Writing Portfolio

Program

Quick Reference Guide

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What is the Writing Portfolio Program?

The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) Writing Portfolio Program (WPP), housed in the

Interdisciplinary Writing and Reasoning Department (IWR), is a nationally recognized pro-

gram designed to ensure that all USJ students graduate with a proficiency in writing and

critical thinking. The WPP asks that each USJ student submit examples of their strongest

writing, which is then assessed by USJ faculty. Along with a portfolio score, faculty readers

provide each student with a synopsis of the strengths and weaknesses of his/her portfolio so

that he/she understands where and how best to focus his/her efforts to improve his/her writ-

ing. The purpose of the feedback is to provide specific information as well as begin a conver-

sation with the student, rather than simply to provide a numerical score. The USJ Writing

Portfolio Program is unique among colleges and universities and provides USJ students with a

comprehensive scenario in which to develop their critical thinking and writing abilities.

Please note that the University of Saint Joseph believes in the importance of every USJ

student graduating with strong critical thinking and writing abilities. As such, passing

the writing portfolio is a graduation requirement. In other words, if you do not pass

your writing portfolio requirement, you can not walk at graduation and you will not re-

ceive your degree. Do not let this scare you because…...

The Axolotl does not lie.

Everything is going to be fine!

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Why Does USJ Support a Writing Portfolio Program?

90% of employers rate writing and critical reasoning as “very important”? But employers find that only 28% of U.S. college students graduate with capable critical reasoning skills, and that only 16% graduate as capable writers.1

According to a survey conducted by the American Management Association (AMA) on the behalf of the Association Of American Colleges And Universities, over 70% of the 768 managers and executives polled rated both Critical Thinking and Problem solving (defined in the poll as “the ability to make decisions, solve problems, and take action as appropriate”) and effective communication (defined in the poll as “the ability to synthesize and transmit your ideas both in written and oral formats”) as priorities for employee develop-ment, talent management, and succession planning in the next one to three years.2

In a survey of 50, 000 employers conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education and American Public

Media’s Marketplace, to study the perceived role of colleges and universities in career development, employ-ers place the responsibility on colleges to prepare graduates in written and oral communications and deci-sion-making skills. Results of the survey also pointed to employers indicating that colleges and universities “need to work harder to produce these traits in their graduates.”3

The Educational Testing Service’s Academic Profile (2012) data of over thirty-thousand students across 95 higher education institutions between 2008 and 2013 found only 8% of seniors “proficient” in critical think-ing.4

Lisa Tsui (2002) found that institutions that fostered the greatest growth in critical reasoning emphasized

"the synthesis, analysis, and refinement of ideas through the medium of writing" (Tsui, p. 748), and equally "stress[ed] writing across the curriculum" (p. 749)5

1. Casner-Lotto, J., Barrington, M.W. (2006). Are they really ready to work: Employers’ perspectives on the basic knowledge and applied skills of new entrants to the 21st century u.s. workforce. The Conference Board, Inc., pp. 23, 34. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/FINAL_REPORT_PDF09-29-06.pdf.

2. Hart Research Associates. (2013). It takes more than a major: Employer priorities for college learning and student success. p.2 . Retrieved from www.aacu.org/leap/public_opinion_research.cfm.

3. The Chronicle of Higher Education and American Public Media’s Marketplace. (2012). The role of higher education in career development: Em-

ployer perceptions. Retrieved from https://chronicle.com/items/biz/pdf/Employers%20Survey.pdf.

4. Educational Testing Service, (2013). Proficiency profile comparative data. Retrieved from https://www.ets.org/proficiencyprofile/scores/compare_data/.

5. Tsui, L. (2002). Fostering critical thinking through effective pedagogy: Evidence from four institutional case studies. Journal of Higher Education, 73(6), pp. 740-763.

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Strong Critical Thinking Begins with Specific Observations:

Your audience needs to see what you see. In other words, if you ob-serve something interesting, confusing, compelling in your subject, make it clear to your audience what it is you see. The observations you make about your subject, sources, situation, etc. are vital to any critical discussion you might have, namely, because your observations can become your evidence.

How Will You Benefit From the Writing Portfolio Program?

You can develop and strengthen your abilities as a writer and critical thinker.

You can use the WPP to highlight your critical thinking and written communication skills on

résumés and in cover letters.

You can discuss the WPP during interviews to highlight specific reasons why you stand out

from other applicants in regards to critical thinking and written communication skills.

You can develop and strengthen your ability to think critically about your own writing and

revision process to meet specific needs and goals, much like in a professional setting.

You can build a body of written work that you can show prospective employers or use as

samples in graduate school applications.

You can gain experience writing for a broad audience often unfamiliar with the specifics of

your work, much like the situations you’ll face in a professional setting.

Strong Critical Thinking Focuses on Locating and Discussing Significant Relationships:

Any good piece of critical thinking will involve discussing one piece of evidence, or idea, or concept, or source along-side others. Unless you’re looking at two of the same thing, there will be significance differences, similarities, varying points of view and so forth. Locating these relationships and drawing out their significance allows you to get at what your subject might mean.

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What Do Portfolio Readers Look for in a Paper? Portfolio readers will evaluate your writing based on the following criteria:

Critical Thinking: How well you draw relationships between ideas and evidence, use logic and

evidence to develop ideas, develop and discuss the implications of your work, such that the

reader sees you doing something more than simply summarizing or repeating information.

Fluidity & Clarity: How well you articulate your development and discussion of ideas, evi-

dence, and information, such that the reader is able to understand how and why you develop

your ideas.

Organization: How well you are able to develop your discussion from paragraph to para-

graph, introduction to conclusion such that the reader follows the progress of your thinking.

Details & Elaboration: How well you develop your ideas using evidence and information,

such that the reader can get a sense of how you’re using the information in your work.

Researching: How well you use academic and other sources to develop your ideas, such that

the reader can see that you’re doing more than simply summarizing or repeating sources.

Language & Diction: How well you choose language appropriate to your subject matter, such

that the reader is not distracted by conversational language or inaccurate terminology.

Mechanics & Usage: How well you employ grammar and punctuation, such that the reader is

not distracted by patterns of grammatical error, misspellings, weak or confusing syntax.

Documentation & Citation: How accurate you employ citation format and style, such that

the reader is not confused as to when you are using the work of others, or by inconsistent

references, or missing references.

Strong Critical Thinking Often Uses Summary in Service of Analysis:

Accurate, detailed summary is necessary for your audience to under-stand the specific elements of your subject or sources that you want to discuss and analyze. You want to give your audience enough infor-mation for them to understand what it is you’re focusing on and why. Think of summary as an important step toward critical thinking, rather than an end in itself.

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Who Evaluates Your Writing Portfolio and

How Is the Writing Portfolio Scored?

Your writing Portfolio is evaluated by multiple faculty members. Faculty readers assess your

portfolio by looking at the strength of your portfolio as a whole, rather than each paper inde-

pendently. Faculty will give you an overall portfolio score of 1-5. A “1” indicates that your

portfolio needs improvement; a “3” indicates that you passed your portfolio requirement; a “5”

indicates that you passed with distinction.

In order to arrive at the overall score, you will also receive a minus (–), check (), or a plus (+)

for each of the criteria discussed on page 4. A minus (–) indicates that elements of your work

requires improvement; a plus (+) indicates that element of your work is proficient; a plus (+)

indicates that element of your work is excellent. To earn a score of a 3, you must earn checks in

all of the criteria above. If faculty readers deem that you don’t have enough substantial work in

your portfolio to assign a score, you will receive a score of an “Incomplete” (e.g. your portfolio

does not include a paper that uses research).

5 Excellent Earn a “+” in 6 or more categories; earn a “” in the remaining categories.

4 Good Earn a “+” in three to five categories; earn a “” in the remaining categories.

3 Satisfactory (passing) Earn a “” in all eight categories.

2 Below Satisfactory Earn a “─” in one to four categories.

1 Poor Earn a “─” in five or more categories.

INC. Incomplete. Not enough work to develop an assessment.

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Critical Thinking Aims to Point Out a Specific Focus or Conflict:

Summary is valuable at times (see above) but you need to be able to draw out of your subject some issue or idea that needs to be better understood, or that can be viewed from multiple perspectives, or that causes you to ask questions, and so forth. In other words, you need to be able to point to what it is about your subject or source that’s significant or worth writing about.

What Kind of Writing Should I Submit?

There is no specific genre of writing or field of study that the Writing Portfolio Program values

over others. You can submit practically any writing assignment you do for USJ to your writing

portfolio. That said, there are some assignments and papers that generally work better than oth-

ers. If you have questions about which of your papers might work better than others as portfo-

lio submissions then do not hesitate to visit the IWR office (Library, 2nd floor); we will be hap-

py to help you. In order for you to get a better sense of what to submit, here is a list of general

guidelines that you can follow:

You should submit writing that you think best addresses the criteria listed on page 4 of this

brochure.

You should submit writing that you think best displays your critical thinking, as strong critical

thinking often strengthens other categories (e.g., organization, details & elaboration).

You should ensure that at least one submission includes research (at least 4 scholarly

sources).

You should (ideally) submit papers with professor comments and grade along with a revised

version of the graded copy if that revision strengthens the original work.

You should (generally) submit writing that exceeds 3 pages in length.

You should submit writing that has been thoroughly proofread.

You should submit writing that you’ve done for USJ only because writing from other institu-

tions is not accepted.

What Else Will I Need to Submit?

You will also submit a Portfolio Cover Page with each paper (cover pages can be found

online at https://my.usj.edu/ics/IWR/Portfolio.jnz or outside the IWR office)

You will also submit a Student Information Form (also found online at https://my.usj.edu/

ics/IWR/Portfolio.jnz or outside the IWR office).

Strong Critical Thinking Includes “How’s & Why’s”:

Whenever you make a claim, assertion, or draw a conclusion you need to be sure to explain how and why you were able to arrive at that idea. You always need to put your thinking on the page for your reader to see and hopefully follow along with.

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What is Your Overall Timeline for Submitting Work?

If you began your undergraduate degree at USJ as a Freshman, then

You must submit 2 papers totaling at least 8 pages of writing (not including title page, refer-

ence page, etc.) for your initial evaluation by the end of your Sophomore year.

If you do not pass your initial evaluation, then you will then submit 2 additional papers as a

Junior. You will continue to submit new or revised work at submission deadlines until you

attain a passing score.

If you are a transfer student and you begin at USJ as:

A senior, then submit two papers by the end of your first semester at USJ.

A sophomore, or junior, then submit two papers at the end of your first year at USJ.

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A Few Tips

Work closely with the professional writing consultants at the CAE; they are there to help you

become a better writer and they are amazing at what they do.

Work with the staff of the IWR; we are great at helping you strengthen your writing and we

can help clarify any confusing element of the WP process.

Choose your submissions carefully: Every work does not have to fulfill every category; how-

ever, you should submit at least one work that demonstrates strong researching and at least

one work that displays strong critical thinking. Make sure that some combination of your

works fulfills all of the criteria.

Revisions are absolutely welcome: One of the best ways to demonstrate your best work is to

use your professors’ comments to revise your work before you submit it to the portfolio.

Always submit a revision with the original graded paper so that faculty can readily see your

improvements.

Bottom line: You are not alone in this process; the IWR, the

CAE, faculty, and advisors all want to see you pass and are more

than willing to work with you along the way.

When are the Submission Deadlines?

Though the exact dates might change based on the days of the week or other circumstances

(e.g. weekends or holidays), the following submission deadlines are in place:

Please watch for emails and other campus-wide announcements or check the Portfolio

website (https://my.usj.edu/ics/IWR/Portfolio.jnz ) regarding the exact dates for each

submission deadline.

Sophomores Spring Semester: First week in May

Juniors Spring Semester: Third Week in April

Seniors Fall Semester: Second Week in October;

Last week in November or First week in

December

Spring Semester: First Week in

February; First Week in March

Student Teachers Spring Semester: First Week in March;

First week in April

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Strong Critical Thinking Relies on Asking and Answering “So-what” Questions:

You always want to make sure that your audience understands what your ideas, assertions, and conclusions mean, why they’re significant, and how they impact your own discussion, as well as the subject as a whole. In other words, your audience cannot read your mind, what seems significant to you, has value, or is relevant top your discussion must be clarified for your audience. Asking “so what” of your ideas, evidence, and conclusions is the best way to make sure you’ve though through your material carefully. Ask-ing “so what” is also the best way to see whether you’ve made your thinking clear for your audience. Without asking and an-swering “so what,” your audience won’t have any idea why you’re writing what you’re writing.

What Happens After I Submit My Work?

Once you submit your writing portfolio, it will be read and evaluated by faculty members. Gen-

erally, faculty portfolio readings are completed about a week or so after the submission dead-

line.

Once faculty read and evaluate your portfolio, they will write an evaluation that highlights the

strengths of your work, as well as areas where you can improve.

Once the evaluations are complete for all portfolios submitted for a particular deadline, then the

Writing Portfolio Office processes the paperwork and will send you the evaluation, via email, as

a PDF attachment.

Included in the email is a short message either congratulating you on a passing score or provid-

ing further information as to how to proceed in order to resubmit your portfolio for the next

deadline.

What Should I Do If I Do Not Pass?

If you do not pass your portfolio here are a few things you should do:

Do not panic. Becoming a strong writer is a process; it does not happen over night.

Read your evaluation closely and make sure you understand what faculty are telling you.

Make appointments with the professional writing consultants at the Center for Academic Ex-

cellence (CAE) and the Writing Portfolio Program (WPP) staff

to discuss your evaluation and get a sense of how you can strengthen your work.

to discuss how upcoming writing assignments can be developed for your writing port-

folio, or how completed assignments, or even work you've already submitted, can be

revised for your writing portfolio.

Be aware of the next submission deadline so that you are ready with your next submissions.

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Strong Critical Thinking Involves Making Claims and Assertions supported by Relevant and Reliable Evidence:

Any claim you make about your subject (e.g. this idea is significant, these conclusions are problematic, etc.) must be supported by relevant and reliable evidence from your material, sources, subject matter ,and so forth.

What Does an Portfolio Evaluation Letter Look Like?

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Any Questions, Concerns, Hopes, Fears, Dreams?

Please reach out to us. The Writing Portfolio office is on the 2nd floor of the Pope Pius XII

Library. Visit us or contact:

Dave Carillo Writing Portfolio Program Administrator, dcarillo@usj.edu, 860.231.5884, Pope Pius XII Library, 2nd Floor, 214

Ronni Breiter Portfolio Assistant, rbreiter@usj.edu, 860.231.5791, Pope Pius XII Library, 2nd Floor

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