Students need to make choices as they write, and writers must be involved in the assessment of their work . Students must select from their work, reflect on it, and then assemble it for graded evaluation Portfolio assessment allows students to develop in individual ways, at different rates, while working towards goals and program standards. Writers must learn to reflect on their own work . The portfolio assessment structures allow students to pause, look back, and then look ahead. The use of writers statements, portfolio statements, revision activities, and peer response activities promote reflection, and help writers learn to understand their work.
Language is a fundamental human activity .
Writers work is the manipulation of language. As students learn about academic expectations for language use, they better understand the full range of language uses in their lives. Our textbooks, assignments, and class discussions help illustrate formal expectations for language and format, while also introducing students to the richness of informal language, regional dialects, professional languages, and formal public dialects. Language rules are determined by context and audience, and our work with writers statements and analysis of rhetorical situations introduces students to these concepts.