At our final class meeting or no later than noon the next day, I’ll collect your work in a portfolio, including drafts and homework writing, and a cover letter described below.
Timeline
- Class #25: Portfolio Due
Portfolio Cover Letter
The purpose of the Portfolio is to give you and me an opportunity to reflect on your work this term. To aid in this reflection, please address the following questions in your cover letter, which should be 1 to 1–1/2 pages:
- What has changed in your writing and/or your approach to writing this term?
- Has anything changed in your reading practice?
- Which of your essays do you like best? Explain.
- Name the 2–3 most valuable things you learned about writing a research-based paper.
- Anything else you want to comment on regarding your writing? (You will have an opportunity to comment on the course itself elsewhere.)
What and How
In a simple 2-pocket folder, please arrange your drafts and cover sheets as follows:
- In the left-hand pocket, put your homework, including your first letter to me, your pitch, summary, proposals, and Book Talk pre-writing (if you have a hard copy) with your Portfolio Cover Letter on top.
- In the right-hand pocket, put drafts of essays.
- Include the version of each draft that was marked by me along with cover sheets. Put newest drafts on top.
- Your Portfolio MUST include a re-revision of your Investigative Essay, and the essay must include correct in-text citations plus a list of References. Include the cover worksheet for Re-Revisions. Please use a Post-it or some other way of bringing to my attention re-revisions of The Science of Everyday Life, and/or the Profile article, which are optional.
- Do NOT print out clean drafts of essays—the ones that are marked up tell the story best.
Re-Revision Cover Sheet
This cover sheet should accompany ALL re-revisions you hand in with your portfolio. Include your name and the assignment name.
- What has changed in this draft? Please be specific.
- What’s the thesis—the main idea—of this essay? Articulate it as clearly as you can in 1–2 complete sentences.
- Where do you see yourself growing as a writer with this sequence of drafts?
