6.3.08 Portfolios

1
6.3.08 Portfolios

• Reflections
• What do you know? / What do you want to know?
• Portfolio Overview
• The Cover Letter
• Sample Portfolio

2
Reflection

• Answer the following questions in your notebook
• What do you think of the paper you just turned
  in?
• What aspects of your paper do you consider a
  success?
• What aspects of your paper didnt turn out as
  well as you would have liked?
• Last time you thought of strategies for building
  on your strengths to improve on your weaknesses.
  Did you follow your plan? How successful was it?
  What might you have done differently?
• With the portfolio on the horizon, what can you
  build on from this writing process?
• You can cite this reflection in your portfolio
  as evidence of your using successful revision
  strategies. However, if you do so, it will have
  to be typed up and submitted with the rest of
  your work.

3
The Portfolio

• What do you know about the portfolio project?
• One major paper
• 3-5 shorter
• Cover letter
• Proof of purposeful revision
• You have to do revisions
• Have to turn in ALL work to get credit
• 70 of final grade 30 participation.
• Due Wed. 11th by 5pm on CollectIt
• Prove you are proficient with Outcomes

• What do you want to know about the portfolio
  project?
• How do we prove these things?
• How pieces of revision do we need to show?
• What is the cover letter?
• When we submit it is it one document or several?
• Do the papers need all the outcomes or can they
  be outcome specific?
• Are you going to give us a coverletter format?
• Recommend what we have or revise and redo?
• Do our short essays need to bervised as a full
  essay, or are they still in keeping with the
  prompts?
• Order for papers?
• Still bound by 4-500 word limits?
• Do we need a works cited for short papers?
• If you do more than 3 short papers, will you take
  the best one?

4
The Portfolio The basics from EWP

• In English 111, you will complete two major
  assignment sequences , each of which is designed
  to help you fulfill the course outcomes . Each
  assignment sequence requires you to complete a
  variety of shorter texts leading up to a major
  paper. These shorter texts will each target one
  or more of the course outcomes at a time, help
  you practice these outcomes, and allow you to
  build toward a major paper at the end of each
  sequence. You will have a chance to significantly
  revise each of the shorter and major papers using
  feedback generated by me, your peers, and
  individual and group conferences. Toward the end
  of the course, having completed the two
  sequences, you will be asked to compile and
  submit a portfolio of your work. This portfolio
  will include the following
• One of the two major papers
• Three to five of the shorter works
• A substantial cover letter reflection that
  explains how the selected artifacts - as a whole
  - demonstrate the four outcomes for the course.
• The portfolio is, in a sense, an argument making
  the case that you have completed each of the
  outcomes at an acceptable level. Remember that it
  will be necessary not just to point out places
  where you meet outcomes, but to explain how the
  outcomes have each been met. Along with the
  featured portfolio artifacts, you will need to
  submit all of the sequence-related work you were
  assigned in the course, each and every draft.
  Keep all of your work saved somewhere safe. I
  recommend on your Dante FTP or the LAN Server.
  Any portfolio that does not contain all of the
  above will be considered incomplete and will not
  be graded.

• Here is how the EWP describes the portfolio,
  adjusted for our specific assignment
• Ive highlighted some things to key on that Ill
  return to later.

5
The Details

• Submitted to CollectIT by 5pm on June 11th.
• No late portfolios will be accepted.
• Projects must include ALL writing from the
  quarter listed in the checklist. Failure to do so
  will result in an incomplete portfolio and a max.
  grade of 0.7
• All papers submitted as part of the portfolio
  must be in MLA formatting with proper internal
  citation. The only exception is the cover letter
  which should be in cover letter format.
• The Portfolio Project is worth 70 of your final
  grade. To earn composition credit in this class,
  you need a 2.0 or better as a final grade.
• If you want comments on your portfolio, you must
  request it in writing as a comment on your
  CollectIt box.

6
Checklist

• Short papers 6 comments
• bergeron_initials
• bergeron_initials_tjw
• leadingman_initials
• leadingman_initials_tjw
• warstory_initials
• warstory_initials_tjw
• cat_initials
• cat_initials_tjw
• decline_initials
• decline_initials_tjw
• sonata_initials
• sonata_initials_tjw
• Major papers 2
• Major1.0_initials
• Major1.0_initials_initialsa
• Major1.0_initials_initialsb
• Major1.2_initials
• Major1.2_initals_tjw

• Portfolio 4-6 items
• Coverletter_initials_portfolio
• Major3.0_initials_portfolio
• ShortpapertitleA_initials_portfolio
• ShortpapertitleB_initials_portfolio
• ShortpapertitleC_initials_portfolio
• ShortpapertitleD_initials_portfolio
• ShortpapertitleE_initials_portfolio
• Revision draft(s)
• Optional for use in cover letter
• Reflection1_initials
• Reflection2_initials
• GoPost_dateofposting_initials

• All of your portfolio materials should be
  conveniently uploaded to your CollectIt account.
  The possible exception might be the comments you
  received on your major papers, if you didnt turn
  in a paper, or if you decide to use some of the
  optional papers also if you turned a paper in
  late, you wont have the tjw draft.
• Make use of this checklist for, as the previous
  slide says, if you miss something your portfolio
  is incomplete and cant be graded.
• You are going to select a representative
  portfolio that you will revise over the next
  week. Anything you reference in your cover letter
  needs to be in your portfolio selection.
• All portfolio papers need to be in MLA format

7
The Cover Letter

• The centerpiece of your portfolio
• Embodies everything we have been trying to do in
  111.
• It is an argument emerging from quoted text
• It demonstrates your ability to evaluate writing
• It matters in an academic context its your
  grade
• Display your skills
• Direct me
• A road map to your portfolio
• Emphasize Outcomes
• Be Utilitarian!

Objective

• To showcase your demonstrated composition skills
  by reference to a selection of your best, most
  representative writing.

8
Cover Letter Format

• 600 Western Ave. apt119
• Seattle, WA 98006
• June 3, 2008
• Bill Gates
• Chief Executive Officer
• 100 Microsoft Road
• Redmond, WA 98018
• Dear
• As a recent college graduate, I am looking for a
  growing firm where I can contribute my skills and
  drive. Perhaps Proseware, Inc. could benefit from
  the enthusiasm and business sense that helped me
  become the number one sales representative for
  Fabrikam, Inc. last summer.
• My interest in Proseware, Inc. is rooted in
  several factors. First, your firm demonstrates
  the aggressive sales philosophy that I so admire.
  Second, I believe that selling intangibles is
  both challenging and financially rewarding.
  Third, I attended college in Elm County and would
  like to return there to live.
• My resume shows that I have sales experience,
  drive, and determination. Meeting me in person
  will convince you that I can apply those talents
  to Proseware, Inc. I will call you in a few days
  so that we can arrange a meeting.
• Sincerely,
• Joan Smith

• Introduction that talks about what the will come
  up in this letter
• Demonstration of applicable or relevant skills.
  Reasons why you should be considered.
• Sum up your points and what you want the next
  actions to be.

9
Weird writing context

• Cover-letter format
• Like doing a peer review on yourself
• Needs to be a guide to your writing, directing me
  to the best passages
• Avoid the personal journey narrative
• I used to be a bad writer but after this class,
  I am so much better
• Be utilitarian, structured, direct.
• Topic Sentence heavy In my essay on
  Schrodingers Cat, I met outcome 2 by stringing
  together references throughout the text and
  reading them with purpose.

10
Argument Approaches

• Paper-centered
• Addresses each paper separately, pointing out
  which outcomes are met.
• Major-centered, with short paper suppliments
• Outcome-centered
• Addresses each outcome separately, pointing to a
  variety of papers meeting a selection of the
  subcategories

11
Making your best case

• Honesty is the best policy
• Part of the goal is to show how well you evaluate
  your own writing. If it is bad and you say it is
  good, doesnt speak well.
• Better to acknowledge short-comings and talk
  about how you might improve
• Show more than tell Hows instead of Whats
• NECESSARY that you explain how you are meeting
  the outcomes
• Do not assume that I follow you.
• Matching an outcome with a quotation is not
  enough.
• Use the subcategories of the outcomes to help
  explain. If you are performing the subcategories
  you are meeting the outcome.
• Your writing is your evidence
• Quote yourself. Block quotes are good.
• Word features to highlight passages
  highlighting, comment bubbles.

12
Picking your papersBe Utilitarian

• The only goal is to show that you have met the
  outcomes. Structure your project to that end.
• Pick papers that you can revise to demonstrate
  all outcomes and subcategories.
• Might mean you dont pick your best papers.
  Some lesser papers might be needed to show
  subcategory.

• Strategy
• Start by picking the papers you like best,
  probably your major paper first.
• As you read through them, check off subcategories
  you think you can hit with them.
• Look to see what subcategories you might be
  missing, pick short papers to fill in the gaps.

13
What did you learn?

• Go back to your initial questions. Did we miss
  anything?
• Any new questions?

14
HW

• Check that you have all the documents you need.
• Pick the papers you think will make up your
  portfolio.
• Write a draft of your cover letter.
• Thursday we will be peer reviewing portfolios.
  The more you bring, the more help you can get.