E-Portfolio 

Created by

Ann Madu

Overview

The English 410, Technical Reading and Writing course was computer-intensive and divided into two phases: the first phase was devoted primarily to learning essential skills as a technical writer. The second phase was devoted primarily to applying these skills in teams to produce a term project affiliated with a service learning project of my choice. I completed numerous homework exercises to develop my knowledge of the complexities of technical communication, including the practices of reading and editing, designing documents, and scrutinizing the ethos of technical documents.

During the second phase of the course, I compiled an e-portfolio of my work, which I can share with colleagues, potential employers, or other collaborators. I also participated in a team project with one of my classmate. For this team project, my partner and I edited and revised the Northern Virginia Family Services Volunteer Handbook. I met with my teammate outside of class on numerous occasions to complete this project.

This e-portfolio was created to show my ability to write intelligent and fluid documents.  The portfolio is intended to present different samples of my writing to employers and friends.  All of my sample documents, which can be found in the table below, were drafted and finalized in my English 410, Technical Reading and Writing course.  During the course of the semester, I reviewed and re-wrote several documents.  Most of these writings refer to the tasks that I performed.  Here you will find references to all of these documents such as: memos and collaborative papers. 

All of the sample documents listed below are in their finalized form.  I used drafting and editing techniques from the text, Technical Communication, used in class.  In fact, I applied these techniques to my samples just prior to presenting them in my e-portfolio.  Significant changes were made, including grammatical errors and errors in sentence structure.  To view, click on the links below.

Rhetorical analysis of the technical document “Bioremediation Technology Development and Application to the Alaskan Spill”: This is a case document, written by the Exxon Company and their associates, to explain the bioremediation process used to clean up the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound. Using the knowledge I have gathered from Chapter One, I evaluated this document by analyzing the audience, purpose, and situation. I evaluated the characteristics of technical communication that were evident in the document. I determined that the document was clear and concise. This analysis also includes my perspective on how the document was received by its audience and whether any pertinent information was missing from the document.

Instructions on how to use a GE Mixer: For this project, I chose a device with some complexity, the General Electric Stand Mixer. I composed a set of instructions for assembling and using this household appliance.  Above all, I thought carefully about my users: under what circumstances will they be completing the task, what prior knowledge do they have, and how often are they likely to be using the appliance?

Memo of my performance as a document reviewer: This memo reflects my performance in reading, and not the problems that I found in the two documents I reviewed.  I mentally monitored my performance as I attempted the six-step reading process to note how I performed at each step.  I included one or two concrete examples of what I noticed throughout this reading at each stage. In particular, I noted some of the errors that I noticed by applying my editing checklist. I organized this memo in chronological order, using a heading for each of the six-steps.  I described how well I think I accomplished the reading, insights I gained, and difficulties I encountered.  I contrasted my readings of the two documents for greater richness, and I included one or two comments on my suggestions to the author.

Proposal for a collaborative project, including a planning schedule : This proposal provides a capsule of the whole project, the revision of the Northern Virginia Family Services (NVFS) Volunteer Handbook, including the history of the NVFS, objectives of the project, plan, personnel, and qualifications. It also includes a problem statement that describes the discrepancies between the current Handbook and the way it might be revised. The evaluation and quality control section of the proposal suggests the ways to monitor the progress of the project once approved.

Progress report on collaborative project: This progress report includes a Scope section that briefly summarizes my project. It presents the "who," "what," "where," and "how" from my Proposal in one paragraph.

The Work Completed section states succinctly all the work that I have done, including how much time has been spent on tasks to date, as a group and individually. I noted the divergences from my Proposal, including missed deliverables or supplemental work that I did not foresee in my Proposal. I used subheadings such as "Problems," "Insights," etc., in this section.

The Projected Work and Schedule section state the work that remains to be done and when it will be done up to the due date.

Collaborative term project: This is the copy of the term project, the revised Northern Virginia Family Services Volunteer Handbook.

Memo of group evaluation: In this memo, I revisited my initial thoughts and my proposal, discussing briefly the final form of my project as compared with my initial ideas and the trajectory of the project, how it evolved and why. I provided a summary of work time, both individually and by group. The work times are linked to specific concrete outcomes. I noted canceled meetings or additional meetings as compared with my proposal schedule and all late deliverables or absences from meetings (including class meetings with the professor) by individual members. The memo also includes successes about the writing project and it lists the attributes of my collaboration that most contributed to this success. The memo includes the problems I encountered during the project, how I surmounted them, and the contributions of individual members with each collaborator’s strong points in this collaborative technical writing project.

My reflection on the portfolio and on writing in English 410: This is my reflection of the English 410, Technical Reading and Writing course. It includes new insights about writing and/or reading that I have gained, how my approach to writing and revising have changed, and how the writing skills and knowledge from this course blend with skills that I use in other courses and other settings. It also includes insights and knowledge that I gained while compiling this portfolio in electronic form, as opposed to paper form, and challenges faced when using the Netscape Composer and file transfer protocol.  

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