#You Know We Got It: Semester Portfolio

This assignment will address an important skill for writers: Revision. It will require you to reflect on what you learned this semester and revise some major essays. It addresses Student Learning Outcome (SLO) # 4 “Reframe their writing in response to different rhetorical situations.” and SLO #5 “Describe and reflect on their own writing processes, including revisions made in consideration of peer and/or instructor feedback.”
Revision is a very important component of this course. This semester you have completed a variety of assignments. For the last unit you will reflect on what you’ve learned about writing, about your topics and about yourself.

You will create an electronic portfolio using publish.illinois.edu with a selection of your writings this semester. You will

• Select a metaphor to describe the growth of your writing self and/or your writing process.   (Here is a sample of one metaphor and how it is incorporated into a site: Professor Mary’s Metaphor.)
• Decide which assignments to include
• Substantially revise them
• Write a preface or foreword or letter to your readers detailing what you have learned through the writing process.
• Illustrate your portfolio with a motif of multimedia sources that reflect your chosen metaphor (obviously citing any that are not your original work).
• Lay out the portfolio in an inviting way.

First–Decide what you will include.

REQUIRED

• Your choice of two of the major essays.

• IN ADDITION, SELECT
• 2 other homework assignments.

Next–Reflect on your writing and the semester. Think about your intended audience and write some kind of introduction in the form of a foreword, a preface, or a letter to your audience. Your audience can be personal (just your family, your grandchildren, maybe?) or very public (future scholars who may view it online, or archived) or anywhere in between. Here you may explain why you have chosen these particular pieces, what you have learned through writing them, what you hope the audience will take away after reading them, or any combination of these ideas and your own.

In addition–For each of the four revisions, write a brief reflection (200-300 words) on what you learned from writing and revising each assignment. Do you think you look at the topic the same way you did earlier in the semester? In your reflection, please address

• The changes you made in the writing (be specific) and why you decided to make them.
• The changes you made in your thinking since you began the project.
• Your revision process. What worked for you in revising these writings?
• What you learned from completing this particular assignment.

Finally–Lay out the web page. Include at least two of the following types of multimedia: audio recordings, video, image, slideshow, hypertext (crediting any outside sources). Use pages, tabs, and sub-tabs to make your E-Portfolio easy to navigate. We will have some sessions in class about how to format an e-portfolio. On those days it is fine to bring a laptop or pad.

To turn in your e-portfolio you will simply type the url into the submissions box.

When I grade this assignment I will look for:

• Substantial revision.
• Evidence that you followed directions and fulfilled the assignment.
• Evidence that you carefully considered your choices.
• Clarity and polite tone in your preface.
• Clear reflection on each revision.
• Good organization for layout and order of your writings.
• Good formatting of booklet.
• Inclusion of at least two types of multimedia.