Portfolio

The Portfolio

The portfolio is an opportunity to reexamine and revise works that you have written earlier in the course and show how you have progressed. It is your chance to show what you know now, what you have learned by the end of the semester. It should include two of your compositions and an introduction. It may include other things you have written for class during the course. It is due July 13, the last day of the course. You will be submitting this as an attached document, so make sure that the papers are formatted properly for printing out the papers so they fit the standards for the MLA format.

Each of the essays should exhibit substantial revision. This means more than just correcting the errors and addressing the comments made on the original draft. If you are using one of the early papers, for example, there will be little or no comment about organization, sentence patterns, and beginnings and endings. It means you should take a good look at what was effective in the original and what was not effective.

Each of the papers should be developed and organized. They should have titles, and the format should follow the guidelines provided earlier. The papers should also demonstrate that you have been careful and have taken pains to eliminate errors in grammar, mechanics, and punctuation. Make sure especially that the papers in the portfolios show the appropriate use and formatting of other sources of information. Take great care to show that you know how to prepare a source page (Works Cited) and how to cite the works within the paper. Also take care, as you make your own assertions, that you support them with evidence of your own and information and comments from others.

Some students think they should return to papers that did not go well and try to redeem them. I don't advise that. The portfolio should demonstrate the highest standard of writing you have attained, and rewriting good papers to make them better is the idea.

In the portfolio you should have the following:

1. An introduction that addresses the quality of the work and the methods you have developed to make your writing more effective. There should be a discussion in here about the nature of the revisions you have made. This introduction can reflect your personality and creativity. As long as it addresses how you work, what you have learned, and what you have produced, you can take your own approach to it, such as writing in another voice or as another person who is examining the writings. You might want to consider it an argument to me that you have learned what you need to know about writing effective papers.

Make sure that the introduction discusses each work you submit again and comments on the earlier draft and what you did to it.

2. Two finished papers (minimum) which demonstrate the work you are capable of at this time. Be sure to show papers that will give you the kind of grade you're looking for in the portfolio. Again, don't try to rewrite papers that were especially bad in order to redeem them. Rewrite papers that you're sure will be good.

That’s it. Rewriting is work, but it's also rewarding. Let me know if you need or want comments or suggestions about the pieces that you plan to put in the portfolio.