Welcome to My Class

Portfolio

As we have said in class, writing is a process. Writing includes several steps, including prewriting, drafting, and revising. To that end, you have already turned in two drafts for each of your major essays. However, the second, graded drafts have been worth relatively little toward your final grade, emphasizing that these second drafts are not “final,” and still have the need for further revising. The portfolio is your chance to turn in fully revised, polished work, and to demonstrate how your writing skills have developed and improved as a result of this course.

The Portfolio Assignment Includes the Following:

1. Student-Teacher Conference and Write-Up (5 points)

	Sign up for a Student-Teacher Conference. We will not be holding regular class on these days. Please note the date, time and room for your conference. You are required to bring all drafts of your chosen essay and the research paper, particularly those with my feedback, as well as any pre-writing or early drafts of the cover letter. You are also required to come prepared with at least two questions you would like to discuss regarding the portfolio, the cover letter, the final revision process, etc. These questions should be written down before you come to the conference.
	ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY – Do not be late. You have only the 10 minutes assigned to you to participate in the conference. You will lose ½ a point for every minute you are late. If you do not attend the conference at all, you will receive no points, and your grade on the portfolio will drop an additional 10 points.
	You are also required to write a 1-2 page write-up of your Student Teacher Conference. This write-up should address what we discussed, whether or not/how your questions were answered, and how you plan to put your portfolio together. Failure to turn in the write-up will earn you a no points for the conference.

2. Portfolio Cover Letter (20 points)

Your portfolio must include a cover letter of approximately 3-4 pages, typed, 12-point font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins. This cover letter should illustrate your development and improvement as a writer throughout this course. You might choose to discuss how your writing process has changed, how your attitude toward writing has changed, or perhaps you might discuss your developed understanding of the writing process itself. You should also discuss specific writing skills you have developed and strengthened, such as thesis, focus, organization, development and support, analysis, integration of sources, etc. When possible, you should develop and support your ideas by referencing specific aspects of the papers you have chosen to include. This cover letter is your chance to prove (to yourself and to me) how much you’ve learned, and how much you’ve grown as a writer, over the last 15 weeks.

3. Revised Essays (40 points)

In addition to your cover letter, your portfolio will include revised and edited versions of the research paper, and one other essay of your choice. The essays should follow MLA formatting guidelines, and should demonstrate the skills we have been working on in class, including:

	A clear thesis or controlling idea.
	A strong sense of focus.
	Effective organization.
	Fully developed and supported ideas.
	Correct citation and integration of source material (if applicable).
	Control of grammar, sentence variety, word choice and conventions of standard written English.

Please note that I expect substantial revision on these final drafts. I do not want to see a carbon-copy of draft #2, nor do I want to see a few word or sentence changes here and there. Failure to substantially revise will severely affect your grade on this assignment.

I also expect thorough editing and proofreading. Your final drafts should be as polished as possible, free of sentence-level errors such as grammatical errors, typos, lack of sentence variety, excessive wordiness, etc.

A Word About Portfolio Grading: You must hand in a complete portfolio in order to receive any points for this assignment. If you are missing the cover letter, final versions of your papers, or your drafts, you will receive a zero, and you will fail the class.

Portfolio Organization Requirements

Please follow these instructions exactly. Failure to follow any part of these instructions will reduce your portfolio grade by 10 points.

BEFORE COMING TO CLASS, prepare your portfolio in the following manner:

	Place your portfolio materials in a folder (one I can flip through, not one with pockets), or a small binder (no larger than ½ inch).
	First – Cover Letter
	Second – Final version of chosen essay, followed by draft 2 (with my comments), then draft 1.
	Third – Final version of research paper, followed by draft 2 (with my comments), then draft 1.

Come to class with your portfolio ready to be handed in!!!

Due Dates

Thursday, May 5 – Write up of Student-Teacher Conference due. You will also participate in a workshop of your portfolio essays on this day. Prior to this workshop, you should have already begun revising based on the comments I gave you on your second draft. Bring in two copies of your chosen essay and the research paper for your group members.

Tuesday, May 10 – You will participate in a workshop of the portfolio cover letter on this day. Bring in two copies of your first draft of the cover letter for each of your group members.

Thursday, May 12 - Your portfolio is due at the beginning of class. Late portfolios will be reduced one full grade for each day they are late, starting with the May 12^th. Also, you MUST ATTEND CLASS on this day, as we will be taking care of some final class business, and conducting evaluations of the course.