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There is a wide body of
theoretical research proposing the use of portfolios in ESL composition classes. The
purpose of this article is to describe how I have applied existing theoretical research at
the practical level in the intermediate/advanced composition classes from teaching
experiences in both the U.S. and Mexico. I believe teachers should consider portfolio
development in their composition classes because portfolios can measure the growth of
students’ abilities as writers, promote ownership of students’ own writing, and,
along with a scoring rubric, provide a mechanism by which students can assess their own
strengths and weaknesses as writers.
It is important for the reader to note that the following description of the process of
portfolio development is one that has worked for me at the levels I have taught. This may
not apply directly to other contexts; however, an important characteristic of portfolio
development is its “adaptability” to other levels and contexts. According to
Hamp-Lyons, a proponent of portfolio development, “Multiple trait instruments are
grounded in the context in which they are used, and they are therefore developed onsite
for a specific purpose with a specific group of writers…” (p. 10). With this in
mind, ESL composition teachers at the beginning, intermediate, or high advanced levels
should seek to modify the following processes to accomplish their own specific goals.
In describing my experience with portfolio development, I would like to start with the end
product, the portfolios themselves. I will describe the essays that I require in the
completed portfolios, the rationale for each essay, and, finally, the arrangement of the
essays within the portfolio. Then, I will show the process—including outline, rough
draft(s), peer comments, and revision(s)—by which students develop their portfolios.
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The first requirement of the teacher is to
decide which essays should be included in the portfolio. Of the seven essays that my
intermediate students write throughout the semester, I require that four be included in
students’ portfolios. The first required writing for the portfolio is a timed,
impromptu essay written on the first day of class from a list of five prompts. The
rationale for requiring a timed impromptu essay written on the first day is to enable the
student and reader to see a foundation upon which writing in the class begins. In
addition, students and readers can compare impromptu essay writing on the first day of
class with a timed essay written on the last day of class. Beyond that, both these timed,
in-class essays can be compared to compositions that have gone through multiple drafts and
revisions.
Impromptu topics that I have used are presented to the students on the first day of class,
with the following instructions:
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| Topics for Impromptu Essay |
| Time: 45 minutes |
| Directions: Choose one of the following
topics to write a well-developed essay (i.e., introduction, supporting examples, details,
and conclusion). |
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| 1. Environmental issues are serious concerns
in the world today. Choose an issue (for example, air pollution, accumulation of garbage,
overpopulation, use of resources), and discuss this issue (its causes, effects, and
possible solutions). |
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| 2. Describe what you think would be most
important for a foreigner to know about your country and why you chose that topic. |
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| 3. All of us have special people in our
lives who have influenced us. Pick someone from your life and tell how that person has
influenced you and how that has changed you. |
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| 4. Explain why you have decided to go to
college and what difference you expect it to make in your life. |
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| 5. After some sixteen years of schooling,
you are likely to have had some good teachers. In your view, what are the characteristics
of a good teacher? |
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The rationale for providing students with a
choice of topics and genres is to engage the student in a subject of interest to him/her.
Forty-five minutes should be enough time for students to think briefly about each topic
before choosing the one they can develop best.
The second required essay for the portfolio is a timed essay written on the last day of
class. This essay also serves as a cover letter introducing the portfolio and the
compositions in it to the portfolio reader. An example of the format for the in-class
final essay follows.
The rationale for the self-reflective format of the cover letter is to encourage the
students to demonstrate the degree to which they have become conscious of their own
writing strengths and weaknesses. The rationale for allowing forty-five minutes is to
provide adequate time for students to consider and provide reasons for each of the four
writing samples they have chosen for their portfolios. In addition, it is the same amount
of time that was provided for the impromptu essay written on the first day of class,
making the comparison between the timed essays written on the first and last day of
classes more valid.
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| IN-CLASS, FINAL ESSAY |
| Time: 45 minutes |
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| It has been said that, “My portfolio
shows who I am.” In an organized essay, describe how your portfolio shows who you
are. In addition to explaining why you have chosen each of the compositions that are
included in your portfolio, you should also comment about the strengths and weaknesses of
each piece. |
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| This essay, written at the end of the
semester, will serve as a cover letter to your portfolio. Thus, it will be the first item
that the reader of your portfolio reads. This essay should provide you with an opportunity
to introduce both yourself and your portfolio to the reader. |
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Finally, two more essays (student’s choice
of topics) of the five untimed essays that students write throughout the semester are
required for the completed portfolios, one of which must include the original outline,
rough draft, peer comments, revision(s), and final copy which show the process by which
the composition is completed. All drafts, peer comments, and revisions reflect the process
by which writing is taught in class, and also permit students to choose their best
representation of the writing process and product.
As the arrangement of the four essays within the completed portfolio is also important,
especially for assessment, I provide the following illustration so students clearly
understand how the compositions should be arranged.
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| 1. Cover letter |
| 2. Best Essay |
| 3. Second Best Essay |
| 4. First, In-Class Essay |
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Note, first, that when the reader opens the
completed portfolio, the cover letter written on the last day of class is on the left. On
the right, there are three essays: On top is the best essay, and beneath that is the next
best essay. One of the three must include the original outline, rough draft, and peer
comments leading up to the final copy. Finally, at the bottom is the essay written on the
first day of class. This consistent arrangement of essays within portfolios not only
provides the reader with a clearer understanding of the compositions, but also requires
students to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of all their compositions to determine
their best writing.
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One of the greatest weaknesses of ESL student
compositions, according to most university English professors, is organization. Thus, I
encourage students to develop the necessary skills to write compositions utilizing the
following organizational genres: giving instructions, cause and effect,
comparison/contrast, classification, and persuasion. Choosing their topic and developing
clear organization are skills that are defined as “global” skills, and within
this teaching/learning process, students develop the knowledge to discuss the introduction,
body, conclusion, main idea, and supporting details of an essay. Then,
descending from the global level to the “local” level, students also learn and
develop the language to discuss the following grammatical items: simple, compound, and
complex sentences, adjective clauses, appositives, coordinators, subordinators,
transitions, subject/verb agreement, as well as the verb tenses. I believe that
students who can discuss these aspects of their compositions at the metacognitive level
have learned a great deal: They have developed the capacity to become active, critical
participants in their own learning process.
Except for the in-class essays written on the first and last day of class, all essays
written throughout the semester must be accompanied by (1) the original outline, (2) rough
drafts, (3) peer comments, and (4) revision(s) leading to the final copy. The first
requirement is to organize and present the content of the essays in “outline”
form. Although I do not require perfectly detailed outlines, I do require that students
begin to organize the logical progression and development of their thesis/genre. Class
time is provided for students to discuss their topics and outlines with other students,
usually in groups of four. Next, students must write rough drafts of their compositions,
which they also discuss in groups of four. For these discussions, I provide the following
“Peer Questionnaire” in which students respond to another student’s essay
(The lines for students’ answers are omitted.)
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| Essay Title: |
Date: |
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| Essay Author: |
Reviewer: |
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| 1. What did you like best about
this essay? |
| 2. INTRODUCTION: Does the
organization of the essay enable you to state its main idea in a single sentence? What is
the main idea, and where is it stated? Is it clearly stated? If the main idea is not
obvious, what can be done to make it more clear? |
| 3. BODY: What are the major
points to support the main idea? Are they clearly stated? List them. |
| 4. Do all the major points have
supporting details? Can you think of additional supporting details that may have been
overlooked? |
| 5. Are the transitions clear?
List them. |
| 6. Analyze the sentences in the
essay. Are they mostly simple, compound, or complex? Are the sentences clear and concise?
Are they punctuated correctly? |
| 7. CONCLUSION: How does the
conclusion summarize the main idea of the essay? What impression does it leave with the
reader? |
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Finally, to arrive at the final copy, which they
submit for assessment, students revise and edit their rough drafts incorporating peer
suggestions. The instrument that I use for assessing student essays in my classes is a
modification of the “ESL Composition Profile” used by Janet Hughey, et al.,
described in their book, Teaching ESL Composition. The modified version that I use
is attached separately. From this, one can see the different values given to different
aspects of the composition: content (25 points), organization (20 points), sentence
construction (20 points), vocabulary (20 points), and mechanics+proofreading = finished
form (15 points). The modification of the original “ESL Composition Profile”
described by Hughey was done to align assessment with what is actually taught and learned
within the classroom; thus, the assessment of the students’ essay writing becomes
more meaningful. Essays are assessed and returned to the students unedited, and many
students, at first, ask for “correction” of their mistakes. I resist correcting
local errors, however, until the global aspects of their essays are very good to
excellent, that is, both content and organization are more global than sentence
construction, and sentence construction is more global than article or preposition errors
or mechanics such as spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. I believe it makes little
sense to “correct” local errors while there are glaring global errors. At the
same time, I am always happy to discuss local errors individually after class or during
office hours, and the students who clearly want to master all aspects of writing take
advantage of this opportunity.
The final stage of portfolio development occurs on or near the last day, reserving the
last day for students to examine one another’s portfolios. On this day, which is
highly anticipated, students bring all the compositions they have written throughout the
semester to class, write their final, in-class essays, and hand in their portfolios. They
are not given the final prompt until the class begins. It is always necessary to explain
to the students that only four essays are required, and no more. The four essays,
again, are the two essays written in class on the first and last day; the other two
required essays are their best two, one of which must contain the original outline, rough
draft, peer comments, and revision(s). Unless the teacher makes these requirements very
clear, students will invariably want to include all their essays, which eliminates
their obligation to choose. After the illustration of the arrangement of essays within the
portfolio is provided, students are given the final prompt, and they write their essays.
When the portfolios are turned in, they are given a holistic, summative score; thus,
portfolios and the compositions in them are scored on two levels. First, each composition
is assessed individually according to the ESL Composition Profile discussed
previously. Second, the portfolio as a whole is assessed holistically by its overall
impression including diversity, originality, and self-confidence.
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The two common themes that run throughout almost
all final, in-class essays are that of student ownership and self-assessment, which is
consistent with other advocates of portfolio development who say that portfolio
development “puts the ball in the student’s court [wherein they become] active,
thoughtful participants in the analysis of their own learning” (Murphy and Smith
1992:58). Some examples of student ownership and self-assessment from my high-intermediate
students’ final, in-class essays are as follows:
First, students can describe their writing strengths and weaknesses at the metacognitive
level, and they reflect on this aspect of their writing in several ways. Examples of
students’ describing their weaknesses mechanically are as follows:
“My weakest point is the vocabulary.”
“I need to use more complex sentences, definitely.”
“Many errors occurred, such as pronouns and articles.”
Some students describe their writing as an opportunity to write about what they know,
including oneself. Examples of student ownership are as follows:
“I wrote about this topic because I know a lot about it.”
“This is the essay which I liked most because there are things and facts that I
learned and realized from my prior working experience.”
“To write this essay I had to analyze myself, and I found out there were still some
weaknesses in my personality.
Other students refer to the reader:
“I have to think about readers more.”
“I tried to collect my information from several sources and books to give the reader
complete information and make it clear.”
Some students, finally, describe their improvement in writing as “growth.” One
student described her improvement as “one more step in understanding English.”
And another student compared each essay to different stages of his being: He began with
the “infant” stage of the first essay about which he said, “My brain is
empty and is waiting to be filled with knowledge,” to the “baby” stage
where “content and organization are im-proved,” to the “teenager”
stage about which he said, “My brain is filled with knowledge. That is what I gained
from this class.” He concluded his final, in-class essay with this observation:
“Finally, people grow up day after day. If the time is gone, then we will not catch
it again. So we must never stop learning.”
That we “never stop learning” is good advice. I believe that both teachers and
students who embark on a program of portfolio development within their composition classes
will learn a lot. First, by comparing the first and last in-class essays, both students
and teachers will see measurable progress, and they will learn that writing classes count.
Second, by examining the character of successive essays throughout the semester, both
students and teachers will see heightening degrees of student ownership, and they will
learn that students have something to say. Finally, by examining the final, in-class
essays, both students and teachers will see a development among students for self
analysis, and they will learn that students have developed the critical capacity to learn
and to think. These are compelling reasons to use portfolio development within the English
composition classroom.
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| ESL Composition Profile |
| Student:____________________________ |
| Date:_______ |
| Topic:________________________________ |
| Score:_____________________ |
| Level:________ |
| Criteria:____________________________________ |
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| CONTENT |
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25-22 |
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EXCELLENT TO VERY GOOD:
knowledgeable substantive thorough development of thesis/genre relevant to assigned topic |
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21-18 |
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GOOD TO AVERAGE: some knowledge
of subject adequate range limited development of thesis/genre mostly relevant to topic, |
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17-11 |
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FAIR TO POOR: limited knowledge
of subject little substance inadequate development of thesis/genre |
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5-Oct |
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VERY POOR: does not show
knowledge of subject non-substantive not pertinent OR not enough to evaluate OR no
relation to assigned thesis/genre |
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| ORGANIZATION |
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20-18 |
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EXCELLENT TO VERY GOOD: fluent
expression ideas clearly stated/supported well-organized and very thorough development of
introduction, body, and conclusion well-organized and very thorough development of
supporting details |
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17-14 |
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GOOD TO AVERAGE: somewhat
choppy main ideas stand out, but organization unclear limited development of introduction,
body, and/or conclusion and/or limited development of supporting details |
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13-10 |
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FAIR TO POOR: ideas confused or
disconnected lacks logical sequencing and development of introduction, body, and/or
conclusion inadequate development of supporting details |
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7-Sep |
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VERY POOR: does not communicate
no organization OR not enough to evaluate |
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| SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION |
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20-18 |
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EXCELLENT TO VERY GOOD:
effective use of simple, compound, and complex sentences (correctly punctuated) effective
use of coordinators, subordinators, and transitions few errors of S-V agreement, verb
tense, number, word order/function, articles, pronouns, prepositions |
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17-14 |
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GOOD TO AVERAGE: effective
simple sentences minor problems in compound and complex sentences minor problems in the
use of coordinators, subordinators, and transitions several errors of S-V agreement, verb
tense, number, word order/function, articles, pronouns, prepositions but meaning seldom
obscured |
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13-10 |
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FAIR TO POOR: major problems in
simple, compound, and complex sentences frequent errors of negation, agreement, tense,
number, word order/function, articles, pronouns, prepositions and/or fragments, run-ons
meaning confused or obscured |
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7-Sep |
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VERY POOR: virtually no mastery
of sentence construction rules dominated by errors does not communicate OR not enough to
evaluate |
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| VOCABULARY |
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20-18 |
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EXCELLENT TO VERY GOOD:
sophisticated range effective word/idiom choice and usage word form mastery appropriate
register |
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17-14 |
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GOOD TO AVERAGE: adequate range
occasional errors of word/idiom form, choice, usage but meaning not obscured |
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13-10 |
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FAIR TO POOR: limited range
frequent errors of word/idiom form, choice, usage meaning confused or obscured |
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7-Sep |
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VERY POOR: essentially
translation little knowledge of English vocabulary, idioms, word form OR not enough to
evaluate |
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| MECHANICS + PROOFREADING =
FINISHED FORM |
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15-13 |
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EXCELLENT TO VERY GOOD:
demonstrates mastery of conventions few errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization
includes clearly defined paragraphs and title page computerized, double-spaced,
appropriately sized margins and type font, paper stapled |
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10-Dec |
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GOOD TO AVERAGE: occasional
errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, unclear paragraphing (no use of computer
or spell check) but meaning not obscured |
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6-Sep |
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FAIR TO POOR: frequent errors
of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing poor handwriting meaning confused
or obscured |
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3-May |
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VERY POOR: no mastery of
conventions dominated by errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing
handwriting illegible OR not enough to evaluate |
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| TOTAL SCORE:________ |
| READER
COMMENTS:_____________________________________ |
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ERLYN
BAACK teaches at ITESM, Campus Querétaro, Mexico.
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Return
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- Hamp-Lyons, L. (in press). The challenges of second language writing assessment. In The
practices and politics of writing assessment. eds. E. White, W. Lutz, and S. Kamunikiri.
New York: MLA.
- Hughey, J. B., D. R. Wormuth, V. F. Hartfiel, and H. L. Jacobs. 1983. Teaching ESL
composition. Rowley, MA: Newbury House Publishers, Inc.
- Murphy, S., and M. A. Smith. 1992. Looking into portfolios. In Portfolios in the writing
classroom, ed. Kathleen Blake Yancey, Urbana , IL: NCTE. pp. 49–60.
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