SThomas Spr2016

UWRT 1102/03 Portfolio & Final Reflection Assignment Sheet

The portfolio is 50% of the final course grade.
Platform: You may use Weebly, WIX, or Mahara, as long as all pieces are included.
Audience: Your audience is the class and your instructor yet also family members or friends, other FYW
instructors, and the larger UNCC community.
Your portfolio should make sense to someone who was not in the class.
Purpose: Constructing the portfolio should be a learning experience. The goal is deep learning that
transfers to other rhetorical situations. It is an argument that you have gained understanding and
facility with our five Student Learning Outcomes and therefore have earned a good grade. The
e-portfolio is a culmination of your work throughout UWRT 1102, a place for you to showcase your best
thinking and writing, and incorporate multimedia elements. Think of the portfolio as an organic whole.
Your commentary on the various artifacts should explain to the reader what you
learned/practiced through completing the pieces. Place the commentary in a separate text box
from the written text. Include at least one image on each page to compliment and amplify your written
text. Be creative and have fun!
Student Learning Outcomes
Rhetorical Knowledge Rhetorical knowledge is the ability to identify and apply strategies across a range
of texts and writing situations. Using their own writing processes and approaches, writers compose with
intention, understanding how genre, audience, purpose, and context impact writing choices.
Critical Reading Reading critically is the ability to analyze, synthesize, interpret, and evaluate ideas,
information and texts. When writers think critically about the materials they use, they separate assertion
from evidence, evaluate sources and evidence, recognize and assess underlying assumptions, read across
texts for connections and patterns, and identify and evaluate chains of reasoning. These practices are
foundational for advanced academic writing.
Composing Processes Writers use multiple strategies, or composing processes, to conceptualize,
develop, and finalize projects. Composing processes are seldom linear: a writer may research a topic
before drafting then conduct additional research while revising or after consulting a colleague. Composing
processes are also flexible: successful writers can adapt their composing processes to different contexts
and occasions.
Knowledge of Conventions Conventions are the formal rules and informal guidelines that define genres,
and in so doing, shape readers and writers expectations of correctness or appropriateness. Most
obviously, conventions govern such things as mechanics, usage, spelling, and citation practices. But they
also influence content, style, organization, graphics, and document design.
Critical Reflection Critical reflection is a writers ability to articulate what s/he is thinking and why. For
example, to explain the choices made in a composition, to contextualize a composition, to address
revisions made in response to reader feedback etc.
Pieces of Portfolio
Home page: Include your name, course name and section, and an optional image of yourself. Include an
image that sets the tone/theme. Introduce yourself. Consider the rhetorical impact of all your choices.
Include the five tabs below. You can label your tabs creatively.

1) Home/Daybook: Four daybook entries/free writes of your choice. These can be photos if pieces are
handwritten. Add your commentary on each explaining your choices and how the artifacts relate to
the SLOs.
2) Inquiry Proposal (early and final draft),
3) Annotated Bibliographies,
4) Thesis (early and final draft),
5) Final Reflection (see below).
Final Reflection (props to Dr. Meaghan Rand). The Reflection should at least 4 pages. Please
include the questions before your responses (remember outside audience). The questions can
be set off in a different font or color.
1. Choose a song or musical composition that communicates your experience with writing and
UWRT 1102. Consider including a video of the song. Explain your choice.
2. If you were to teach this class, what ideas would you emphasis?
3. Explain how your understanding of rhetorical knowledge has changed over the course of the
semester using at least three examples from your writing. Ex. Did you shift an assignment to
better fit a particular genre like a proposal?
4. Explain how your critical reading has improved during the semester. Ex. In what ways did you
read across texts for connections and patterns in your inquiry?
5. Discuss your composing processes. Ex. Did you conduct additional research while revising or
after consulting a colleague? Provide at least three examples to support your assertion.
6. Provide at least three examples of your knowledge of conventions Ex. sentence level changes,
MLA citations.
7. Critical Reflection: A) Explain the importance of reflection in learning processes. B) Explain what
you think is important in providing commentary on others work and receiving commentary on your
own. C) Provide at least three examples of your nuanced use of commentary in your writing
projects.

Assessment: The exemplary (A) portfolio skillfully anticipates the audiences needs through sophisticated
language choice and clearly communicates the writers purpose. Skillfully uses shifts in voice, tone, level of
formality, and design to meet audience expectations.
40% Quality of the texts included. All final drafts should be revised and edited.
10% Design Layout: appropriate images, make sure all your texts can be read.
10% All five categories above are included
40% Final Reflection demonstrating critical thinking and providing appropriate and sufficient examples that
the student has gained in knowledge and facility with the SLOs.