We discussed this in class, but, just for clarity’s sake, by reader-ready I mean two pieces that are polished and as good as they possible can be. So, you should be picking your two pieces that are already closest to this point rather than focusing on some of your more problematic essays. These two pieces will make up most of your grade on Portfolio 2. So, if you do a really good job on these two pieces, I will be more willing to overlook other essays in this portfolio that maybe missed the mark.
Here are some general guidelines for what the reader-ready pieces should look like:
1. No grammar/spelling mistakes; tip – don’t rely on spell/grammar check because it won’t catch everything
2. They should have titles, something other than Project _____
3. Everything should be formatted correctly (only hitting tab once to indent paragraphs, not adding in extra spaces between paragraphs, quoting correctly, citing your sources correctly, no jumbo periods, no alterations to the standard margin size, everything is double-spaced, etc.)
4. You use Times New Roman 12 pt. font or the equivalent
5. The paper is between 4-7 pages long without using any tricks to make it longer or shorter than it actually is
6. No lingering higher order concerns (things like organizational problems, lack of a clearly identifiable point, information that doesn’t connect back into your argument, paragraphing problems, etc.)