Final Portfolio and Reflection

Due December 18

This assignment consists of two parts:

1. Revisions of Units 1 and 2 (and 3, if time)
2. Final Reflection

The Portfolio 

If you get anything from this term, I hope it’s the idea that writing isn’t just something you do for school, it’s a tool you can use in your community as well as in your personal and professional lives. Once you learn how to analyze a rhetorical situation, conduct research, and become comfortable in multiple genres of writing, you can start to figure out what someone wants you to write no matter the situation.

What I’d like you to do for this section is to revise the major units we’ve completed. You’ll have plenty of time and hopefully additional understanding to complete units 1 and 2 easily. We’ve just completed Unit 3, so you might not have as much time to revise it, but you’re welcome to if you’d like.

We’ve talked about revision throughout the semester. Readings have helped us learn that the first draft of a written work is just the beginning. We want to work at making something you’re ready to show the world, not just your fellow students and teachers. Make your essays visually readable as well as clean in writing and structure. Think of yourself as a writer beyond the classroom. Your words, stories, and thoughts are important so present them accordingly.

For each revised unit, you’ll add a paragraph at the beginning explaining what you did to revise it and why (or why you didn’t and why not). You need to mention what you took from the feedback you received. and why you incorporated it or not.

Both units 1 and 2 must include revision statements.

The Final Reflection

I’m proud of you all for hanging in there as we work through a lot of material and I have you work in a variety of ways you’re unlikely to have done before. For this final reflection, I’d like you to consider the following questions

• What is the most important thing you’ve learned about yourself this term?
• How can you use what you’ve learned this semester to help you achieve your future goals?
• As evidence to back up your points, you must use at least three quotes from your own writing this semester in your reflection.

As a way to begin your reflection, look back through your compendium of work: discussion forums, prep work for classes, what you did/said/thought in those classes, your experiences with your colleagues, and so on. As you browse through your work, ask yourself and take notes on the following questions (you don’t have to answer them all in your final reflection, these are just to give you some ideas. 

•  How would you compare/contrast work you did early in the semester to now?
• 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 and why?
•  What was particularly challenging for you in our course this semester and how did you overcome it (or attempt to)?

Think about everything we’ve read and watched about writing this semester—some texts certainly hooked your interest while others likely didn’t.

Those readings that caught your attention did so for a reason. They weren’t just lists of thoughts and ideas. So now that you’ve brainstormed, is there a main point in what you’re trying to say? Can you organize your ideas a bit? Remember that this isn’t just you writing off-the-top of your head; this is a finished piece of writing. Treat yourself as a respected writer who has lived through a difficult time: you are someone with something to say, and not just trying to flatter your instructor.

What you’ll be graded on

• Attention to audience: You need to have a “so what?” Don’t list 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 1,000 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, show me proof.  By proof, I specifically mean quotes from your own writing. All reflections should have at least three quotes from your own writing this semester although it doesn’t matter from what (homework, finished essays, anything will do). 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.