Portfolio and Goals
Use a portfolio to evaluate growth in reading, writing, research, speaking, and language conventions and set next-step goals.
A lesson of English 11, in College Readiness, Voice, and Revision, about 10 minutes.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to curate a writing portfolio, write a substantive portfolio letter, and set specific, actionable goals for your development as a writer and student.
Portfolio Curation
A portfolio is a curated collection of your best work — not everything, but what best represents your development.
What to include:
- Your strongest piece of analytical writing
- A piece that shows significant revision from first to final draft
- A piece you're proud of for a non-obvious reason
- One piece you're still not satisfied with (with a note about why)
What makes a portfolio different from a folder: curation. You've chosen what's here, and you can explain why.
The Portfolio Letter
A portfolio letter is an essay addressed to your reader that introduces and frames the portfolio.
It should:
- Explain what the portfolio represents about your development
- Discuss specific pieces and what they reveal about your learning
- Be honest about where you've grown and where you still need work
- Set goals for the coming year
It should NOT:
- Be a list ("First I wrote this, then I wrote that")
- Be generic ("This year I really grew as a writer")
- Avoid specifics
The Art of Honest Self-Assessment
The strongest portfolio letters include honest acknowledgment of limitation. A writer who can identify exactly what still doesn't work in their writing is more advanced than one who thinks everything is finished.
Unproductive: "This is my worst essay because I didn't try hard enough."
Productive: "This essay's central weakness is in the body paragraphs — I describe evidence without analyzing it. In my revision, I tried to fix this in the first two paragraphs, but I still revert to description in the third. This is the pattern I'm working on."
Setting Specific Goals
Vague goal: "I want to be a better writer."
Specific goal: "By the end of 12th grade, I want to be able to write a thesis that goes beyond describing the text to arguing something specific about its meaning and effect — without needing to revise the thesis after writing the body."
Even more specific: "In my first essay of 12th grade, I will write the thesis, then check it against the test: 'Does this tell my reader something they couldn't get from just reading the text?' If not, I'll revise before writing the body."