25% (250 Points)
DUE: April 11, 2025 (11:59pm, EST)
Your portfolio must be a Google Folder:
- You must write and submit your portfolio as a KSU Google Folder via KSU Google Drive; however, be sure to save a copy of its contents on your home computer.
- Click on NEW and select FOLDER
- Label the folder: [YOUR LAST NAME]’s Portfolio
- Click on the vertical three dots, select ORGANIZE, and then select MOVE to move the essays you plan to revise into this folder.
- Open NEW items within the folder to make sure that they are located in the folder.
There are FOUR parts to this portfolio (four things that must be containted in your KSU Google folder):
- Revision of either Essay One or Essay Two (5%, 50 points)
- Revision of Essay Three (10%, 100 points)
- Visual Presentation of Essay Three (5%, 50 points)
- Reflective Essay (5%, 50 points)
Revision of Either Essay One or Essay Two
(5%, 50 points)
- CHOOSE to revise: Essay One or Essay Two.
- You MUST revise the document that you originally shared with me for evaluation! (Revisions can be examined if you click on File and select Version history and then select See version history on your document in KSU Google Docs.)
- Fix the issues that I addressed with you in our Mandatory Conference:
- Be sure to fix all errors marked by me, as well as to find and fix similar (unmarked) errors.
- Be sure to address content issues that I have highlighted and commented upon.
- Fix the issues you’ve discovered since first submitting the assignment; ask your writing partner(s) for help: grammar, coherence, development of thought, etc..
- Expand the paper significantly (from 1000 words to 1500 words).¹
- You should review the original topic and instructions for the essay assignment.
- Consider the ways that depth of thought might be improved (and there are always ways for this to be done) in each paragraph.
- If you have had to (further) develop the thesis statement, make sure that there are sentences in each paragraph that tie it clearly to that thesis statement.
- Further polish the paper:
- Consider ways to more tightly unite the paragraphs together.
- Consider ways to make the introduction and thesis statement even more clearly tied to the essay body.
- Consider ways to develop depth of thought in the conclusion, without moving away from the focus of the paper.
- Proofread, several times, for writing and formatting errors!
- Make sure there are no grammatical or other writing errors.
- Check for sentence clarity, tone, and voice consistency.
- Check each paragraph for unity and clarity (organization and development). Where is the topic sentence, and is it clear?
- Check the essay for unity: what is the thesis and is it clearly tied to each paragraph?
- Make sure that the formatting is correctly done.
- Make sure that the citations are done correctly (both within the text and at the end of the paper).
- Make sure that quotes are done properly and that paraphrasing includes in-text citation.
REVISION NOTES:
- There is absolutely no guarantee that the paper will earn the same grade or higher than the first version! The revised paper is being evaluated for significant revisions, as well as for overall quality. In other words, revisions do not equal a better grade: if you make sloppy revisions, then the paper’s grade might be lower than the original draft that was submitted earlier this semester! This rarely happens, but it does happen, so be careful!
- Work methodically. Seek help from your writing partner(s) in the Writing Workshop. Avoid working at the last minute.
- How to see the revision history of your work:
- Click on File
- Select Version history
- Select See version history
Revision of Essay Three
(10%, 100 points)
- You MUST revise the document that you originally shared with me for
evaluation! (Revisions can be examined if you click on File and select Version history and then select See version history on your document in KSU Google Docs.) - Fix the issues that I addressed with you in our Mandatory Conference:
- Be sure to fix all errors marked by me, as well as to find and fix similar (unmarked) errors.
- Be sure to address content issues that I have highlighted and commented upon.
- Fix the issues you’ve discovered since first submitting the assignment; ask your writing partner(s) for help: grammar, coherence, development of thought, etc..
- Expand the paper significantly (from 1000 words to 1500 words).¹
- You should review the original topic and instructions for the essay assignment.
- Consider the ways that depth of thought might be improved (and there are always ways for this to be done) in each paragraph.
- If you have had to (further) develop the thesis statement, make sure that there are sentences in each paragraph that tie it clearly to that thesis statement.
- Further polish the paper:
- Consider ways to more tightly unite the paragraphs together.
- Consider ways to make the introduction and thesis statement even more clearly tied to the essay body.
- Consider ways to develop depth of thought in the conclusion, without moving away from the focus of the paper.
- Proofread, several times, for writing and formatting errors!
- Make sure there are no grammatical or other writing errors.
- Check for sentence clarity, tone, and voice consistency.
- Check each paragraph for unity and clarity (organization and development). Where is the topic sentence, and is it clear?
- Check the essay for unity: what is the thesis and is it clearly tied to each paragraph?
- Make sure that the formatting is correctly done.
- Make sure that the citations are done correctly (both within the text and at the end of the paper).
- Make sure that quotes are done properly and that paraphrasing includes in-text citation.
REVISION NOTES:
- There is absolutely no guarantee that the paper will earn the same grade or higher than the first version! The revised paper is being evaluated for significant revisions, as well as for overall quality. In other words, revisions do not equal a better grade: if you make sloppy revisions, then the paper’s grade might be lower than the original draft that was submitted earlier this semester! This rarely happens, but it does happen, so be careful!
- Work methodically. Seek help from your writing partner(s) in the Writing Workshop. Avoid working at the last minute.
- How to see the revision history of your work:
- Click on File
- Select Version history
- Select See version history
Visual Presentation of Essay Three
(5%, 50 points)
This is the FUN part (I hope)!
Be sure to STUDY Lesson 7: Multimedia/Multimodal Expressions.
Multimedia communication involves using two media, while multimodal communication involves using a multiple approaches to reach multiple senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, even taste. Multimodal writing involves use of various media, such as video, images, audio, slide presentations, or digital writing (such as blogging or writing an essay document). Images (stills or motion) are a great way of emphasizing a point, illustrating a point, or even contradicting a point. In the image below, for example, I am using Betty’s facial expressions to respond to President Trump’s declaration that the people of Springfield, Ohio are eating pets. You know what she’s thinking, right?
Convert your revised Essay Three into a multimodal visual presentation. This means that you must try to illustrate certain points with images, even using images instead of words to convey meaning. You can read your paper aloud as a voice-over for video (using your smartphone to record) with images for people to look at. You could do a dramatic slide presentation. You could work with Writing Workshop members to create an illustrated video discussion that compares/contrasts the main points of each of your papers (record a video chat and then edit images into the video, for example).
PARAMETERS: This visual composition
- must fully reflect each point of the essay
- must be video, a slide presentation, or a highly illustrated document
- must make use of at least ten images that either illustrate or comment upon the essay’s points
- can use other video clips, and if you include a short video clip to illustrate a point: 10 seconds = 1 image
- end with a references page or video list of credits for sources
There is no minimum or maximum number of words, pages, slides, or video minutes. Follow the parameters (above), and the grade should be excellent. Work with your Writing Workshop partners! Help each other! You can also contact me (clrobins@kent.edu) for technological help!
Reflective Essay
(5%, 50 points)
Write an essay in which you describe your writing process, including your writing strengths and weaknesses.¹ This essay should be roughly 500 words (2 pages) long.² Respond to each of the the below, as fully as possible.
- Describe the activities you perform to achieve completion of a writing assignment. You might even write these activities in terms of “steps” that you take toward completing a writing assignment. (There is no “right” or “wrong” way to write, though there are some approaches that are better than others.)
- Describe the types of errors you must be careful to avoid or be prepared to fix (such as when you are proofreading your paper).
- Answer all of these questions:
- What sorts of challenges did you face in your writing this semester; were they new challenges or old challenges?
- Sometimes, as one improves upon certain writing weaknesses, other writing strengths become weaker (usually temporarily); did this happen to you, and if so, what happened?
- Which essay was the “easiest” for you to write, and why do you think that was?
- Which essay was the most difficult for you to write, and why do you think that was?
- Which version of your Essay Three do you feel happiest about: the revised document or the multimodal presentation? Why?
NOTES
¹ It is permitted (and only logical) to use “I” quite frequently in this essay.
² One page is roughly 315 words (Times Roman, 12pt. font, 1 inch margins).
³ There is no need for in-text citations or for a References page for this essay assignment.
