DearProfessorJohnson,

Writingovermyyearsofeducationhashaditsupsanddowns.Asachildinelementaryschool,
myteacherswouldwriteonmyreportcardthatIshouldpracticemyreadingandwriting.Ithink
ithastodowithEnglishbeingmysecondlanguagebuteventhenIstillthinkthatitcouldhave
beenjustme.MymotherboughtmebooksandIreadatalltimes;Ilovereadingtothisday.I
evenstartedwritingsongs,stories,anddiaryentrees.Mywritingskillsimproveddrasticallyin
middleschoolbuthighschoolwasadifferentexperience.MyfirsttwoyearsIhadbasicEnglish
classeswhereIneverpracticedwriting.Thensuddenly,Ihadateacherwhowasknowntobe
strictandwhoidentifiedhimselfasawriter.Ididpoorlyinhisclass.Igot4sand5soutof9in
hisassigned,timedessaysandsomehowImanagedtogetaBinhisclass.Attheendofthe
schoolyear,hegavemetheAPDivisionAwardforEnglishLanguageandComposition.He
assuredmethatmyeffortinimprovingmywritingskillswillonedayallowmetodoso
successfully.
InevertooktheexamtodeterminewhetherIwasabletotakeWriting2buteventhenIdecided
tostayinWriting1becauseIknewmywritingneededimprovement.IwashesitantsinceIknew
Iwascapableofwritingessayswithoutthestressoftimeandhavingenoughtimetoplanand
editseveraltimes.However,Iknewthatwritingatimedessaywasmasteredbyseveralcollege
studentsandthus,theydidnothavetotakethetestorWriting1.SoIdecidedtotakethecourse
andimprovemywriting.
WhenyougaveusthefirstwritingassignmentIwasnervousbecauseIdidnotwantyoutosee
thatmywritingwasinneedofalotofimprovement.IdidnotbelievethatIwascapableof
achievingsuccessfulwritingmethodssinceIonlyhadbasicunderstandingofwritingforseveral
years.IthoughttheclassonlyconsistedofwritingatalltimeswithoutsomesortoflecturesoI
fearedformygrade.ButwhenyouintroducedtousReadingandWritingintheAcademic
Community,Iwasrelievedthattherewasaguidetohelpmelearntheconventionsofwriting.
Afterall,thatwasthesteppingstoneintobecomingabetterwriter.Ireadeverychapteryou
assignedtousindetailbecauseIkneweverypaperwewereassignedforthisclassfellbackon
theprinciplesstatedinthebook.Ibookedmarkedeveryimportantdetailaswellastakenotesof
thetipstheysuggested.Iwouldhavetosaythatthatbook,inspecific,helpedmegrowasa
writerbecauseittaughtmesomuchaboutwritingandeachtypeofwritingthatIhadnotbeen
previouslyintroducedto.
AnotherfactorthatcontributedtomygrowthasawriterinWriting1andWriting2wasStarting
Lines.Thisreferencebookwasincredibleusefulinmylearningprocess.Iamavisual,example
basedlearnerwhereIfinditmostusefultoseeexamplesordiagramsofhowthingsshouldbe
applied.StartingLineswasperfectformebecauseforeverywritingassignment,therewasan
exampledonebyastudent.Ithinkthisisidealbecauseinsteadofusingexamplesdoneby
writingprofessionals,Irelatedtothestudentswritinginstead.InpreviousclassesIhadtolook
atexamplesthatprofessionalwritersdidandsomehowachievesimilarwork.Thisalways
discouragedmebecauseIfeltliketherewasnowayIcouldproducethesamehighqualitywork.
Afterall,theydowritingforaliving.WithStartingLines,Iwascapableoflookingatstudent

examplesandunderstandthewritingstrategiestheyusedinaclearerway.IfeltthatIcanrelate
moretotheirwritingbecausesomeofthemalsostartedinWriting1.Thisalsohelpedmewhen
tryingtounderstandtheconventionsofcertainwritingpaperswhetheritwaspersuasiveessays
orresearchedbasedpaperssinceitwaseasiertoconnectwithandread.
IfoundmostofthereadingsinWriting1and2helpfulbecausetheygaveadvicefrom
professionalwritersoncertainwritingtechniques.StartingLinesprovidedstudentsamplesbut
thesereadingsgaveadvicetothesestudentsratherthanprovideprofessionalsamplesfromtheir
ownwork.Ilikethismorebecauseinsteadofgivingustextsdonebyprofessionalsforusto
follow,yougaveustheiradvice.Theseallowedustotakethatadviceandmakeitourownrather
thanhaveusfollowawelldonesamplejustbecauseitisdonebysomeonewhoknowswriting
essentiallywell.Thisalsohelpedmelearnmorebytakinginthisadviceandthenapplyingit.For
example,oneofthemosthelpfulreadingswasNavigatingGenresbyDirk.Throughthisreading
Iwasabletounderstandthatthemainideawasthateachwritinggenrehasitsownconventions
thatmakethemunique.Ithelpedmeunderstandthatgenresarewhattheyarebecausetheyhave
aspecificaudienceandthechosenconventionsfitthisaudience.Thisreadinggavemeaninsight
ofhowwritingcanbedonesuccessfullywhenyoutakeintoconsiderationwhoyouaretryingto
speakto.
OverthecourseofWriting1andWriting2withyou,myunderstandingofwritinghaschangeda
lot.IcansayperhapscompletelybecauseIlearnedwhatwritingwasalloveragain.Ilearnedthe
conventionsofwritingthatIneverlearnedinthefirstplace.Ialwayssawwritingofsomething
onlyacertainamountofpeoplecansuccessfullyachieveandtherestwerejustleftindespair.I
thoughtIwasoneofthose.Inbothwritingcourses,Iunderstoodthatwritingwasnotsohardand
thatIneededtoknowwhatthewritingconventionswerebecausetheywouldhelpmesucceed.I
learnedthatwritingdoesnothavetobeapainfulprocess.Writingisfunwhenyouunderstand
whatyouarebeingaskedfor.Whenyouunderstandthepromptortheconventionsofeach
writinggenre.Itisfunwhenyouknowwhatyouaretryingtoachieveandwhenyourealizethat
youcanbeascreativeasyoulikeinwriting.Ialsolearnedthatwritingisbasedoffonthe
audienceandtheirneeds.Everythingfromdiction,figurativelanguage,tone,etc.mustmeetthe
audiencesneeds.IthinkIhaveemphasizedtheroleaudiencealotasapartofwhatIhave
learnedbecauseIthinkitisthemostimportantaspectofwriting.InMcCloudsWritingwith
Pictures,McCloudmakesunderstandingtheaudienceassomethingessentialbecausewhatever
youweretryingtoproveinyourpictures,hastogettheaudiencesattentionandsuittheirneeds.
Forexample,inWP3Iusedapictureofamanlookingdisappointedtofitmyantidrugaddiction
pamphlet.Thiswouldenhancemypointandtheaudiencewouldbeabletoclearlyunderstand
whyIchosethispicture.Thus,theroleofaudienceissomethingIlearnedasmyunderstanding
ofwritingimproved.Whenwritingmyownprojects,Itriedtounderstandwhattypeofwriting
theywereaskingfrommeandtheoutlinesandbrainstormsyourequiredfromushelpedmeto
understandwhattheconventionsofeachprojectwere.Iappliedthisunderstandingofwritingin
otherclassesbecauseIfollowedthesamestepsoftryingtounderstandthepromptand
conventionsofthepaperitself.BecauseIknowunderstandwhatwritingreallyis,Icanwritefor
subjectsbeyondwritingclasseswithoutfeelinglikeIamfailing.

Asawriter,Ibelievemystrengthsareknowingtheconventionsofwriting.Forexample,Iknow
thatImusthaveathesisandsupportingevidencefollowedbyaconclusion.Knowingthisallows
metowritedecentpapersbecauseIhaveabasicideaofwhatmypapershouldinclude.Another
strengththatIhaveasawriterisusingcorrectgrammarandpunctuationalthoughsometimesI
forgetoneortwocommas.Ifeellikegrammar,punctuation,andspellingarentthingsIworry
toomuchaboutwhilewritingbecauseIcaneasilymasterthem.Ibelievethatoneofthebiggest
weaknessasawriterisnotbeingabletocomeupwithmoreconcreteideasorbuilduponan
idea.Ioftentimescatchmyselfjustbeingrepetitiveandnotgoanywhereelsewithoneidea.A
solutiontothishasbeendoingdetailedoutlineswithmyideassothatwhenitcomestowriting
thepaper,Ihavesomesortofguide.AnotherweaknessIneedtoimproveonisusingwordy
sentenceswithoutshowingaclearpoint.SometimesIusesentencesthatareconfusingtoothers
buttheymakesensetomeandthatofcourse,thisisaproblem.Ihavetriedcuttingoutwords
thataddunnecessarybufformakingdirectsentences.IcansaythatsinceIwrotemyfirstpiece
inWriting1,Ihavebeencapableofpracticingmoreandmoremywritingskills.Icansaythatas
awriter,IammoreskilledtodaythenwhenIwaswhenIwrotemyautobiographicalliteracy
essay.Iknowmoretechniquesaboutwritingandhavegainedalotofknowledgeonhowto
bettermyownwritingwiththefeedbackfromyouandNayeli.
Ifeltthatallthetimewehadtoeditourpaperswasnecessarybecausewehadvarious
opportunitiestogetfeedbackfromclassmates,Nayeli,andyou.Ialsofeellikewritingcan
alwaysbeimprovedandIthinkmywritingcanbeimprovedgreatlyjustbecauseIfeellikeIstill
needmorepracticeandimprovement.IamnotwhereIwanttobewithmywritingandthatis
beingabletoarguecoherentlywithuniqueideasandbuilduponthoseideaswithmoreandmore
evidence.IfIhadmoretime,Iwouldworkonmakingmysupportingevidencemorecoherent
andnotjustsimplisticlikeIgenerallydo.Iwouldalsoworkontryingtohaveaclear,complex
thesisbecauseIgenerallyhavesimplethesissincemyideasarenotcomplexenough.Iwould
alsotrytousemorerichvocabularythatworkedwellinthecontextofthesentence.IfeellikeI
dontuseabigvocabularybecauseIamafraiditwillnotfitthecontextsoIwouldliketolearn
howtodosoproperly.IfIhadmoretime,Iwouldalsoworkonwhatmyaudiencesopinions
besidesyourown.OftentimesIignorepeerreviewcommentsbecauseIfeellikeyouarethe
onlyonethathasabetterunderstandingofwhatIamtryingtosaysinceyouhaveexperience
readingalotofstudentwork.Igivemorevaluetoyouropinion.Iwouldeventuallytaketheir
commentsintoconsiderationbecausetheybecometheaudiencewhentheyreadmypaper.That
issomethingIwouldtakeintoconsiderationifIhadmoretime.
Overall,IenjoyedbeinginyourWriting1and2class.IlearnedalotofwhereIstandasawriter
andIlearnedtonotgiveuponwriting.AllthediscouragementIfeltforwritingisnotthere
anymore.Inowfeelmorecapableofmyownwritingabilities.IwillcontinuetousewhatI
learnedinthesetwocoursesandapplythemtootherwritingprojectsinthefuture.Without
Writing1,IwouldhavenotbeensuccessfulinWriting2.AndwithoutWriting2,Iwouldhave
notbeensuccessfulinanyotherwritingclass.Iappreciateallthehelp,feedback,and
encouragement.IhopethatIcan,inthenearfuture,takeanothercoursewithyouorsimplyask
youformorewritingadvice.Iappreciateallyourhelpandpatiencetoteachmeallaboutwriting.
Thecoursesallowedmetoincreasemyselfconfidencewhenitcomestowriting.Thankyou.

WorksCited
Dean,Christopher.,andMieleIlene,eds.StartingLines.Plymouth:HaydenMcNeilPublishing,
2015.Print.
Dirk,Kerry.NavigatingGenres.WritingSpaces:ReadingsonWriting.Eds.CharlesLoweand
PavelZemliansky.ParlorPress,2010.249262.Print.
Kennedy,MaryLynch,andHadleyM.Smith.ReadingandWritingintheAcademicCommunity.
4thed.UpperSaddleRiver,NJ:PrenticeHall,2001.Print.
McCloud,Steve.WritingwithPictures.MakingComics:StorytellingSecretsofComics,Manga,
andGraphicNovels.NewYork:Harper,2006.814.Print.