An E-Portfolio
A Reflective Synthesis of UCF's Writing and Rhetoric Major
As a Writing and Rhetoric major, I have had the opportunity to learn from some of the most knowledgeable and passionate of professors who are also brilliant writers and editors themselves. English Literature was my declared major before transitioning to Writing and Rhetoric, as that was my minor at the time. Since editing is my preferred career of choice, I thought this decision was best because Writing and Rhetoric is more geared towards careers that specialize in analysis, synthesis, revision, and adaptation of written and multimedia texts. The courses I have taken in the major have allowed me to gain new insight into the processes behind both information-gathering and writing. Through a variety of theories, methods, and practices, the learning process has been made possible within upper-level major courses and, as a result, my writing abilities have been diversified and enriched. I have been able to apply the following theories and methods to real-life scenarios by simulating the workplace atmosphere and their practices through the assignments given.
The theory of distributed cognition is defined by Jean Lave in the Worlds Apart textbook as "knowledge or knowledge-making that is stretched over - not divided among - mind, body, activity, and culturally organized settings that which a group or organization depends on in order to accomplish its activities, including both consciousness and storage of information and ideas" (31). According to the text, the distributed cognition theory has roots in "literature on social cognition, activity theory, and socially-shared cognition" (135), and is reflective of how the writer's work is integrated into larger-scale systems that call for action. There are two contexts in which distributed cognition is applied, and they are within the university classroom setting and within the workplace setting. When applied in a classroom setting, the term 'distributed cognition' becomes synonymous with 'socially shared knowledge'. This notion emphasizes the type of knowledge that the professor possesses and intends to share with the students, as the textbook states "a goal of the class is precisely the sharing of this knowledge; and the inspection and ranking of the students takes place with respect to their ability to display their acquisition of this knowledge" (137). This type of the distributed cognition theory can be demonstrated in the coursework I've done within the Writing and Rhetoric major. It can also be seen within editing and writing examples in my e-portfolio such as my editing samples, my academic and scholarly articles, and my collaborative works. By taking information gained from my own inherent knowledge, from material I have learned in classes, and from a variety of cultural artifacts, I am able to synthesize responses to prompts that are intended to expand my current understanding of a particular topic. In the above cases, my editing samples show my ability to track change digital documents and to markup printed documents. My academic works demonstrate my skills in reflective and research writing. Lastly, my collaborative works portray my ability to work in group settings and design deliverables that are intended to propose and bring about change. All of the documents that I have created within the Writing and Rhetoric major have been impactful to me personally and serve as autoethnographies, as the documents could be applied to wider sets of meaning and understanding.
​
The other context in which distributed cognition is applied is within the workplace. According to Worlds Apart, the main difference between distributed cognition in the classroom and in the workplace is that in the workplace, "there is overlapping or shared knowledge, a kind of necessary redundancy without which the whole operation is in danger...Certainly, until the highest levels of schooling, and in most cases, there is little expectation that students will contribute to the ongoing activity of the classroom in the way that fellow workers do" (149). This context of the distributed cognition theory can be applied to my future aspirations because editors must focus on smaller elements such as grammar and syntax, while simultaneously considering the text as a whole. It is up to the editor to make sure that the message of the text is properly and appropriately conveyed because, otherwise, false information is a detriment.
Collaboration is a prevalent method in the Writing and Rhetoric major, as writing is by no means a solitary activity. A majority of the major's curriculum is project and discussion-based which calls for the building and maintenance of professional and personal relationships. In order to communicate effectively with group members or future co-workers, one must take into account differences in intellectual and creative styles. Some sacrifices may be made in order to come to an agreement, and by learning how to efficiently think critically and problem solve, collaboration is a very powerful and useful method in both classroom and workplace settings. You can see this method in action on my e-portfolio in the form of a collaborative blog that was for an assignment in the Writing for Publication course, which also doubles as my multimodal sample. Likewise, I collaborated with a group for the Professional Lives and Literacy Practices course that was intended to propose the redesign of various UCF DWR documents and materials, which is linked here. The method of collaboration is also beneficial for my future as editors must collaborate with both writers and fellow editors quite often. The relationship between a writer client and an editor is symbiotic - each must learn to give and take, as coming to a consensus and finding common ground are crucial factors that play a role in the success of any text. From the projects I have completed in the major that called for collaborative efforts, I have learned how to cooperate, brainstorm, negotiate, and rhetorically listen. The skills stemming from the Writing and Rhetoric major will be of immense benefit for my future career aspirations in the editing industry.
While taking the course Professional Lives and Literacy Practices, I engaged in many practices (as the name of the course would imply) that expanded my understanding of the theories and methods previously discussed. The particular practice that I would like to focus on is the synthesis of a memorandum report that answered the question 'what is professional writing?'. This practice emphasized the theory of distributed cognition, as I was advised to draw upon knowledge that I had acquired through my own research of the topic. As a follow-up to this, in the Writing and Rhetoric Capstone course, we were instructed to revise this report and situate it within a new line of inquiry. In the Professional Lives and Literacy Practices course, I would say that I applied the distributed cognition theory in the context of the university classroom setting. This is because I mostly used shared knowledge gained from outside sources and other artifacts in order to form my argument. However, in the Capstone class, the modification and re-situation of the paper called for the distributed cognition theory to be applied in the context of the workplace setting, as the information was meant to contribute as a paradigm for future writing and to be used as its own source for future distributed cognition. This practice is also showcased in my e-portfolio under the 'academic articles' section as a comparative analysis memorandum report and can be found here.
Also in the Capstone course, we were tasked to create a heuristic to guide future writing that embodies our own experiences and learning from the major. Not only is the heuristic especially relevant to me personally because it reflects my experiences in the major, but it is also a productive reference for anyone looking to effectively communicate across a broad range of audiences. Below is a visual that I created which outlines the fundamental principles that guide the heuristic. These are demonstrative of the overall intentions of the Writing and Rhetoric major, as they represent the main elements that a rhetor should always be mindful of when constructing any type of document:
More than anything, the Writing and Rhetoric major has helped me become a more versatile and capable writer by teaching me skills that are not only applicable to my future aspirations, but that are also transferable and can cover a wide range of interests. Before coming into the Writing and Rhetoric major, I was under the impression that being a professional writer meant that one exclusively wrote books or articles in magazines or newspapers. I have now come to realize that being a professional writer extends out farther beyond that and has branches in more technical fields of writing, editing, and communication. Through a variety of theories, methods, and practices learned in the Writing and Rhetoric major courses, I was able to obtain knowledge regarding aspects of literacy and professional writing across a broad range of civic and disciplinary contexts. Additionally, I was able to refine my writing and communication skills for rhetorical dexterity which has helped me academically and will perpetuate into my professional life.
Back
