Here you will find information about the requirements and due dates for our semester-long online portfolio project. Online Portfolio Assignment Sheet You can find the basic purpose and overview of the assignment, as well as grading information on the portfolio page of the course site. Additional information about due dates can be found on the course schedule page.

To design the portfolio, we will use Weebly.com, a free website-creation service that is easy to use.Weebly.com The design of the site should represent you as an individual and as a writer. The choice of template, site organization (including the order of the pages), and color is yours. Designing the Portfolio In addition, please feel free to add any photos, documents, or sound that you choose; however, please be aware that, should you use photos, music, and or documents that you did not create, you will need to properly cite them.

The first page of your website should include a general welcome, as well as an explanation of the site’s content, purpose, and organization. The Intro Page In addition, please include a brief bio. The focus of your bio – i.e. whether it addresses your history as an individual, an author, a student, a professional, or a combination thereof – is entirely up to you.

Critical Blogs : Throughout the semester, we will write a total of five formal, critical blogs analyzing a cultural artifact or current event. A specific writing prompt will be provided for each blog as the due date nears. On the blog page, you will need a short introduction to the blogs, as well as the blogs themselves. Key Pages – Blog and Gloss Critical Gloss : On this page, you will keep a glossary of key terms that we use throughout the semester. The gloss is designed to help you retain writing vocabulary and to ensure that, when we use specific terms to talk about writing, we are all on the same page. Each day in class, I will identify terms that need to be added to the gloss.

Journal : Every other Wednesday, you will complete a journal entry, a word informal writing focused on reflection and brainstorming. On the journal page, you should provide a brief introduction to the journal’s purpose and organization, as well as the journal entries themselves. More Key Pages – Journal and Final Reflection Final Reflection : At the end of the semester, you will complete a word reflection on how you have changed as a writer over the course of the semester. The reflection should be a formal argument that includes a thesis and examples from your writing. Like the other pages, this page should include a brief intro, as well as the reflection itself.

Throughout the semester, we will keep an annotated bibliography, a document that will be extremely helpful to your research process. Annotated bibs allow you to organize and keep track of your research. In addition, they will help you engage will your research and get everything that you can from your sources. An annotated bib contains the following : (1) an MLA citation for the source; (2) a summary of the source that focuses on its thesis, organization, and key points; (3) an analysis of the source that discusses the quality of the source’s argument; and (4) a statement of intent that identifies how you can use the source to make your own argument. In addition, if you are working with PDF articles, please upload a copy of the article – or a link to a website if the source cannot be downloaded – with your annotated bib. Doing so will allow you to organize - and make sure that you don’t lose - your sources. Your annotated bib should be updated as you research the second and third papers. If you put it off until the end of the project, it won’t be useful to you. As with your other pages, you want to include a brief intro before the annotations themselves. Please see the course documents page of the course site for a sample annotated bib entry. Even More Key Pages – Annotated Bib

Each of our three major papers will have its own page (so a total of three pages). Each page should – at minimum - contain the following (but you are welcome to include any additional information that you choose): Still More Key Pages – Project Pages An intro describing the assignment and the information on the page Copies of all rough drafts Copies of workshop feedback A final, portfolio draft for grading

The individual components of the portfolio have different due dates. Drafts and critical blogs have assigned due dates that can be found on the course schedule. Journals are due every other Wednesday. The critical gloss and annotated bib will be updated continuously throughout the semester. We will do portfolio checks at the end of each major project. The final portfolio drafts of the three papers, the reflection, and the final draft of the portfolio are due on Wednesday April 30 th by 5pm. Due Dates