Artifacts are things that we are able to reference from the past and, using the knowledge we have at the current time, create new understandings from. For example, historical artifacts are used in history and paleontology (and really in any discipline)

Learning Goal: I’m working on a writing multi-part question and need guidance to help me learn.

For this forth portfolio development activity, you will:

Add content from Writing Exchanges (WE) 2-7 to corresponding Inquiry Artifacts pages ( 6 writings )

Then write an introductory context, and reflective context for each.

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IN THE PORTFOLIO, YOU ARE PRESENTING YOUR BEST–THIS MEANS THAT YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR WORK IS REVISITED, EDITED, AND POLISHED. WHAT ARE ARTIFACTS?

Artifacts are things that we are able to reference from the past and, using the knowledge we have at the current time, create new understandings from. For example, historical artifacts are used in history and paleontology (and really in any discipline). When a paleontologist finds new remains they are able to understand those remains (those artifacts) though the knowledge they have acquired. The same holds true for written artifacts. Perhaps you wrote something when you were much younger. Maybe a poem or a journal entry. Having a knowledge of yourself since you first wrote that piece you are better able to understand in new ways what you were working through before or how what you were working through impacted you and informed the person you are now or the trajectory of your life in some way.

So what am I doing for the Inquiry Artifacts pages of my portfolio?

Your Inquiry Artifacts pages will include the actual work (artifacts) that you submitted for Writing Exchanges 1-7. Each Writing Exchange corresponds with a page you have already labeled in your portfolio under the Inquiry Artifacts menu tab. You will also include both Introductory context AND immersive & reflective context.

Note: Below I have described the difference between intro and reflective context. Though treated separately, you do not have to present them separately; you can interweave them (and it is a more sophisticated approach to do so).

INTRODUCTORY CONTEXT:

What is this page? 1) Introduce the concept/theme. What does it mean, for example, in WE 3 for writing to be a situated practice? 2) Then, let your readers know what you will be presenting on that page? For example, “to better understand what it means for writing to be situated, I engaged with scholars X, Y, Z. You will find below my summaries of their work. In addition, you will find…..”

Your tone: You are NOT talking at your reader. You ARE talking with your reader. Inquiry Artifacts pages are not a place for lecturing or textbook-ing. Your intro context should be personalized and connected to your reader. *The intro context, although it will appear first on the page, should be developed last. Until you have developed the other parts, you are unable to know what and how you are presenting the work of the page.

IMMERSIVE & REFLECTIVE CONTEXT:

In addition to the general introductory context, you will need to provide a reflection on where are you at the end of the semester with the concept introduced. How did you get to the place that you are now with your understanding of the concept? So what? What is important about where you are and your understanding of the concept in terms of your development in your thinking about writing? You engaged with the scholarship around key concepts in Writing Studies. So make a transition throughout of some kind around that knowledge.