We will meet once a week — every Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. Each week, there will be a small assignment that will keep you on track with our course goals for the semester. Each assignment is worth 10 points, and late assignments will only receive partial credit.

Week 1: January 21

  • Topic: Introducing the course and ourselves. Reviewing syllabus and policies. Discussing our goals and plans for the semester.

Week 2: January 28

  • Topic: Assessing raw materials and setting individual schedules.
  • Due: Review the Core Matrix and the Professional Writing Matrix in the Scholar Portfolio site and select two essays/projects that could be candidates for each cell in the matrices.

Week 3: February 4

  • Topic: Job search vs. graduate school.
  • Due: Reflection essays for all items in the Core Matrix.

Week 4: February 11

  • Topic: Writing confidently (but modestly) about your accomplishments (i.e., the “personal statement”).
  • Due: Reflection essays for all items in the PW Matrix.

Week 5: February 18

  • Topic: Reviewing effective models of professional portfolios.
  • Due: Showcase on Growth (part of the Core Matrix).

Week 6: February 25

  • Topic: Selecting a platform for your personal portfolio.
  • Due: Final draft of the official English Department documents (uploaded to Scholar), plus the completed Graduation Checklist.

Week 7: March 4

  • Topic: Developing a “personal brand.”
  • Due: Register domain, securing hosting, install any necessary software.

Week 8: March 18

Midterm conferences with Dr. Warnick. (No class on Wednesday due to travel.)

Week 9: March 25

  • Topic: Designing effective résumés.
  • Due: Personal branding guidelines.

Week 10: April 1

  • Topic: The job search part 1: finding available jobs.
  • Due: HTML version of your résumé.

Week 11: April 8

  • Topic: The job search part 2: applying for jobs.
  • Due: Draft of “Welcome” and “About Me” pages.

Week 12: April 15

  • Topic: Framing your artifacts.
  • Due: Website framework complete; three portfolio artifacts selected.

Week 13: April 22

  • Topic: Individual conferences with Dr. Warnick
  • Due: Three portfolio artifacts revised and added to your site.

Week 14: April 29

  • Topic: Peer critique session
  • Due: Full draft of your portfolio online and ready to share with your classmates.

Week 15: May 6

  • Due: Submit URL for final portfolio site via email.