8.9: Portfolio- Evidence and Objectivity
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Write about the development of your composing processes.
- Write about how composing processes affect your work.
- Write about your objectivity as a writer.
As you complete your report, think critically about your writing process. Watch An Introduction to Reflective Writing ( https://openstax.org/r/anintroductio...lectivewriting ) , and reflect on what you created from the first step of discovering ideas to the last steps of composing and editing the final draft.
Reflective Task: Lessons Learned
As you add your analytical report to your portfolio, write either a cover letter or a journal entry in which you respond to the following questions:
- How did you choose the topic for your report? Did you have to narrow or expand it?
- What methods did you use to gather ideas about your topic? What outside sources did you consult to gather information about your topic?
- How did you settle on your thesis? Did you rewrite it multiple times?
- What strategies did you use to organize your report?
- What strategies did you use to develop paragraphs? What difficulties, if any, did you encounter?
- How challenging was it for you to adopt an objective stance? Did you recognize your own biases? Was it difficult to write in third-person point of view?
- How did input from peers and other readers affect your drafting and revision processes? What specific constructive criticism did you receive that helped you?
- In what ways was this report easier or harder to write than other papers you have written?
- What could you have done differently to make writing your report easier or more effective?
Further Reading
The following books are just a few examples of in-depth book-length reporting.
Boo, Katherine. Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity . Random House, 2012.
Desmond, Matthew. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City . Crown, 2016.
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America . Metropolitan Books, 2001.
Macy, Beth. Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America . Little, Brown, 2018.
Wilkerson, Isabel. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration . Random House, 2010.
Works Cited
“About.” Barbara Ehrenreich , Hachette Book Group, www.barbaraehrenreich.com/.
Fowler, H. Ramsey, and Jane E. Aaron. The Little, Brown Handbook . 13th ed., Pearson, 2016.
McClure, Laura. “Fact-Checking 101.” TED-Ed Blog , TED-Ed, 30 Mar. 2017, blog.ed.ted.com/2017/03/30/ factchecking-101/.
“Professional, Technical Writing.” OWL: The Purdue Online Writing Lab , Purdue U, 2021, owl.purdue.edu/owl/ subject_specific_writing/professional_technical_writing/index.html.
“Reflective Writing in Education.” Research and Learning Online , Monash U, www.monash.edu/rlo/ assignment-samples/education/education-reflective-writing.