Your Sophomore Portfolio:  Some Assembly Required (batteries not included)

News flash:  You have already done over 90% of the work required for your portfolio.  Why?  Because you will be submitting work you have written for courses during your first six terms.  The only new piece of writing is a reflective essay (see #8 below).

Here is a foolproof, step-by-step checklist for assembling Carleton’s sophomore portfolio.  (Background information on the portfolio itself is available here.)

1. Find the written work you have done in Carleton courses.  This may be as simple as looking through your hard drive or through copies of graded work you have kept.  On the other hand, it may involve going through Moodle sites and your e-mail to download material that was submitted digitally; or groping under your bed; or remembering the projects you submitted that were not returned—but of course you backed them up, right?
2. Find the assignment descriptions.  Once again, Moodle may be a good place to look, plus old folders for your courses that contain syllabi, readings, and other course documents.  And do look under the bed again.
3. Read everything.  What pieces do you remember most?  Why?  Is there a particular paper or project that represents you as a writer?  In what way(s)?  Among your papers, do you see variety of subject matter, style, form, difficulty, and so forth?  Sort your work into piles according to your favorite taxonomy, e.g., by discipline; or best to worst in terms of grades or your own satisfaction as a writer; or perhaps by form:  critical analysis vs. detailed report vs. policy/position paper, and so forth.
4. Refer to the portfolio criteria and find all of the papers that could count for one or more of the rhetorical tasks listed.  Some papers may cover 4-5 tasks; others may focus on one.  Sort again, choosing examples that fit the criteria best as you understand them.  At this point, you may want to involve your adviser or another faculty member in the process, especially if you think you are missing one or more of the required tasks.  Showing your options to an experienced faculty reader may help you appreciate features of your work that you had not considered.  You may also want to review the portfolio FAQ for answers to common questions.
5. Settle on 3-5 papers (totaling 30 pages or fewer) that will cover all of the criteria.  Ideally, these papers will also have assignments.  If you lack an assignment, do your best to describe the assignment as you remember it.  The syllabus or Moodle page will likely be helpful.  If your batch exceeds the 30-page limit because of figures or bibliographies, that’s OK.  Do not omit such material; its absence will confuse readers.
6. Feel free to revise your papers.  It is not cheating to make  improvements on your papers.  They have already been graded in the context of specific courses and assignments.  Now you have a chance to show them off to a new set of readers, so why not make them as compelling and readable as possible?  No educator on the face of the earth would ever hold effective revision against you.  Our faculty readers certainly respect such efforts.
7. Proofread all of the papers you have chosen.  Again, PROOFREAD all of the papers you have chosen and make corrections in the electronic files.  It is in your interest to present clean, error-free prose in your portfolio.  Readers will appreciate the care you show about your work and the courtesy extended to them.
8. Write an essay to introduce your work.  Chances are, your faculty readers will not know you personally, nor will they necessarily be familiar with the subject matter of your papers.  Think about them as your audience.  What do smart, thoughtful, liberally-educated adults need to know to make sense of your work?  How can you direct their reading to persuade them that you are a competent Carleton writer who is ready to tackle advanced work in your major?  This is not to say that you should deconstruct the very first paper you wrote and argue that you have progressed to an exalted level since then—although this is a common strategy among students.  Think carefully and reflectively (it’s called a reflective essay, after all) about the persona you present and make an argument that uses the contents of your portfolio to prove whatever you want to say about yourself and your writing.
9. Print all files, including the reflective essay.  Be sure your name is on every document. This hard copy (not the original copy with grades and faculty comments) will be used to score your portfolio, and you will receive it, along with reader comments, in your campus PO box the next term you are on campus.  If possible, download or scan the assignments as well.
10. Save all files, including the reflective essay and the assignments, to a CD.  You were given a CD with your portfolio folder, but if you have used that for something else, any CD is acceptable.
11. Complete the pink summary form and green research authorization form.  These forms help with data entry as well as inform you how the College uses student work in research.  We appreciate written permission from students for use of your work in research, since faculty learn a great deal from your written responses to our assignments.
12. Assemble everything, including the assignments.  You may use the folder you received during New Student Week, if you have it.  Otherwise, any manila folder or large envelope will do.
13. Deliver to Leighton 230 by the posted deadline.  Someone will check over your portfolio to make sure nothing is missing.  If you have overlooked a form or forgotten to sign your authorization, you will be asked to do so at that time.  No big deal.
14. Celebrate!
15. Expect results in July.  The Writing Program will communicate scores via e-mail to students and to the Registrar.