Portfolio Preparation

 

You do not need to make your portfolio into a book-binding or graphics project. The ideal portfolio is easy to get into and neatly organized. There is no need for an extra cover page. A simple collection of papers joined with a large paper clamp or in a plain folder is sufficient. It is also lighter and easier to carry, which your instructor will appreciate. Put your energy into the essays themselves rather than the presentation.

 

Each person’s portfolio must include the following to receive credit for the course. Please follow the order indicated:

 

ü    Cover letter/Evaluation—In this letter, which is the first page of the portfolio, you will introduce your four chosen papers in order of quality, with the best paper first, briefly explaining the strengths and weaknesses of each paper as you see it, and including what you learned in the process of writing it. One paragraph per paper is enough.

 

ü    Final drafts of four papers—These should be clean copies with minimal or no hand-written marks or corrections. Put them in the same order in which you introduce them in the cover letter. It is these four papers that will be evaluated to determine the bulk of your grade in this course.

 

ü    The most recent draft of all seven papers—Include only one draft (the most recent, with marks and corrections) of each of the papers you wrote this quarter, in order, paper one through seven. Your portfolio score will be reduced one letter grade for every missing paper. (e.g., If your four selected papers earn an A and you only turn in six out of the seven papers in draft form, your final portfolio grade will be a B.)

 

All completed portfolios are due to me in person by 4:30 p.m. on December 10, 2004. No late papers or portfolios will be accepted. I will keep your portfolio until the 10th day of winter quarter. If you have not retrieved it from me by that day, I will dispose of it in the shredder (or use some papers [without names] as examples for future classes).