Reflective Cover Letter
Clay Romero
Cori Spillane
ENG 160
November 14, 2024
My writing skills have never been great. I was never passionate about writing or reading. I wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t the greatest. I never liked reading, and I never liked writing. It was something that never interested me. It felt more like a chore whenever I had an assignment to read or write. It bored me, and I would put it off as much as possible. However, starting ENG 160 began to change my mind. When I first started the class, I thought it was going to be like every other English class I have taken in my life, but it wasn’t. This class has taught me so many things and made me genuinely excited to read and write. I think one of the main reasons for this is because all our writings were interesting assignments. It was something we were all passionate about, and it was clear to see in all the writings. Along with that, the readings were similar. They were more relevant things, like pop culture. Or we would read things that appeal to our age group.
Not only have I liked writing more in this class, but my writing process has also changed drastically because of this course. On the ENG 160 syllabus, it says “Approach writing as a process (planning, shaping, drafting, revising, and editing” (Syllabus 2). In other classes before this, I never did any of these things and rushed right to the final draft. Having a draft as an assignment in this class helped me a lot. Something important that I learned in this class is that while there are great writers, “Not one of them writes an elegant first draft” (Lamott 21). This was something I needed to hear to get more motivated to turn my draft into a better version for the final. Not only did it help me stay on track to hand in the final draft on time, but it also helped me see that rough drafts truly do help and that it should never be the same as a final draft.
A certain element that I felt was successful for my writing was how clear I was with my meaning and clarity. We had peer reviews in class for all of our big writing assignments, and most people who read my pieces told me that it was clear to follow. Another thing that I feel was effective in my main course assignments was my organization of an entire essay, specifically my structure of paragraphs. ENG 160 helped explain what should be in each paragraph. Especially when quotes are involved, you should explain the context of the quote and then explain the quote so it’s clear what you mean in the paragraph.
A very important revision I would wish to make in these assignments is the research process. For Assignment 3, our Proposals, I feel as though I did not do a great job researching for my essay. I tried to pick a quick three to get the research process over with, and because I did so my citations were not great. I had to look for better resources later, instead of putting in the work at the beginning and then focusing solely on writing. Another revision I wish I could make to my writing is my conventions and, more importantly, my grammar and spelling. Whenever I write, I type quickly and believe I wrote what I wanted and used correct punctuation. Then, when I finish the final draft, I skim what I have written instead of reading carefully. Especially in Assignment 1, I had many convention errors that were just my grammar and spelling. It frustrated me a lot that I got a lower score because I misspelled a simple word or forgot a period. That is something I wish I could go back to and read more carefully.
Creating an e-portfolio was a hard process for me. It helped me think of a bigger picture, like that people other than my professor will read it. That made me feel pressured and more determined to make my writing the best it could. It made me consider how my writing would land with someone who is a completely different age than me. It also made me think in different perspectives, like when writing Assignment 2, my Digital Media Review, I wrote my essay in a way that somebody who had never heard my media would be able to understand it easily. I made sure to write the big and important parts, but I also made sure not to simply retell the whole movie in my essay.
I feel very prepared to go onto ENG 170/Writing & Rhetoric because I am more prepared to write an essay that has research involved, which is very important to me. I know how long it will take to look for good and credible sources, and I will be able to take the knowledge with me to ENG 170. I am also confident in writing clear, academic arguments. Having descriptive and detailed explanations, like the ones we wrote in ENG 160 will help writing arguments, and sway people over to my desired side. We also learned about pathos, logos, and ethos in ENG 160, and these rhetorical devices will help with writing a very clear and understandable academic argument. These devices can also help write analysis-based research assignments.
Completing ENG 160 has made me feel much more skilled and confident in all my writing. Having help with my drafts made me feel better about my writing, especially with peer reviews. This class has also changed my attitude toward reading and writing. It makes me feel more excited to write things. I feel more motivated to do my work before it is due, rather than rushing it at the end to hand it in on time, even if it is not my best work. As a result of this, I do feel prepared for other college-level or professional writing situations. At the beginning of this class, I would say I can never picture myself having professional writing, but after this class, and all the effort and learning we did, I am finally proud of how I write. I feel as though I have gotten much better at writing essays, and I believe I would be ready for other college-level, or professional essays.
I have taken many lessons to my other classes that have essays. Strategies, concepts, and practices from ENG 160 are important things to know that will elevate your writing to another level. I think the biggest strategy from this class is how to make a quote effective in a paragraph, instead of something you must add to have a citation in your work for points. I will continue to do this in the future because other classes and essays will have moments where you must quote citations and explain them. This was something from class that I really grasped and fully understood.
Thank you,
Clay Romero.
Works Cited
Lamott, Anne. “Shitty First Drafts.” Bird by Bird. Anchor Books, 1994, pp. 20-26.
Spillane, Cori. Syllabus for Composition I: ENG 160. Fall 2024, State University of New York New Paltz, New York