Why Create a Writing Portfolio?

Imagine an ideal world. Writers would always have plenty of time to reflect on their work and then return to it to make revisions. Students would be judged by what they could accomplish at the end of the course, and not by weaker work they’d done earlier in the term. We don’t live in this ideal world, unfortunately. Writers are often too rushed to present their best work. Student writers are graded while they are still developing their writing skills. But a writing portfolio brings us as close to the ideal world as possible. It gives you a second chance at a piece of writing and lets you create a beautiful finished product that shows off your talents.

Quite simply, a writing portfolio is a folder—either in paper or online—in which you put examples of your best work, often revised once more, as well as some written reflections on your progress as a reader and writer. Often, an instructor who requires a writing portfolio also wants to see many drafts of the essays, so that he or she can evaluate the entire reading, writing, and thinking processes that went into the work. Usually, you turn in the writing portfolio near the end of the semester for evaluation, sometimes by an anonymous group of graders and sometimes by your own instructor. The rubrics used to score your portfolio may be made available for you to see beforehand, or at least your instructor will explain what types of writing skills your portfolio is expected to demonstrate. Your writing portfolio can be on paper, or it can be an e-portfolio that enables you to upload electronic copies of your work. Online portfolios often provide writers an opportunity to include graphic and interactive components as well. If your school uses e-portfolios, you may be asked to scan copies of drafts with instructor comments and your own revisions, or you may simply be asked to upload files. Whether in hard-copy form or online, the writing portfolio enables you to present your best work. In any case, if you are reading this chapter, your instructor probably requires a writing portfolio, and you need some help assembling it.