Your  portfolio will include selected previous writtten work in the class plus the "Case Study" (see below).

Portfolio assessment has several benefits for students:

a) provides clear objectives and evaluative criteria for all first-year writing courses;

b) helps assure that you will receive the same level and quality of instruction in first-year writing as your peers in other sections;

c) provides a real audience for your writing outside your classroom, helping you learn to direct your writing to an unknown
reader;

d) provides informed feedback (in addition to that provided by your instructor, writing associates, or peers) about your strengths and weaknesses as a writer.

1. Keep all the writing you do for this class, including drafts and in-class writing.

2. All portfolios will be evaluated against the same criteria and should contain written work which shows the students ability to do the following:
-   write essays in several genres that are sufficiently focused, clearly and logically organized, and fully developed so that you communicate ideas clearly to your intended audiences;
-   use various kinds of evidence and reasoning to support your judgments;
-   locate, evaluate, synthesize, and appropriately document various kinds of information gleaned from research;
-   analyze text(s) or concept(s);
-   reflect intelligently on your own strengths and weaknesses as a writer;
-   adequately edit your writing according to the conventions of standard written English.
3. The outside portfolio evaluation will affect your grade for English 100 or English 100Plus.  I will determine your portfolio grade based on the evaluation of your portfolio reader.
4. The report covers required for binding portfolios are available for purchase in the ECSU bookstore.
5. Portfolio submission and reading will be scheduled so that evaluated portfolios are available to students before the end of the final examination period.

The "Case Study"

For the case study you must choose one essay paper from this semester and revise it again.

In addition to revising the paper, write an introduction to the case study (2-3 pages) describing the entire process of writing this paper, including the following:

•  how and why you chose this particular topic to write about;
• what you did to get yourself started writing (research, talking to me or the tutors, etc.);
• what changes you made between the first and final drafts and why (be as specific as possible);
• what challenges or struggles you faced in the writing process (e.g., difficulties finding sources, trying to determine an appropriate audience, organizing your ideas…)
• any particular successes you experienced in this process;
• why you chose this paper to revise for your portfolio case study;
• what changes you made in this revision and why (again, be as specific as possible);
• Your overall attitude about the final product.