The English 90 Portfolio

Your final assignment of the semester is to create an English 90 Portfolio. It is worth 40% of your grade.  This is your opportunity to show your instructor how much you have learned during the semester.  It is also the means by which you may be skipped to English 93. In order for you  to be skipped from English 90, two English faculty members (not your instructor) must score your portfolio as being ready to pass on to English 93 and you must receive an A or B in your English 90 class.

You will need to present your portfolio in a binder or folder that securely holds the pages so that they can not fall out.  Your portfolio should look neat and orderly.  You should also include colored pages or tabs to divide the major sections of your portfolio and make it easy to read.

Your Cover Letter

The cover letter, which should be 2-3 pages long (double spaced), is your final self-assessment.  It is your chance to show that you are fully aware of what you are capable of as a writer.  Your cover letter should contain several well-focused and well-structured paragraphs, just like an essay.  You might conclude your letter with remarks about your goals for continuing to develop your writing skills as you move through the English Department sequence.

The cover letter must:

o Identify each of your portfolio’s three essays by title.

o Demonstrate self-assessment; show that you are aware of yourself as a writer.

o Point to specific examples from the essays that prove your assertions about your writing.

o  Explain how you have improved as a reader, an active reader, and how your reading practices have have had an effect on your writing

The cover letter should also include 3 or 4 of the following:

o Explain the revisions you made and the changes you want readers to notice.

o Demonstrate what this portfolio illustrates about you as a writer or critical thinker.

o Acknowledge your weaknesses while showing how you have worked to overcome them.

o Reflect on what you’ve learned about writing or reading.

o Discuss your strategies for writing and revising.

o Detail the process by which you solved a writing problem.

o Explain any patterns you see in your writing.

Your Essays

You must include three essays, one of which is on Denise Liu, and the other two of which are thoroughly revised essays that you wrote earlier in the semester.  You may choose the order of the essays that you include, though your instructor made provide you with additional guidelines.

One  new essay –Denise Liu

Your final draft of the last essay of the semester will be included in the portfolio.  You will not yet have received a grade from your instructor on this paper.  This is your chance to prove how well you can write on your own, without much help from a teacher!

Two  thoroughly revised essays written previously for this class

Pick two of the essays you have done so far in the semester and revise--don't just correct--them thoroughly and creatively.  Part of the evaluation will be based on how thoroughly you have revised these essays, so don’t just make a few little changes and call it done.  Make them as good as you can!

After each essay, you must include the supplementary material that you did to create that essay.  Supplementary material includes:

· Brainstorming sheets

· Outlines

· Ungraded drafts

· Graded drafts (with cover letters and grading sheets)

It is important for you to include this material since the process you went through to write these papers is extremely important.