These portfolios generally seem to be compilations of isolated works rather than even partially connected wholes. The portfolio includes papers which are almost never appropriate to an audience that is knowledgeable on the topics and ideas addressed. Thus, the writer assumes less or more of his or her readers than is appropriate, expecting readers to fill in all the gaps, to make all the connections, and automatically agree with the writer's perspective. The writing shows evidence of a quality of thought that is perfunctory, obvious or unclear. Paraphrase and repetition often take the place of development.
Papers are consistently shorter than is needed successfully to engage the tasks.
The portfolio contains writing which displays the kinds of errors that compromise the rhetorical effectiveness of individual works and may well have patterns of stigmatized errors. An F portfolio may be incomplete.