Ariana Valerio

English 160-40/ Reflective Cover Letter

Professor Deiudicibus

26 November 2020

 

Dear Reader,

Writing has never been a strength of mine. It was never something that I found myself eager to do. I always found it difficult to get into a smooth flow when writing, never felt as if I included enough information, and never found my writing to be good enough.  However, after taking this English 160, Composition I class, my feelings towards my writing have changed. I feel more confident about approaching a writing assignment.  I can now get into a flow easier when writing and my writing has become stronger. The assignments we were given, the stories we were able to tell, and the opinions we were able to share, have helped me develop into a stronger writer. I am aware of how much detail is needed when writing a certain type of paper and the specific wording necessary for each type of writing.  I can now say writing has become a strength of mine academically, something I have never said before.

This semester I have learned to tackle my writing assignments differently and without fear.  I have changed my process. I have learned the importance of writing a rough draft where I can, “Let it all pour out” (Lamott). After I write my draft, I begin to edit it by ensuring that I have considered the audience I am writing for. Once I have my final draft I have learned the importance of using grammar check before I turn in any final assignment. As I edit my final draft I refer back to Purdue Owl to ensure that I have cited my work. It is important to consider your audience when writing because this will determine how much detail you include and what type of language to use.  Using grammar check is important for any grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and missed punctuation which can result in the loss of costly points on an assignment. The introduction to Purdue Owl has helped me really understand the correct way to cite. The step by step instructions and the pictures that are on this website have allowed me to put my finished paper side by side and make any important and necessary corrections to headings, in text citations, and my Works Cited. In high school, I never did any of this when given a writing assignment and I can now see how much my writing has improved by adding these considerations when writing.

Included in my portfolio is my narrative assignment as well my TED talk assignment. I feel that these two assignments really demonstrate my growth as a writer and help others learn who I am as a person. With my narrative assignment, I feel that I did a great job in engaging the reader throughout the paper from beginning to end. I included precise step by step details of my feelings at the time and made sure I wrote enough to get my feelings and points across. The words I used and the details I included throughout, helped the reader feel as if they were in the moment with me. When writing any personal paper, I feel it is very important to include words that can help the reader paint a picture of the scene you are describing and the feelings you were feeling.  When writing my TED talk assignment, I made sure I included a lot of research to back up my claim. The importance of using research when writing a persuasive letter is to be able to show the readers information that supports your claim.  Since this letter was for an important person,  the President of the University, I learned that I needed to use more professional language, have evidence to support my claim, and enough information to get my point across.  I also needed to pay closer attention and ensure that I had no grammatical or punctuation errors.

Both of these assignments were very interesting and very important to my growth as a writer because they both taught me a different type of writing style which I will need in my life both as a student and professionally.

The two writing assignments included in my portfolio are a true reflection of  my writing and of my new learned knowledge.  This is evident as I made improvements throughout the process from the first draft I wrote to the final version I handed in.  However, I also understand that there is always room for improvement. Regarding my narrative assignment, I feel that even though I followed the prompt correctly and engaged my readers throughout the whole writing piece I could have further improved this assignment.  I learned that in writing narratives it is necessary to include dialogue to help the readers really experience the moment with me.  In the TED Talk assignment, I realized how much power words can have to persuade others. Although I correctly answered the prompt and clearly supported my claim, I needed to be more persuasive and make a strong point.  I realized that more information was necessary and that I needed to use more powerful words in order to convince the reader that my nominee for speaker was the right choice.  These realizations are examples of the flexibility we must have as writers. According to the CWPA, “Flexibility is the ability to adapt to situations, expectations, or demands.” Being flexible in our writing will help us excel in our different writing assignments that we will be given throughout our college experience.

These two assignments taught me a lot about my writing and helped me improve.  However, throughout the semester, we were given a lot of paraphrasing practice, weekly mini lessons, and a library module introducing us to the school’s library website. These smaller assignments were very beneficial to me. They aided me when I began to tackle the two writing assignments I have discussed. In high school I was never taught how to correctly paraphrase and cite a quotation and learning this allowed me to appropriately include it in my writing.  Learning to use the school’s library website was a great lesson which will help me through out my undergraduate and graduate school experiences.  It taught me how to correctly do research and find the articles that directly relate to my topic. I learned something new each week when completing the mini lessons. These assignments introduced me to the different styles of writing, what must be included, and how to correctly write a college paper.

After taking this Composition I class, I now know how to approach any writing assignment that I am given. I am aware of how to properly organize myself when beginning to draft and how to correctly cite resources both in my Works Cited and my in- text citations. Now that I will be moving on to English 170, I will be taking all the new information that I learned and am more equipped to tackle the tasks that I will be given.

Sincerely,

Ariana Valerio

Works Cited

Council of Writing Program Administrators (CWPA). “Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing” 19 July 2019.    http://wpacouncil.org/aws/CWPA/pt/sd/news_article/242845/_PARENT/layout_details/false. Accessed 30 November 2020.

Lamott, Anne. “Bird by Bird- Shitty First Drafts”. Anchor Books, 1994. http://richardcolby.net/writ2000/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Bird-by-Bird-Anne-Lamott.pdf Accessed 30 November 2020.