Since Fall 2023, all WR students create a portfolio in their first WR course and continue to add to it throughout subsequent WR courses. This cumulative portfolio assignment will create a shared experience for WR students, offering them a space to reflect on their growth and their developing identities as college writers and communicators over several semesters.

Instructor Guide

The WR Portfolio Instructor Guide contains everything you need to incorporate the WR cumulative portfolio in your class. It includes information about why we use portfolios and an overview of the cumulative portfolio assignment, including information about videos that guide students through creating portfolios for the first time, how to access your students’ portfolios, and who to contact if you or your students need help.

The cumulative portfolio assignment includes a literacy narrative and a final reflective essay. In addition to this pair of reflection assignments, common across all 100-level WR courses, instructors should integrate reflective writing throughout the semester and in a variety of ways.

Students should be referred to this set of videos and the student-facing FAQ in order to receive guidance on how to create and update their portfolios. Periodically, the Writing Center may also offer portfolio workshops for students.

Cumulative Portfolio Assignments

Portfolio Assignment for WR 111, 112, & 120

Literacy Narrative Assignment

Portfolio Assignment for WR 151, 152, & 153

Final Reflective Essay

Reflective Writing

While the assignments above should be assigned as written and shared across sections, there is plenty of opportunity for instructors to be creative as they tailor the other reflections they ask students to do to their own course content, course level, and/or teaching style. See Reflective Writing Activities for ideas and adaptable examples, as well as our guide to teaching the literacy narrative. Remember that you should not specify which reflective writings students will post in their portfolio, and you should be assigning enough reflective work for students to have a meaningful choice in the matter when they choose three reflections.

Portfolio Reminders for Instructors

  • Discuss the portfolios in class at several points in the semester. Near the beginning of the semester, you’ll need to make sure students new to WR are setting up their Digication portfolios and writing and posting their literacy narratives. Throughout the semester, you may want to remind students that they can be posting their reflective writing to their portfolios; building in a few short portions of class to encourage students to work with Digication might be helpful. At the end of the semester in WR 15x, be sure you are assigning the final reflective essay, and for all classes, that you remind students to post their featured assignment and reflective writings.
  • Advise students to paste text right into the Digication modules, or to post a Word or .pdf document. Students should not post links to Google docs or embed a Google doc, as there are too many permissions issues that arise.
  • Feel free to look at some wonderful portfolios that past students have agreed to share with the BU community: Take a look at Luke’s example, Mina’s example, and Katelyn’s example.