Final Exam for English 102 – Fall Semester: 2015 – Spence
Good morning. This part of your portfolio you will create in the next hour. Spend about 15
minutes on a response to each of the following prompts. Be honest. Write simply. Start by
telling the truth and see where that train of thought takes you. Try to write yourself into
understanding something you didn’t already know when you started writing.
This product will be evidence that you can explore ideas with words, self-reflect with
insight, support your general statements with specific examples, and communicate
effectively through writing.
When everyone is finished, we will each read something we wrote: a full piece or excerpt
from our portfolios or one of the responses to these 5 writing prompts we just completed.
1. Describe yourself as a writer. What was your process? How that has changed
or not changed? How has this affected your final essays? What do you need to
work on for continuous improvement as a writer?
2. Describe yourself as a reader by considering any of the following:
 How you find information;
 How you keep track of the information you find;
 How you synthesize (knit together) information from various sources to
make the words and ideas in your essays your own;
 How able you are to make connections between what you read and your
own experiences, things you’ve learned about elsewhere, and other texts
you have read in the past.
 How you plan to continue your improvement in this area.
3. Describe the ways your reading, writing, and listening in class have led you
to:
 Challenge your assumptions (unexamined beliefs);
 Change your perspective on some important topic;
 Made you more empathetic (able to see and feel from a perspective other
than your own) and respectful of people who are different from you.
4. Applying what you learned from Carol Dweck about the “low effort
syndrome” describe your personal challenges as a learner. Consider
characteristics that might have kept you from:
 Risking failure;
 Continuing to work through struggle;
 Attending class regularly and/or arriving on time;
 Seeking the help you need;
 Quieting negative self-talk;
 Increasing your confidence that you can succeed through effort over time
(perseverance) and craftsmanship.
5. What progress have you made in adopting the “growth mindset” that says
working through failure leads to success? What evidence can you offer to
support and illustrate that statement?