The Writer’s Portfolio: The Culminating Semester Project

For our final project, you’ll revise the two major writing projects that you produced this semester—the Literacy Narrative and the Comparative Rhetorical Analysis. These two revised documents will be accompanied by the most important piece of the Writer’s Portfolio: a three-to-four page reflective essay that describes your current views on the nature of writing and how your ideas about writing have changed this semester.

The rhetorical situation:

For this essay, you should consider me your audience. Your tone can be informal— almost (almost) as if we were having a conversation about the class. Of course, we’re not; you won’t be present as I read your essay, and I won’t be able to stop and ask you questions, so be sure your essay is organized and explains your ideas completely and clearly. But you needn’t try to sound “academic.” Try playing around here with a more relaxed voice; although I’m calling this an essay, it might actually sound more like a letter.

The exigence: your purpose is to explain to me (and maybe to yourself?) what you’ve learned about writing this semester and how these ideas compare to your previous ideas about writing.

In tackling this essay, you should address several other related topics. The essay should

• have a title (“Reflective Essay” is the name of the assignment—not your title!) that reflects the main concerns of your essay;
• identify and discuss the two or three assigned readings that proved most influential for you this term, and how they’ve influenced you and your ideas about writing;
• describe your own approach to writing situations (whether school assignments, professional needs, or personal) and discuss the ways in which your approach has changed (if it has changed), using the two revised submissions in the portfolio as examples/evidence of what you’re describing;
• identify those areas where you feel you need the most continuing practice as we move into the second semester (and again, you might use your revised submissions as examples/evidence). What would you like to focus on in the spring term in developing your understanding of and approach to writing?

  To create your portfolio, copy and paste all of the files (your reflective essay and your revised major projects) into a single document to upload.

  Each of the three pieces should be formatted according to MLA guidelines. You may include one Works Cited page for your entire portfolio.

  The completed portfolio will be due by the end of the day on which we’re scheduled for a final exam. Please see the Moodle upload deadline for the exact date and time.