General

A specific number of pieces

3-4 for juniors (varies from year to year), 4 for sophomores (at least one each of prose and poetry), 5 for Creative Writing
these numbers may be adjusted by petition for valid reason

An extra piece may be designated as a Work In Progress (see below)
Illustrations are not required but can significantly increase the subjective view of the effort put into a portfolio. You can, however, get top grades without them.

Rules of Eligibility:

Eligibility is not a guarantee of quality but rather a minimum requirement for inclusion in the portfolio.
To be eligible, each piece must have had

two conferences with me (3 in CW)
two conferences with classmates (4 in CW)
two conferences with people outside of class (3 in CW)
at least one with an adult

these can be parents, friends, other teachers, college graduate siblings, etc.

two conferences on the final draft for proofreading and grammar

These need no specific evidence other than a flawless final draft

Work In Progress (WIP)

A Work In Progress will not harm the grade of the portfolio but does count as a piece. It is one which, for some reason, you wish to include in the portfolio even though you do not feel that it is “ready.” Reasons may include the effort you put into the piece, its status as the only prose or poetry piece you’ve written, stylistic experimentation, etc. A WIP must still follow all guidelines listed above.

Contents of Portfolio

You must include these elements in the order listed.

Title Page

This contains your overall theme for the portfolio, your name, class, and e-mail address.

Be certain that your email address is clear and legible.

Table of Contents

I suggest using colored tabs or symbols instead of page numbers.

Portfolio Reflection Letter

Define your theme, discuss the creation of the portfolio as a whole, defend it as the product of so many months’ work, etc. This is not the place to describe process of individual pieces, though you should tie them to the theme.
Consider this as a letter; make it interesting. Quote from your writing liberally as needed and desired.
Be sure to proofread this and check for errors!

Benchmark

Include, for comparison, a completed piece from last year’s portfolio (or a piece from the past if you do not have any old portfolios). With this, include a letter exploring why you selected this piece and what it says about your writing. (Do not select something excessively long; you surely can show what you need without a 20-page behemoth added to this volume!)

Individual Pieces

For each piece, include (in this order):

Title Page
Pink Sheet
Process Letter

Tell about the creation of the piece, what it means to you, whether it feels strong, etc. Walk me through its significant stages of development. Here you must quote from your piece to show progress. Again, it’s a letter, so enjoy it. But (again) proofread!

Final Portfolio Draft

Make this a clean, spell-checked, grammar-checked copy.

Final multi-colored draft

Note changes from the last time I saw the piece.

Significant earlier drafts

These should be organized in descending chronological order.
Use drafts I have seen over drafts I have not seen, but include any draft that has conference notes on it.
Include all conference notes and signatures.
Do not place all old drafts together in one plastic slip.

Other Works

This is optional: It would include latest drafts of any pieces that do not count toward the portfolio but which you want seen.
There is no requirement to meet minimum conferences in this section.

Journal Reflection

Write a reflection of approximately 5 pages that includes 8-10 journal entries and brief explorations of your process and/or feelings about them, as well as your use of the journal itself.
Show variety!
Single-space and indent the actual journal entries.
Double-space your commentary.
There is no need to embellish or polish your entries, but do fix major grammar/spelling errors.
It’s another letter, folks; have fun!

The Ultimate Workshop Summary

Highlight anything since your penultimate WS.
Resize anything that you have previously condensed for space.
Be sure your P2P conferences are recorded and numbered.

A Final Word

Your final thoughts about your portfolio, including anything you wish you might have done differently in preparing it or the pieces.
This is the last thing I will read; it is your last chance to say whatever you need to say.

Some Additional Guidelines

Do not staple anything within the portfolio!

Select a binder that closely approximates the thickness of the pages you will be placing into it. Remember that plastic sheets add thickness, but do not have a binder that is twice as thick as your pages. Hint: if its cover closes at a 45 degree angle, something is very wrong. :-)

Suggestion: Find a unique (but utterly legible) font for your final drafts to distinguish them from other drafts. This works especially well with poems. You might also play with types of stationery. Lately, many students have created templates and made their own stationery.

Be sure that each draft you include contains both the color key and the draft declaration.

Suggestion: Use sticky dots of various colors to indicate “teacher conference,” “peer conference,” etc.

Number the lines in poems. Do this using the computer; do not hand-print numbers in the margins. Numbers should appear every five lines either to the right or the left of the printed poem. Microsoft Word can do this for you easily; do not worry if you cannot make the numbers exactly right, as they are for reference only.

If you are using as a portfolio piece something I have not seen in a long time (even if you have been conferencing it with a current student teacher), it would be a very good idea to have another conference with me about it even if you have reached or passed the minimums and even if we had no real issues before; writing quality and writing expectations grow significantly during the course of a school year.

Just a reminder: Paragraphs are important.