Closing Letter
December 10, 2012
Dear Dr. Caswell,
When I started this class I was terrified that I would fail. Lacking confidence and writing techniques I was convinced that this would be a class I would struggle in most and that it could potentially ruin my GPA. Originally, I had no intentions of bettering myself as a writer or trying to gain any crucial knowledge from the class, but simply trying to make it out with a decent grade. I was simply focused on a letter grade, until I walked into the first day of class. Unlike many college professors who lack concern for whether a student even attends class, I knew not only did you care about my success in the class, but also the amount of knowledge I was able to gain as a writer. I am no longer concerned with failing this course, I do believe I deserve an A in the class because throughout this semester I was not concerned with the letter grade, but I asked myself what can I take away from this class? I grew as student, embodied the purpose of this course, and put thought into the professionalism and personality I displayed through this portfolio.
Before coming to school I was told that it was a whole other world and I must become responsible, because you are the only person accountable for you. Your class gave me a lot of perspective about how to succeed in college. I had to keep my planner organized and I needed to plan out my week a whole week in advance. I was responsible by turning in weekly reflections every week and turning in all my projects on time. Peer reviewing also made me learn to be responsible because you are not only accountable for the grade, but it was my job as a peer reviewer to give my peers feedback about their writing so they were able to better their writing before deadlines. Procrastination was always a problem for me in high school because I was capable of getting away with starting everything the night before and still finish in time. To write detailed projects I was not able to do that. I never waited until the last minute to complete projects because I not only wanted to be confident in my writing but I wanted to get perspective from my peers so I was able to better my writing.
Embodying the purpose of this course, I grew as a writer and fulfilled the goals of this course that are documented by the syllabus. Through project 1 I was able to discover a significant question and address the question by writing. I was asked to think of an experience that changed me as a writer. This question is very important, I chose a situation that has affected me as a reader and was able to portray it through my writing. I explored multiple types of writing such as a rhetorical analysis and a food review. These types of writing made me step out of my comfort zone and experiment with unfamiliar types of writing. This made me a well-rounded writer and a more versatile student. I learned to be able to reflect, analyze, explain, and persuade affectively by becoming aware of my tone, style, and what audience I was writing too. Most importantly, I learned to become an efficient peer reviewer and learned the practice of showing instead of telling through a piece of writing. Peer reviewing was crucial to my journey to becoming a better writer and my success in this class. I was able to exam in different styles of writing by reviewing others’ projects. Examining others’ writing styles made my own style better, by giving my writing techniques I may not have thought about others. Also my peers gave me great suggestions for my projects that I would have not have thought of otherwise. They were also able to catch mistakes in my writing that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Dennis and I peer reviewed each others’ final projects that we wanted to submit in our portfolios, even though you did not assign a final peer review. My peer review group and I became each other’s backbone when it came to writing. The other writing technique that I acquired for my success as a writer and for this course was the ability to show a story versus writing it. I learned how to incorporate detail and emotions to better my writing and appeal to my audience. Now when I am writing a project I am able to “show” in the first draft. Also, I learned about sentence structure, especially the beginnings of my sentence. Catching myself being aware of sentence structure while I was writing my cover and closing letter was very rewarding, because it shows how much I have grown as a writer. The skills I have acquired in this class have made me an exceedingly better writer and I am so impressed and confident with the style of writing that I have formed over this past semester by embracing the goals of this course.
I have contemplated over this portfolio for many hours to allow it to display my professionalism and personality to appeal to you as my audience. The projects I have chosen to compose my portfolio of I believe represent me as a writer and are of the highest quality of writing I have to offer. I incorporated a lot of thought of balancing a professional portfolio while adding my personality. Adding pictures, my projects, and quotes was completed with careful thought, and contributed to meeting all of the requirements of this portfolio.
My great amount of effort, growth as a writer, understanding of the course is why I think I deserve an A in the course. My portfolio displays my effort in this class. Looking at my revision of project 1, it shows how much I have grown as a writer. I learned how to show my story and changed technique aspects of my writing. Besides growth as a writer, my collaboration with Dennis to peer review each others’ final projects shows I understood the goal of this course. I have put in as much effort and done my best, and I hope you consider this while assigning my final grade.
Sincerely,
Camryn Keeter
Dear Dr. Caswell,
When I started this class I was terrified that I would fail. Lacking confidence and writing techniques I was convinced that this would be a class I would struggle in most and that it could potentially ruin my GPA. Originally, I had no intentions of bettering myself as a writer or trying to gain any crucial knowledge from the class, but simply trying to make it out with a decent grade. I was simply focused on a letter grade, until I walked into the first day of class. Unlike many college professors who lack concern for whether a student even attends class, I knew not only did you care about my success in the class, but also the amount of knowledge I was able to gain as a writer. I am no longer concerned with failing this course, I do believe I deserve an A in the class because throughout this semester I was not concerned with the letter grade, but I asked myself what can I take away from this class? I grew as student, embodied the purpose of this course, and put thought into the professionalism and personality I displayed through this portfolio.
Before coming to school I was told that it was a whole other world and I must become responsible, because you are the only person accountable for you. Your class gave me a lot of perspective about how to succeed in college. I had to keep my planner organized and I needed to plan out my week a whole week in advance. I was responsible by turning in weekly reflections every week and turning in all my projects on time. Peer reviewing also made me learn to be responsible because you are not only accountable for the grade, but it was my job as a peer reviewer to give my peers feedback about their writing so they were able to better their writing before deadlines. Procrastination was always a problem for me in high school because I was capable of getting away with starting everything the night before and still finish in time. To write detailed projects I was not able to do that. I never waited until the last minute to complete projects because I not only wanted to be confident in my writing but I wanted to get perspective from my peers so I was able to better my writing.
Embodying the purpose of this course, I grew as a writer and fulfilled the goals of this course that are documented by the syllabus. Through project 1 I was able to discover a significant question and address the question by writing. I was asked to think of an experience that changed me as a writer. This question is very important, I chose a situation that has affected me as a reader and was able to portray it through my writing. I explored multiple types of writing such as a rhetorical analysis and a food review. These types of writing made me step out of my comfort zone and experiment with unfamiliar types of writing. This made me a well-rounded writer and a more versatile student. I learned to be able to reflect, analyze, explain, and persuade affectively by becoming aware of my tone, style, and what audience I was writing too. Most importantly, I learned to become an efficient peer reviewer and learned the practice of showing instead of telling through a piece of writing. Peer reviewing was crucial to my journey to becoming a better writer and my success in this class. I was able to exam in different styles of writing by reviewing others’ projects. Examining others’ writing styles made my own style better, by giving my writing techniques I may not have thought about others. Also my peers gave me great suggestions for my projects that I would have not have thought of otherwise. They were also able to catch mistakes in my writing that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Dennis and I peer reviewed each others’ final projects that we wanted to submit in our portfolios, even though you did not assign a final peer review. My peer review group and I became each other’s backbone when it came to writing. The other writing technique that I acquired for my success as a writer and for this course was the ability to show a story versus writing it. I learned how to incorporate detail and emotions to better my writing and appeal to my audience. Now when I am writing a project I am able to “show” in the first draft. Also, I learned about sentence structure, especially the beginnings of my sentence. Catching myself being aware of sentence structure while I was writing my cover and closing letter was very rewarding, because it shows how much I have grown as a writer. The skills I have acquired in this class have made me an exceedingly better writer and I am so impressed and confident with the style of writing that I have formed over this past semester by embracing the goals of this course.
I have contemplated over this portfolio for many hours to allow it to display my professionalism and personality to appeal to you as my audience. The projects I have chosen to compose my portfolio of I believe represent me as a writer and are of the highest quality of writing I have to offer. I incorporated a lot of thought of balancing a professional portfolio while adding my personality. Adding pictures, my projects, and quotes was completed with careful thought, and contributed to meeting all of the requirements of this portfolio.
My great amount of effort, growth as a writer, understanding of the course is why I think I deserve an A in the course. My portfolio displays my effort in this class. Looking at my revision of project 1, it shows how much I have grown as a writer. I learned how to show my story and changed technique aspects of my writing. Besides growth as a writer, my collaboration with Dennis to peer review each others’ final projects shows I understood the goal of this course. I have put in as much effort and done my best, and I hope you consider this while assigning my final grade.
Sincerely,
Camryn Keeter
“The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good.”
-Brian Tracy