ENG 1920 Portfolio

Throughout this semester, you have learned that writing is a process of revision that occurs over time, not writing that occurs in a single sitting.  Included in the process are freewriting, jjournaling, planning, drafting, discussion with instructor and peers, re-drafting, and editing.  The portfolio is a culmination of this process, and allows writers to assemble a collection of their best work that they have completed throughout the semester.
In order to pass ENG 1920, students must submit an ELECTRONIC portfolio of written work that includes an annotated table of contents, an earlier piece of writing before the class began, a REVISED essay from the term (memoir), the completed research paper, and a reflective essay.  


Please keep in mind that your portfolio should demonstrate the following:
•Your development as a writer
•Your ability to write from and about a text, to write multiple interpretations of a text
•Your ability to write for different audiences and purposes.
•Your creativity
•Your understanding of "voice in writing
•        Your understanding of the term "social justice" and "narrative"




Your portfolio will be presented as a blog.  You will need to set up your blog page early in the term and provide me with the web address.

 

Late work will not be accepted! 

The following worksheet should aid you development of your portfolio:

Step 1:  Set up your electronic portfolio (blog)
Step 2:  Select a piece of writing that you completed before this class began that best illustrates what your writing ability was like before this term.
Step 3:  Revise the two essays written over the course of this semester and be prepared to discuss how they illustrate your development as a writer.
Using the graded copies of these essays, make any necessary corrections and write a new, corrected draft.  You will hand in the hard copy of your graded essay on the date that the portfolio is due.
Step 4:  Write a short introduction to each of these essays.
Step 5:  Select 3-5 journal entries from your journal
Step 6:  Write one introduction for these three journal entries
Step 7:  Include photos from your experiences during the term.
Step 8: Complete an Annotated Table of Contents.
Step 9: Write Your Reflective Essay
Step 10:  Attend to the visual presenation of your portfolio (i.e., design, layout, color, etc.)


Step 1

You should set up your portfolio pages on your blog.

Step 2
You should select a piece of writing that was completed before this class began that best illustrates what your writing ability was like before this term.  This can be any type of writing—a book report, essay, lab report, short story, poem, etc.  If you do not have a piece of writing that was written before this term, select something from another class that demonstrates your ability to write for a different audience or purpose.


Step 3
Make any necessary corrections or changes to the two major essays you wrote during the term.  Any remarks made by the instructor on your draft should be addressed in the corrected copy. 

Essay One:  Remembered Event/Memoir
Essay Two:  Academic Research Paper


Step 4
There should be a short introduction to each piece of writing addressing each of the following questions:

•What did you perceive to be the purpose of this piece?
•Who was your intended audience?
•What questions did you ask yourself as you wrote this piece?
•What did you learn from this piece?
•What did you see as the strengths of this piece?
•What did you see as the weaknesses of this piece?
•What questions do you still have?
•How did this assignment affect your understanding of the term "voice in writing"?


Step 5

Choose 3-5 blog entries  from the term that you feel demonstrate your growth as a writer

Step 6

Write an introduction to these blog entries adressing the following questions:

•        What did you see as the strengths of these entries?
•What did you see as the weaknesses of these entries?
•        How do these entries reveal your development as a writer and/or reader?

Step 7

You can include photos/images if you like.


Step 8

An Annotated Table of Contents outlines the contents of your portfolio by offering a short abstract explaining the importance of each piece and why you chose to include it.
Example of an Annotated Table of Contents:
Annotated Table of Contents
•I chose “The Main Causes of the Civil War” from my high school senior exit project partly to be used as a contrast text to the academic cause-effect essay I wrote this semester, and partly because in most cases I prefer to write academically.
•The remembered event essay is my revolutionary piece.  I broke out of my academic writing mold and wrote relaxed and conversationally; this was a milestone for me!
•The comparison/contrast paper was the most difficult for me.  This paper demonstrates how organization was particularly problematic for me, but I am also proud of my versatility by writing academically about music while illustrating opinions about a subject that interests me greatly outside of the classroom.  Ultimately this paper illustrates the lesson learned on the value of concision. 


Step 9
The reflective essay should not be written until after the portfolio is composed.  It should be between 3 and 5 pages and address ALL of the following questions:

•What was your view of writing before the term began?
•How did your view of writing change as the semester progressed?
•Was your writing influenced by the work of any of the professional or
  student writers we read this semester? 
•Which of your writings is your best work? Why?
•Which of your writings is your weakest? Why?
•What are your strengths as a writer?
•What are your weaknesses?
•Can you trace your development as a writer this term?
•What have you learned about yourself as a writer this semester? How
  does that correspond with what you knew before the term began?
•        How would you have defined the terms "audience," "purpose," and
        "voice" at the beginning of the term?  How do you define those terms now?
        If your definition changed, did your experiences in this class change how you
        defined those terms?  If so, how and why?
•        Has this class changed how you view the world, how you view others, or
        how you view yourself?  If so, how and why?



Step 10
The final step is to the visual aspects and design of your blog.  Be creative!  Have fun! 


Each of these items should appear in your portfolio in the following order:

1.Annotated Table of Contents
2.Intro to earlier piece of writing
3.Piece of writing that you completed before the semester began
4.Intro to the first of your chosen essay.
5.The corrected copy of the first essay you wish to include.
6.The graded copy of that essay.
7.Intro to the second essay you chose.
8.The corrected copy of that essay.
9.The graded copy of that essay.
10.      Intro to 3-5 blog entries
11.      Each of your blog entries
11.      Reflective Essay


Your grade for your portfolio will be determined as follows:

Total Points:  30

Completes an Annotated Table of Contents (2 points)

Includes a piece of writing before class began (1 point)

Includes two essays written over course of this term (1 point)

Makes necessary corrections on these two essays and includes new, corrected draft
(8 points)

Writes a short introduction to each essay and addresses all relevant points about them (2 points)

Includes 3-5 journal entries (1 point)

Writes an introduction to journal entries (2 points)

Visual Presentation and Design (1 point):  Blog is logically organized and visually appealing

Reflective Essay (12 points):

Focus (3 points): Does essay have a clear purpose? Focus on a main idea and clearly identifiable thesis? Are reader’s expectations set and then met?  Ideas, examples, and reasons developed in the body of the paper are clearly related to the main focus?

Development (3 points):  Does essay address each of the following questions:
•        What was your view of writing before the term began?
•How did your view of writing change as the semester progressed?
•Was your writing influenced by the work of any of the professional or               student writers we read this semester? 
•Which of your writings is your best work? Why?
•Which of your writings is your weakest? Why?
•What are your strengths as a writer?
•What are your weaknesses?
•Can you trace your development as a writer this term?
•What have you learned about yourself as a writer this semester? How
  does that correspond with what you knew before the term began?

Organization (3 points):   Do ideas and paragraphs proceed in logical and apparent sequence or pattern? Does writer use sufficient audience cues to let the reader know what has been discussed, what is being discussed, or what will be discussed?  Does writer use attention-getting title and lead-in, essay map, summary and forecasting statements, paragraph hooks, transitional words and phrases?  Do effective conclusions guide the reader from beginning to end?

Style (2 points):  Is language clear direct and readable? Are sentences clear, concise, and easily read by intended audience? Is word choice appropriate for audience? Do sentences reveal and sustain appropriate voice and tone?

Mechanics (1 point):  Are there obvious errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar? Are there patterns of error?



Grading Scale:
27-30 A
24-26 B
21-23  C
18-20  D
  0-17  F