The process log is where you will, first, document the thinking and working you do for each project, and, second, by taking the time to reflect on your actions the goal of the process log is for each of you to gain a greater awareness of "the ways systems of delivery, reception, and circulation shape (and take shape from) the means and modes of production" (Shipka 278). Indeed, the writing you do in the process log is just as important as the composing of each project, if not more important: While readers/users don't see the behind the scenes work you do, this work shapes the media others consume -- think of it as designing experience.

In your logs you can record and reflect on the rhetorical, material, methodological, and technical choices you make in the acts of composing. For example, what are your goals with each "text"? Who is your audience? Why is the approach you've chosen the best way to communicate your ideas to the audience? Why are the strengths or weaknesses ofthe medium you are working in? What does a particular medium afford in a particular communicative context?

In short, you need to do two things:

1) Document and reflect on your work as you go.
2) And, reflect on you work after the completing the project.

Questions you can ask yourself?

What are/were my goals? How did they change or remain the same over time?

What were my rhetorical, material, methodological, and technical choices? Why did I make these choices? How effective were/are they?

Desired Outcomes (from the WPA Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition)

Rhetorical Knowledge

• Focus on a purpose
• Respond to the needs of different audiences
• Respond appropriately to different kinds of rhetorical situations
• Use conventions of format and structure appropriate to the rhetorical situation
• Adopt appropriate voice, tone, and level of formality
• Understand how genres shape reading and writing
• Write in several genres

Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing

• understand a writing assignment as a series of tasks, including finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing appropriate primary and secondary sources
• Integrate your own ideas with those of others
• Understand the relationships among language, knowledge, and power

Processes

• Be aware that it usually takes multiple drafts to create and complete a successful text
• Develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proof-reading
• Understand writing as an open process that permits writers to use later invention and re-thinking to revise their work
• Understand the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes
• Learn to critique your own and others' works
• Learn to balance the advantages of relying on others with the responsibility of doing your part
• Use a variety of technologies to address a range of audiences

Knowledge of Conventions

• Learn common formats for different kinds of texts
• Develop knowledge of genre conventions ranging from structure and paragraphing to tone and mechanics
• Practice appropriate means of documenting your work