Final Reflection and Portfolio

Reflection 

In class essay on Monday, 12/16/24

We have arrived at the end of the semester! Now it is time for you to reflect on what you have done over the course of the last few months. You will write a final reflection of approximately 600 words. This is a graded assignment.

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 the 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 about 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)?

Don’t simply answer the above questions in your final reflection in bullet points; they are just meant to help you brainstorm ideas. You won’t answer them all! Think about everything we’ve read and watched about writing this semester—some texts certainly hooked your interest while others… probably did not.  

The ones that caught your attention– they had a point.  They weren’t just lists of thoughts and ideas (what Kyle Stedman calls “Uncle Barry and his Encyclopedia of Useless Information.”) 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 author who has lived through a difficult time: you are someone with something to say, and not just trying to flatter your instructor. Here’s what I will be looking for (and grading you on):

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, 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.

Here are the grading criteria for this project:

  • thoughtfully written reflection that has an overall point– it’s not simply a list answering the questions above. 
  • integration of details and examples from your own writing that illustrate your experiences in the course.
  • use of language, transitions, word choice, and grammar that is appropriate makes the meaning clear.
  • meet the scope of the project: aim for 600 words, without padding or unnecessary repetition.
  • attention to finishing touches, in terms of proofreading, formatting, submitting, etc.
  • timely submission of the assignment

Portfolio 

Due: Monday, 12/16/24  on our OpenLab site (specific instructions to follow)

Put together a portfolio that includes your all your major assignments (Units 1, 2, 3). You may put your portfolio together in a sharable document or in a post on our OpenLab site.

Note: While you can revise all assignments during the course of the semester, you may only revise one of your major assignments for the final portfolio. If you choose to revise an assignment, please clearly label the new major assignment and include both the original version and the revision in your portfolio. Also, if you do revise a piece, include a short paragraph at the end of the document of the revised assignment explaining the changes you’ve made and why. 

Putting the portfolio together:

Please submit your portfolio as one document in the order below:

  1. Unit 1 
  2. Unit 2
  3. Unit 3
  4. Optional Revision

For each revised unit,  you’ll need to add a paragraph at the beginning explaining what you did to revise it and why (or didn’t, and why not). You need to mention what you got from the feedback you received (from me and from your colleagues). You also need to explain why you either incorporated what we said or didn’t, and why.

Portfolio grading:

The grade for the portfolio takes into account both the content and whether or not you’ve submitted an organized and complete portfolio on time. Print this page

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