Portfolio

English 120, FALL 2014

Total Points Possible: 5

DUE DATE: in class, Wed. Dec. 10th

NO GRACE PERIOD, NO LATE PORTFOLIOS ACCEPTED
(No late portfolios will be accepted without documented evidence of serious hardship)

Click here for a clean checklist which you can print out.

Description

Your portfolio will be a record of your major work for the semester, with some self-reflection about your progress as a writer and the aims of our course. It will also include some reflection on our General Education goals for this semester.

Your primary aims in compiling this collection are to learn about yourself as a writer, and to demonstrate your strengths to yourself, the English Department freshman English assessors, and your instructor.

All English 120 courses are required to complete these portfolios as a way for our department to continually assess and improved our Freshman writing General Education requirement.

How to Hand In

You will bring you Portfolio to class on Dec. 10th. No late Portfolios can be accepted.

Checklist

____A thin binder which can hold all materials neatly and orderly.

____Your name and "Portfolio" on the front of the binder. Do not include instructor's name on the front.

____A title page with the header "English 120 Portfolio, Spring 2014" and your name.

____A table of contents which lists these categories: "Projects," "Contemplative Journal," and "Miscellaneous Class Work."

____A reflective letter addressed to me and Freshman Writing Program Administrators, minimum 2 full pages (preferrably more). The reflective letter must:

_____Include return address, recipients' address, date, and salutation.

Example:

Wendy Wackadoodle #324 Hamburger Hall North Dakota State University Fargo, ND 58102   Instructor and FYW Administrators Dept. of English, Minard Hall #318 North Dakota State University Fargo, ND 58102 Dec. 10, 2014 Dear Instructor and Administrators:

 

_____Provide a brief introduction, describing what you wrote this term with some mention of the different genres.

_____Describe in a paragraph or more what you have learned about writing, and how your own writing has developed this term. You may comment on the drafts you produced, the peer critiques you received and completed, and any conferences with, and written feedback from, your instructor.

_____Explain and illustrate what you learned about General Education Outcome #1: “communicating effectively in a variety of genres, with different audiences and for a variety of purposes." This is where you discuss the distinctly different genres you practiced this term and the different audiences you wrote for. In addition to your major projects, you may comment on any worksheets or brief writings you completed.

_____ Explain and illustrate what you learned about General Education Outcome #2: “integrating knowledge and ideas in a coherent and meaningful manner.” Here is where you discuss how you integrated sources and acknowledged the views of others in our various assignments. This is also where you discuss focusing and organizing your projects in a meaningful way.

_____Discuss other class goals, revisions you made to your work, what you perceive to be your strengths and weaknesses, what you learned overall, etc.

____Provide a brief conclusion and closing or valediction. Note: "encl" means that items are enclosed.

Example:

Sincerely, [Your Name]   encl.

 

____A clean copy of your completed Project #1. Do NOT include drafts. Do NOT include your instructor's name on anything.

____A page reading: “Project #2:  [Your Title] is in Bb.” [Be sure to post a special copy of Project #2 to Bb, in the menu item titled, “***Special Copy of Project #2 for Assessment: POST HERE***”.]

____A clean copy of your completed Project #3. Do NOT include drafts. Do NOT include your instructor's name on anything.

____A clean copy of your Contempletive Journal. Do NOT include instructor's name.

____Copies of any Miscellaneous Class Work: Peer Critiques which you completed, worksheets, brief writings, etc. Black out instructor's name if it appears anywhere.

____MLA-style manuscript format (or as reasonably close as you can get to it) for all projects and your reflective letter (correct headings, titles, pagination, etc.) For help with MLA documentation, CLICK HERE. For help with MLA manuscript format, CLICK HERE. Titles should be centered appropriately, all work should be paginated, etc., though this will vary somewhat depending on the genre you are working with.

____Careful editing for clear, concise, effective sentences.

____Careful proofreading for correct punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Your writing shows no misspelling, typos, fused sentences, incomplete sentences, or comma errors.

ALSO: be sure to post a special copy of Project #2 to Bb, in the menu item titled, “***Special Copy of Project #2 for Assessment: POST HERE***”.

More about the Reflective Letter

The reflective letter is an important component of your portfolio, allowing you to consider your strengths, weaknesses, growth, and future work as a writer and as a student of NDSU's General Education program. In this letter, be sure to answer all of the questions, roughly one paragraph per question (though one or two may be combined in a single paragraph). Feel free to add your insights beyond these questions.

• How have you grown as a writer this semester?
• What have you learned about the art of argument this semester?
• Which is your strongest piece of writing, and why?
• Which is your weakest piece of writing, and why?
• What revisions did you make to these writings, what was the writing process like for you, and how do you feel about the final results?
• What components of your writing would you like to work on in the future?
• How successful do you feel our class has been in meeting NDSU's General Education requirements? THESE ARE DESCRIBED IN DETAIL BELOW.

Please format your letter according to MLA guidelines.

The reflective letter should be especially well-edited and proofread.

Evaluation Criteria

Your portfolio must meet all of the checklist requirements listed above.

A = fulfills all or nearly all of the above criteria, and does so with distinction. = 5 pts.

B = fulfills nearly all of the above criteria, or fulfills all of them but without distinction. = 4 pts.

C = fulfills some of the above criteria, or fulfills all of them rather minimally. The project's weaknesses stand out and/or are begining to outweigh its strengths.= 3 pts.

D = fulfills very few of the above criteria, or fulfills some of them but just barely. = 2 pts.

F = fulfills few or none of the above criteria, or fulfills some reasonably well but is egregiously lacking in key areas. = 0 pts.

back to 120 Homepage

GE OUTCOME #1: Students shall communicate effectively in a variety of contexts and modes (genres), using a variety of communication skills/ English 120 will build on English 110’s introduction to academic genres, and extend reading and writing to include genres common in public communication situations. In order to achieve this outcome, students will:

1. read a variety of genres of writing, with an emphasis on writing produced for students and scholars and writing produced for the general reader, intended to inform and influence members of the public on matters of concern to all.

2. write in a variety of genres for various audiences and purposes (e.g. writing for specific disciplines, writing to communicate visually as well as textually in order to reach wider audiences and meet different reading styles, writing for the general public about issues you care about, etc.)

3. practice effective and efficient writing strategies, including generating, developing, and focusing ideas, sharing drafts of writing with peers and the instructor, revising and editing for clarity, consistency, and correctness. Students should also understand that effective communication can only be defined within the context and situation of reading and writing tasks.

GE OUTCOME #6: Students should learn to integrate knowledge and ideas in a coherent and meaningful manner. English 120 will build on the library and web research skills taught in English 110, and emphasize field research as an additional means of finding or generating ideas and knowledge. In order to achieve this outcome, students will:

1. continue to locate information in library and web resources, and respond to others' ideas within their own writing—build on English 110 skills.

3. use a thesis statement, claims, and evidence effectively when a writing situation calls for these particular elements.