ENG181:WritingaboutScienceFictionLiteratureandFilm
Finalassignment:Finalportfolioandcoverletter
Due:December15onourcoursewebsiteat11:59p.m.
FinalPortfolio
DevelopacoverletteraddressedtothePortfolioAssessmentCommittee*thatshowshowyou’ve
achievedthelearningoutcomesforyourfirst-yearcompositioncourse.Thislettershouldexhibit
anddiscussindetailconcreteexamplesfromyourportfolio.Youshouldwritebetween750and
1250words,notincludingtheexhibitsfromyourportfoliothatyoureferenceintheletter.
Yourfinalportfolioshouldinclude:
• YourLiteraryAnalysisletter+reflection
• YourPechaKuchapresentation(Youcanpresentthisinavarietyofways,suchasusingpart
ofyourscript,yourreflection,apictureoftheartifactyouanalyzedwithadescriptionof
yourargument,yourPowerPointwithadescription,oranothermethodofyourchoice.)
• Fiveselectedblogpoststhatyoufeelreflectyourbestwork
• Proposalandannotatedbibliography
• Researchedargumentroughdraft+reflection
• Researchedargumentfinalpaper+reflection
Foryourcoverletter,youwillchoosefourtosixoftheaboveartifactstoshowcase.Yourreflective
coverletterwillrefertotheseartifactsandusequotationsfromthemasevidencetopersuadeyour
audiencethatyou'vemetthethreemajorlearningobjectiveslistedonthesyllabus(anddiscussed
below).
Instructionsforsubmittingyourfinalportfolioandcoverletter:
1) CombineallartifactsintoonePDFdocument.Yourreflectivecoverlettershouldappearfirst
inorder.Titleyourdocument:181.yourlastname.portfolio(e.g.
181.Starr.portfolio).
2) Onourcoursewebsite,createanewblogpost.UploadthePDFasanembeddedmediafile.
Makesuretoincludeyournameand"portfolio"inyourposttitle.
3) Beforepublishingyourposts,checkoff"FinalPortfolios"undertheCategoriestab(onthe
lowerright-handsideofthepage).Thiswillmakesurethatyourportfolioappearsinthe
FinalPortfoliopageinsteadoftheblogthreadonourwebsite.(Seethescreenshotbelow).
4) Portfoliosaredueonthewebsiteby11:59p.m.onDecember15.
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ReflectivePortfolioCoverLetter
PossibleApproaches
Feelfreetousefirstpersonandwriteanarrativeofyourexperience,ratherthanwritingan
argumentativeessay.Youcandocumentyourlearningforthecommitteeby
● Tellingastoryinwhichexhibitsfromyourportfolioplaymajorroles.
● Exploringeachpieceofyourwritingprocessandthepartitplaysinproducingafinal
product.
● Discussingyourfailuresandhowtheyturnedintosuccesses.
● Describingyoursuccessesandthendiscussinghowyouintendtoimproveinotherareas
needingfurtherdeveloping.
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Artifactsasexhibitswithintheletter
Backupassertionsyoumakeaboutyourlearningbyincludingexhibitsfromyourportfolio.
Dependingonhowyourinstructorhasaskedyoutodevelopyourportfolio,anexhibitmightbe
● Alinktothepartofadocumentthatyoudiscussinyourreflectionletter.
● Ascreencapturewithcallouts.
● Quotedorblockquotedmaterialfromanartifact.
● Reportedorquotedfeedbackfromothers.
● Aseriesofillustrations(orquotations)thatshowhowaparticularartifactorpartofan
artifactevolved.
Ineverycase,youshouldembedyourexhibitinadiscussionaboutitssignificanceforyour
learning.
UsetheLearningOutcomesasGuidesforReflectiveWriting
Thecommitteewillbeespeciallyinterestedtoseewhetherandhowyou’veachievedtheoutcomes
listedbelow.Keepthatinmindasyouwriteandtrytoapplytherhetoricalvocabularythatmakes
uptheoutcomesinyourreflection.
Outcome1:RhetoricalComposition.Studentscomposetextsinmultiplegenres,using
multiplemodeswithattentiontorhetoricalsituations.
Description:Throughcomposingavarietyoftextsandusinganumberofcomposingtechnologies,
studentsdemonstrateunderstandingofaudience,purpose,andconstraints.Theyuseandadapt
genericconventions,includingorganization,development,andstyle.
Gettingstarted:Describeyourportfolio.Walkthereader/viewerthoughtheworksitcontains.
Describehowtheseprojectsallowedyoutopracticewritingforanaudienceinvariousways,
emphasizinginyourdescriptionorganizationandwordchoice.Discussthegenresinyourportfolio
andhowthosegenresspeaktotheaudiencesandsituationsyourassignmentaskedyoutoaddress.
Howmanydifferentgenresareyouincludinginyourportfolioandwhy?Whatdidyouexcludeand
why?
Outcome2:CriticalThinkingandReadingResultinginWriting.Astheyundertakescholarly
inquiryandproducetheirownarguments,studentssummarize,analyze,synthesize,and
evaluatetheideasofothers.
Description:Studentsmayencountertheideasofothersinavarietyoftextsgeneratedbothinside
andoutsidetheclassroom:print,visual,aural,oral,spatial.Studentslearnacceptedandethical
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waystointegrateothertextsintotheirwork,rightlyhandlingcitationandadaptation.Studentsuse
writingasacriticalthinkingtool.
Gettingstarted:Thinkaboutwhatyouhavelearnedthissemesterinyourdevelopmentasacritical
thinkerandreader.Whatnewrealizationsdoyouhaveaboutyourselfasapersonengagedin
inquiryandscholarship?Whatprojectsinparticularinyourportfolioshowyourgrowingabilities
tocraftanargument,readother’sargumentswell,andincorporateandchallengeideasfromother’s
writings.Explainoneortwoimportantchoicesyoumadeinthisprojectandhowthatwork
developedyouasacriticalthinkerandreader.
Outcome3:WritingasProcess.Studentsunderstandandpracticewritingasaprocess,
recursivelyimplementingstrategiesofresearch,drafting,revision,editing,andreflection.
Description:Inlearningabouttheirownwritingprocessanddoingguidedreflectivewritingabout
thatprocess,studentslearntocritiquetheirownandothers’works.Theyalsobecomeawarethatit
usuallytakesmultipledraftstocreateandcompleteasuccessfultext.
Gettingstarted:Considerdescribingthechangesinoneoftheprojectsincludedintheportfolio
frombeginningtoend.Didyouusetechniquesthatyourinstructormayhavementioned:outlining,
responseparagraphs,andblogging?Didinformalkindsofwritingfindtheirwayintotheprocess
suchasemailingaprofessoraboutanidea,sketchingoutnotesonanapkinatacoffeeshop,or
talkingtoafriendaboutyourideas?Ultimately,yourwritingprocessincludeseachstepyoutake
fromthecoffeeshopnapkintoanoutlinetoafirstdraftandeventually,afinalproduct.
*TheAssessmentCommitteeiscomposedofanumberoffirst-yearwritinginstructorsaswellas
graduatestudentsfromacrosstheuniversitywhoserveasfellowsintheWritingProgram.Several
oftheseindividualshelpedcreatetheprogramlearningoutcomesandtheyareexcitedtoseehow
studentshaveachievedtheoutcomes.
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