THE ENGLISH 101 PORTFOLIO

What is English 101?

Because ENG101 and ENG102’s shared purpose is expanding critical thinking and writing skills, they are sequenced courses.  In ENG101, you will learn how to write essays utilizing a number of writing strategies that enable you to think and write critically, such as exemplification, causal analysis, process analysis, compare/contrast, argument, classification, and definition.  You will learn how to tailor your essays to a given audience, to develop your writing voice, and to define and to develop your theme or thesis.  Finally, you will learn how to invent, draft, revise, and edit your own work at a pace governed by an assignment’s requirements: short in-class essays written during the course of one or two class periods are as commonly assigned as longer essays written over the course of several weeks.  You should leave ENG101 prepared to write focused, fully developed, well-organized, error-free expository essays in lengths ranging from 500 to 1500 words (that is, two to seven pages).  

English 101 has six main course goals that all students are expected to meet by the end of the semester:

Goal #1: Students will gain an understanding of rhetorical strategies and processes of analyzing and composing a variety of print, visual, and digital media. 
Goal #2: Students will gain a meta-awareness of their own development as writers.  
Goal #3: Students will use writing as a way of thinking through topics and ideas. 
Goal #4: Students will understand and use writing strategies and processes to analyze and write about issues that are important to specific audiences and specific purposes. 
Goal #5: Students will analyze the conventions of and write effectively in the university discourse community. 
Goal #6: Students will gain opportunities to collaborate effectively. 

Why Do We Use the Portfolio Exam at SIUE?

The English Department uses a portfolio exam in all English 101 classes for the following reasons:
	Consistency in student learning and achievement:  We strive to ensure that students who pass ENG101 can all demonstrate similar writing competencies.  This consistency is achieved on a number of levels.  Teachers meet and discuss portfolios from across 101 sections, and students get feedback from other 101 teachers, allow students (and the department) some real assurances that what happens in each 101 class meets the general expectations of the department and others who teach ENG101 at SIUE.
	Validity in assessment of student writing practices:  The portfolio also ensures that as many viewpoints on student writing as possible are reasonably considered in the assessment of progress in the course, and that these views help both the student and the teacher determine if the student’s writing will allow her/him to succeed and what help may be needed now or later.  The portfolio assessment process helps students know that the kind and quality of writing they do in ENG101 shows clear competency and ability to do other kinds of writing required later in academic and civic life.
	Fairness and adequacy in assessment and grading practices:  We also understand that each particular teacher knows her/his students’ work and efforts throughout the semester and has deep insights into each student’s writing.  Each teacher, however, can always use help comparing and adequately judging writing competencies and abilities against competencies practiced outside a specific 101 class (e.g., in your ENG102 class or your next university course).  More than one instructor reads each student’s writing portfolio so that when that student passes ENG101, s/he will feel confident that her/his writing abilities have met larger university standards and not simply one teacher’s possibly idiosyncratic standards.

What is the English 101 Portfolio Examination?

The Expository Writing program at SIUE has a writing portfolio examination procedure that all students must pass in order to get full credit for ENG101.  The writing portfolio is not a typical “exam.”  During each semester of ENG101, each student must submit a midterm and final writing portfolio, which contains samples of work completed during the semester in the composition course.  At least two outside readers (other English 101 teachers) will read each portfolio.  They will read the midterm portfolio during week seven or eight, and then the final portfolio at the end of the semester.  The final portfolio is used to determine if students are ready to move on to ENG102.  While outside teachers and their readings do not determine the student’s course grade, the final portfolio exam does determine whether students may receive a passing grade (whatever it may be) assigned by the individual teacher.

Note:  No student may receive a passing grade of “C” or better in the course without also having at least two readers assign a “passing” mark on the final portfolio.

What Makes Up the Portfolio?

Each ENG101 portfolio is a collection of the best work the student has produced in that class, and it should clearly demonstrate to the outside readers that the student has met the course goals and is obviously ready to move on to ENG102.  To help students accomplish this, portfolios are read twice, at midterm time (about week 8) and at the end of the semester (the final portfolio).

The exact contents of each final portfolio are determined by the student, but should include the following:

	A letter of reflection (approximately 1 – 2 pages double-spaced, typed) that introduces the portfolio and its contents, explains the portfolio’s arrangement and the writer’s decisions in revisions, and discusses any important writing issues or other elements a reader should consider when evaluating the portfolio.  As Ramage, Bean, and Johnson state, “The role of a reflective letter . . . is to offer the author’s perspective on the writing in the portfolio, to give a behind-the-scenes account of the thinking and writing that went into the work, and to assess the writer’s struggles and achievements during the term” (730).  Please see the guidelines below for letters of reflection.
	10 -15 pages of revised, polished expository writing that demonstrates the student’s writing competencies and abilities along the dimensions identified in the six ENG101 course goals.  Each essay should include an assignment sheet or accompanying explanation stapled or paper clipped to the front of the paper.  The midterm portfolio is approximately half this length (5 – 7 pages).
	The work presented should be the student’s best possible work.  Throughout the semester, each student will receive feedback on the essays submitted, and I strongly encourage everyone to continually revise each essay, even after a grade has been assigned.  It is important to try to examine the essay in new ways, asking whether or not it really accomplishes the stated goal and whether or not it says exactly what the writer intended.  Students must keep each assignment sheet as a guide for revision and so that it can be placed in the portfolio with the essay.

In some cases, clearly labeled early drafts may also be included, but special care should be taken when including these kinds of documents.  They will not be read as carefully as the polished drafts and should have a specific purpose for their inclusion in the portfolio and the writer should explain and refer in the letter of reflection to any additional materials included.  Any additional documents included (e.g., earlier drafts, handouts, etc.) DO NOT count towards the portfolio’s 10 – 15 polished pages.

How are the Portfolios Presented?

Both the midterm and final portfolios should be presented in a manner that allows external readers to read them easily, efficiently, and productively.  The more care and attention students take in preparing a good portfolio, the better their chances of accurately and effectively demonstrating their writing accomplishments and competencies.  Please note that the readers are only human, and their evaluation of your portfolio will be influenced by its appearance as well as its content.  As you know, it’s very difficult to overcome a poor first impression, regardless of what follows.

What Should Each Portfolio Look Like?

All portfolios should be submitted to the instructor in the following manner:
	Submit all materials in a flat, plain manila file folder with your name and section number clearly and neatly posted in the upper right-hand corner of the front of the folder.   No other types of folders are acceptable.
	Include only typed, double-spaced documents on 8 ½ x 11 paper, using a standard font (like Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier New) with a size of 10, 11, or 12.  Page numbers should be centered at the bottom of each page, and identification should appear in the upper left corner of the first page of each document.
	Clearly label each document and divide each from the others.
	Address the letter of reflection to both the instructor and the external ENG101 readers.
	Clearly label any earlier drafts, paper clipping them behind the appropriate polished drafts being submitted as part of the 10 – 15 pages.  (Note:  any handouts and earlier drafts do not count toward the 10 – 15 polished pages submitted.)

The midterm portfolio includes approximately 5 - 7 pages of revised, polished documents, plus a letter of reflection, while the final portfolio will include 10 – 15 pages of revised, polished documents, plus a letter of reflection.  You will not receive feedback from outside readers regarding your midterm portfolio.

How Will Portfolios Be Evaluated?

The final course portfolio has one main purpose:  to reflect upon and demonstrate your development as a critical writer.  Your portfolio will be the only evidence that you will submit to prove your development as a reflective and conscientious writer, illustrating what you have learned about writing, evaluation, language, revision, and understanding writing conventions.  Any revised and polished essay created during this semester may be included.

Each final portfolio is read by two readers (experiences ENG101 teachers) in order to make one decision:  Does this portfolio demonstrate that the writer is obviously ready to move on to ENG102?  If it demonstrates this outcome, then it “passes.”  If the portfolio does not demonstrate in obvious ways that the writer is ready to move on to ENG102, then it receives a “questionable” mark.  Each final portfolio must receive at least two “passes” by different readers in order for that student to receive a passing grade (whatever it may be) in ENG101.

Because the midterm portfolio is essentially an earlier, and most likely “in-process,” version of the final portfolio, it is expected that there is still much work to be done on the pieces included, and possibly on the portfolio’s presentation.  

Throughout the semester, each instructor will be giving students feedback on their writing that will indicate whether or not s/he thinks the writing would clearly pass the portfolio.  Whether or not the instructor reviews multiple drafts of each essay, students may want to continue working on it until the portfolio is due (for both the midterm and final portfolios).

What Happens When a Portfolio Fails?

When a final portfolio receives two “questionable” readings, which means two readers could not see how the portfolio obviously demonstrates the basic goals of ENG101 and thus couldn’t see how the performance demonstrates a readiness for ENG102, then it will “fail.”  This means that the student will receive a grade of D, F, or PR (progress) and will be required to take ENG101 again in order to meet the university’s requirements.

If a portfolio fails and the student feels that the failing rating was unwarranted, the student may request an appeal by completing a form, writing a 250 word appeal request, and resubmitting the portfolio.  All information about the appeal process can be found on the “Portfolio Appeal Request Form” available from the English Department office, Peck Hall 3206.  Students must file an appeal within the first 30 school days (including summer session) after the semester in which the student originally received a “not passing” rating.  Portfolios must be submitted as they were originally presented.

How Can a Student Safeguard Against Failing?

Portfolios may “fail” for a variety of reasons.  One way to determine independently how well you are doing is to include the portfolio’s letter substantive reflections on how well the contents of the portfolio demonstrate your achievement of the ENG102 course goals.  Keep in mind that making an “argument” for a passing mark on the portfolio is typically less effective than honest and meaningful reflection that discusses your specific portfolio documents and relates them to the broader course goals.  And of course, if at any time you feel uncertain about your chances of passing the final portfolio, especially after the midterm portfolio reading, the best option you have is to discuss the portfolio and its readings with your instructor.

Note:  Since final portfolios are not “graded” by external readers, students’ course grades are determined by whatever assessment and grading mechanisms the teacher has determined for his/her course and stated in the syllabus.  So while the portfolio exam provides the program with consistency, validity, adequacy, and fairness in our assessment of students’ writing competencies and abilities, it does not provide the specific course grade.

Portfolio Checklist

This checklist can help students to prepare their portfolios.  Students should include the following in the flat, plain manila file folder:

•	Reflective letter, typed and double-spaced
•	12-15 pages of polished writing (5-7 for midterm), typed and double-spaced
•	Assignment sheets stapled to the front of each essay
•	Drafts of work, clearly labeled (optional)
•	Your name and section number clearly posted in the upper right-hand corner of the folder
•	Two copies of your final portfolio must be submitted by the beginning of the class period when they are due.  Final drafts must meet course format expectations, including spacing, font and font size, page numbering, and identification.   

Portfolios that do not include the required elements may fail.  

Work Cited
Ramage, John, John Bean, and June Johnson.  The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing.  4th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006.

Portfolio Rubric

The portfolio will demonstrate consistently (in all documents) the following elements, which have been determined by the Expository Writing Program and the English Department.  A complete and adequate portfolio will reflect upon and/or demonstrate consistently
	An understanding of rhetorical strategies and processes of analyzing and composing a variety of print, visual, and digital media;
	A meta-awareness of the student’s own development as a writer;
	Writing as a way of thinking through topics and ideas;
	An understanding and use of writing strategies and processes to analyze and write about issues that are important to specific audiences and specific purposes;
	An analysis of discourse conventions and an ability to write effectively in the university discourse community;
	Effective collaboration on writing tasks and/or a conscious awareness of decisions writers make with/against/among specific audience.

Writing a Letter of Reflection

	The letter should look back at your writing with the perspective of the present.  This is an opportunity for you to explain your decisions and show that you have made conscious decisions in your selection of items for the portfolio.
	The letter of reflection may be the most important document in the folder, since it talks directly to the portfolio readers about the development, writing, and issues you see in the portfolio.  Take special care in composing and presenting this document.  It is the one document that articulates directly what you have learned and done well (or not so well) in ENG101.
	Honesty and a questioning, reflective attitude make for a good letter.  
	Think about what you really want readers to pay attention to when we read your portfolio.  Readers can only know what went on in your head if you tell them.  

	Questions to think about:
o	What have I learned about myself as a writer in this course?
o	What new ideas and perspectives have I learned that I did not know prior to writing in this course?
o	What have I learned about the demands of audience, genre, and purpose?
o	How have peer review experiences added to my learning in ENG101?
o	What did I think about and do between drafts?  
o	What conscious rhetorical choices did you make?  
o	What difficulties/problems did you face?
o	What successes are most significant?
o	Include commentary about individual pieces as well as about the portfolio as a whole.
o	How did you rethink how the essays did and did not meet expectations?
o	Of the papers I submitted, which is the best and which is the worst?   On what grounds have I made these judgments?  To what extent do I think that my evaluation will match those of the portfolio readers?
	A good letter will also discuss the following:
o	Self-assessment of the portfolio based on the portfolio rubric
o	Important revisions made in particular documents, or specific differences between drafts
o	Interesting or confusing patterns of thought or rhetorical decisions in the writing and/or revising
o	Patterns noted in colleagues’ and instructors’ comments and evaluations
o	Challenges faced with particular rhetorical situations, arguments, or elements of the rubric
o	Things you learned about your writing and writing processes
o	Things that are still confusing to you, questions you still have, or difficulties you still see in your writing
o	Theoretical or abstract lessons or strategies for writing and assessing that you take from the portfolio experience