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Foundation Art Diploma - what do I put in a portfolio?

I am applying for a Foundation Diploma in my local college but I have no previous art qualifications or quantifiable experience. I've been told to submit some work to see if I have the skills required for the course.

The tutor said they would really like to see evidence of observational drawing skills - something I definitely haven't done much of. This has got me worried because much of my 'portfolio' was going to be a random amalgamation of different abstract stuff I've done with a range of materials but I have no idea where to start with pencil drawing.

HELP
Just grab a selection of random objects and start drawing them from life.
Pick 2-5 objects (different shapes - something with flat surfaces, something with curved surfaces and some other random buts and bobs - kitchen utensils or ornaments or food - it doesn’t matter what) and get a small sketchbook and give yourself 5 minutes to draw each object a few times a day (or more if you have more free time). Keep drawing the same objects over and over from different directions but keeping it quick. Then when you have a bit of practice done get a bigger sheet of paper and draw one object 4 or 5 times on the same sheet from different angles - a couple of 2 minute sketches, a couple of 5 minute sketches, 10 minutes and 30 minutes. Label each sketch with the time. Don’t worry if some sketches come out better than others.
Do the same thing with each of your objects and you have a few sheets of observational drawing that shows your current skills.
If you don’t have anything else to do then this should be possible to get done in a couple of days. If you’re doing it alongside college/work then it might take a week.

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