Writing is a complex task because it involves so many decisions about how to say what you want to say, which changes depending on who your audience is. Yet writing is a key to understanding yourself; writing allows you to process your thoughts, and in doing so, you begin to discover what, and how, you think. Writing about subjects also help you acquire and retain knowledge because you go through an active process of thinking about ideas that you must put in your own words. Reading other writers help you gain a wider perspective; after reading other writers, you can use them in your own writing to question, debate or support your own positions on an issue. Writing, then, is a way for you to join the academic, vocational and social debates that are essential to an informed and open culture. When you select a writing assignment to put in the portfolio, the sample should demonstrate your best writing. You may decide to select an essay from English 101, a research paper from English 102, journal entries or reports for a class, and a paper from a 200 level course.