Creative Reading
Final Portfolio
Derrida, the poststructuralist, famously said “there is no outside the text.” What he seems to mean is that everything potentially is a text, that everything potentially needs to be read: so what is outside the text may be just as lively and relevant as what is inside it. That is an important thread of this course: creative readers consider the stuff we are reading (and also writing) not as dead books but lively texts. Another way to put this: Everything is potentially a story. Here is how Scott Carpenter puts it at the end of Reading Lessons: Our whole lives, in fact, are immersed in stories—not just those that we recognize as such (tales we read to our kids, books we leave on our night tables, fictions we watch on TV), but also those we misrecognize, those we accept, for reasons of convenience, belief, or education, as if they were transparent representations of ‘the way things are.’ (157)
This final project—in the portfolio you will set up and the final conference you will have with me—invites you all to begin your role as a storyteller of your current and future lives in the study of English. It is a story you will continue to develop and revise (as any good storyteller will) as you continue in the department and beyond.
Components:
[1]The beginning of your electronic portfolio. At this point, your portfolio must consist of an introduction (explained below) and your final research essay from this course (revised, polished and ready for submission; you must also submit a final version of your annotated bibliography from this research project). By the end of your studies in English, your portfolio will include 8 exhibits from your work corresponding to the 8 department outcomes [linked here: ; it will also include an updated and longer version of your introduction. This electronic portfolio will be set up using FrontPage. You may include at this point more than this—additional writings you want to link in. The design is also up to you. Though you are not graded on artistic merit, presentation always matters for writers. Take advantage of the medium; put the digital resources to work for you.
For those interested in including some or all of their portfolio on your Morningside web page (something I invite you to consider), here is a link for technology help:
http://www.morningside.edu/morningside/help/students/studentwebs.htm
[2]Introduction. This is a 2-3 page reflective essay. Think of it as both the preface or ‘home page’ for you electronic portfolio as well as your reflection on what you have discovered in this course and what you are interested in pursuing in future English classes. In an important sense, this is another application of material from the course; your thoughtfulness in this introduction will demonstrate what you have learned thus far. The introduction is also a text that will help you begin to orient your readers (including the Department faculty) with your work and interests and, of course, to continue to orient yourself. Required components for this essay (not necessarily in this order—that is up to you as the writer of this story):
(1)discuss your interests as a reader and writer, generally, and for the study of English, specifically. Identify some goals or objectives (at least 2) you have at this point for your studies in English—some things you hope to accomplish by the end.
(2)Related to your objectives, discuss some strengths you feel you have as a reader and writer and some areas you feel you need to work on as you go forward.
(3)Identify something specific from your work in Creative Reading that is relevant to this discussion and indicates these areas of interest. For example, something you got into in your final essay that reveals a strength or weakness or area of further study you want to pursue. In reflecting back on the course, you should also assess your achievement of the various learning objectives for the course (these are described on the course syllabus: http://webs.morningside.edu/meehan/englished/crsyllabus.htm)
(4)Initial reflection on your participation in the Department and as an English major/minor (see Department Outcome 8). You should also indicate how you plan to accomplish the participation requirement.
[3]Links and Resources. You know me: it’s all about the links we make as readers and writers. To keep you in the habit of making links and looking for them, you will create for your portfolio a resource page (something like I do with my course web pages) that includes 5-10 resources you have encountered thus far that are of interest and/or of use to you and others for the study of English. These resources may be print and electronic. They may be individual essays or larger resources and archives that you have used or might continue to use in your English study. The format for this resource page should be MLA citation style (of course!). The links should be briefly annotated (one sentence will do). The idea is that as you continue your studies, you will build up this resource page, use it for your work, and share it with colleagues.
[4]Conference. You will present this portfolio to me in a final conference you will schedule, in place of a final exam. This reflects the workshop part of this course: I do not need or want to test you on your content knowledge (quick, what is the first sentence of Heart of Darkness?); I want you to apply your knowledge (developed from the reading and writing) to a discussion about what you have learned thus far and what you need and want to learn. This conference will be 10 minutes. You need to be prepared to discuss your portfolio and to answer questions such as: which critical reading approach do you feel is most/least effective and why? What do you want to work on in your future English studies—and how might you go about that? This kind of storytelling is also part of the final project: it matters not just what you say but how you say it—how you articulate your interests and your understanding of what you have accomplished so far, what is next for you.
Rubric for portfolio and final conference
A [90-100]: exhibits excellent achievement in work and thoughtfulness; quality of reflectiveness and application of course learning exceeds expectation of department faculty
B [80-89]: exhibits strong achievement in most areas of work and thoughtfulness, with room to improve upon at least one; quality of reflectiveness and application of course learning meet expectation of department faculty
C [70-79]: exhibits average achievement in work and thoughtfulness, with room to improve upon several areas; quality of reflectiveness and application of course learning partially meet expectation of department faculty
D [60-69]: exhibits weak achievement in work and thoughtfulness, with need to improve upon most or all areas; quality of reflectiveness and application of course learning fail to meet expectation of department faculty
F [below 60]: fails to complete as assigned
Extra-Credit Opportunity
For those interested in boosting your final participation grade, I will give you extra-credit for developing and designing a version of your portfolio on your Morningside web-space. This web should include a home page for creative reading, your self-reflection, your links and resources page, plus all the essays you have written in the course. You can think of this web site as a place where future Creative Reading students can go to look for ideas and information regarding the course. It is also a way for you to continue to publish your own reading and writing to larger audiences than one class and one teacher--something that all English majors need to be doing.
Description of how to create/submit your portfolio to the English department web.
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Last Updated: 04/28/2008