Final Portfolio and Reflection

 

There are two parts to this Final Portfolio:

1) Revisions of Units One and Two

2) A Final Reflection (400-500 words) 

As we’ve determined this semester, composing is not just a tool for our course or for classes in other disciplines as you pursue your college degree. Writing is a tool you use in community, personal, and professional situations as well. Once you learn how to analyze a rhetorical situation, you can start to figure out the most effective communication strategy.

Revision of Units 1 and 2

To complete the course, you will revise Units 1 and 2, given the feedback you received from the professor and classmates.  Think of yourself as a writer beyond the classroom.  Your words are important, so present them accordingly!

For each revision, include a paragraph at the beginning that explains the ways in which you revised your assignment and why. Address what you learned from the feedback you received, and the suggestions you chose to incorporate (or not).

Final Reflection

What have you learned about yourself as a reader, writer, and scholar this term? How will you be able to transfer this knowledge to other writing situations—either in college or in your community? Use at least three quotes from your own writing this semester in order to support your conclusions. 

As a way to begin your Reflection, look back through your compendium of work: what you did/said/thought this semester in your OL posts, your assignments, and your conversations and exchanges with colleagues. As you browse through your work, take notes on the following questions (note: you do not have to speak to all of these issues; these are just to give you some possible topics to address):

  • How would you compare/contrast work you did early in the semester vs. the end?
  • What was your favorite/least favorite assignment and why?
  • What are some notable lessons that have stuck with you after completing certain assignments?
  • What changed in your writing (reading, thinking) as the genres and assignments changed?
  • How did you make decisions in your assignments about content and design?
  • What were your early assumptions/beliefs about yourself and writing? Have they since changed? Explain.
  • What was your experience revising assignments?
  • Was there any peer feedback that stands out to you? Why?
  • What was particularly challenging for you in our course this semester and how did you overcome it (or attempt to)?

Now that you’ve brainstormed, is there a central takeaway from the semester? How can you organize your ideas to reflect and support this?

Evaluation Criteria

Attention to audience. You need to have a “so what?” Don’t just list off a bunch of random opinions about your writing—write an article about what you’ve learned. Think about who you are writing for (hint: it’s not just me).

Attention to organization.  This does not have to be a traditional organization, but you should have paragraphs (not just a 1000 word paragraph, please) and some reason for why they’re in the order they’re in!

Evidence and analysis. If you tell me you learned something about yourself as a writer, demonstrate this through your own writing. All reflections should include at least three quotes from your own writing this semester (OL posts or more formal assignments). Don’t just drop those quotes in there and expect your readers to figure out why you’ve chosen them. Explain why that passage is important to your readers and to your “so what?”

Care. Proofread. Make sure it’s long enough. As usual, you can use whatever language you see fit to use, but the words that are there should be there for a reason.