Professional Writing Portfolio Due

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"We are often asked to submit portfolios at work and in our professional lives, even when they aren't called portfolios. For example, when I'm applying for a job, I may be asked for a cover letter, resume, and other supporting documentation. When I'm up for a promotion, I may be asked for a letter of self-evaluation, samples of my best work, and a letter of recommendation. If I am meeting with a client, I may have a binder of examples of my best work to convince them to hire me or to help them articulate what they want.

For this project, you will practice submitting a portfolio and you will reflect on your best work this semester so far.

Step 1:

• Pick three examples of correspondence you submitted so far that you believe are your best work or that you are proudest of (any of the emails, memos, letters, or speeches we wrote so far)
• Make sure to revise these assignments as necessary based on the feedback you received . Often, even when we choose our best work, we make it even better before including it in a portfolio, based on what we learned since we wrote/created that work. You want these chosen documents to be perfect or nearly perfect in every way. While I invite you to negotiate feedback (accepting some comments while rejecting others), r I expect that you provide an explanation for comments you reject in the letter of reflection. There's always room for improvement, and revisions are a critical part of the writing process.

Step 2:

Create a reflective video. Typically, when we turn in artifacts of our work, we are asked to provide a reflection to accompany those artifacts: this reflection sets the stage for the artifacts and explains them. This is basically what cover letters (which accompany our resume) or personal statements (which accompany school applications) do, too.

You'll want to record a video, addressing it to me, your instructor, and make sure it is at least 5 minutes long. In your video, speak clearly and organize your thoughts in a coherent manner.

Important Notes:

1. Organize your thoughts: To avoid rambling, it's best to write a script or at least an outline before recording.
2. Consider recording angle, lighting, and background: While no special technology or skills are required, ensure your video looks professional. This should be a simple recording, but one you wouldn't be ashamed to submit as part of a portfolio for a professional opportunity.

Here are the questions that your video should answer (although you may address them in any order that makes sense to you):

• What items did you decide to include in your portfolio and why? Was it a tough choice or was it easy to choose which items to include in your story-telling trio? If making selections was hard, explain why. If making selections was easy, explain why.
• You've already submitted this work in some version earlier in the semester. The portfolio is comprised of final versions. What specifically did you change and why? If you didn't change something, why not?
• What concepts from the semester so far are captured in these assignments? What elements of your own personality or strengths as a writer are captured in these assignments?
• If the portfolio doesn't fully capture what you learned this semester so far, what ideas and concepts are not reflected here?
• Which parts of your portfolio submission make you feel the most proud? Think of some part (or parts) that you worked especially hard on or which feels particularly inspired. Be as specific as you can be. You don't want my eye to slide past your best bits. Tell me about them.
• Reflect on your experience writing , researching, and revising with AI.

Do not rush. Look over the work that you will hand in to me. Take some time to think before you begin recording. Your answers matter to me - tell me what happened.

Feel free to adjust any details to better fit your course requirements!

Step 3:

Place your three artifacts in a single document, making sure the artifacts appear in the portfolio in the same order they are discussed in your reflective video. Make sure the formatting of all documents is appropriate and correct (you may have to play with the formatting to make sure all documents look correct). Then save the document to PDF and submit the PDF for a grade (note: in professional communication, whenever formatting is important, saving the document as a PDF helps ensure that the formatting doesn't change when the recipient opens the document).

To receive a Complete, you should meet the requirements specified above. In short, this include

• the reflective video answers all the guiding questions and explains revisions included and rejected.
• The portfolio includes three revised artifacts (correspondence pieces)
• The chosen artifacts appear to be well written, formatted, and generally error free (especially in terms of formatting and organization).