Final Course Reflection

The Final Course Reflection is the final writing assignment for Professional Writing, an undergraduate course on workplace writing.

The Final Course Reflection assignment

• asks students to reflect about their coursework in Professional Writing from the perspective of research and theory.

The Final Course Reflection aims to help students

• demonstrate their understanding of 21st century literacies;
• demonstrate declarative knowledge about writing processes, workplace genres (memos, proposals, progress reports, and technical writing conventions (particularly information design and document-design principles).
• analyze their past writing, presentations, and collaborative work to demonstrate they are

Context

The National Academies of Sciences defines 21st Century Literacies as an amalgam of three interdependent competencies: cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal:

1. “Cognitive competencies involve thinking, reasoning, and related skills.
2.  Intrapersonal competencies involve self-management and the ability to regulate one’s behavior and emotions to reach goals.
3. Interpersonal competencies involve expressing information to others.” (Education for Life and Work 2012)

Each year NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) surveys employees in the U.S. regarding job readiness in relation to 21st Century literacies. Invariably, written communication skills are identified by employers as critical to success in the workplace. Problem-solving, collaboration, leadership, work ethic, analytical/quantitative skills, initiative–these highly desired competencies have been identified by NACE as the most desired competencies sought by employers, as depicted below. All of these qualities are clustered around the larger competency of communication.

Metacognition, the ability to reflect on how you have mastered these 21st Century, empowers self-development and writing improvement.

Instructions

Write a two-page memo to your a prospective employer that provides evidence you have mastered 21st century literacies and are well positioned to be a productive member of the team. Here you can invent the nature of the job you are applying for.

Suggestions for Drafting this Assignment

Take a moment to conduct an inventory of the writing you completed for Workplace Writing:

1. Revise, Redesign, Edit: Tailoring Documents for Audiences
   1. Rhetorical Analysis Memo
2. Extended Group Project: Consulting Simulation
   1. Problem-Definition Heuristic
   2. Revise, Redesign, Edit: Tailoring Documents for Audiences
   3. Client Proposal
   4. Team Charter
   5. Project Management Portfolio + Bibliography Template
   6. Group Research Proposal
   7. Research Notes + Executive Summary
   8. Progress Report Assignment
   9. Recommendation Report Assignment
   10. Evaluation Memo
3. Infographic
4. Final Reflection

As a result of the writing you have completed for this course, can you identify evidence that demonstrates you have robust cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal competencies?

Recommended Schedule

Schedule	Assignments & Suggested Activities	Readings
One Week	Review the feedback your instructor and peers have provided on your writing this semester. Review course readings that seemed especially helpful to you. Feel free to choose the genre most appropriate for the job you seek: a letter, a podcast, Draft, Revise, Edit.	Critique What is Communication? Why Does Literacy Matter?
2nd Week	Seek out critical feedback on your text. Show what you’ve learned by citing readings and engaging in visual rhetoric.

Submission Guidelines

1. Upload Final Course Reflection to the course management system.