5.1. Formatting
Your evaluation should take the form of a letter to me. As such, it should be professional and informative. You do not need to persuade me that you did well or that your teammates did or did not contribute. Rather, tell me what happened, good or bad – anything that you feel is relevant.
Your letter should look something like this:
Group #
[email address]
[Date]
Erin Cheslow
Department of English
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
608 South Wright Street
Urbana, IL 61801
Dear Ms. Cheslow,
The final component of this assignment is a Team Evaluation letter, which should use letter formatting. You do not have to use your actual address or contact info if you are not comfortable sharing it with the class. You do not need to follow this exact format if you prefer another that includes all of the same information and genre conventions. The big ones to keep an eye out for include the following: the top of the page includes your contact info, the date, and the recipient’s contact info (in this case, that means me). The letter itself uses the honorific “Ms.” in this case. And of course, you should end with a signature. I usually use something like “Thank you very much,” or “Sincerely,” though you can use something else so long as it is respectful, brief, and reflects the audience’s values.
Letters are more personal and specifically targeted than memos, meaning it is especially important to consider your target audience’s values and needs, as well as your own desired consequence for the piece. In the case of this assignment, the desired outcome is to reflect on how your team worked both individually and as a group.
You might also use this space to discuss how you implemented feedback you received from your peers in the forum post workshop. As always, remember that the point of a workshop is not necessarily to receive feedback so much as it is to offer it and consider how we might apply criticism to our own work. To that end, what do you think worked well in other groups’ work that you wish you had done in your own?
Also discuss any difficulties you had working together. These can be practical difficulties such as “we couldn’t find a time to meet in Zoom” or something more philosophical like “I tend to be a leader, so it was hard to negotiate responsibilities with other strong personalities.” Maybe you prefer getting your work done early but you had some procrastinators. How did you compromise and what did you learn?
Finally, use this letter as a place to do an honest assessment of your work. You don’t need to suggest a letter grade, but you can look back to the assignment sheet and feedback I’ve given on previous projects and consider how well you think you fared. Be honest about what remains challenging in writing new genres such as a SWOT Report.
Thank you so much, [name]
Erin Cheslow 