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Keelea Krear

Professor Jizi

UWRT 1104

8 May 2017

Overall Reflection

Overall Reflection

The purpose of this portfolio is to reflect upon everything I have learned throughout this

semester. This portfolio will display what I have learned in this course that can be used in the

future for myself. It will depict how much I have grown as a student in my writing. This course

challenged me to think outside the box and to connect my writing on a personal level. My

portfolio very much depicts my style and who I am. I have included personal pictures with

family members and friends, who play a significant role in most of my assignments.

To navigate through my portfolio, I first suggest going to the "About" tab to learn a little

bit about me. This will give you some perspective as to who I am before diving into writing from

this semester. Next, take a perusal of my supplemental assignments which will help provide

some background information before diving into my major assignments. Following my

supplemental writing, I would go through my major assignments including past and future

authoring essays, annotated bibliography, and my genre project. Within my major assignments, I

would start with my past and future authoring essays. I have put my past and future authoring

essays in this order: reflection, the final product, process journals, peer review, drafts, pre-

writing. After you have completed reading through my past and future authoring essays, move

onto my annotated bibliography. This page goes as followed: reflection, the final product, peer
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feedback, drafts, notes, pre-writing. Lastly, report to my genre project page. Follow the order in

which I have displayed it: reflection, the final product, peer feedback, pitch, inquiry quiz, pre-

writing. This will conclude the "major assignments" tab. Finally, take a peek at my extra credit

assignments which include my weekly schedule.

The Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are depicted in various parts throughout this

portfolio. The first, rhetorical knowledge, was used in creating my genre project. When coming

up with my idea for my genre project, I had to keep in mind the audience, purpose, and

objectives of my writing. These are all processes of rhetorical writing. Critical reading is the next

learning outcome which was used in the creation of my inquiry research for my annotated

bibliography. To create my annotated bibliography, I had to find reliable and verifiable sources to

back up my topic. Critical reading is being able to analyze, interpret, and evaluate information.

Composing processes are another learning outcome used in my portfolio. Composing processes

is being able to use flexible strategies for all parts of the writing process. This was demonstrated

in my portfolio through my past authoring essay. For our past authoring essays, we had to not

only give peer feedback but also received peer feedback. I was able to take the peer feedback and

enhance my essay from the constructive criticism given by my peers. Responding to others'

writing and interpreting others' responses to my writing is an excellent example of composing

processes. Knowledge of conventions is the fourth learning outcome. Knowledge of conventions

are the formal rules and informal guidelines that are used in all aspects of writing. This concept

is displayed by my choice to use personal pictures throughout my portfolio. Yes, I used my own

photos as a personal touch to my portfolio. However, I also chose to use them to avoid

copyrighted picture use. The last learning outcome is critical reflection which is being able to

describe what I am thinking. This idea is depicted in all of my individual, major assignment
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reflections. I had to look back on my writings, and represent my feelings and attitudes toward my

writing.

Throughout this semester I have utilized many habits of mind. The first being curiosity. I

was able to demonstrate curiosity when figuring out what I wanted to research for my inquiry

project. To complete the project I had to be passionate about something, therefore sparking my

curiosity. The next habit of mind I used this semester was engagement. I used to hate peer

reviewing in high school because I felt that it was never useful. However, after this semester, I

want others to peer review my work because they catch so many details that I would have never

noticed in my writing. Through the engagement of my peers, I was able to enhance my writing.

Creativity, the last habit of mind, was used this semester when creating my genre project.

Unfortunately, I did not get the creative genes in the family, like my mom and sister, so creating

my genre video forced me to use my creativity to create something that would keep the class

interested for 3-5 minutes.

What I learned about myself while preparing this portfolio is that I have done a lot of

self-growth since the beginning of the semester. I tended to be shy and timid in my writing

towards the beginning, but now I feel I can be more open and vulnerable when writing. I feel this

is also true for my attitude. Procrastination is something I have struggled with since middle

school, so I would time manage better next time and stick to the weekly schedule I made more

strictly. I would keep striving to be more open in my writing, the way I did this semester. Before

coming to this class, I was always afraid of being criticized for my writing, therefore making my

writing dull and boring. After this semester, I have learned that content is the most important, and

conveying my message in a clear and organized manner is crucial. I have also learned to be a

warmer person, and not as uptight.

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