Babienko English
Hamlet Close Reading Essay Assignment:
Revision “Portfolio”
This assignment is intended to mimic, on a smaller scale, the type of writing portfolio assignments
required in many first-year college English composition courses. In college writing courses, it is quite
common to write a number of papers that meet some or all of the course outcomes, and then to select a
certain number of those papers for final revision. In almost all portfolio-based courses, some sort of
cover letter is also required. The cover letter allows you to reflect on your growth as a writer and to
indicate to your instructor(s) how your writing assignments meet the course outcomes.
Although you will not be compiling and submitting an entire portfolio, you will be going through the
same process for a single paper: selection of the paper, self- and peer assessment of the initial draft,
substantial revision, and final submission with self-reflection in the form of a cover letter. For your
“portfolio” you will need to include the following:
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The original draft of the paper
The final, revised draft of the paper
2 peer editing worksheets filled out by your tablemates
1 cover letter
(I do not need all drafts of your paper, just the first and the final ones)
Cover Letter Assignment:
In a 1-2 page, single spaced letter, you will construct an argument that places your paper within the
Assignment Outcomes and Evaluation Rubric (see attached) and that uses an analysis of your own
writing selection as evidence. The cover letter is designed to allow you to demonstrate your own
fulfillment of the assignment outcomes in several ways:
1. Meta-perspective – One of the main concerns of this assignment, especially the evaluation and
revision process, has been to assist you in constructing a critical and analytic perspective on
your own writing, therefore allowing you to take that viewpoint into other writing situations
beyond the English classroom. The cover letter is a means for you to demonstrate your
proficiency in this area. By showing me where your writing fulfills each assignment outcome,
you will also be simultaneously proving your ability to effectively critique your own writing.
2. Explanation – It is up to you which of your papers you choose to submit and revise as the best
example of your work. Your cover letter should explain to me in no uncertain terms why you
chose to use this particular paper over others. In addition, you should also explain in detail
what revisions you have made and why. Using the language of the outcomes, describe how
the work that you have chosen illustrates your strengths (and weaknesses) as a writer, reader,
and thinker.
3. Argumentation – The main goal of the content of the cover letter itself is to argue for a
specific interpretation of your performance based on the Outcomes and Evaluation Rubric.
Utilizing the argumentation techniques that you have been practicing, tell me why you have
achieved a certain level of proficiency. Be aware that while you are arguing, you are also
framing my own reading and directing it to the strongest points of your writing. Be specific!
Your portfolio cover letter is itself an argument. Your claim, the basis of the argument, should
involve how what you are including in your portfolio meets the learning outcomes for the assignment.
As evidence, draw upon the Assignment Outcomes, your paper, your current assessment of the work,
peer responses/evaluations, and my responses by quoting from or paraphrasing from these materials.
In your cover letter, discuss how the paper you have selected meets the Assignment Outcomes. If you
think it is relevant, quote from your paper, or discuss why you did not choose a different paper for
assessment. You may want to mention weaknesses in your paper. If you do, you should demonstrate
that you understand why it is a weakness in relation to the Assignment Outcomes and how you would
go about fixing it in a future paper. But, your letter should be positive in nature. It should be
enthusiastic and compelling. You should incorporate the language of both the Assignment Outcomes
and the Rubric. In other words, you should describe your work in the terms that are provided for you
in both of these resources.
General Tips for Cover Letters:
Your Portfolio Cover Letter should achieve, at the very least, two specific goals:
1. It should tell me which of your essays you have selected as your best work, and why (how
the paper demonstrates the Assignment Outcomes).
2. It should discuss how your writing has developed over time, and how the assignment you
have selected demonstrates that development.
Format:
Length: 1-2 pages
Format: business letter format, single-spaced, block format
Business Letter Format:
The business letter format has the same font and margin requirements that have been required
for all of your papers (Times New Roman, 12pt, 1 inch margins). However, your name and header
will appear differently and you will single-space. You do not need a Works Cited Page or MLA
documentation, but if you quote, it should be clear which document you are using.
The paragraphs will be in block format which means that they will not be indented and will be
separated by a blank line. You will be addressing your cover letter directly to me, but all of the
academic standards and rhetorical conventions that we have learned still apply. Your grade on the
portfolio will depend partially on your performance on the cover letter itself, so dot your i’s and
cross your t’s.
Assignment Outcomes:
The outcomes and traits below articulate the goals of the assignment and the expectations for the final version of
your paper. They also help me evaluate your writing.
1. To produce complex, analytic, persuasive arguments that matter in academic contexts.
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The argument is appropriately complex, based in a claim that emerges from and explores a line of inquiry in
multiple ways.
The stakes of the argument, why what is being argued matters, are articulated and persuasive.
The argument involves analysis, which is the close scrutiny and examination of evidence and assumptions in
support of a larger set of ideas.
The argument is persuasive, taking into consideration multiple points of view as it generates its own perspective
and position.
The argument utilizes a clear organizational strategy and effective transitions that develop its line of inquiry.
2. To read and analyze complex texts purposefully in order to generate and support writing.
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The writing demonstrates an understanding of the reading as necessary for the purpose at hand.
Reading is used in strategic, focused ways to support the goals of the writing.
The writing demonstrates responsible use of the MLA system of documenting sources.
3. To demonstrate an awareness of the strategies that writers use in different rhetorical
situations.
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The writing employs style, tone, and conventions appropriate to the demands of a particular, genre, rhetorical
situation or discipline (in this case, English).
The writing has a clear understanding of its audience (in this case, an academic audience), and various aspects of
the writing (mode of inquiry, content, structure, appeals, tone, sentences, and word choice) address and are
strategically pitched to that audience.
4. To develop flexible strategies for revising, editing, and proofreading writing.
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The writing demonstrates substantial and successful revision.
The writing responds to substantive issues raised by the instructor and peers.
Errors of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics are proofread and edited so as not to interfere
with reading and understanding the writing.
Evaluation Rubric:
Outstanding: Offers a very highly proficient, even memorable demonstration of the trait(s) associated with the assignment
outcome(s), including some appropriate risk-taking and/or creativity.
Strong: Offers a proficient demonstration of the trait(s) associated with the assignment outcome(s), which could be further
enhanced with revision.
Good: Effectively demonstrates the trait(s) associate with the assignment outcome(s), but less proficiently; could use
revision to demonstrate more skillful and nuanced command of trait(s).
Acceptable: Minimally meets the basic outcome(s) requirement, but the demonstrated trait(s) are not fully realized or wellcontrolled and would benefit from significant revision.
Inadequate: Does not meet the outcome(s) requirement; the trait(s) are not adequately demonstrated and require substantial
revision on multiple levels.