How to Create a Writing Portfolio

In any artistic profession, a portfolio is an excellent way to show all of your work in one place. Any employer or client will want to see what you can do before they work with you. A great portfolio will serve as your audition.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Scanner
• Computer
• Photo manipulation program, like Jasc Paint Shop
• Printer
• White paper
• Three-ring binder
• Medium weight, clear plastic 3-hole sheet protectors

1. Gather all of your published writings. This includes anything that you would want to show a prospective employer or client: newspaper, magazine and online articles, online blogs, book or periodical excerpts, advertising materials and any other written material that has reached a mass audience.
2. Scan your writings into your computer. Using a digital manipulation program, work with the sizes of your scans so that the documents can be printed on an 8 ½ by 11 inch page. Add a few descriptive statements. Just make sure their placement is identical on each page. You want it to look as slick and polished as possible.
3. Choose a method of presentation. Organize your writings by categories: genre, publication, organization or whatever category applies to you most. Consider your audience. Use a “divider sheet” for each category in the portfolio.
4. Print your articles and divider pages. Let the ink dry before placing them into the protectors – you don’t want any ink smears.
5. Choose a presentation order for the pages. Flip through to make sure there are no missed pages and that nothing is out of order. Ask someone to review the portfolio to see if the order works. Remember: what makes sense to you might not make sense to someone else.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have experience in graphic design software, make the portfolio as visually pleasing as possible. This will demonstrate your creativity.
• Having .jpeg files of all of your writings is becoming more necessary. Use them to make an online portfolio, a portfolio CD or to simply send with resumes via e-mail.
• Students and seasoned professionals alike should continually update their work, adding pages and reworking the presentation order as needed.

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