PORTFOLIO PLACEMENT EXAMINATION

Current UNC rising sophomores, juniors and seniors are not eligible to submit a Portfolio Examination.

Applies Only To Transfer Students 

In order to fulfill graduation requirements, all UNC students must receive credit for English Composition. 

Transfer students who did not receive transfer credit for English Composition may petition the Director of Placement for eligibility to write and submit a "Portfolio Examination" to the UNC Writing Program.

The information below should help students (1) to determine if they should request permission to submit and (2)  to follow instructions for submitting a portfolio, if they are granted permission to do so.

I. Should a Student Submit a Portfolio Examination?

Only Incoming Transfer Students may submit a Portfolio Examination, but, before doing so, the student should carefully consider four issues:

1. The English Composition Courses each help prepare students for college writing, speaking, and research. Thus, exempting or placing out of one or more of these courses might seem expedient in the short run but is most likely unhelpful in the long term. All students at all levels benefit from intensive work on their writing, speaking, and research.
2. Standardized test scores are a fairly good indicator of a student's placement in UNC’s writing courses. Only an unusual and obvious discrepancy between a particular student’s test scores and his or her ability and preparation warrant a Portfolio Examination. A student has little to gain “rolling the dice” of the Portfolio Examination, unless a discrepancy is fairly obvious.
3. The Portfolio Examination is a more accurate measure of a student's preparation for UNC's composition classes than any standardized test score. The result of the Portfolio Exam could be a placement below that of a standardized test score. Although UNC honors the highest score if you take more than one placement test in a single subject, we strongly recommend that you take the course into which the Portfolio Exam places you. Your chances of success in UNC's Writing Program will be greatly enhanced if you do.
4. The Portfolio Examination is a rigorous exercise, which cannot be completed successfully in short order. It requires significant thought, effort, and hours of careful preparation. Incomplete submissions will not be considered.

II. Instructions for Completing a Portfolio Examination

Submission and Deadlines

Email your request to submit a portfolio examination to Dr. Hammer.   Send all questions and materials through email to Director of Placement, Dr. Brad Hammer  (bhammer@unc.edu). 

MSWord format is preferred, and PDF format is acceptable.

Portfolio Examination Instructions

Overview:

Students are responsible for downloading portfolio requirements from the placement website prior to the posted deadlines. Electronic submission allows for evaluation to occur prior to students’ arriving for orientation so that the students can register for the proper courses during CTOPS. All Portfolio Examination is done by a committee of writing faculty and the placement decisions of the committee are final.

The Portfolio Examination focuses on the processes of both composing and reflection. The texts submitted will serve to assess the student’s preparatory knowledge in college-level argumentative discourse. The documents contained in the portfolio will serve as the sole mechanism for evaluation, supplanting the application of all standardized test scores.

Each student must self-select participation in the portfolio assessment process with the understanding that his or her placement could rise, fall, or remain the same based on the committee’s evaluation. The portfolio assessment process is offered to help students produce a more nuanced and accurate assessment of their preparation for college-level writing.

Portfolio Examination Submissions Must Include Four Documents:

1. A research-based or argumentative sample of 5+ pages (minimum 1250 words) that the student composed in high school, including a copy or transcript of the original assignment prompt.
2. A critical self-reflection of 2+ pages (minimum 500 words) of the “effective” and “ineffective” elements of the essay in specific terms. Do not simply reference an observation or criticism but rather point to exact moments in your text which illustrate your points. As part of this self-reflection, students must define both the intellectual limitations of the essay as well as the specific methods employed in their writing.
3. The argumentative essay of 5+ pages (minimum 1250 words). In this section of the portfolio, you are asked to make use of what you already know regarding "effective" academic writing by responding to the prompt below. Once you have read the prompt, visit the Carolina Summer Reading Program for more information on the reading required to answer the prompt.
4. A second self-reflection 2+ pages (minimum 500 words) that defines the student’s “methods” and “goals” for writing the argumentative essay.

2012 Argumentative Essay Prompt: 

This year, the Carolina Summer Reading program (http://summerreading.web.unc.edu/) has chosen Nicholas Carr's newest book, The Shallows for incoming students.  Throughout his text, Carr demonstrates how technology alters the ways in which our brains are nurtured; thereby altering our very nature.  In his book, Carr argues that, "the plasticity of our snyapses brings into harmony two philosophies of the mind that have for centuries stood in conflict:  empiricism and rationalism: (page 28).  With that assertion, Carr is attempting to extend our understanding of the age-old battle between "nature and nurture".  While referencing the film, 2001:  A Space Odyssey, Carr makes clear that he is not advocating for "a HAL-like system of artificial intelligence" (page 172).  Consequently, he challenges his reader to consider whether or not we are "better off" when our brains inevitably become "supplemented" by technology.  In an argumentative essay of 5+ pages, you are asked to:

1.  Write a critical assessment of Carr's central argument.

2.  Make use of what you already know regarding "effective" academic writing by arguing for/against Carr's belief in the "plasticity" of our brains and the internet's effects on our thinking.

3.  Compose a 2-page self-reflection of your essay on Carr that defines your "academic" methods for writing.

This site is provided for students to indicate the instructions for submitting a portfolio examination.

Students are responsible for contacting the Director of Placement, Dr. Brad Hammer (bhammer@unc.edu), prior to submitting any placement materials, to obtain consent to submit a Portfolio Examination.

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All Portfolio Examination decisions are final. The documents contained in the portfolio will serve as the sole mechanism for evaluation, supplanting the application of all standardized test scores.

**All submissions due by 5:00 p.m., Friday, August 24, 2012 for consideration for the upcoming academic year.

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