Your final assignment is to gather together, organize, and analyze all of the writing you done in
this course. The goal is to give you an opportunity to assess your progress as a writer in this
class. The portfolio analysis assignment comprises your final exam grade. The portfolio analysis
is worth 100 points.
The Portfolio Analysis Letter Requirements
The portfolio analysis, in the form of a letter to me, is a two page single-spaced, typed analysis
of your work as represented by the work produced in this class. This analysis will generally
answer the question: What is the status of my writing after this semester? The letter should use
specific references, including quotations if needed, to your rough and final drafts, peers’
comments, instructor’s comments, reflections, notes, textbooks, etc. to support your claims
about your progress as an academic writer. (If you are in doubt about length, please be
persuasive. As I have emphasized both process and product this semester, I would expect that
your self-review address both aspects of your writing.
Expectations: [Criteria]:
Identity your strengths and weaknesses as an English reader/writer.
Explain what you have learned in this class.
Describe how class elements have affected your writing.
Describe your progress/work to this point.
Identify areas of improvement and set goals for the remainder of your college career.
Give specific examples and provide examples.
Fully develop explanations.
(Prompt questions for invention writing are provided on the next page.)
Invention and Planning Activities for Portfolio Analysis
Read over the following questions to provide you with a focus for reviewing your writing
portfolio. Examine your papers closely; then carefully and fully, answer the questions to help
you write a two (2) page analysis of your portfolio (single spaced). Your analysis will take the
form of a letter to me. The organization of your analysis need not, and probably should not,
follow the order of the questions below.
1. Consider your accomplishments this term. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of your
work in this course in terms of both your writing processes and your written texts.
2. Discuss some of the steps you took to reach objectives you set for yourself in this course.
Did your objectives change during the semester? If so, describe how. What new objectives
will you set for yourself for future writing tasks?
3. Is there a pattern of writing problems you have begun to solve? How did you solve these
problems? Have you changed you problem-solving processes?
4. Which essay(s) do you feel especially proud of? Explain why.
5. Which essay did you learn the most from? Describe what you learned.
6. Describe some invention strategies you’ve tried. Which seemed to be successful for you?
Explain why.
7. Describe revision strategies you found helpful. Explain why they were helpful.
8. Review readers’ comments (from your peers and instructor). These comments may be
either positive or constructive. Identify one comment that appears on two or more of your
essays. A comment that shows up on two or more essays probably indicates strength or a
weakness. Briefly describe how you plan to continue to build on this area if it is strength or
how you plan to improve in this area if it is a weakness.
9. Discuss how various homework/in-class works helped you in your writing.
10. As you review your work, what surprises you about the writing you completed for this class?
What surprises you about the processes you’ve used to do the writing?
11. How have you dealt with the challenges of this class? How do you plan to deal with future
challenges? Do you plan to do things the same as you have been doing? Is there something
different you plan to do? What aspects of your reading/writing have improved? What would
you still like to improve? How do you plan to do that?
Last Completed Projects
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