The
folder counts 30% of your grade for the course, so it should look as if you
spent as much time on it as, say, a research paper would take. Ideally, there should be a date and label on
everything. The folder itself can be
plain; nothing fancy is necessary though pockets are useful if you have lots of
small pieces of paper.
What must be in your folder:
1.
The Cover Letter This letter must be computer printed. Proofread it carefully. How well you write the letter affects your
grade on the folder. In the letter you
should do the following:
A.
Name the poems you’ve included for a grade
and discuss the process of
writing them and your
strengths as a poet that they display.
Tell why you’ve
chosen these poems.
B.
Explain
the revising you’ve done, both of the
poems you want considered for the grade and of other poems. Tell what you tried and what you learned
from it.
C.
Summarize
the most important things you’ve learned
about writing poetry
from Kowit’s book, from the
class, and from work you’ve done on your own.
D.
Comment
on your experience of workshops. How, if at all, did they affect
your writing?
E. Say
what grade you think you deserve for
your folder and why.
F. Mention
what you think you need to continue to work
on in your poems.
2.
Three poems (or more if
they’re short)
that you want counted toward your grade.
They must be computer printed.
Include all the versions of these poems that you’ve written.
3.
Evidence of Revision Include drafts of poems you’ve reworked to show how seriously
you’ve been revising. Every time you
make changes in poems, put the drafts in your folder.
4.
Exercises we’ve done in
class These need not be typed. Identify the exercise that each one
represents (such as object poem) and include the date.
5.
Poems you’ve written for all the chapter assignments from Kowit included
on the assignment sheets. Number and
date these poems to correspond with the assignments (such as Poem 1: A
childhood memory, September 28). These
need not be typed.
6.
Three poems written by
published poets See the assignment sheet for information on
this. You must retype or hand write
these poems and include a paragraph in your letter in which you comment on what
you learned by choosing and copying them.
Be sure to include the authors and sources of the poems you
selected.
Additional
poems you’ve written or other kinds of writing you’ve done on your own can be
added to your folder. In your letter
say how and why you’ve done this extra writing if you have. If you attend poetry readings or other
literary events, comment on them in your letter. (This is not required.)