Daniel Spence

UWP 001
Prof. Daniel Melzer
3/07/16
Portfolio Cover Memo

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1. How does your portfolio provide evidence that youve met the UWP1 learning outcome of
rhetorical flexibility and adapting your writing to different modes and genres?
My portfolio provides evidence that I have met the UWP1 learning outcomes of
rhetorical flexibility because the two writing assignments that I have chosen to include in it are
very different from each other. One essay is a essay designed to be a teaching tool for upcoming
students while the other is a research paper designed for my own personal gain and for the
personal gain of other researching interested in the topic. In addition to that, the format of both
essay are very different. One is structured to a standard MLA format while the other has
separations for each subject/part of the paper. This is also a prime example of writing in different
modes and genres. One being a standard essay and one being a research paper.

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2. How does your portfolio provide evidence that youve met the UWP 1 learning outcome of
revision based on feedback? Give specific evidence of revisions you made based on feedback for
both projects included in your portfolio.
I feel that my portfolio provides evidence that I have met the UWP1 learning outcome of
revision based on feedback because through peer review and the astute and helpful corrections of

my professor, I have corrected and revised my two works multiple times to get them to the state
they are in now. For my College Literacy Project I first had far too much redundant text in my
essay and through the help of my classmates I was able to consolidate my essay by over 500
words. In addition to this, I was able to clean up my essay in the terms of removing excessive
explanation and non-relevant information. For my Researching Project I was able to revise my
essay each time I collected new data or came across additional resources that I wanted to include
into my work. I was also able to consolidate my focuses into one key topic with the help of my
professor.
3. How does your portfolio provide evidence of the UWP1 learning outcome of adapting your
writing for different audiences?
My two pieces in my UWP1portfolio are prime examples of how my writing has adapted
for different audiences. My first work, the College Literacy Project shows that I can speak to
upcoming students in a clear but also welcoming way. My College Researching Project on the
other hand is more formal and scientific. Instead of trying to introduce younger individuals to
new ideas, I focus on explaining my results to academics interested in the topic I researched. I
tend to be talking about set data or referencing fact in my research paper where my literacy paper
is somewhat opinionated. All in all, my writing for the two pieces show that I can write both for
younger audiences and for older more specialized audiences.
4. How have you changed as a writer based on the work you did in the portfolio?
I feel that I have grown more confident in my writing because of the two projects I chose
to present in my portfolio. I feel that prior to the Researching Literacy Project I had not done
many researching activities, and this allowed for me to branch out of my comfort zone and try

something relatively new. In addition to that, I feel that these assignments have helped me come
across additional insightful information and tips given to me by my peers and teacher. While I
know that I was not the worst at writing before these two assignments, I now feel that I truly can
write a well rounded essay. Along these lines, I also feel that my abilities to write for a direct
audience have grown because of the genres of both of these projects.
5. What do you feel are the strengths of your portfolio?
This is a hard question. While I want to say that the topics I chose for my two works are
at least something that gives my portfolio strength I am not sure it that qualifies. I guess that I
would have to say that the strengths are the fluidity of my two pieces and the fact that I try to
encompass the reader with the information or at least intrigue them enough to keep them reading
until the end. I strive to not be overly redundant and through many rough drafts and hours
correcting I feel that I have sculpted my essays to a form suitable to my expectations.
6. If you had more time, what further revisions would you make to the portfolio?
If I had further time to revise and update my portfolio than I would definitely try and ad
some very interesting but a little bit more elaborate research to my Researching Literacies
Project. I would also like to go into even more detail about whether there was a proven correct
way to take a timed free response essay question that could actually be backed by hard data. I
know that the majority of my evidence and reasoning is based off of my own experience and the
experiences of family and friends so it would be nice to read someone else's research paper on
the topic. I do like what I have included in my portfolio, but there is always something else that
can be added.
7. What literacy concepts, habits, processes, and/or strategies did you learn from composing your

portfolio and from UWP1 in general that you can apply to future writing contexts?
I am not entirely sure if this portfolio was the first experience with anything in particular,
but I did help build on many habits and processes I have only practiced a few times. I got to do
extra research to actually prove my reasoning and opinion through fact and therefore having at
least less of a bias in my Researching Literacies Project. I also got to expand on my capabilities
as a writer. I got to diversify and practice different writing styles and learned some new tricks of
the trade on the way. Over all, I am content with my improvements through UWP1 and I feel that
this portfolio not only shows some of the work that I can do, but shows that my writing potential
has become so much more than it was at the beginning of the quarter.