To whom it may concern,

Over the course of the fall semester, I believe that my writing has improved from what it was in high school, and that I owe this to the Writing and Rhetoric class. During this class, I learned and expanded my writing skill set to be on the level expected of me as a college student, and I am grateful for this. Before I took this class, there was so much about writing and understanding other people’s writings that I did not understand. Now, I know how to look at the works of others and pick out the important details, and how to write my own pieces without bogging them down with unnecessary language.

One of the things I was most nervous about at the start of this class was the use of MLA format. MLA format has always seemed to be this terrifying thing that I need to know, but never will. Thanks to this class, I understand MLA format and can use it for my papers and assignments. This has made it easier to get started on my assignments, as I no longer feel anxious about when a paper requires MLA format.

Another valuable skill that I have learned in this class is revising drafts. I have written drafts before in high school, but those were more like simply rewriting the same paper repeatedly with slight changes. Not the proper drafting and editing process. In class this semester, we were taught how to properly go over drafts and edit them to make the final draft as good as possible. This has helped me many times with the papers I have submitted for this class, as well as my other classes. I anticipate that it will help me more in the future as I get closer to completing my degree.

Looking through the papers I have written for this class, I have selected the ones I believe to best showcase my skills as a writer, and how this class has helped my improve. I am in no way perfect, far from it, but I think that the experience of writing while using the tools I have gained from this class continues to help me improve. I put my very best effort into these papers, and I think it shows. I consider them to be clearly written and on topic and am proud of how they turned out.

I have always enjoyed writing, even if it grew to be tedious in high school. For years, I have considered myself a strong writer and didn’t know what to improve on. Over the course of this class, I have found many areas in my writing that need improvement and am trying to do so. I focus more on my revisions and what needs to be changed in the next draft. I put more effort into formatting and proper citations of my sources. I believe that I have grown as a writer over this past semester, and that my improvement will only continue.

I feel that the assignments I have chosen for my portfolio showcase my skills, both new and old, the best. They are formatted to shows proper organization and development of the main ideas. They have the proper language and vocabulary to get the point of the assignments across. They very clearly give the main theme and tone of the assignment without unnecessary language weighing them down. I am proud of how these assignments came out and believe that they show what I am capable of in the best way.

Over the fall semester, through the Writing and Rhetoric class, I have grown as a writer. I feel more confident when I submit an assignment as a result of the skills I have learned. I am more secure in the knowledge that I have done the best I possibly can to get my best grades. I feel stronger as a student and more confident in my work. I still have room to grow, but I feel as though I have a stronger foundation on which to start.

Sincerely,

Abigail Gurvich