Portfolio Requirements
English 105
Instructor: Dr. Peters
 
 
What’s Included and How It’s Collated in the Portfolio

You will need a 3-Ring Binder:

Materials should be collated from first to last as follows:
___ (clean copy, clearly labeled, of the) Reflective Essay
___ (clean copy, clearly labeled, of the) Shorter Essay
___ (clean copy, clearly labeled, of the) Research Essay
___ Drafts and Sources (when applicable) Following (arranged in accordance with the
above order and collated chronologically) That is, after each essay, put all drafts behind it in order from newest to oldest. Sources should also follow the research essay.


Including a table of contents might be helpful. You may also want to include assignment sheets before each essay, though I am not requiring that you do. It certainly may help the appearance of your portfolio. Remember, you want your portfolio to look as professional as possible.

Remember that confusing readers is not good, and you want your portfolio to look professional. Make sure your name, my name, and the class section are all clearly marked on each essay as well as on the outside of the portfolio. The portfolios are due to me at no later than noon Friday, April 29th. You can give them to me Thursday during class if you are finished. If you turn it in on Friday, bring it to my office. Late or incomplete portfolios will result in a failing grade for the course. Please include the original graded version of each essay, all revisions (drafts), and the final revised versions in the portfolio. Remember that your revisions should involve more that simple answers to questions I’ve asked or simple grammatical changes. Your papers should be improved overall, in both form and content, and they will be judged with the knowledge that you have had time to revise according to my suggestions.

Graded portfolios will be available to pick up during the final exam time scheduled for your class period (starting at 11:00 am Thursday, May 5th). I expect each of you to come tomy office during that time (you will sign up for slots) to pick up your portfolio; this is a mandatory meeting, so if you miss it, it will result in another absence. Portfolios will not include any comments, only the final grade; if you wish to discuss the portfolio, you can make an appointment with me when you pick it up.. The portfolio contents are described again below.

Final Exam/Portfolio Pickup

You will sign up for times to pick-up your portfolio. The times will be during the exam time scheduled for this class.

The portfolio will contain the following (refer to the instructions above for the order in the binder):

1) Two revised papers developed from sequenced assignments that demonstrate:

Rhetorical Knowledge

Understand rhetorical situations, that is, how audience, writer, subject matter, and purpose, inform one another.
Respond appropriately to different kinds of rhetorical situations.
Draft clear, effective thesis sentences.
Develop their ideas deeply.
Organize papers consciously and effectively (having moved beyond a 3-body-paragraph structure).

Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing

Use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, critical thinking, and communicating.
Develop their own unique ideas in expository essays.
Incorporate readings into their own writing by summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting.

Processes

Appreciate that writing is not just a product but an open, non-linear process whereby a product is created.
Understand that writing requires students to make decisions throughout their writing process.
Be aware that it usually takes multiple drafts and intensive revision to create and complete a successful text.
Develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proofreading, recognizing that different writing tasks require different writing processes.
Understand the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes by, for example, critiquing their own and others’ work and by learning to balance others’ input and their own final responsibility as writers.

Knowledge of Conventions

Write in complete, clear sentences.
Control such surface features as varied sentence structure, syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling so that most distracting errors are eliminated.
Practice appropriate means of documenting their work.
Develop strong editorial skills.

Class Writing Requirements

Complete multiple shorter essays.
Satisfactorily complete a multi-draft, expository essay of at least four pages or 1,000 words (typed in a 12-point font) that incorporates summary, paraphrase, and/or quotation.
Compile a course portfolio that contains the following: one multi-draft, expository essay of at least four pages or 1,000 words (typed in a 12-point font) that incorporates summary, paraphrase, and/or quotation; one other essay; and one reflective essay.

Paper 1: This will be either the paper you wrote for sequence one or the paper you wrote for sequence two (Education paper or Percy paper). I suggest choosing the one that you like the best and are the most interested in working on. You will include the original graded version, the final revised version, and ALL DRAFTS of this essay. Remember, I asked you to save all your drafts this semester.

Paper 2: This paper must be the essay you wrote for sequence three (worldview). This paper, because it must include at least one source other than those found in our text, fulfills the research component of 105. You will include the original graded version, the final revised version, and ALL DRAFTS of this essay. See the checklist above for how to organize, and be sure to include copies of the page/s of the sources you cite in the paper (those other than the ones in the book). On those pages, highlight the section that you quote.

Note: Both papers must include a works cited page done according to MLA style. Also use MLA style for in-text citations.

2) A reflective essay written by the student

In this essay (2-3 pages typed & double spaced), students should discuss what they were trying to accomplish in each essay, explain how they went about revising each essay, offer an analysis of their writing strengths and weaknesses, and acknowledge any outside tutoring they have received (from the writing center, friends, family,  etc.) You may also want to think of this as your opportunity to convince the readers that you have met the requirements outlined above.

Information Regarding Faculty’s Reading of Students’ Portfolios (taken from the composition program website)

___ Your professor will be the first faculty member to read your portfolio. He or she
will read all of your clean drafts, making no marks on them, and will then assign the first grade for your portfolio. This grade will not appear on your portfolio.

___ Your professor will then meet with at least two other faculty members. In this
meeting, faculty will read one another’s students’ portfolios.

___ When outside professors read your portfolio, they will make no comments on
them. Instead, they will read them holistically. As they read, they will determine whether the writing in your portfolio meets the outcomes for that course (see the Composition Program’s web site). If so, they will assign your portfolio a P (pass). If not, they will assign your portfolio a NP (non-pass).

___ Your professor will then compare your portfolio’s first grade against the
ones that the outside readers assigned. If all readers agree, your professor will simply assign your portfolio the grade that she or he originally determined.

___ However, if outside readers and your professor disagreed or even if they agree
that your portfolio is borderline, other faculty members will read your portfolio as well.

___ If your portfolio receives a P, your professor can assign it a grade no lower than a
“C.” However, if it receives a NP, your professor can assign it a grade no higher than a “C-.”

___ Just who these outsider readers are is confidential, and indeed, it should be
irrelevant to you. At this point in the semester, your writing should be revised enough and strong enough to withstand the inspection of any faculty in the English department. You’ll do better to concentrate on completing and submitting smart, clear, well-developed writing (as the course outcomes call for) and less time worrying about individual idiosyncrasies of individual readers.

___ Your portfolio should be returned to you no later than the Final Exam period. If
you have questions about how your grade was determined, see your professor as soon as possible.

Why Are We Doing This Anyway?

All students in 105 and 106 compile and submit course portfolios that are then read by multiple members of our English faculty. We do this in part so that students will have the greatest opportunity allowable to do well in their writing courses. During the semester, you might misunderstand a given assignment; you might fail a single paper. However, with portfolios, you always have a chance to revise those unsatisfactory essays (sometimes again and again). While doing so, you should visit your professor and/or the Writing Center often in order to get feedback. When it finally comes time to compile your portfolio, the writing that you include should be much improved. In this portfolio system, then, students get to decide themselves how much work they want to put into their writing, how often they want to revise, and just when a paper is “done.” Also, by having your portfolio read by readers other than your professor, you are given a chance to see how a diverse audience will respond to your work, so the process reflects how writing is usually received outside classroom environments.