Brian Cross  

Reflective Cover Letter  

Dear ePortfolio Reader,   

Thank you for reviewing my portfolio and recognizing all the achievements and progress I have made in such a fleeting period. From the second I was inducted into this class I felt connected with the professor and my classmates. I felt like I was given an opportunity and wanted to take the skills I have acquired from ENG160 to another level. There are a lot of new things I have improved on and learned throughout the semester in ENG170. Coming into this class I knew of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos and we touched upon them late in ENG160, but I never fully understood them until this semester. I learned just how much more professional the rhetorical triangle made your writing, it made it easier to depict your mistakes enabling me to create an overall, more successful piece of work. This course allowed me to look at the bigger picture and oppose what could be done to improve our campus; I felt like I was given a voice in this world. This course has not only improved my writing but has enhanced my presentation skills shown in other classes. For example. I recently had to present my project in my globalization class, and I thought about this rhetorical triangle. I used ethos to make me sound more professional by using creditable sources, I used pathos to make my piece more graphic to show more emotion which kept people more attached and interested. Finally, I applied logos to support my arguments made. I was successful on my project so I can proudly say it helped me achieve that grade. In the business field, you present a lot, and knowing your audiences and how to persuade them in a certain way is crucial. One place I think I could improve is the research process. Research is one thing you can never be too good or good enough at, there is always room for improvement. My grade for the persuasive research project exposed my weakness. I find Research skills particularly important and could be beneficial. One example of me using research skills right now is my development of a new clothing line and community. The more improved I was in this field the further down the road I think I would be. I loved the number of different genres we got to write about throughout the semester from the bibliography to a business letter to a memo and then to top it all off with a virtual presentation (which I have never done before, so I found it cool). All the types of genres we got to write about gave us a deeper and better understanding of life outside of college. I think we all as a class have improved and will lean back on the material and knowledge, we learned to become better and well educated and to sound it as well, no matter where life takes us.  

                     Sincerely,   

                                       Brian Cross