THE PORTFOLIO

Your portfolio should contain not only the best but also ALL of your semester writing
projects. Included must be:
1. All of your finished major essays with at least three of them revised;
2. All of your lesser writings (in-class, free writes, etc.), revised if you so
choose;
3. Your choice of your best three major essays and your reasons (in writing) for your
choice; and,
4. A concise and clearly written argument stating both the grade you feel this portfolio
deserves--and why.

Many student writers claim that once they get an essay onto paper, they are in Good
Shape. These students believe that first discovering good topics and then the details that
successfully develop those topics present the most difficult and time consuming aspect of
writing. And these students are not necessarily wrong. Discovering a topic that will interest the
reader is demanding, as is the development of that topic. But the writing of the essay is equally
demanding. This writing process must include reading, re-reading, rearranging, reworking,
revising (and all of those other irritating re-words one hears in writing classes) before any
piece of writing can earn its badges. Thus, your portfolio includes three (more if you so desire)
revisions.
These revisions must be obviously careful and conscientious reworks of the major essays
of your choice. They may not be computer-generated re-runs. Re-runs earn Fs. Your
revisions should include more than just the corrections suggested by me or your classmates.
They should illustrate that you, the SKILLED WRITER, have worked hard to improve written
language usage, word choices, sentence and paragraph construction, organization, details, etc.
Careful revisions will considerably strengthen your argument for your portfolios grade.