Dani Gardner 

Professor VinciguerraHawkcites cover letter

Writing and Rhetoric 

December 2019 

Cover Letter 

When I got the opportunity to write an open letter for this class, I took the time to understand how to curate a controlled and yet still creative voice for the assignment. After examining other open letters that my professor showed us, in addition to reading literature similar to the style (such as columns in the New York Times), I felt confident in my ability to write a long piece, an ode to my home. Gaining control over the first person point of view helped me in writing my open letter, and applied it to writing reflection papers in my honors seminar.

This class exposed me to many texts that were scientific and psychological in nature. Specifically, I became more aware of eastern medicinal approaches achieving a sense of health and wellness. I also learned about different argumentative approaches in rhetoric, which helped me look and analyze literature through a different lense. 

Understanding uses of pathos, ethos, and logos to a deeper extent will be beneficial in writing and reading works of higher academia. Additionally, learning about rogerian and other argumentative approaches will be essential in how I construct future essays. 

The journal entries have benefitted me in how I digest and think about information directly how it happens. All of the articles and different sources that I have been exposed to in this course have made me change how I go about researching and organizing topics. 

I think that my strengths lay in class discussion and attempting to write papers with a creative approach instead of purely formulaic. I also think that I have grown to comprehend texts and course materials at a faster rate because of this course. Overall, I think that my weaknesses are in time management and conciseness.