- High Pass
Portfolios in this category are very well written and respond in thoughtful and original ways to the assignments. All three essays in the portfolio:
- state (or clearly imply) a controlling idea that makes the audience feel they have read something significant and valuable.
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pursue that idea purposefully at the level of the paper, paragraph and sentence.
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support their ideas with vivid and well - chosen details, facts, examples, and / or reasons that reflect an awareness of the needs of the audience.
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display a flair for language -- a genuine voice, accurate diction and varied sentence rhythms.
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are edited so there are very few errors in spelling, punctuation, or mechanics.
- Pass
Portfolios in this category are well written and respond competently to assignments. All the essays in the portfolio:
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state (or clearly imply) a controlling idea that makes readers feel a good point has been made.
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are well organized around that idea, moving from part to part in an orderly way.
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support their ideas with accurate details, facts, and examples.
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display competence in language, with some sentence variety and generally accurate diction.
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are edited so there are few errors.
- Low Pass
A portfolio in this category is minimally adequate college-level writing. While the essays may show some ability to respond to assignments, they lack the kind of consistency and development revised papers should have. The papers in such a porfolio:
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are not clear in stating or implying a purpose; or are so shallow the audience reasonably expects the papers should say something more.
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do have a simple structure but may wander at times (perhaps within paragraphs).
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offer some evidence for their claims, but don't fully consider the reader's needs or doubts.
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may have some errors, but generally demonstrate control of language. (Readers should not penalize ESL writers for slight shifts in idiom, problems with articles, confusion over prepositions and occasional misuse of verb tense and verb forms).
- Fail
Portfolios in this category strongly suggest the student is not ready for English 155. A single failing paper may fail a portfolio in the absence of sufficiently strong counter - evidence in the revised papers or the in - class essay. Much of the writing in a faed portfolio is characterized by:
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inability to focus, leaving the audience to wonder what the point is or having to figure it out.
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poor organization, lacking transitions or skipping around within paragraphs.
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inadequate development, offering meagre, simplistic, or overly general evidence, or reflecting carelessness or inattention to detail.
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an accumulation of serious and consistent errors that interfere with communication. These include mistakes in punctuating sentence boundaries, and / or repeated pointless shifts in verb tense and pronoun reference.
