The reflective letter sets the tone for the whole portfolio and creates a first and lasting impression. Think about what reflection involves not just including details about who you are and how you write but also about how and why your background and environment have affected what you write. All raters notice whether or not a student s portfolio has enough substance. With this in mind, we ask that students use the page limit and make it .work. Five or six pages isn t enough.
Longer portfolios offer analysis and discuss the complexity of issues.
Brief portfolios rarely get a high score because they can t fully develop, support, and sustain a writer s position. Instructors prefer concreteness to vagueness and showing to telling. When appropriate, use dialogue and narrative examples and scenes to help develop your work. As one rater suggests, Look at a lot of examples in Best of Miami Portfolios and try to figure out why they are good pieces. Usually, it s not because of the topic but because of how the writer develops the topic.