Consider Your Writing Situation

Portfolios are sometimes created to showcase a writer’s work, as might happen when you are seeking a job or wish to share your work with friends and family. Portfolios are also created in response to class assignments and institutional assessment plans. Some colleges and universities, for example, ask students to create portfolios so that they can measure the overall writing ability of their students.

Readers expect your portfolio to clearly communicate its purpose and content as well as to make it easy to locate and view the documents you’ve provided. They also expect you to make it easy to get in touch with you. As a result, a well-designed portfolio should provide a table of contents (or something similar) and your contact information. In an e-Portfolio, this information might consist of a navigation menu or a set of links on the main page. In a print portfolio, this information might appear on the first or second page.