Best of Miami Portfolios 2001 - Units.muohio.edu

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What’s the difference between a “traditional” reflective letter and a “creative” one? A “traditional” reflective letter more-or-less takes the form of a personal letter of introduction, which is structured as a typical formal letter: it opens with a greeting; moves to a brief introduction of the writer and his or her talents; offers reflective information about each of the works included (i.e. it provides a context for each work and explains why you included it in the portfolio); and then closes with some concluding remarks about the writer or the portfolio. For many students, the traditional reflective letter form is a good choice. However, some writers choose to open up this traditional kind of letter to include conventions from other writing genres. For example, one writer might choose to submit a letter that includes dialogue, creates a detailed scene, or incorporates figurative language as a means of introduction or reflection. Another writer might choose to cite outside sources—like interesting quotes from plays, poems, or works of fiction, or your own writing —to fulfill the requirements for the reflective letter. That is, the genre of reflective letter writing is able to accommodate a variety of creative options that you can select from or combine. Since the letter is the first piece of writing included in the portfolio, you will do well to consider all of the options available to you—and try drafting out various ones to see how they might look to and be received by the portfolio audience—as you set out to write your reflective letter. Whether you select the traditional or creative letter, or try a combination of both, be sure you maintain a focus on your writing. How important are titles to the portfolio contents? Titles are often a very difficult and a sometimes overlooked part of the composing process. But the title is the first introduction to a piece of writing that readers see, and as such it is an important element of the work itself. Spend some time thinking about how you will title the three works in your portfolio that require titles (all but the reflective letter). For each title you create, ask yourself: Will this title intrigue my readers? Does it reflect what I have written in my paper? If I saw this title on a paper, would I be likely to read the rest of the paper based on the title alone? You could also get feedback from other people, asking them the same kinds of questions. Following this procedure can help you determine if you have chosen an interesting title that will effectively prepare the audience for reading your text. Does all of the writing included in my portfolio have to be related in some way? Another way to put this question is, do I need a “theme” that connects all four of my works? And the answer to that question is no. You do not have to feel “locked in” to selecting or creating pieces that are all somehow “related” to each other. On the other hand, your reflective letter is meant to explain to your readers how you chose the individual pieces you included in the portfolio, and why they work well together to showcase your writing strengths and give your portfolio varied depth and balance. That is, the most successful portfolios demonstrate an ability to write effectively in 86
different genres of writing. The portfolio readers will be looking for your ability to compose in a variety of ways: reflection on specific texts you have written; narration of a personal experience or short story writing; exploration, explanation, and/or persuasion; and response to other texts. Do all 4 pieces in my portfolio have to be of equal length? The most important thing to remember is to use the full 12-page limit and develop your thoughts in each piece as fully as possible. But don’t try to force each paper you include to be of equal length. Chances are that your reflective letter will only be 1-2 pages in length, while your explanatory/exploratory/persuasive essay or your response to a text will likely be much longer, maybe even 5 or 6 full pages. One of your pieces may be 3 1/4 pages, while another may be 4 1/2; instead of being credited in that case for 4 pages and 5 pages respectively—which might put you over the limit—we would count the fractional pages together as one page, which would either give you one more page to work with, or maybe keep you within the 12-page limit. In other words, use the 12 pages in a way that helps you produce 4 pieces each with which you are happy and that, taken together, will showcase your writing abilities most effectively. Your portfolio readers will be reading and evaluating your portfolio as a whole. 87
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Miami University Best of Portfolios
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Acknowledgements In 1990, Miami Uni
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The Best of Miami University’s Po
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All four of these reflective letter
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Your gurgling stomach now seems les
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one must prohibit the words from be
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And as the result of many enjoyably
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would remain viable in the new mill
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all of the qualities represented in
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honors for past dances, but I figur
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in this Mac (I pointed to the Power
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There was only one person in the wo
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over 500 men sleeping on the dirty
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An Explanatory, Exploratory, or Per
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decrease will not allow the schools
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Page 36 and 37: An Explanatory, Exploratory, or Per
Page 38 and 39: to make a greater quantity of tires
Page 40 and 41: Response to a Text—Jessica Keel R
Page 42 and 43: the entire novel, but she remains b
Page 44 and 45: “my little squirrel” (2). Torva
Page 46 and 47: status. The Ranevskaya family is on
Page 48 and 49: A Response to a Text—Stephanie Wo
Page 50 and 51: life, showing her growth as a perso
Page 52 and 53: Scott Gruenbaum—Reflective Letter
Page 54 and 55: Scott Gruenbaum—A Narrative or Sh
Page 56 and 57: Scott Gruenbaum—An Explanatory, E
Page 58 and 59: another creature for survival is in
Page 60 and 61: Scott Gruenbaum—A Response to a T
Page 62 and 63: Complete Portfolio—Camilla Hilema
Page 64 and 65: Camilla Hileman—A Narrative or Sh
Page 66 and 67: Camilla Hileman—An Explanatory, E
Page 68 and 69: Camilla Hileman—A Response To A T
Page 70 and 71: Complete Portfolio—Pamela Spellma
Page 72 and 73: Pamela Spellman—A Narrative or Sh
Page 74 and 75: Pamela Spellman—An Explanatory, E
Page 76 and 77: Pamela Spellman—Response to a Tex
Page 78 and 79: 2001 Scoring Guide for Portfolios A
Page 80 and 81: Guidelines for Using Non-Sexist Lan
Page 82 and 83: Advice from Portfolio Scorers Each
Page 84 and 85: 5. Be creative: Don’t be afraid t
Page 88 and 89: 2002 Portfolio Information 88
Page 90 and 91: Essential Instructions Papers writt
Page 92 and 93: Supervising Teachers 2001 Kristen C
Page 94 and 95: Julie R. Hagerty Mount Notre Dame H
Page 96 and 97: Craig E. Potter Perry Meridian High
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