Dear Dr.

Bruce, 

For as long as I can remember, I have always found English to be a difficult and

challenging course. So, on the first day of class, my nerves were extremely high since my mind

was set on this class being difficult and challenging. However, as the weeks passed, I was very

surprised to notice this class’s primary focus is on writing rather than purely reading. Throughout

this semester I have had a great opportunity to have a proper chance to improve my writing,

which could not have been possible without your lectures and your help to master six student

learning outcomes (SLO). The six SLO’s I have mastered with your help are rhetorical focus

(SLO 1), ethical research (SLO 2), persuasion (SLO 3), organization and focus (SLO 4),

academic language and design (SLO 5), and collaboration (SLO 6). 

The first assignment I chose to showcase in my portfolio is a rhetorical analysis

assignment done at the beginning of the semester. This assignment demonstrates I have mastered

SLO 1 since this assignment has helped me better understand how to rhetorically analyze

different works, including my own by breaking down the analyzations into different parts. These

parts are what make an analysis complete. 

The second assignment I chose to showcase is my annotated bibliographies. This

assignment demonstrates I have mastered SLO’s 2, 3, and 5. To be able to complete this

assignment, I learned how to engage and acquire proper sources for any major assignment. By

being able to acquire proper sources, it has helped me to accomplish mastering SLO 2. This

assignment has also helped me better my ability to persuade. I believe this assignment has also

helped me master SLO 5 since the language of these sources and annotations have improved. 

The third assignment I chose to showcase is a profile. This assignment demonstrates I

have mastered SLO’s 1, 2, 3 and 6. In order to be sure this profile was going in the direction my
group and I wanted, we had to properly do a rhetorical analysis to ensure we meet the

requirements of the paper, which is what SLO 1 is about. This assignment has allowed me to

master SLO 2 because my group and I had a tough time trying to pick a topic that not many

knew about but also somehow shows ethical controversies. This assignment also demonstrates I

have mastered SLO 3 because we are the masters of this topic and we were supposed to persuade

why our reasons, thoughts, and opinions are more correct than the other side by using proper

research and sources. The last SLO I have mastered is the 6th one because this paper was done as

a group. Whereas a group, we decided on the main topic, the reasons, organization, and more. 

The fourth assignment I chose was a brainstorming activity. This brainstorming activity

demonstrates I have mastered SLO 6. Since this was a collaborative assignment, as a group we

were asked to work together to choose the proper “bubbles,” questions, and possible answers to

help us gain an understanding of how we wanted our paper to look. This assignment was to help

us outline for a group paper. 

The fifth assignment I chose to showcase is this assignment, the cover letter. This

assignment has demonstrated that I have mastered SLO 1, 3, 4, and 5. I have mastered SLO 1

because in order to be able to do this assignment I had to analyze this assignment in order to

know how to properly complete this assignment. It demonstrates I have mastered SLO 3 since

the goal is to persuade you why this assignment shows I have mastered SLOs. I demonstrated

SLO 4 because I had to decide this assignment over others to show how my organization has

improved. This assignment also demonstrates I have mastered SLO 5 since it exemplifies how

my language in my writing has improved. 

The last assignment I decided to showcase is a paraphrasing activity. This assignment

demonstrated I have mastered SLO 6 considering this assignment was completed in our groups. 
 After many considerations and arduous decisions, I selected these assignments because I

believe they help the most in demonstrating I have mastered all the SLO. 

Sincerely, 

Jillian Martinez