Rogers—Portfolio Reflection Essay Prompt
English 101 (2007)
Reflective Essay
Due Thursday, December 6th, with your portfolio
4-6 pages (that's four pages minimum!)
Goal: To provide an introduction to and an explanation for the work you are including in
your writing portfolio. You should address specific developments, changes, revisions you
have made in the four paper documents as well as your strategy and goal for the final
multimodal project. Think of this as your last chance to explain to your reader (me) what
you've done, why you've done it, and how it all happened.
Requirements:
- You must address (in some depth) all 5 of your portfolio documents (contract
proposal, clarification project, information project, exploration/academic essay,
multimodal document). You may spend more time on the texts which required the
most attention, or, the texts you feel best represent your overall project and you
strongest work.
- You should refer to specific passages from your papers that you worked on during
your revision process. Explain what you had initially written, why you decided to
change it (based on my comments, peer remarks, or your own reflection), and
what you ended up with. Include quotations that reflect the work you have done.
- Spend plenty of time explaining why you made the changes you did. It will be
evident where you altered the work, I want to know what motivated the specific
changes you made. Talk about rhetorical goals, audience, and/or context.
Consider the goals of the assignment and how you did or did not satisfy them.
- Be sure to discuss what you did well and what you did not so well. Include
discussion of things you did not understand (assignment goals, my comments) and
what you did to try and figure these things out. Acknowledge those changes that
you would have liked to complete but ran out of time, motivation, etc.
- Really, this is the most important text you will produce in this class. It shows me
what you've learned, how you've learned it, and what you think about the work
you've done. Your tone can be as formal or informal as you like, but be sure to
communicate details and not just surface thoughts/revisions.
Evaluation: I will consider the reflective essay as an essential part of the portfolio project.
It is a capstone, it is a roadmap, and it is an argument in its own right. Spend plenty of
time on this one. Proofread and edit very carefully. Feel free to bring a draft of this paper
to your portfolio conferences.
Rogers—Portfolio Reflection Essay Prompt
Current In-Class/Conference Work Designed to Facilitate Portfolio Revision (2009)
Carefully re-read your entire essay with my comments (don’t just read the comments);
respond to these questions:
 Note where you agree/disagree with my comments;
 Where are you surprised by a negative comment that I have made? Where are you
surprised by a positive comment? Why do you think we disagree?
 What areas do you intend to address in your revision? Organize them into a
specific, prioritized list (i.e. what is most important, second most important, third,
and so on.)
 What kinds of work do you expect to do in making these changes? Will you need
additional research? Will you change how you read/respond to your resources?
Do you need to re-think your claims/goals? What “moves” from Harris’ book
have you not yet tried out?
 How much time are you willing to invest in this revision? Think about how much
time you will set aside as a way to help you devise a plan for revising. Make a
deal with yourself to complete a specific amount of work before re-submitting.
 What questions do you have for me (about my comments, my expectations, or
your revision strategy)?
Recommended Reading on Portfolios:
Belanoff, Pat, and Peter Elbow. “Using Portfolios to Increase Collaboration and
Community in a Writing Program.” WPA: Journal of Writing Program
Administration 9.3 (Spring 1986): 27-40.
White, Edward M. "The Scoring of Writing Portfolios: Phase 2." CCC 56.4 (2005): 581600.
Yancey, Kathleen Blake. "Postmodernism, Palimpsest, and Portfolios: Theoretical Issues
in the Representation of Student Work." CCC 55.4 (2004): 738-61.