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Select Your Materials

Your choice of materials will depend on your purpose, your readers’ expectations, and the context in which your portfolio will be read. If you are responding to an assignment for a writing course, pay particular attention to the specific requirements of the assignment. Some instructors, for example, will want you to include not only the final draft of an assignment but also your rough drafts, outlines, notes, sources, and any feedback you’ve received from classmates. Your instructor might also ask you to include a reflective statement that looks back over your work and writing process. This often takes the form of a letter or brief essay. In an e-Portfolio, you could also share your reflections through video or audio clips. If you are highlighting your writing skills for a potential employer, you might want to show only your best work — or you might want to show two or three drafts that indicate how you revised and improved a draft over time.

A writing portfolio typically includes some of or all the following materials:

your contact information (e-mail address, phone number, and/or mailing address)
an introduction to the portfolio that addresses its purpose and contents
a reflection on the documents in the portfolio, on your growth as a writer, and on your goals as a writer
final drafts of documents
rough drafts of documents, often with comments from instructors or other writers
sources used in a particular writing project, along with any notes or source evaluations
planning notes, freewriting and other forms of idea generation, and maps or outlines
your comments on the work of other writers
grades and comments from instructors