Portfolio Guidelines

The Portfolio must be either printed or sent as a Word document.

Portfolio must include:

1.   Table of contents

2.    Self-reflection: A paragraph about what you have learned, what is more difficult for you when writing, how much effort you put into writing, etc.

3.    Four (4) samples of free writings done in class.

4.   One (1) descriptive paragraph

5.    One (1) narrative paragraph

6.    One (1) comparison and contrast paragraph

7.   An outline for the following comparison paragraph:

A Question of Craftsmanship

Although new and modern houses offer many conveniences, most old houses feature craftsmanship that is not found in the average house built today. Houses constructed sixty years ago or more were built with top quality materials, resulting in very strong and handsome structures. For example, the walls were made at least three times thicker than walls in a new home, and full cut timber beams were used to support the frame, floors, and roof. Also it was common for floors and woodwork to be made of fine wood, usually oak or maple. Average houses of today are erected in a very short time with the use of prefabricated materials which do not produce a very sound structure. In addition to being better built, older houses seem to have much more ornamentation and character in their design, inside and out, than new houses. Many old homes feature large, ornate fireplaces, beautiful wooden stair cases, archways, alcoves, and stained glass windows. This kind of detailed ornamentation is in sharp contrast to the very plain and squared “ranch style” lay-out of newer homes. Because of all the fine qualities older houses offer, they would often be worth ten times their value if they were located out of the city. However, home buyers today generally prefer new homes because of their suburban locations. Even so, urban areas are making every attempt to save these excellently crafted old houses and improve their locations.

8.    One  (1) paragraph based on the topic of Plastic inspired by the following video:

Plastic State of Mind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddXa6yrv2do

Grading Rubric

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Sentences & Paragraphs	Sentences and paragraphs are complete, well-constructed and of varied structure.	All sentences are complete and well-constructed (no fragments, no run-ons). Paragraphing is generally done well.	Most sentences are complete and well-constructed. Paragraphing needs some work.	Many sentence fragments or run-on sentences OR paragraphing needs lots of work.
Grammar & spelling (conventions)	Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling.	Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar and/or spelling.	Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar and/or spelling	Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar and/or spelling.
Format	Complies with all the requirements for a friendly letter.	Complies with almost all the requirements for a friendly letter.	Complies with several of the requirements for a friendly letter.	Complies with less than 75% of the requirements for a friendly letter.
Neatness	Letter is typed, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with pride.	Letter is neatly hand-written, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with care.	Letter is typed and is crumpled or slightly stained. It may have 1-2 distracting error corrections. It was done with some care.	Letter is typed and looks like it had been shoved in a pocket or locker. It may have several distracting error corrections. It looks like it was done in a hurry or stored improperly.
Ideas	Ideas were expressed in a clear and organized fashion. It was easy to figure out what the letter was about.	Ideas were expressed in a pretty clear manner, but the organization could have been better.	Ideas were somewhat organized, but were not very clear. It took more than one reading to figure out what the letter was about.	The letter seemed to be a collection of unrelated sentences. It was very difficult to figure out what the letter was about.
Assignments	All assignments are included.	1 assignment missing	2-3 assignments missing.	4-8 assignments missing