The Portfolio

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The Portfolio

• Early Planning
• Preparation
• A workshop designed for
• the beginning of your semester.

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To complete this workshop, you will need

• Something to write with
• you will want to take notes
• and complete the five
• activities in this workshop.

• A monthly scheduler

• Your course
• syllabus calendar

Free planners are available online.
http//www.hotscripts.com/Detailed/53268.html
http//www.uksafari.com/planner.htm
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SoWhat IsA Writing Portfolio?

• The Writing Portfolio at JCC is a collection of
  your writing at its best. It offers evidence of
  achievement and progress related to department
  standards defined by the colleges composition
  faculty and personal goals identified by you.
• Every writing student at JCC must submit a
  portfolio consisting of a variety of revised
  papers completed during the current semester that
  best demonstrate competency in skills and
  strategies appropriate to the course in which you
  are enrolled.

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General Portfolio Requirements Include
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The Purpose of the Portfolio
The portfolio is meant to help you understand
and appreciate writing as a skill that develops
over time. The portfolio process encourages
study of rhetorical skills and thoughtful
revisions of papers.
English 131.01 Shirk Student
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In addition to serving as a learning tool, the
portfolio is an evaluation tool.
Put plainly, the portfolio serves as your
final exam. It is worth 35 50 of your
course grade. Your instructor determines this
percentage. Look through your course syllabus and
make note of what portion of your grade the
portfolio is worth.
Remember
through this workshop
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• Unlike a traditional exam that requires you to
  show what you know in a timed setting, you will
  work on your portfolio over the entire semester!
• This way, you have time to meet course
  expectations, master skills, establish quality
  goals, and revise all of your papers in order to
  present your best writing.
• In a very real way, you can write your way to
  the grade you most desire.

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Goal Setting Planningare
Keys to Success
The rest of this workshop will help you set solid
writing goals and plan for your portfolio success.
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Activity 1

• Since reflection and self-awareness help with
  goal setting and are great predictors of success,
  this first activity asks you to write responses
  to
• Identify two things about yourself as a writer
  that you consider strengths. For instance, if you
  enjoy writing poetry, your strengths might
  include the ability to capture detail. If you are
  an organized person, outlining may be a strength.
  
• Identify two things related to writing with which
  you are most uncomfortable.
• Identify two characteristics of good writing that
  you would like to practice.
• Once you have identified these areas, you can
  work
• from your strengths, address concerns, and
• practice new skills over the semester.

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Portfolio Outcomes

• JCC composition faculty have also created goals,
  called outcomes, for you. Outcomes promote
  writing that
• is engaging, original, clear, focused, and
  well-developed
• uses a variety of modes
• addresses purpose, engages audience, and
  establishes credibility
• develops a central idea using specific supports
• controls organization
• integrates source material and documents sources
  correctly
• creates polished drafts through drafting and
  revision
• uses correct grammar and mechanics.
• Your portfolio grade will reflect your competency
  in these areas.

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Activity 2 Check In

• Line up your goals with department goals. Take
  notes as you compare and contrast the strengths,
  concerns, and desires you identified about
  yourself as a writer with the previous list of
  outcomes.
• Make note of outcomes that are similar to
  strengths or concerns you identified. Look over
  the course syllabus to discover how the class
  will be addressing these outcomes. Review the
  text for chapters or units that work with the
  these areas as well, note them. If you cannot see
  where the class materials address outcomes, ask
  your instructor
• Identify any of your strengths or concerns that
  you do not see listed in the outcomes and note
  them.
• Later, you may need to talk with your instructor
  about any areas of concern that you do not see
  addressed by the outcomes and/or you do not see
  in your text. Ask how the class will address
  your concerns.
• ASK your questions! Self-advocacy is a positive
  skill
• to practice on the road to success.

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• Your instructor, JCC writing technicians, CSS
  tutors, and fellow writing students are here to
  answer questions, help you analyze your writing
  process, assist as you develop skills, and
  discuss the ideas in your writing.
• We want to help you develop skills that will
  strengthen your writing and enhance your critical
  thinking.

Flying Time Purpose To show how time
management improves student learning Audience Col
lege students
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The portfolio process is an opportunity to
develop personal habits that enhance your skills
as a writer, serve your educational goals, and
make you an individual employers will value.
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Activity 3 Time Management

• Professionals find success is often tied to
  effective time management.
• Planning adequate time to write, receive
  feedback, and revise your drafts will help you
  produce stronger portfolios.
• For this activity, you will need your course
  syllabus, calendar, something to write with, and
  a planner.

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Activity 3 Step One

• Forecast Review your class syllabus and
  calendar to find the answers to the questions on
  the next slide. They will help you think about
  writing you will be doing.
• If your syllabus and class calendar do not
  contain the answers, ask your instructor.
• Plan Record important dates in your scheduler.

???
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The Questions

• How many papers will you write this semester?
• What modes will you be studying?
• How much time has the instructor allotted for you
  to write your papers?
• Which ones will require primary or secondary
  research?
• How many drafts does your teacher require?
• When are you scheduled to share (workshop) drafts
  with your peers?
• When are drafts and revised papers due?
• When are you required to complete GPAW
  activities?
• Are there special projects that require
  collaborative writing, service learning
  arrangements, or field research that you need to
  plan for?
• Record all draft and workshop due dates in
  your scheduler.
• Save extra time for special
• projects and research.

Write up interview
Editing Bug-a-Boos 2-4
Paper 2 Due
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Activity 3 Step Two How Much Time to Plan?

• Very few writers can dash off a cogent, coherent
  draft in one sitting. Quality writing requires
  investment in the methodology you will use to
  accomplish the task--often referred to as The
  Writing Process. How you engage the process will
  differ from project to project.
• While we cannot tell individuals exactly how
  much time to plan for each paper, we can tell you
  that good writing requires intellectual sweat and
  many hours.
• Research writers often create a formal writing
  schedule to help keep themselves on track.
  However, you need not limit good planning to
  larger projects. Shorter papers still need time
  for discovering, focusing, developing,
  organizing, and revising.
• A paper planner is provided on the following
  slide. Copy and paste it into a Word document
  use it to plan for each of your papers.

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Paper Planner

• Date assigned___________________________
• Date first draft is due______________________
• Date revised draft is due__________________
• Required Length_______________
• Assignment parameters. For instance, does the
  assignment require a specific modeliterary
  analysis, compare/contrast, cause/effect,
  subjective opinion, objective factual? Must you
  write on a specific subject? Are you confined to
  a period of time or a political slant?
• Discovery strategies you would like to use
  (circle as many as apply)
• focused free writing and looping
• brainstorming
• mapping/clustering
• journalist questions
• exploring the senses
• dramatization
• Topic_________________________________________
• Purpose for Writing_________________________
• To inform, entertain, explain, persuade, argue?
• Audience
• Identify your primary readersto whom are you
  addressing this piece? Identify your secondary
  readerswho else may be interested in reading?
• Audience needs
• What does your audience already know about your
  topic? What is their attitude toward the topic?
  What information do they not possess that you
  need to supply? What response do you hope to
  achieve from the audience?

• Writing Process (methodology)
• How do you plan to achieve your purpose? How
  will you develop your ideas? Will you use
  details, facts, examples? Will a scratch outline
  help? Will you work with your peers, your
  instructor, a writing technician Will you
  research?
• Planning Research
• If you need to conduct primary or secondary
  research, what sources will you need? Plan time
  to take research notes, summarize source
  information, and document source information.
• How many sources are required?__________
• Your Topics Significance
• Why is this an interesting topic to write about?
• How will it connect with readers? What one idea
  are you most interested in conveying?
• A Working Thesis Statement_______________________
  ____________
• Will your thesis be implied or directly stated?
  Where in your paper will your audience encounter
  this main idea?
• Essay Outline
• Will you make a scratch outline or a formal
  outline? When will you begin to consider an
  organizational plan? Be sure to include
  references to researched materials in your
  outline.
• List of GPAW workshops that might help with this
  paper.

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• Based on the information gained by completing
  the paper planner, you can set aside writing time
  for each phase of your project. Include time for
  discovery, organizing, drafting, and revising.

9-11 English Invention Discovery Workshop
7-9 Write first draft
11-12 make a Scratch outline Of the rough
draft More writing Send to writers group
9-12 Read feedback Revise
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To Do Lists are also good time management tools

• To Do lists are not simply records of what we
  need to accomplish during a day or a week. If,
  during the day, you need to go to two classes,
  work, shop for groceries, and study, listing the
  events will not, alone, help you manage your
  time.
• Effective To Do lists estimate how much time
  each activity and assignment will take. Some
  things on your list may end up in your planner.
• Keeping daily or weekly To Do lists will help
  you to become more time-conscious and a better
  time manager.
• Remember to include writing time on your list!

Tuesday
1 Study for calculus exam 2 hours 2 Pick up cat
litter, errands and oil change 1.5 hr
(lunch) 3 Library 2 hrs research for English
paper 4 Pick up Danny at 500 (½ hr) 5
Dinner/family 2.5 hours 6 Practice dialogue for
theater class 1 hour
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• Planning and listing are good habits they work
  even better when flexible.
• Be sure to give yourself permission to revise
  and reschedule if work or other concerns require
  a shift in your plans. In other words,
  accommodate your life while still accomplishing
  your goals.
• One key to continued success is follow-through
  on the reschedule.
• Past writing students testify over and over
  again
• that loose promises to oneself to do the work
  later
• are rarely kept and that such self-talk results
  in
• last minute, poorly written products. When plans
  shift,
• reschedule a new writing time right away.

I
DONT LISTEN TO THAT VOICE! Reschedule time now!
I CAN WRITE AFTER I GO OUT WITH MY FRIENDS.
Ignore this little voice! It leads to
procrastination.
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Activity 5

• The little voice of procrastination is only one
  obstacle that can jump in your way during this
  semester.
• Identify other internal or external obstacles
  that, in your past, have prevented you from
  engaging the writing process. List them.

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THE DEVILS THAT PLAGUE US
CAR PROBLEMS
computer crashes the computer ate my homework
NEGATIVE SELF-TALK
Work calls me in I have to go
MONEY WORRIES
Watching TV
procrastination
DISTRACTIONS
NOT ENOUGH SLEEP
SICK KIDS
HOUSEWORK
POOR NUTRITION
FAMILY INTERUPTS
a friend calls wants to go out
dog had puppies in the swamp
WRITER'S BLOCK
HATE THE ASSIGNMENT
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Activity 6

• Discovering the best approach to writing is a
  personal process. What works well for one may not
  work for another. Some of us require complete
  quiet while writing others need music in the
  background. Some of us have supportive family
  members who will pick up some extra housework
  while we write our papers others may have
  friends or family that mock our educational
  goals.
• For this activity, first identify what you need,
  want, and/or enjoy in order to write think in
  terms of space, environment, and materials. Close
  your eyes for a minute and think about writing.
  Visualize yourself writing successfully, without
  distractions. What do you see?
• Next, identify two or three habits (little
  devils) that prevent you from fully engaging your
  writing process. Write for at least five minutes
  about your needs and bad habits.
• Try to come up with ways to meet your needs and
  eliminate bad habits. For instance, if family
  interruptions are high on your list, you may
  need to consider if you have tried to find a
  space that separates you from the maddening crowd
  OR if youve made your needs clear OR if youve
  not fulfilled something you promised your
  family, so they are bugging you.
• Remember, very little is totally beyond our
  control. We always have choices.
• After you finish this workshop, talk about this
  exerciseidentifying your obstacles and
  solutionswith those folks who may be part of the
  problem Or with someone whose thinking you
  admire. Ask them for their ideas.
• Return to your work on this activity, record new
  ideas, and write up a plan for making the changes
  you desire. Write up your plan in no more than
  two paragraphs or make a bullet point list.

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Some Recommendations from Teachers and Former
Writing Students

• Understand that your education deserves a
  priority place in your life, after all, you are
  paying for it!
• Identify places you can write that support your
  needs. The library is your friend!
• Identify times you can write when you are not
  plagued by fatigue, hunger, or time pressures.
  This may require you to rethink the rhythms of
  your day. When one JCC writing instructor was in
  graduate school with two children under the age
  of four, she set the alarm and wrote papers
  beginning at 230 in the morning. She caught up
  on her sleep by reading to the kids at nap and
  bedtime and falling asleep with them (much
  earlier than her adult schedule had been).
• Stock healthy snacks that work with your
  metabolism.
• Use writing breaks to take a walk, drink a big
  glass of water (water fights fatigue), snack, or
  do a load of laundry.
• Understand that life happens. Successful people
  learn how to handle the bumps. They dont use
  bumps as an excuse for not succeeding.
  Acknowledge the bump, then dive back into your
  life.
• Avoid alcoholits a depressant and it dehydrates
  you, causing both lethargy and sleeplessness. Not
  good.
• Learn the art of negotiation with family and
  friends. Craft responses to invitations or
  requests. For instance, Id love to, but I have
  another hour of studying to do. Could we meet up
  then? or This semester, Wednesday nights
  really dont work for me, could we change our
  pool game to Thursday? or I need you to fix
  your own school lunches.
• Establish connections with your classmates in
  case you need to ride share or catch a missed
  assignment.
• Use a calendar and planner. If you have a busy
  schedule, increase your self-discipline, schedule
  writing times during breaks at work, between
  classes, while you are waiting to pick up the
  kids from soccer, or before the family wakes up.
• Utilize teacher conferences, office hours, the
  Center for Student Success, and reference
  librarians. No one expects you to have all the
  answers. Seek help from the experts who are paid
  to help you.
• If you connect with any of these ideas, include
  them on your list of
• solutions to devilish distractions.

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Activity 4 When Is the Portfolio Due?

• Portfolios are traditionally due two weeks
  before the end of the semester. They are
  returned at the end of the semester.
• Scan your course syllabus and calendar to find
  the due date for your portfolio. Record this date
  in your scheduler.
• Plan time prior to the due date for preparing
  the portfolio, polishing papers, and working with
  your instructor or a writing technician to put
  the final touches on your work.
• Note this time in your scheduler.

7-10 finish revisions
Portfolio Due
3-4 visit CSS Review portfolio with technician
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How is the Portfolio Assessed?

• Your portfolio will be read and assessed
  holistically. Readers use criteria based on the
  outcomes identified earlier in this workshop. To
  review they are
• competency in a variety modes--for instance, when
  writing a narrative we demonstrate attention to
  specific narrative action, time sequencing,
  active verbs and the use of verb tense to
  represent action. When writing an argument, we
  logically assert and develop a position using
  clear and precise wording and valid supporting
  evidence we avoid logical fallacies
• ability to write with purpose toward an
  identified audience
• ability to focus on and develop ideas using of
  variety of examples, details, reasons, and/or
  facts appropriate to context
• ability to use voice and tone in support of
  identified purpose and meet audience needs
• control over organization
• correct incorporation of outside source material
  using Modern Language Associations (MLA) rules
  for documentation and citation.

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Other Important Considerations

• Include a cover sheet for the portfolio listing
  your student identification number, course
  number, section number, and instructor last
  name.
• Include a title page for each essay in the
  portfolio offering the title of the essay, a
  brief description of your purpose, and
  identification of your audience. 
• Format your portfolio in Microsoft Word using
  double-spacing, a 12 point Times or Arial font,
  and one inch margins (top, bottom, right, and
  left).
• Place your ID number in the upper right hand
  corner of each page.
• If you use source materials, you must follow MLA
  Guidelines for Documentation and Citation.
  Specifically, you must correctly include
  parenthetical citations and a Works Cited Page.
• Fulfill the page requirements for the portfolio
  (see slide 4 for specifics).
• Submit your portfolio in a two pocket folder. No
  other folders or binders accepted.

• Deductions are taken from your earned portfolio
  grade for
• submitting less than required pages
• lack of variety
• disconnected audience and purpose statements
• incorrect or missing MLA documentation and
  citation
• Plagiarism results in a failed
  portfolio

don't let this happen to you!
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Who Grades Your Portfolio?

• Your instructor will evaluate your portfolio and
  offer you feedback. 
• You may be asked to write a reflective letter
  about your experience producing writing for your
  portfolio.

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In Review Portfolio success not only requires
understanding of the portfolio guidelines, it
also requires you to engage personal study skills.

• Practice these skills during semester toward
  success
• Set Goals
• Predict and Plan Writing Time
• Use a Personal Planner
• Develop Daily or Weekly To Do Lists
• Create the Writing Environment That Serves Your
  Needs
• Develop Time Management Skills
• Identify Obstacles and Plan Your Responses

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Above all else, avoid end-of-semester stress and
despair!
Why didnt I do my work?
Maybe I can get an extension..
Just say NO to procrastination!
procrastination
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• Review
• Take this time to reflect on what you have
  learned.
• The portfolio has many purposes list three that
  resonate with you and say why you connect with
  them.
• Review the general portfolio requirements for a
  writer in your course (090, 131, or 132). Note
  any that are still unclear.
• Review the outcomes identified by composition
  faculty that are used to assess the portfolio.
  List the outcomes you understand and feel
  comfortable with, then list outcomes that are
  most problematic for you. Clearly identify areas
  you do not understand. Take a few moments before,
  during, or after class to share this list with
  your instructor in conversation.
• Write up any questions you have about the
  portfolio grading process and seek the answers
  for them from your instructor when you talk.
• Identify the goals/actions you will engage over
  the course of this semester in order to create a
  successful portfolio.
• Write a summary paragraph on what you have
  learned or had reinforced for you during this
  workshop.
• For two hours of GPAW credit, print this slide,
  attach it to the activities completed during the
  workshop, and submit the packet to your
  instructor.

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