mayor is a realistic man.

First, the imperatorial attitude toward his subordinates manifests the realistic character of the mayor. The mayor was the head of those officials with lower levels, so he was required to show a sense of authority and power in order to consolidate the position. The tone he took with to remind Secretary Zhao of the Women’s Federation he left out from the list: “Add two names from the Women’s Federation, and make sure you [Secretary Zhao] get people in positions of authority…” (164) was imperative and allowed no disobedience. The manner in which he handed the incomplete list back to the secretary is “like an elementary teacher returning a poor homework paper to his student” (164), which were full of sobriety and seriousness. Establishing a clear rank toward his underlings was a good way for the mayor to maintain the authority a leader was expected to have and prevent subordinates to surpass him.

What’s more, the mayor was quite clear about how to show the achievement in his post to his superiors. Mayor was the representative of the government which took the responsibility to create a positive environment among civilians. Just as what he said---- “As a mayor of the city, I have to set an example.”, the mayor could encourage the civilians to put even greater efforts to the national cleanup by sweeping the street himself. Since the top administrator of the city was earnestly practicing cleaning, all the other people had every reason to do the same. The mayor was telling the city he was fulfilling the duty as an senior official, which helped him win the recognition of both the uppers and lowers.

The mayor had a keen insight in surviving during the special period of the Cultural Revolution, which is another strong proof of his realism. During the Cultural Revolution, the top Communist leadership of China was advocating proletarianism which was closely related to absolute equality while making efforts to get rid of bourgeois elements. Therefore, the mayor had to take part in the National Cleanup Week personally to emphasize that I am an ordinary person just like all of you. Sweeping is a typical routine of proletarian. What I’m doing today is the same with any proletarian. The mayor made it clear to the city that he was by the side of proletarians. By declaring an opposite stance to bourgeois, the mayor can prevent getting involved in the political conflicts and survive himself.

However, when it comes to the family, the mayor totally changed the way of doing things---- in front of readers is a genuine person opposite to the actor in the street-sweeping show. Because he knew quite well that what he did outside home was a show to ensure his position as a mayor, it was unworthy of any attention at all! It can be seen clearly from the following: many people “gathered to wait for the mayor’s arrival, [hoping] to be the first to shake his hand” (164), and the mayor repeated. Such behavior shouldn’t be a part of cleanup, but it was so natural as a part of show! In order to make his bright image known, the mayor even agreed photographers and cameraman from the TV station to shoot! What was more ridiculous was that he enjoyed the feeling of get focus from others very much! “Like a cloud in a thunderstorm, the mayor was constantly illuminated by silvery flashes.”(165) Besides, as a granddad, he wanted the grandson to be genuine and deal with concrete matters. Hence, “It [The news about national cleanup]’s not worth watching. Let’s go have dinner.” It’s the mayor’s choice to live an ordinary life. The realistic character lies in that he understood the difference between work and home.

From the three points mentioned above, a conclusion that the mayor was a realistic man can be naturally drawn. As a realistic man accepts the fact that there’s always dark side in life and with one’s feeble efforts, such reality can hardly be changed. So the best way to live an easy life is to deal with the dark side and bright side in different attitudes. So the mayor “turned away and gave his grandson a casual pat on the shoulder.” (166)

Reading Log for "A Woman Like Me"
I can't understand why one's profession has so much power in changing others' attitudes toward him. It has to be admitted that there's some relationship between one's profession and personality, but we can't direct personality solely to profession or even magnify their relationship.

A human being is a lively being itself, rather than a physical body. It has its own happiness or sadness. That's whom we are talking to, playing with and sharing parts of life with. So we should concentrate on the friends in daily life. That's the real ones we love to make friends with.

As far as friend's profession is concerned, we’d better accept it naturally. Since he/she is our friend, we should pay the least respect and understanding to his/her job. Each profession plays a necessary role in operating the society. We have no reason to neglect or look down on any job, not to say the one's of our loved friends.
In a word, I really can't understand why people around the heroine all kept themselves far away from her. In my eyes, I'm making friends with the person instead of her profession. That the eyes become blank, the hands turn cold is all imagined by people. We should overcome such meaningless and negative feeling.

In addition, I'm very curious about the ending. I hope so much that Xia will be a different man, a man different from the mundane world.

Timed-writing 1
I like “The Street-Sweeping Show” best, because the writer uses simple words to interpret a genuine and distinct character of a typical Chinese official.

The writer reveals a reality in Chinese society---- everyone is acting in his show. Through the mayor, we can see he knows well how to behave outside and inside home. He pretends to be serious and responsible to the society and his people, but he knows what he is doing before others is just a show, a show to establish a good image of a mayor. At the same time, he knows he shouldn’t act in front of his grandson, because that will leave a false impression on him. The mayor wants to let his grandson know the reality of the society; teach him how to adapt to living in Chinese society, so he chose such a indirect and clever way.

The story makes me feel quite real, real to Chinese people, because what I’ve seen and heard also made such an impact on me. Without many explanations of his thoughts about the actions of the mayor, without many comments after the story, the writer tells readers everything he wants to convey. Such way of writing is more efficient to make readers understand the meaning of the writer.

How the writer did this is only by means of very simple words! No long and complex sentences, no complicated words. But it is such ordinary and straight words that help the whole story brilliant and impressive.

Another important reason for loving this story is that I like the ones describing ordinary scenes and routines. The other stories happen in battlefield, foreign countries, etc. Such backgrounds or settings seem too far from me, and I’m not familiar with them. So they are more difficult to arouse my echo.