The Collection

JOURNAL 3

          Working on this writing portfolio has been both a positive and negative experience. Last semester, I was in English 075 and we did not make a writing portfolio. Because of this, I am new to the portfolio creating process. To complete the midterm portfolio, I decided the best way get it done was to clear my schedule and focus on it in one sitting. This in mind, I went to the eye lab one Saturday morning and worked on it until just after lunch. I when page by page and asked myself, "are all of the necessary artifacts included," "does the format of this page match up with the other pages," and "have I provided enough context to help the reader understand what they are looking at." I did a pretty good job of uploading the necessary artifact to my rough draft portfolio, so my largest task was to provide context and work on the formatting.

          After reviewing the two examples of well-done portfolios, I have identified  some areas in choice I can improve my own. The first thing that caught my eye was how ascetically appealing they were. Samantha has a lot of verity amongst her pages as far as the back grounds and images. I feel that mine does have its own style, but perhaps it can be enhanced. I also noticed both portfolios include context for the different parts or pieces that was more in depth that the context I provided on mine. I will try to improve this aspect in mine, especially on the home page and the co-curricular sections.

        One challenge I am facing is that I am not as skilled with creating websites as some of my peers. I see may things on the example portfolios that I wish to translate over to mine, but I lack the knowhow. In light of this dilemma, I have focused more with have a clean and crisp webpage than one that that is technologically advanced. I hope my effort is reflected in the final portfolio.

Another challenge I face is finding things to say in this reflective type of writing. I have never been asked to write in this way before, to literally write about... My own writing. It's been a new experience for me and I will have to do a better job of giving it my all. At times, creating his writing portfolio does feel aimless, be the things I am being asked to do, such as take a critical look at my writing process and revising old pieces, are effective to improving my writing abilities. I feel that I must do a better job of letting this reflect in my portfolio , specifically in the context I provide.

          I think the purpose of this journal prompt was to help us take a critical look at not only our midterm portfolios, but the also the process we followed to create it. By answering these questions, we can see if we feel that we honestly earned the grade we received and we put in the adequate effort to complete it. I also believe that we can also identify ways to improve our portfolio so that we receive a better grade on our final portfolio.