ENGL132A: Final Portfolio Assignment – The Environment of Reception

Workshop:                  Wednesday, May 5, class meeting – bring paper and a copy of the

journal/magazine you imagine your work appearing in (you can

make a photocopy of the cover and table of contents of the journal if you are unable to buy a copy)

Revised Paper,

Coversheet, and 

Final Portfolio Due:   by 10 a.m. Friday, May 14, in my office

(it’s fine to turn your portfolio in earlier)

Special

Requirements:        ● in the front of your portfolio, the paper you are imagining

publishing should appear, along with a coversheet (see

below), along with all previous drafts of the paper

● your portfolio should also include all other drafts of all papers

you’ve written for this class, along with my written

comments

● you may include any other written work in your portfolio that

you’d like me to consider (i.e. journal entries, a list of your

extra credit attendance, etc.)

Special Note:             If you’d like your portfolio returned, please attached an SASE of

sufficient size and with sufficient postage for mailing. 

Your final assignment for this course is to take a paper you’ve written this semester and revise it for publication in a journal of your choosing.  (NB: I don’t expect you to submit your work for professional publication, though you’re of course welcome to do so.)  You may work with any of the four papers you’ve written: the literary critical essay, the history of place essay, the environmental assessment, or the creative assignment.

Next, you should select a journal you could imagine your work appearing in.  Pick a journal you like, ideally a publication that you read regularly.  Here are some suggestions for each of the four categories:

Literary critical essay:          Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment,

Green Letters, The Southern Review, Paris Review,

Ploughshares, The Believer, The Boston Review

History of place essay:          Natural History, Science, History, The Utne Reader

Environ. Assessment:            E, Earth First! Journal, Nature, Discover, Harper’s

Creative Assignment:            Crosscurrents (UPS Student Journal), Triquarterly, New

England Review, Wild Earth, Prairie Schooner, The New Yorker, Poetry

I have copies of several of these publications in my office and at home.  Feel free to ask me in advance to borrow a copy.  (You need to do this by Friday if you want to take me up on this).  Otherwise, check out the library or a local newsstand.  (Metro Market has a surprisingly good collection of periodicals).

The assignment itself has two parts.  First, I’d like you to type up a one page cover sheet (minimum; it’s fine to write more), in which you describe the typical reader of your journal and explain the range of writing that the journal publishes.  Second, I’d like you to explain specifically what revisions you’ve made to your paper and how you think these changes will bring your piece in line with the type of writing the journal publishes.

As always, I’ll be glad to meet with you during office hours or by appointment to answer any questions you may have; you may also contact me via email.