ESSENTIAL

ELEMENTS OF
PORTFOLIO
 1. Cover letter
This element tells about the author of the portfolio
and what the portfolio shows about the author’s
progress as a learner.
2. Table of contents with numbered pages

Shown in this element are the detailed contents

in the portfolio.
 3. Entries
Both core and optional. The core elements will be required for each student and will provide a common base from
which to make decisions on assessment. The optional items will allow the folder to represent the uniqueness of each
student.

Guidelines for portfolio entries:

• Purpose of the portfolio

• Time period that it should span
• Name people who will have access to it
• Description/list of types of work to include
• If applicable, what criteria will be used to evaluate portfolio
 4. Dates

Specific dates have to be included for all entries to

facilitate evidence of growth overtime.
 5. Drafts

Drafts of aural/oral and written products and

revised versions have to be included.
 6. Reflection

Can appear at different stages in the learning process (for

formative and/or summative purposes) and at the lower
levels can be written in the mother tongue or by students
who find it difficult to express themselves in English.
Through reflections students can express their feelings
regarding their progress and or themselves as learners.
 For each item, a brief rationale for choosing the item should be included.
Students can choose to reflect upon some or all of the following:

• What did I learn from it?

• What did I do well?
• Why did I choose this item? (based on the agreed teacher-student assessment criteria)
• What do I want to improve in the item?
• How do I feel about my performance?

Sometimes, you can give students additional guidelines – e.g, the elements of the learning objectives
that they should address (organization, punctuation, coherence, etc.)