WR 098: Portfolio Workshop

Directions:

Work in your "journal groups"--the same small groups you have been working in since we began our discussion of Hoffman and your reading journals. Show your group your portfolio materials, and talk through the different artifacts you've collected. Why are you including each of them? Be sure you can explain to your group. For each member of your group, discuss the following checklist. Give your group mates feedback suggesting ways to improve their portfolios. Take notes as your group mates discuss your portfolio and make sure you know what you need to do to revise for Wednesday. Note: these discussions should be specific and in-depth. Give your classmates as much feedback as you can, and ask questions about anything that is unclear to you. You may spend the entire period on this discussion, but if you finish early, you can also take out your essays and ask your group mates any final questions you have on your essays.

Portfolio Checklist:

  1. Look at the portfolio as a whole.
  2. Does the portfolio have a table of contents listing everything in the portfolio?
  3. Does the portfolio have a reflective introduction to the entire portfolio?
  4. Does the portfolio have four supporting artifacts that show the writer's process?
  5. Look at the table of contents.
  6. Does it come first in the portfolio?
  7. Does it look like a table of contents, with the item listed at left and the page number at right?
  8. Does it list each item in a specific, easily-identifiable way? (e.g., "Artifact 1: Analytical summary of Boroditsky")
  9. Is it annotated, with 1-3 sentences following each item describing its role in the writing process? (e.g., "Though I had written this earlier in the semester, it was very useful to go back and revisit it when writing my final essay. I actually found that my basic idea about Boroditsky had changed now that I read Hoffman's account of her language acquisition. I used parts from my analytical summary as the basis for paragraph 2 in my essay, though I revised heavily.")
  10. Look at the reflective introduction.
  11. Is it at least 500 words in length?
  12. Does it contain a one-sentence thesis statement, or claim, about this portfolio and the writer's writing process/abilities?
  13. Is it a unified, coherent essay?
  14. Does it have clear, specific examples (evidence) for each claim or assertion it makes about the writer's process, abilities, strategies, etc.?
  15. Is the paragraphing clear and appropriate?
  16. Does it show correct use of verb tenses? (e.g., "When I first started this essay, I planned to write about Hoffman and Leonard, but then I changed my focus a little.")
  17. Look at the artifacts.
  18. Are there four artifacts, drawn from the writer's work this semester?
  19. Is each an appropriate choice for this portfolio? That is, is each artifact relevant to the final essay and/or portfolio introduction in some way?