For each of the four essay assignments you write in English 1010, you are required to have coversheets beginning with draft 2, the peer response draft. Of course, coversheets are essential for each of the essays submitted for the Final Portfolio.

Completing the coversheet items will help you think through the rhetorical problem at hand: "I am writing to whom? about what? and for what purpose?"

Coversheets also figure as a major consideration in the evaluation of your portfolio. In essence, the coversheet is a contract in which you make certain promises to your reader(s). Do not mistakenly regard this task as merely superficial or as window dressing for your paper; the coversheet should be a thoughtfully composed set of responses that will assist the readers (peer group members, your instructor, norming-group faculty members) in evaluating the result of your efforts. The degree of correspondence between the information provided in the essay coversheet and the finished essay carries a great deal of weight, particularly in the Final Portfolio evaluation. 

For each of the four essays, complete a coversheet after you have written a discovery draft and then submit the coversheet with all subsequent drafts of the essay, revising the coversheet as needed if your approach to the essay changes. 

A sample coversheet has been provided for you on this web site and others included in our electronic copy of Portfolio (pp. 17, 23, 29, 37, 47, and with the Sample Student Portfolio beginning on p. 103). These should give some suggestions of the types of responses that have proven effective.

Read these coversheets now and be prepared to discuss them with your teacher.

Model your own coversheets after these examples.