FINAL PORTFOLIO

• When is my final portfolio due?  Will I have a chance to do some work on it in class?
  
  Final portfolios will be due Friday, December 7 by 4:00, in my box.  You may turn them in during class, but they cannot be turned in late for any reason – late or incomplete portfolios will not be read or evaluated.  We will have a portfolio workshop in class on December 5.  Bring drafts of your cover letter and any work that you plan to include in your portfolio so that your group can help you edit and revise.  Please come to the workshop knowing in advance what you will be asking of your group members and arrange with them in advance if you want them to read a revision of your essay.
  
  
• What should be in my final portfolio?
  
  One pocket of the portfolio (nothing fancy, just a simple, cheap two pocket notebook) should contain these materials in this order:
• A cover letter, no more than two pages, in a conventional business format (see Everyday Writer,  p.  488 for an example).
• A table of contents listing, in order, the titles of the pieces you choose to include beginning with the essay.
• A minimum of fifteen full pages (maximum eighteen) of your best writing, carefully edited and thoroughly revised, beginning with at least two of the essays (one from before midterm and one after midterm) that you have workshopped in this class.  Following this essay, you may include revised and edited informal writing from this class.  Materials from outside this class should not be included in your portfolio.   All work from the final portfolio must be radically revised if you choose to include it in this portfolio.  Please highlight all revisions (not editing!) on your final drafts.  (Note: 1” margins, title on first page, double spaced, page numbers, Times New Roman, size 12 – do not put your name, class, or date on your work)

The other pocket of the portfolio should contain these materials in this order:

• All prewriting, notes, cover letters, drafts, and group members’ responses for the essays.
• All copies of previous drafts (photocopies of journal pages okay) of your informal writing.
  
  
• What should be in my cover letter?
  
  
• A description of the contents of your portfolio.
• An explanation of what these contents show about your writing:  its strengths and weaknesses, its special qualities.  Please be specific!  This will help me to evaluate your writing!
• A reflection on how your writing has developed or changed over the semester.  Use the self-evaluations from the beginning of the semester to gauge your progress.   Don’t forget about in-class workshops, the writing center, and in-class activities. 
• A discussion of your participation and performance in the class.  Please refer to the list of course requirements and policies in the syllabus.
• Any other background you believe I should have in order to give your work a good reading.  This includes justification for your revision choices.  
  
  
• How will my final portfolio be graded?

I will be using a rubric to grade your portfolio.  You will be given this rubric in advance, after I have incorporated your input and revisions.  I will not be making comments on your work as I did with the previous essays, but you will receive points for each of the rubric criteria.  You will receive a letter grade on your portfolio that will count as 40% of your final grade.  You may pick up your portfolios from my office (FH 24) during our final time, December 13, 9:45-11:45 a.m.

Download an RTF version of Final Portfolio Handout.