APRIL 9, 2018

Portfolio requirements

Thonney, Chapter 11

Individual Conferences
Final Portfolio

▪ The final portfolio counts for 50% of your overall grade.

▪ It is meant to demonstrate the research and writing you have completed and
highlight the progress you have made in improving your writing skills.

▪ Requirements:
▪ Cover page
▪ Table of contents
▪ Reflective letter
▪ Project 3
▪ Draft with peer feedback
▪ Draft with instructor feedback
▪ Response to feedback from peers and instructor
▪ Revised Project 3
▪ Project 1 or 2
▪ Draft with peer feedback
▪ Draft with instructor feedback
▪ Response to feedback from peers and instructor
▪ Revised Project 1 or 2

▪ If you choose to use project 2, submit literature review with works cited page only
Reflective letter

▪ This should discuss your writing and development as a researcher as a whole.

▪ It’s where you make your claims about how you have developed based on the
evidence provided in your portfolio.

▪ Should address the following:

▪ Your learning and writing experiences in English 201 and how your writing has grown
▪ Explain how the contents of the portfolio demonstrate the skills listed on the portfolio rubric
▪ Reference specific essays or sections of essays without quoting yourself at length
▪ Discuss your research process – developing research questions, locating and evaluating sources,
incorporating sources into your writing, etc.
▪ Explain your decision to include either project 1 or 2. What does it demonstrate? What growth does
it represent?
▪ Explain the choice to include any additional materials.
▪ Identify and discuss your strengths and weaknesses.
▪ Explain the grade you believe your portfolio has earned.
Important Reminders!

▪ This portfolio will be evaluated holistically.

▪ It may be reviewed by other readers, but I will assign your grade.

▪ Late portfolios will not be accepted.

▪ The Writing Center tutors can help you with revising and editing your paper if you
need additional help.

▪ Reflective letter peer review: April 23

▪ Final portfolio due Sunday, April 29 by 11:59 p.m.

THONNEY, CHAPTER 11

Revising and Editing Academic Writing

Revising vs. Editing
Revising: making global,
holistic changes that strengthen
your writing
▪ Does the introduction forecast the
content and organization of the paper?
▪ Is the main idea of each paragraph
stated early in the paragraph?
▪ Do transitions link paragraphs and
ideas?
▪ Are arguable claims and general claims
supported with evidence?
▪ Have I provided all of the information
readers will want or need?
▪ Have I deleted irrelevant sentences and
passages?
Editing: improving your
writing at the local, or sentence,
level
▪ Have I corrected any spelling or
grammar errors?
▪ Are my sentences concise?
▪ Have I put article titles in quotations
marks and italicized book and journal
titles?
▪ Are my citations formatted correctly?
▪ Have I numbered the pages of my
paper?
Making Global Revisions

▪ Can readers predict what is ahead?

▪ Be sure to use the introduction to orient and guide your readers.

▪ Does the organization of main ideas make sense?

▪ Be sure that there is a progression of ideas and that sections lead naturally into each other.

▪ Are main ideas repeated?

▪ Your topic sentences should connect back to the thesis statement.

▪ Are ideas linked?

▪ Connect paragraphs by providing strong transitions and links between the topics.

▪ Are the body paragraphs well structured?

▪ Are sentences within each paragraph connected?

▪ Use signal words to help readers follow your discussion.

▪ Is the paragraph unified?

▪ A paragraph that has unity is focused and presents a single topic or idea.
▪ Be sure that the topic sentence reflects the point made in the paragraph.
Making Global Revisions cont.

▪ Is the paragraph adequately developed?

▪ Could the evidence presented convince someone of your point?
▪ Use qualifying words like often, usually, perhaps, may rather than absolutes like always or never.

▪ Does the writing address your reader’s needs?

▪ Don’t make the reader guess.
▪ The relevance of evidence should be clear.

▪ Have you used feedback from your instructor?

▪ Read and interpret marginal comments in context. Re-read what you have written to be sure you
understand the comment.
▪ Apply end comments globally. Look for places where you can address these concerns.
▪ Ask your instructor for clarification if the feedback isn’t clear to you.
Making Local Edits

▪ Decide between active and passive voice.

▪ Passive voice: Proponents hope the bill will be passed by Congress.
▪ Active voice: Proponents hope Congress will pass the bill.

▪ Use the “given-new” pattern

▪ Pattern for writing sentences that gives readers context before introducing new information.
▪ Example: Attention was focused on the peroneus longus muscle because of its well-defined
protecting role against inversion ankle sprains. The peroneus longus is normally activated during
the middle and terminal stance…

▪ Help readers navigate complex sentence patterns

▪ Using letters or numerals to denote points
▪ Using parentheses to set off numerical data or clarifying information

▪ Edit for conciseness

▪ Replace weak verb phrases with single, active verbs

▪ Example: One site most tourists will visit when they are in Washington D.C. is the Lincoln Memorial.
Making Local Edits cont.

▪ Eliminate filler words

▪ Filler words add no meaning
▪ Examples: that, who, which or prepositions like of, for, to, and in
▪ studies that involve human subjects = studies involving human subjects
▪ the CEO of the company = the company’s CEO

▪ Eliminate redundancy
▪ Redundancy is unintentional repetition
▪ Examples: my personal opinion, usual custom, very essential, repeat again, reason why

▪ Editing for correct grammar and spelling

▪ Use spelling and grammar checks in Word
▪ Take time away from the paper and return with fresh eyes
▪ Take your work to the Writing Center
▪ Print hard copies rather than reading on screen
Final Revising and Editing tips

▪ Reread your paper like a reader.

▪ Take note of places where your reading pace is slowed, where connections aren’t clear, and where
what you’ve written just doesn’t make sense.

▪ Concentrate on just one or two things at a time when revising.

▪ Don’t try to fix everything at once.
▪ Read the paper multiple times with one particular issue in mind.

▪ Read aloud and listen to the sound of your sentences.

▪ Listen for awkward or confusing phrasing
▪ Revise sentence that force you to stop and reread
▪ Be aware of the flow of your writing
INDIVIDUAL CONFERENCES
Class will not meet on these dates:
April 11, April 13, and April 16
Individual Conference Information

Reminders: What to bring to the meeting:

▪ Be on time for your meeting. ▪ Response to the peer and instructor

▪ If you are late or miss the meeting, there is no feedback you received on project 1 or 2.
option to reschedule and you will be marked ▪ Brief summary of global comments
absent.
▪ Plan for how you intend to revise the paper
based on the feedback you have received.
▪ My office is in Avery 210.
▪ Response to the peer and instructor
▪ I will not be holding normal office hours feedback you received on project 3.
for these dates.
▪ Brief summary of global comments
What to do before the meeting: ▪ Plan for how you intend to revise the paper
based on the feedback you have received.
▪ Choose which project you will include
along with project 3 in the final portfolio. ▪ Two questions you want to ask me

▪ Reread your paper feedback on project ▪ This should be typed as a homework

3 and project 1 or 2 (whichever you have assignment and will be collected and
chosen) graded for completion.
For the next week:

▪ You should begin revising your drafts of project 1 or 2 (whichever you intend to
include in the portfolio.)

▪ You will need a hard copy of your revised project 1 or 2 for class on Wednesday,
April 18.

▪ You will also need to write a brief letter to your peer reviewer that includes:
▪ A summary and description of the global instructor feedback you received
▪ What you focused on and what you hoped to accomplish with your revisions
▪ A list of 2-3 things that you would like them to focus on in their review of your work

▪ You will need to complete this same process for project 3 by Friday, April 20