The ISUComm ePortfolio is a tool for the English classes at Iowa State University where students showcase their writing journey. My writing journey started in English 250, fall semester of 2017. My ePortfolio contains my work from class, reflections about my work, and in-class activities. Each item can be found using the menu at the top of the website. The menu has been split into two categories. The left side contains professional links while the left side houses categories to find my coursework. The right column has Archives with a chronological organization of all my posts and Tags as another way of categorizing my posts.
Derek,
My composing process has changed since I began this course because I now take more things into consideration. The biggest addition has been my audience. Prior to this course I would think about how much background info my audience might have before they read my piece, but I would not consider the audience for the rest of the paper. Now, I do my best to pause throughout the piece and ask if my content, structure, word choice, etc. makes sense to them. Since this is difficult to achieve after having read through my own work too many times, I try to seek out those who would proofread my work. Not only do they often fall into the audience my piece is geared towards, they typically possess the level of background knowledge I expect my audience to have. This also helps me to discuss what could aid my audience in better understanding the information I am trying to present to them. For example, my analysis reflection assignment was over an article written for the Iowa State Daily highlighting the react gallery on campus. I had peers proofread my content and the feedback included comments such as, “I had no idea we had a gallery on campus!” This feedback helped me feel confident in my choice of content. My piece drew the reader’s attention by covering content which could easily affect them and which they could relate to.
Connecting to my audience is easier for me when I communicate through writing. I have time to gather my thoughts, organize them, and present them in a flattering way. I do fine communicating orally in small groups or informally. Once it is a larger group or a formal setting, I have issues. I get nervous and do not always stick to my script which then makes me feel less confident in the information I am providing. Visual communication is another weak point as I do not always think of the multiple ways in which my visual could be interpreted. There is a lot that goes into creating a powerful and effective visual which I feel inadequately prepared to tackle. Again, the visual we made for one of the in-class assignments was rather informal, so I felt okay not pouring hours of effort into it. Electronically, I do alright. Having grown up surrounded by various electronic platforms, I believe I have a sturdy idea of what makes an electronic source appealing. However, my computer skills could always use sharpening, so I look forward to English 314: Rhetorical Website Design next spring. I am also considering a computer science minor so that I will have the necessary tools at my disposal to curate an impeccable website.
Sincerely,
Grace