The Portfolio Reflection Essay connects to the UWP1 learning outcomes of reflecting on rhetorical choices and critically self-reflecting on reading and composing processes. The purpose of the Portfolio Reflection Essay is to synthesize all of the learning about literacies that you’ve done this quarter and to make an argument for how your portfolio provides evidence that you’ve met the UWP1 learning outcomes. Research has shown that when students reflect on what they’ve learned about literacies and think about how they can apply it in future writing situations, they’re more likely to successfully transfer their learning to future writing situations. One goal of the Portfolio Reflection Essay is to help you transfer your learning to new contexts in the future. But most importantly, it is to help you reflect on your own progress throughout the course as an author. The Portfolio Reflection Essay will be included on the index page of your electronic portfolio.
Genre
Writers often include a reflective “cover letter” or “cover memo” for editors that gives the editor context for their writing when they are submitting for publication. Artists have a similar genre—the “artist’s statement”—that provides context for an artist’s work in a portfolio or an exhibit. If you take more classes in the University Writing Program, your teachers are likely to ask you to include cover memos with your writing assignments. You’ve been submitting cover memos for all your assignments in this class, and I’ve asked you to do a lot of reflective writing in your reading responses and in-class writing, so think of this Portfolio Reflection Essay as the culmination of all the critical self-reflection you’ve been doing this quarter.
Audience and Circulation
Your Portfolio Reflection Essay has two primary audiences. One primary audience is you. By reflecting on what you’ve learned and what you’ve done in this class, you’ll be more likely to transfer what you learned to future writing contexts. The other primary audiences for the Portfolio Reflection Essay is me. I’ll use the information in the reflection essay to more fairly assess the work you’ve done in UWP1.
Format
The Portfolio Reflection Essay should be copied and pasted directly into the index page of your electronic portfolio. To make it easy to read in an online format, I suggest using a sans-serif font (like Arial), single-spaced, and chunking the text in block paragraphs rather than indenting paragraphs. Include the title “Portfolio Reflection Essay.” The portfolio reflection essay should be 1,000-1,500 words.
In the portfolio reflection essay, students will:
• Make an argument for how they have met the UWP1 learning outcomes
• Support their argument by citing specific examples from the projects in their portfolio
• Describe what further revisions they would make if they had more time to work on their portfolio
• Consider how what they learned about reading and composing in UWP1 could apply to their future writing contexts