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Elizabeth Darcy

Professor Jordyn Cummings

English 160

December 4th, 2023

            Cover Letter

To Whom It May Concern, 

My name is Elizabeth Darcy. I am a freshman in my first semester at SUNY New Paltz, and I am majoring in theater with a concentration in performance. I intend to minor in business and music. My first semester here has been wonderful. I feel as though I’m already developing better skills and working towards becoming a more well-rounded, educated person. My writing endeavors have been unlike anything I’ve done before. The essays I wrote this semester in English 160 allowed me to explore topics that intrigued me, and encouraged me to become more assertive and specific when arguing for important topics. 

Prior to English 160, my writing habits were nothing extraordinary. I usually wrote for pleasure, either by journaling, playwriting, or poetry. I love writing, it was just unusual for me to write within the structure of an essay. As I mentioned in my very first reflection for this class, writing an essay can be overwhelming. The tactics I’ve developed over the years include things like mind maps, breaking the essay down into pieces, and not perseverating over being perfect. I definitely used those tactics this semester as well, but I felt more elevated. My professor created an environment where I wasn’t afraid to 

    

 

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make a mistake, and that was a tremendous help. Their notes were always insightful and always encouraged me to reflect in order to become a more proficient writer. 

There were a lot of elements I felt I succeeded in. Something I feared at the beginning of the semester was my ability to effectively write an essay in a formal tone. A lot of my writing experience is creative writing, not necessarily formal or persuasive in any way. I think I was able to navigate this well. Also, I tend to worry quite a bit about the possibility of plagiarizing, but my professor gave me the tools I needed in order to cite my sources ethically. The main revision I would focus on is just to focus on articulation. Sometimes I word things in ways that are less than graceful, and I think I would benefit from practicing that. This might include looking at my vocabulary as well as the sources I cite. Also, this semester, I developed an e-portfolio on Hawksites. This is another thing that I’ve always been a little apprehensive about. Posting my own words for other people to see is kind of nerve-wracking, but when I finally figured out how to use Hawksites, I felt in control. Posting my work online made me more aware of and intentional about the way I write. 

After taking English 160, I feel completely prepared for English 170 and other upper-level English courses. It was a fantastic introduction to college-level essay writing, and I look forward to using the skills this class has given me. This course has given me more assertiveness about writing. I’m not afraid to share ideas with classmates and colleagues anymore, especially in an academic setting, which is crucial for upper-level or professional writing settings. A specific TEDtalk we were shown, The Danger Of A Single Story, was especially insightful to me. That presentation was delivered by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and it was a great reminder that no matter what, we need to share our voices with one another in 

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order to prevent monotony.  Not only have I been focusing on using these skills in English class, but I’ve also been able to use these skills to write effective pieces in other classes. There is an excerpt in Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing about habits of mind that resonated with me a lot while writing this letter. The three habits I found most improvement in this semester are probably curiosity, metacognition, and openness. This semester was a great opportunity to explore these facets of a growth mindset because of the collaborative nature of the class. I plan on nurturing these skills and utilizing them throughout my college career and beyond.

 I was very grateful for the opportunity to be able to revise my essay on Lilia Tarawa’s TEDtalk, I grew up in a cult. It was heaven — and hell. Each essay we wrote this semester had individual challenges, but this one was particularly interesting. I had known of this TEDtalk for a few years now and I was very intrigued when we had the opportunity to write an essay about a talk of our choosing. A piece of advice I recieved from professor Cummings was to really dig deep and elaborate on why my TEDtalk is crucial for the New Paltz community. I feel very strongly about religious issues and women’s rights, so I think I just sort of assumed that what I was trying to articulate was clear enough. With such a layered issue, I needed to dig even deeper. 

All in all, I do believe that I am well-equipped enough to pursue English 170. 

With the skills I have acquired so far, I can get off to a strong start and remain consistent in writing for not only the entire semester, but also the rest of my college and professional career. I hope you are able to consider me as a candidate for English 170. I am confident that I will excel in that course and I look forward to what else SUNY New Paltz has to offer. 

 

WORKS CITED

Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing – CWPA, wpacouncil.org/aws/CWPA/asset_manager/get_file/350201?ver=7548. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023. 

Tarawa, Lilia. “I Grew up in a Cult. It Was Heaven – and Hell.: Lilia Tarawa: TEDxChristchurch.” Lilia Tarawa: I Grew up in a Cult. It Was Heaven – and Hell. | Lilia Tarawa | TEDxChristchurch | TED Talk, www.ted.com/talks/lilia_tarawa_i_grew_up_in_a_cult_it_was_heaven_and_hell. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023. 

“Tedtalks: Chimamanda Adichie–the Danger of a Single Story.” TED, 2009.