FINAL PORTFOLIOS

ABOUT THE FCW PORTFOLIOS

At midterm and at the end of the semester, you will submit a portfolio of formal written work, including rough drafts and revisions, that is evaluated by your instructor. Your portfolio will take the form of a binder, folder, or electronic collection (see your instructor for specific formatting instructions), and it will contain a selection of the writing you have completed in the course. The portfolio will also include a reflective statement: a personal discussion on how your writing has met the goals of the course. The midterm portfolio provides a check-point for you halfway through the semester so you know how you are performing in the course. The final portfolio helps determine if you pass the course.

While all FCW portfolios look very much alike physically, the specific assignments you will prepare for your portfolio may be different from the assignments your fellow students complete in other sections of FCW. There are always differences in how individual teachers design their courses; however, all course instructors develop their courses and assignments in response to the Program’s common values, goals and desired outcomes.

The portfolio is designed to demonstrate your progress over the course of the semester. During the course, you will engage in multiple stages of generating, refining, and revising your writing projects until they form focused, coherent, and purposeful pieces of writing. In your portfolio, you will include your early drafts as well as your polished, final drafts, in order to demonstrate how your writing has developed over time.

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HOW DO I PREPARE FOR MY FINAL PORTFOLIO?

As you write and turn in essays throughout the semester, your instructor will provide comments and feedback to guide your revision. Your instructor will also give you some indication of the overall quality of each essay. Regardless of the marks you receive on your drafts, your portfolio evaluation will be primarily based on your final, polished writings, and the improvement of your drafts over time. Be sure to consult your instructor during the semester for more specific feedback on your progress and revision strategies.

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PORTFOLIO EVALUATION

Your portfolio will be evaluated on the basis of the five Core Values of the First-Year Writing Program. Your performance in the course will be determined by the degree that you demonstrate your comprehension of the Core Values through your course writings and activities, as well as how well you articulate your comprehension of these values in the reflective statement. If you have met the requirements at an acceptable level, you receive a grade of Satisfactory.

Your instructor will collect your final portfolio during the last two weeks of class. During finals week your instructor will set up a conference with you to return your portfolio and discuss its evaluation and your final evaluation for the course.

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WHAT GOES IN THE PORTFOLIO?

The specific contents of the midterm portfolio may vary. The final portfolio will consist of three revised pieces: 1) one reflective statement, and 2) two essays/projects.

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THE REFLECTIVE STATEMENT 

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In your Reflective Statement, you are required to address each of the five Core Values and identify how the work included in your portfolio or completed in the class shows that you understand the course expectations and have achieved them.

Your instructor will provide you opportunities throughout the semester to reflect on your work in order to build your understanding of what you are learning in the course and in preparation for writing this culminating statement.

The Reflective Statement is a very important component of your portfolio and has a significant effect on the final evaluation of the portfolio. Therefore, it is important to carefully craft this statement. Give yourself ample time to complete the self-reflective statement. This assignment requires you to analyze and reflect upon a semester’s worth of work—a significant project. Also, carefully analyzing your work may help you identify an issue in one of more of your essays that you can improve upon through further revision. If you have taken another course in the program, you may not recycle content from your previous reflection statement. You are expected to write a fresh reflection on your work from the current semester.​

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PORTFOLIO POLICIES

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• You must include a draft with instructor comments for each major assignment included in the final portfolio.

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• Your portfolio should be complete and contain all required items. If anything is missing, this will significantly impact your grade on it.
   

• Your instructor will only accept your portfolio if you have not exceeded the allowable number of absences as defined by our Attendance Policy (see Policies). If you have life circumstances interfering with your ability to attend class, you should communicate with your instructor about this ASAP as those life events arise to see if they can accommodate you.

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• You must have a passing (D- or higher) final course portfolio to be eligible to pass the course. A failing course portfolio will earn a failing grade (F) for the course, regardless of your grade(s) on your non-portfolio work.

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