Final ePortfolio

What is an ePortfolio?

A core belief of the field of Writing Studies is that writing is a process. Because of this, a large portion of your grade is dedicated to your electronic portfolio (or ePortfolio), which is an opportunity to show your process over the course of the semester.

Since this represents your process and learning in ENC 1101, you’ll get the opportunity to make a lot of decisions about what it looks like, what the portfolio argues for, and what evidence is included to support this argument. Typically, teachers create assignments that students respond to, so this is a nice way to take some autonomy over your work and show or demonstrate?  me that you’ve met the course outcomes of ENC 1101.

What should an ePortfolio do?

An ePortfolio showcases your work and makes an argument about how you’ve met the ENC 1101 course outcomes. Throughout the semester, you’ll complete reflections, peer reviews, Major Papers, Reading Responses, Process Works, and several in-class activities. All of this work has value, but you’ll have to decide which pieces support the argument your ePortfolio is trying to make.

The argument is up to you, but here are some common options:

• Do you want to show progress--how much your writing and thinking have improved? How might you do that?
• Do you want to show persistence--your ability to stick with a project for a long period? How?
• Do you want to show flexibility--the ability to write in different styles or voices?
• Do you want to show creativity--how you have made the assignments your own? How could this be accomplished?

Evaluation

Required Components of ePortfolio

While you are free to include all materials that you deem relevant to the completion of the course outcomes, you are required to include the following major assignments:

• Literacy Narrative 
• Rhetorical Analysis
• Community of Practices and their Genres Research Paper 
• Revisions of two of the major papers 
• Cover letter that narrates your accomplishment of the course outcomes

Materials that can help you narrative your process/progress and show how you have understood and demonstrated the course learning outcomes might include:

• Reading Responses
• Peer Review Documents
• Process Works
• Class Notes 
• Group Activities 
• Other as deemed relevant

WRITING THE CRITICAL REFLECTION (3-4 pages)

In your cover letter, create a compelling narration about how your writing throughout the course demonstrates the course outcomes. In order to support this narrative, use evidence from your selected assignments, self-assessments, peer responses, and teacher responses, course notes, etc. Quote or paraphrase from these assignments to connect your work with the course outcomes.

An outstanding cover letter clearly indicates which items in the portfolio demonstrate the course outcomes and discusses and reflects on your learning in the course. The cover letter displays a thorough and thoughtful awareness of your own writing process. You must incorporate evidence and strategically quote, paraphrase, or summarize passages from your own work (both strong and weak samples matter) in order to talk about your development and how it connects to the course outcomes.

In order to accomplish the above goals, your cover letter should do the following:

• • In order to accomplish the above goals, your cover letter should do the following:

    • Make a claim about how your writing—as a whole—responds to the course outcomes (This is not about making a grade claim, but about making a claim for writing development vis-à-vis the course outcomes);
    • Identify, analyze, and argue for how your portfolio selections demonstrate key course outcomes. This is successfully done through quoting and analyzing your own work in direct relation to the outcomes;  
    • Use the language of the course outcomes and your own writing to support your portfolio’s narrative and claim (Remember: You are not describing that you accomplished certain outcomes, but you are arguing for how your work accomplishes the outcomes).
    • • An especially effective way to discuss the writing process in relation to the course outcomes is to move chronologically through the course and talk about the stages of your growth and development. But I am NOT expecting a perfect narrative. I am expecting a thorough discussion of the writing process, what it means to you now, and how you see all of your work fitting in with that process. 
        
        

How Will You Be Assessed? 

Outstanding Portfolio A 94-100%

This portfolio exhibits outstanding proficiency in all outcomes categories—academic argumentation, purposeful use of texts, rhetorical awareness, and revision, editing, and proofreading—outweighing its few weaknesses. The critical reflection clearly indicates which items in the portfolio demonstrate the course outcomes, and makes a compelling argument for how they do so. In so doing, it displays thorough and thoughtful awareness of the writer’s own writing, using evidence from the course outcomes, assignments, self-assessments, peer responses, and teacher responses by quoting or paraphrasing from these materials in support of its argument. The selected major assignment and shorter assignments offer an outstanding demonstration of all the course outcomes through a very highly proficient and skillful handling of the traits associated with them. The outstanding portfolio will likely demonstrate some appropriate risk-taking, originality, variety, and/or creativity.

Strong Portfolio A- 90-93% → B+ 87-89%

The strong portfolio exhibits strengths clearly outweighing weaknesses, but may show somewhat less proficiency in one or two of the outcomes categories, perhaps strong in academic argumentation, purposeful use of texts, and rhetorical awareness, but slightly less in revision, editing, and proofreading. The critical reflection clearly indicates which items in the portfolio demonstrate the course outcomes, and makes an effective argument for how they do so. It also displays thoughtful awareness of the writer’s own writing, using evidence from the course outcomes, assignments, self-assessments, peer responses, and teacher responses by quoting or paraphrasing from these materials in support of its argument, but may not present as clear an argument for the choices as the outstanding portfolio. The selected major assignment and shorter assignments, although slightly less consistent in demonstrating the course outcomes, nonetheless offer a strong demonstration of effectiveness in many traits associated with the outcomes, handling a variety of tasks successfully. This portfolio engages the material and follows the assignments given, but may risk less than the outstanding portfolio.

Good B 84-86% → B- 80-83%

The good portfolio also exhibits strengths outweighing weaknesses, but may show less strength in two of the outcomes categories, perhaps strong in academic argumentation and purposeful use of texts, but less so in revision, editing, proofreading, and rhetorical awareness. The critical reflection indicates which items in the portfolio demonstrate the course outcomes, and makes an argument for how they do so, although the argument may display less thoughtful awareness of the writer’s own writing by using less evidence from the course outcomes, assignments, self-assessments, peer responses, and teacher responses in support of its argument. The selected major assignment and shorter assignments effectively demonstrate the course outcomes, but with less proficiency and control. The portfolio usually will not display the appropriate risk-taking and creativity of the strong and outstanding portfolios.

Acceptable Portfolio C+ 77-79%→ C 74-76% → C- 70-73%

The acceptable portfolio is competent, demonstrating that the course outcomes are basically met, but the traits associated with them are not as fully realized or controlled. The writing can succeed in the academic environment. The strengths and weaknesses are about evenly balanced, but should be slightly stronger on academic argument and purposeful use of texts, as these represent key facets of academic writing. Some parts of the selected assignments may be underdeveloped, too general, or predictable, or leave parts of the outcomes unconsidered. While demonstrating knowledge of conventions, this portfolio typically will not display rhetorical awareness or control over revision, editing, and proofreading. The critical reflection indicates which items in the portfolio demonstrate the course outcomes, but may not make as effective an argument for how they do so, one based in evidence from the course outcomes, assignments, self-assessments, peer responses, and teacher responses. There may be moments of excellence, but in general the portfolio simply meets successfully the demands of the course outcomes.

Inadequate Portfolio

A portfolio will be inadequate when it shows serious deficiencies in three of the four course outcomes, especially in academic argument, purposeful use of texts, and revision, editing, and proofreading (for example, revision is limited to correcting grammar or to adding or deleting sentence and phrase level changes.) Alternatively, this portfolio may be error-free, yet does not adequately demonstrate the other outcomes. The critical reflection will be brief and may not indicate which items in the portfolio demonstrate the course outcomes or make an effective argument for how they do so. The portfolio indicates that the student may need more time to be able to handle the demands of both academic reading and writing as characterized in the course outcomes and associated traits.

Incomplete Portfolio F BELOW 70%

A portfolio will be considered incomplete if no portfolio is submitted or if the portfolio includes only part of the required work for the class, sometimes missing significant portions of the work of the course.