History Portfolio

I: Contents of the Portfolio

  • A formal job resume.
  • Five essays. Please include the original copies with the course instructor's comments and grade.
  • Two research papers that include systematic documentation (footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical citations and a bibliography).
  • Three essay examinations.
  • Self-analysis essay: What do the materials included in my portfolio say about my learning experience as a history major?

Note: No more than three items in any portfolio may come from any one course.

II:  Analysis:

A portfolio is not simply a collection of papers. The most important part of the portfolio is the essay of reflection or self-scrutiny. Use the papers that you included as evidence of the learning process and refer to them in your narrative. Use the questions below to help you write the self-assessment essay, which should be five pages in length:

  • Why did you decide to become a history major? What were your learning goals when you declared the major?
  • What have you learned? Include a list of the history courses that you have taken. Focus especially on skills: writing, public speaking, analysis and use of primary and secondary sources, etc.
  • When have you learned? Compare your mastery of skills from the time you became a history major to now.
  • How have you learned? What are my strengths and weaknesses as a learner in history courses? What do the papers in the portfolio say about your strengths and weaknesses as a writer?
  • How have you changed as a person after taking history courses? Consider intellectual, personal and ethical changes. To what extent have your courses contributed to your preparations for lifelong learning and civic-minded citizenship?