As at many other institutions, our First Year Writing courses culminate in a final portfolio consisting of:
- A biography of the portfolio author and, if you like, a picture of yourself or other image. The biography should provide a short introduction to you, the author of the portfolio. You may include a photo of yourself or an image that relates to ideas discussed in your portfolio. The goal of your biography should be to introduce yourself as a writer.
- The Introductory Reflective Essay. The most important element in your portfolio, the Introductory Reflective Essay (IRE) (usually 750-1500 words) ties together all the exhibits in your portfolio; it helps you describe and reflect on your writing processes, with your exhibits providing the supporting evidence.
- Two revised essays from the course. These pieces provide evidence of your best critical thinking, argumentative strategies, prose style, and editing skills. They represent your most “finished” pieces of writing.
- One revision exhibit that demonstrates your composing process and revision skills. For this exhibit, students typically present a portion of a paper (e.g., a paragraph or the thesis statement); and demonstrate the development of this piece of writing through several drafts. Your task is to clearly show how your writing changed between drafts and to include explaining commentary on your revision process to readers.
- One peer review exhibit that demonstrates your work in reviewing or responding to the work of other writers. Again, your task is to demonstrate the quality of your work and to explain your peer review process.
- One wild card submission. In the past, students have submitted journals, photos with captions, short stories, poems, letters, song lyrics, slideshow presentations, scans of drawings with comments, podcasts, and music files. Some students create new exhibits especially to fit with their portfolio theme. In thinking about selecting or creating a wild card, consider how it fits into your overall portfolio rationale.
