Reflective Portfolio Preface

The Reflective Portfolio Preface

What it is:

The Portfolio Preface is a reflective piece that looks back on the work you have done in English 113. It is the first thing your portfolio readers will read, and it introduces them to you and your work. It will be your chance to make a first impression on your readers.

What it should do:

Your preface should introduce your essays to your readers, and address at least three of the following points:

· Reflect on your process of writing the pieces that you’ve included.

· explain how English 113 has influenced your writing and your future.

· discuss your development as a writer over the course of the semester

· explain the significance of the issues addressed in your work

· explain what revisions you made to your papers and why

· discuss what you see as the strengths and weaknesses of your writing, as reflected in your portfolio.

What it should look like:

Your preface will appear as the first thing people see on the Home page of your website. The preface is essentially a letter to your readers; you can begin with a salutation, such as “Dear Readers,” or you can simply begin by introducing yourself. This is your chance to let your personality shine through, so you can strike up a tone that is friendly, serious, humorous, scholarly, or whatever you feel like, as long as a) it’s appropriate for a school assignment, and b) you maintain standards of proper grammar, mechanics, and spelling.

Your preface should contain 700 - 1000 words (the equivalent of 2-3 double-spaced pages). MLA format is not required, since the format should be appropriate for the genre of the website. Do consider what kind of ethos you want to establish for yourself. How do you want to come across to your readers? While the choice of how your text appears is up to you, you will want what you’ve written to be legible, so be careful of certain fonts that are difficult to read, like this one.

A draft of your preface is due on Monday, 12/8.

The final draft must be posted on your portfolio by Thursday, 12/11 at 8:00 a.m.