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ENGLISH 097: DEVELOPMENTAL WRITING

PORTFOLIOS

PORTFOLIO REQUIREMENTS

Students will submit a portfolio of their completed work for evaluation if they have completed the required work.

The portfolio must contain the following assignments:

• An in-class essay comparing two short texts (2 - 3 pages). In the essay, students will respond to a common prompt requiring them to compare two texts selected from New Voices each term by the developmental faculty. Students will compare the two authors' purposes, points of view, tone, and use of evidence.
• A reader response to a short text (2-page minimum). In the response, students will practice summarizing, questioning, and analyzing the text, making connections between their background and the text. Students will include a photocopy of the text, with the annotations done in preparation for writing.
• A book analysis (3 pages). In the analysis, students will practice following an element throughout a book and explaining its significance for a reader's understanding of the book. Such elements may include: a repeated image, a developing character, a theme, a cultural attitude, an argument, the writer's persona, a symbol, the meaning of the title, etc. Students will demonstrate the ability to select and incorporate convincing textual evidence appropriately.

PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES
Portfolios must be complete. With drafts attached to the revised papers- The levels of correctness described below should be understood to include conventions of quoting and paraphrasing.

HIGH PASS: Papers in this category are very well written and respond in thoughtful and individual ways to the text, presenting two distinct points of view--author and student writer.

All the work in the portfolio--

• presents a text clearly, accurately and in detail, with aptly chosen quotes and commentary
• states a clear controlling idea which gives a thoughtful insight into the value of the text
• is well organized throughout, leaving no unanswered questions in the reader's mind
• displays clear competence with language--accurate word choice and varied sentence patterns
• is edited so there are very few errors in spelling, punctuation, or mechanics

PASS: Papers in this category are fairly well written and respond competently to the assignment.

All the work in the portfolio--

• explains a text in some detail, quoting and paraphrasing appropriately
• makes a worthwhile point about the value or nature of the text
• uses transitions to move from part to part in a clear way
• displays competence in language, with some sentence variety and mostly correct word choice is edited so that errors do not interfere with the reader's understanding

LOW PASS: Papers in this category contain barely adequate college-level writing. While there is some ability to understand and respond to a text. these essays lack the kind of consistency and development a revised response should have.

The work in this portfolio--

• explains a text. but offers few specifics and makes the reader infer connections
• puts forward a main idea which may be unclear or so shallow that the a reader reasonably expects that the paper should say something more
• has a simple structure but may wander at times (perhaps within paragraphs)
• may have some distracting errors in sentence structure, diction, and punctuation

FAIL: Papers in this category strongly suggest a student is not ready for 098. Most of the writing in the portfolio reflects deficiencies in one or more of the areas described below, the first being the most serious.

The work in this portfolio--

• reflects an inability to present a text understandably
• offers only summary, making no point of its own
• is incoherent, either in its overall organization or within paragraphs
• has an accumulation of distracting errors that interfere with communication